North South University

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Department of History
HIS103

Student Name: Md. Ahanaf Thamid

ID- 1912802630

Sec - 23

Course name and code : HIS103

Course Instructor- Abdus Samad (ABS3)

Date of submission: 23 July 2020

Title of the assignment topic: Impact of colonial rule in Bengal

Impact of colonial rule in Bengal
The method or tradition of an affluent or powerful nation's maintaining or increasing its control
over other countries, especially in planting arrangements or using resources. A rule by the
moneyed or powerful nation over a weaker country is the colonial rule. This British control in
Bengal which is a foreign administrative rule lasted for over 200 years. At first, they started
coming to Bengal to do trade. They made exchanging connection with Bengal through the
British East India Company. But their main goal was to colonize and rule Bengal which they did
when the East India Company defeated Nawab Siraj-ud Daulah in the battle of Palashi and
became the de-facto ruler of Bengal on June 23, 1757, this was the greatest disruption in Bengals
history. Territorial rule by a trading company resulted in the commercialization of power and the
effects of the British rule were highly toxic. Nawab Sirajuddaula tried his best to win the battle
of Palashi but due to Mir Jafar's betrayal this British colonial rule started in Bangladesh which
forced us to accept their slavery for 200 years. Originally after the defeat of the Nawab, the
British colonized our country and the colonial rule they started in 1757 and end in 1947.
Originally after the defeat of the Nawab, the British colonized our country and the colonial rule
they started in 1757 and end in 1947.

Battle of Plassey
“ I think the reason behind the introduction of the rule of colonization in Bengal was because a
Bengali fraudster named Mirzapur Mir Jafar's campaign made Bengal subjugated to the British
for 200 years and because of their mistake the people of our country died of starvation and many
I think some Bengalis are responsible for the vested interests behind the rule of colonization.”

The Bengal region had more assets than the whole east European countries all together at
that time. So the British traders understood the importance’s of Bengal. After defeating the
nawab they slowly took control of all the major trading sectors and started taking the wealth of
Bengal. After Bengal, they started taking control of the entire subcontinent. this time of British
rule had a great impact on Bengali culture tradition economy political structure and more which
we can see in not only in Bangladesh but on all the colonial ruled countries

“I think the main reason of Bengal lost their wealth because of some trader are inside in Bengal
.they don't want to see the suffering of the poor people, they wanted to keep themselves are more
loaded and wealthy. so they always try to be friends with the British and try to sell out the

Bengal property in a low range of amount. people don't have the opportunity to become
something better so that's why some of the traders in Bengal are still there they are selling the
country and they don't have any Patriotism for the country”

Calcutta as the capital of British India

British rule transformed traditional Bengali society immensely. Calcutta was established by
British East India Company in 1686 when Mughals use to rule across Bengal. After the British
took over they made Calcutta the capital of British ruled India till 1911. Bengal hosted the most
advanced cultural centers in British India, the different cultural and social environment took
shape, especially in Calcutta. The introduction of British laws, new authority, new methods of
communication through trams, the English language etc. are the direct impact of British colonial
rule. British colonial rule in Bengal also promoted teams of division in the society. By stoking
battles between Hindus and Muslims, which was quiet motionless during the previous 500 years
of Muslim rule. The conflict between Muslim and Hindu during Muslim rule had previously
been diffused because of the unbiasedness of Muslim rulers. Furthermore, the scope of
exploitation was limited due to the law and order of pre-British Bengal.

Calcutta was established by British East India Company in 1686 when Mughals use to rule
across Bengal.

“The British established East India Company not for doing business. They wanted to rule the
Bengal people for the beauty, Asset, and the wealthiness of the Bengal . They are a magnetized
to Bengal. So, there has a plan to rule the country by the British East India company. It was not
a part of a business it was a propaganda of taking the land of Bengal”
Industrial exploitation of Bengal was done by the British ruthlessly. Exploitation of Bengali
people in cultivation, garment and textile sector drilling sector and many other sectors of Bengal
economy was seen in the time of British rule. In this time British manufacturing class became
very powerful and more productive in England. At the same time, the Bengal economy got lower
and more miserable. Which has driven to famines people use to die from starvation. Before
British rule Bengals, the economy was far better than many European countries but British
exploitation led people to die of hunger. This Economic exploitation began a strong reaction
against the British rule although grievances against the British varied from community to
community. The Hindu middle classes were the greatest beneficiary of British rule. They
originated from the trading classes, helping the British to collect taxes as intermediaries revenue
administration, and got jobs in the imperial administration. In this period, they got educated and
got lower rank jobs in the British majestic government.

The British colonial educational policies educated a limited number of people.

Learning English was the main part of the colonial education which has impacted Bengali
society as a new system of elementary education was put in places which impact Bengali culture
and society. However, there was no emphasis on higher education. It must be remembered that
the need for low- ranking English-knowing Indian clerks was one of the main reasons that
prompted the British to take steps to spread Western education. Employing educated Bengali was
necessary because of the need to man an expanding bureaucracy because Employing Englishmen
at all levels of the administration was both expensive and difficult. Above all, the idea was to
create a class which would be “Indian in blood and color, but English in morals Also In that
Time Bengali language and literature flourished immensely through Ishwar Chandra
Bandyopadhyay Ram Mohan Roy and many other educators and social reformers who eradicate
social evils through socio-religious reforms in Hindu society and also by spreading Bangla
language education system. 1st school St Paul School which is currently located in Darjeeling
hills of GORKHALAND region is the first school established by Britishers in India in 1822 AD.
It was initially built in Kolkata and later changed to Darjeeling. Bethune College,Calcutta
Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay Raja Ram Mohan Roy

