Task 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Task 3 - Essay Example Foremost, the Mughal Empire had collapsed and regional states had taken centre stage (Page, 2003). As a result, thirst for power by political contestants took center stage as they sought to consolidate power in coastal states through support from the Company administrators. Second, trade rivalries between the British and French prompted each one to build alliances with opponent political groups for purposes of extracting maximum benefits for their respective trade companies (Page, 2003). Furthermore, the personal ambitions of amassing wealth were at play in the company’s political involvement. However, one event proved vital in establishing company rule. It was the British victory over the French in Southeast India and consequent fomenting of their presence in Bengal (Page, 2003). Consequently, the company created Indian Sepoy armies that were used to gradually gain economic control over the expansive Indian territory and dismantling any forms of resistance (Page, 2003). The B ritish vision for India was one whereby the population was unified in speaking one language. Consequently, from 1818 to 1857, the company rule enforced social reforms and government policies based on British values. The company rule faced rebellion from the indigenous Hindus and Indians. It was known as the Sepoy rebellion of 1857. The rebellion was precipitated by several factors that were instigated by the British company. First, the Indians were offended by the apparent efforts by the British to convert them to Christianity. Second, the Indians were angered by the British efforts to instill social change by ending slavery and improving the social status of women in households. However, the boiling point arose when the Sepoy soldiers were forced to bite cartridges that were oiled with animal fat before loading them in their guns (Page, 2003). Apparently, the animal fat used was an affront to Hindu religion since it was derived from pig and cow fat. Consequently, the aggrieved Sepo ys rebelled against the British soldiers and the rebellion spurned across Central and Northern India (Page, 2003). However, the rebellion was defeated by the British army and the aftermath was burnt down villages, loss of innocent Indian lives and a wave of mistrust between the Indians and British. As a result, the British changed tact by removing the company rule and establishing a British Colony in India (Page, 2003). However, a wave of Indian nationalism led by rising middle class nationals started to agitate for Indian independence from Britain. One such movement was the Indian National congress that espoused political unity in the push for independence by 1914. B. Comparison of Tactics The Indian Independence Movement employed a non violent resistance against the British colonial rule. It was led by the revolutionary leader, Mahatma Gandhi. The movement preached a united and non violent Indian resistance against the British rule. Mahatma Gandhi drew his method of non violence f rom the philosophical tactics employed by Baba Ram Singh during the Kuka Movement of 1870s (Page, 2003).The resistance came after a backdrop of issues that the colonial government was perpetrating against the Indians. First, the British had divided the India into regions classified as the Princely states and British India (Page, 2003). The Britons had devised the partitioning as a tool for