SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the study of British Indian internal policy between 1885 and 1898. The growth of English education, the Press, and swift means of communication brought the British Government into contact with developing Indian opinion, which called for a new approach. The difficulty of reconciling the principles of equality and of freedom of expression and association with the circumstances of an automatic foreign rule was fundamental. This study does not cover all important aspects of British policy. The addition of a few more topics, such as, the fiscal policy of the Government, more particularly the question of import duties on cotton goods, relations between the Supreme and Provincial Governments, and social legislation including tenancy reforms, would have certainly made the picture complete. It was, however, not possible to discuss them within the limits of a thesis. Even the topics included here have not been treated in all their aspects. The chapter on the problem of Indianisation, for instance, deals only with the Indian Civil Service in two aspects: the mode of recruitment and the scope of Indian employment. The present study is not concerned with organisational details. Statistics have been given only where absolutely necessary. In the examination of British policy of so recent a period as the present one, it is easy to exaggerate things either way. This study is, however, an attempt to view them in an objective and sympathetic manner.