British Raj & Independence

The British rule over India — the British Raj (1858–1947) — was one of the most consequential colonizations in history. It began insidiously: The East India Company, originally a trading company, gained increasing military and political power from the 18th century. After the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 (India's first war of independence), the British crown took direct control.

The British built railways (India's rail network is still the fourth largest in the world), universities, administrative structures, and established the English language as the lingua franca. At the same time, they systematically plundered India's wealth: Economic historian Utsa Patnaik estimates that Britain extracted $45 trillion from India over 200 years. Famines that claimed millions of lives (e.g., the Bengal Famine of 1943 with 3 million deaths) were exacerbated by British export policies.

The Struggle for Independence

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) revolutionized the independence struggle with his philosophy of nonviolent resistance (Ahimsa/Satyagraha). The Salt March of 1930, the "Quit India" movement of 1942, and his personal lifestyle (simplicity, spinning wheel, vegetarian diet) made him an icon of anti-colonial resistance worldwide.

On August 15, 1947, India gained independence — but at a terrible price: The Partition into India and Pakistan led to the largest mass migration in history. 12–15 million people fled, an estimated 1–2 million died in the outbreaks of violence between Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. The wounds of this partition have not healed to this day — the tensions between India and Pakistan, the Kashmir issue, and communal conflicts within are direct consequences.

Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948, by a Hindu extremist. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister, shaped India's democratic, socialist, and secular path in the first decades of independence.