War of Independence 1857(Aftereffects)

 

War of Independence 1857

 

Explain about the aftereffects of War of Independence 1857!

 

In result of War of Independence 1857, Mughal government was over thrown and the the king was arrested. It was the beginning of the British rule. It was true that if Mughal King had lost the government, even EIC (East India Company) did not get the rule itself. EIC was totally abolished and in place of that British government took over the control of the whole country. Highest designation was viceroy who was British. Viceroy had complete authority of decision making. He used to run the government with newly established institution, Indian civil services (ICS). New courts were established where highly paid judges were appointed. Some princes proved themselves loyal to the British government. As a reward they remain in their seats but had no real power of any decision making. It shows that the administrative system of the country was totally changed. British queen Victoria was declared the Empress of India in place of Royal King. Administrative system of the country was now on these lines as it was in Britain. The power of the Indian rulers was totally finished. 

 

War of Independence caused the most disastrous loss for Muslims community of India. Muslims were considered responsible for the War of Independence, and they were dismissed from almost all the jobs. British government mostly appointed the men of any other community eg. Sikh, Hindus, Marhattas, etc.  British trusted anyone else except Muslims. British had in mind that they had taken government from Muslims so Muslims would try to take back the government. Muslims did not like the British system of education and they even did not want to learn English which was now official language. In result they left school. In contrast Hindus started getting British education and they all soon learnt English. In this manner Muslim Madrassas were closed due to the lack of government funds. Muslims remained illiterate while Hindus became educated. These conditions caused the decline in social and economic situation of the country, while Hindus became stronger. Communication gap between British and Muslims also increased causing more misunderstandings. 

British were very conscious about ensuring their control over the whole sub-continent. Empress of India was Queen Victoria while Delhi was declared the capital. It is also true that British took all the benefits for themselves and did not take care of the rights of Indian population. There was an increase of British soldiers in the Indian army. The reason was that British trusted very few people in their administrative and defence systems. British did not trust Indians that is why Indians remained with the lower ranks. It took long time to develop trust between Indians and British government on one side if British were not trusting Indians but on other side Indians did not trust the British government. 

 

Financial conditions of Indians declined very fast because British imposed high taxes. British imported goods became cheaper and import duties were lifted. In this manner British trade increased which caused the British business to become more stable and profitable. English men became socially stronger and richer. Lack of jobs or Indians made them poor. India thought that their chances of development would reduce. British took such measures which could stop any future uprising against the British government.