Modern India
British Conquest, Colonial Rule and the Freedom Struggle
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Overview
Modern India covers roughly 250 years from the early 18th century decline of Mughal power to Independence in 1947. For MP TET, this period is crucial because it explains the political, economic and social transformation that shaped contemporary India. Questions typically test knowledge of key events (battles, acts, movements), important personalities, and the sequence of the freedom struggle.
Students must master three broad threads: (1) how the British East India Company established territorial control, (2) how colonial policies affected Indian economy and society, and (3) how Indians resisted and ultimately won freedom. Expect direct factual questions on dates, governors-general, and landmark acts, as well as application-based questions linking events to their causes and consequences.
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Key Concepts
- **Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse** — Two main policies used by the Company to annex Indian states. Subsidiary Alliance (Lord Wellesley) made rulers dependent on British troops; Doctrine of Lapse (Lord Dalhousie) annexed states without natural heirs.
- **Drain of Wealth** — Dadabhai Naoroji's theory that British policies transferred Indian wealth to Britain through tribute, salaries and trade imbalance, causing Indian poverty.
- **Permanent Settlement (1793)** — Lord Cornwallis fixed land revenue in Bengal permanently with zamindars, creating a landlord class but burdening peasants.
- **Revolt of 1857** — First large-scale armed resistance against British rule, triggered by the Enfield rifle cartridge issue but rooted in political, economic and social grievances. Called the First War of Independence.
- **Moderate and Extremist Phases of Congress** — Moderates (1885–1905) believed in petitions and constitutional methods; Extremists (post-1905) advocated Swaraj, Swadeshi and boycott.
- **Gandhian Era** — Introduction of mass-based, non-violent movements — Non-Cooperation (1920–22), Civil Disobedience (1930–34), Quit India (1942).
- **Communal Award and Partition** — British policy of separate electorates deepened Hindu-Muslim divide, eventually leading to the Partition of India (1947).
- **Role of Madhya Pradesh in Freedom Struggle** — Contributions of Chandrashekhar Azad (Jhabua), Rani Lakshmibai (Jhansi-Gwalior), Tantia Tope, and the Jungle Satyagraha movement.
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Key Facts (Must-Remember)
| Year | Event / Act | Significance | |------|-------------|--------------| | 1757 | Battle of Plassey | British defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah; beginning of political control in Bengal | | 1764 | Battle of Buxar | Decisive victory; Company gained Diwani rights of Bengal, Bihar, Odisha | | 1773 | Regulating Act | First parliamentary intervention; created Governor-General of Bengal | | 1793 | Permanent Settlement | Fixed land revenue in Bengal | | 1829 | Abolition of Sati | Lord William Bentinck banned sati practice | | 1857 | Revolt of 1857 | Major uprising; ended Company rule | | 1858 | Government of India Act | Crown took direct control; Queen's Proclamation | | 1885 | Indian National Congress founded | A.O. Hume; first session in Bombay under W.C. Bonnerjee | | 1905 | Partition of Bengal | Lord Curzon; sparked Swadeshi movement | | 1919 | Jallianwala Bagh Massacre | General Dyer fired on unarmed crowd; turning point | | 1920 | Non-Cooperation Movement | Gandhi's first mass movement; withdrawn after Chauri Chaura (1922) | | 1930 | Dandi March / Civil Disobedience | Salt Satyagraha; challenged salt tax | | 1942 | Quit India Movement | "Do or Die" call; largest mass movement | | 1947 | Independence and Partition | 15 August 1947; creation of India and Pakistan |