What in your opinion were the positive steps taken by the British to modernize India?(250 words)
Positive steps taken by the British to modernize India?
Britain was, no doubt, a colonising, imperial nation. And as such exploited India. However "Free press, constitutional government, professional civil service, modern universities and research laboratories" are the contributions of British Raj in India.
- In the Cause of Humanity: Once the British were firmly established, they attacked some of the ugliest features of Indian society. Abolition of suttee and infanticide. Destruction of Dacoits, Thugs, Pindaris, and other such pests of Indian society. Allowing remarriage of Hindu widows, and charitable aid in time of famine.
- In the Cause of Civilization: Education of both male and female. Though yet only partial, an inestimable blessing as far as it has gone, and leading gradually to the destruction of superstition, and many moral and social evils.
- Political Empowerment: Political unification of the country was the major development in the socio-political system of the country. They gave us a secular court system replacing the religious courts of rulers. English language did much to unify India.
- Development of Infrastructure: In 1825 the first railway had run in England. In 1845 the East India Railway was projected in India. Simultaneously railway schemes were set on foot in Madras and Bombay. The first train in India ran from Bombay to Thane in 1853. In 1851 the Telegraph system was inaugurated. They invested substantially in repairing and enlarging the country’s ancient irrigation system: between 1891 and 1938, the acreage under irrigation more than doubled.
- Development of Education: Macaulay’s education system to include universities and colleges of higher learning form the basis of the present Education system in India.
- Trade and Commerce: It greatly increased the importance of trade, from between one and two per cent of national income to over 20 per cent by 1913. The British created an integrated Indian market: they unified weights, measures and the currency.
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