In the Time British rule Bengali language and history to increase through Ishwar Chandra
Bandyopadhyay Raja Ram Mohan Roy and many other educators and social reformers who
eradicate social evils through socio-religious reforms in Hindu society and also by spreading
Bangla language education system. British governors helped this social reformer as the tradition
was not liked by the British also. Hindu practices of sati and child marriage were abolished and
educational structure for Bengalis in Bangla language etc. were done by the social reformers
which is why Bengali literature is the richest in terms of quality and quantity. On the other hand,
the establishment of the British replaced Muslim rule by a new coalition of British and Caste
Hindu landlords. The new land settlement policy of the British ruined the traditional Muslim
landlords who were the political support of these downtrodden Muslim peasants, who were being
exploited by Hindu landlords and moneylenders.
In the 1820s Industrial Revolution happened in Britain. British company’s needed a lot of raw
materials to meet their demand. Though the Company’s political domination increased, its
trading interests were never lost its sight Commercial interest’s guided British policy in Bengal.
British rulers forced Bengali to export raw materials like raw cotton and raw silk and plantation
products like indigo and tea, or food grains which were in short supply in Britain.

The demands of an industrialized England necessitated better communication facilities in the

colonies. The transporting system in the sub-continent was not good it was very backward and
slow usually through bullock carts, horses and mules. So to transport the raw materials and other
valuable goods British build a huge railway system by taking money from British businessman
as a loan which the people Bengal other parts have to repay with interest. They also introduced
steamships on the rivers and set about improving roads. Work on the Grand. Important
commercial Centre and areas rich in raw materials were connected by a network of roads and
canals. But the most dramatic improvement in transport came with the introduction of the
railways.

Political rivalries between Muslim and Hindu first surfaced when the British partitioned the
province of Bengal in 1905. The middle class under the leadership of the Muslim Nawab of
Dhaka supported the partition in hopes of gaining the liberation and independence from the
Hindu landlords who were owners of most of the land in Bengal. To the Hindu landlord, who
had extensive economic interests on both sides of partitioned Bengal, the move to separate the
Bengali-speaking areas in East Bengal and Assam was a big problem. They viewed it as a
sinister design to weaken Bengal, which was at the forefront of the struggle for subcontinental
independence.

In this period British have put their mark in Bengal with some great architectural infrastructure
like Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Kolkata, Marble Palace in north
Kolkata Kolkata Town Hall, Curzon Hall, University of Dhaka, etc. Not only this they have built
many roads bridges around Bengal which is used or renamed but their architecture beauty is
immense.

Though initially, the anti-partition movement was non-violent, the anger of the Hindu middle
class soon found its expression in terrorist activities, culminating in communal riots. The
partition of Bengal ultimately turned out to be a defeat for all. The British had to eat humble pie
and annul the partition in 1911. To the Muslim middle class, the annulment of the partition was a
major disappointment. It weakened faith in their British rulers. To the Hindu landlords of
Bengal, the annulment was a huge victory.
Communal riots in Calcutta

The communal politics of confrontation and violence erupted during the partition of Bengal
1920s during which thousands of people died because of the Communal riots. Communal
problems were not unique to Bengal however. They became the main issue in Indian politics. As
communal tensions mounted in the 1930s, the Muslims of Bengal, who had close ties with the
Muslim leadership in other parts of the sub-continent, pursued a policy of communal
confrontation.

In 1943 there was a famine in the Bengal region of British India

.now its is know as (Bangladesh and eastern India) it happened during World War II. More than
3 million people of Bengal and Orissa died in the famine around 1947 to 1948. The reason
behind this famine was a British man name by Winston Churchill. For his ruthless people of
Bengal died and he does not treat Bengal people as human. this inhuman is a hero for British
people. but he was the worst man for the Bengal people.
PC: 1943 Bengal Famine Due To Winston Churchill's Policies
In the period of British rule, they have brought many diseases to Bengal through their different
colonies in Africa and South Asia which was a major issue that Bengalis had to face. Not only
had that British rule made Bengali self-hatred toward their color their skin. Bengalis got the
white complex like all other British colonies the impact of which can be seen to this day.

Partition of British India

In 1947 British rule in Bengal ended by Partition of British India into Pakistan and India.
Pakistan was created in order to protect the Muslim minority from the majority Hindu population
as communal riots were happening in Bengal and other parts of India. Lord Mountbatten Former
Viceroy of India gave the job of drawing the borderline between two countries to architect, Sir
Cyril Radcliffe who had never been to India, as a result of which Kashmir and other parts which
are Muslim majority went to India not only that his partition line displaced between 10–12
million people along religious lines, creating overwhelming refugee crises in the newly

constituted dominions mostly in Bengal and Punjab. This negligence has been a political and

social issue till this day as the rivalry between the two countries are at its peek .
British have left Bengal we are not their colony anymore but still, our political structure is the
same as it was in the time British rule, divide, and rule policy is still prevalent in Bengal. Our
parliamentary democracy system is the direct teaching of the British. Our education system still
has class differences the upper class is British curriculum system education which is the most
costly also the most efficient for getting jobs and social respect. In Bengal, people don’t give
their own language that much respect as they give the English language in terms of jobs,
education, and social gatherings which is a mentality and impact which has been created during
the British rule. Religious division which was stoked by the British in the sub-continent is still
active and communal violence is still happening which is a shackle that will never let Bengal to
prosper socially.