Lord Cornwallis (1786 – 1793)

Lord Cornwallis (1786 – 1793) Introduction Lord Cornwallis, a warrior-statesman. He succeeded Warren Hastings as Governor-General in 1786. He belonged to an influential and aristocratic family which had wider political connections. He was also a close friend of Prime Minister Pitt. Dundas, the most influential member of the Board of Control was also one of … Read more

August Offer (1940)

After the WWII began, British sought cooperation from India. August Offer offered three proposals. Firstly, it called for an immediate expansion of Viceroy’s Executive Council with the inclusion of India representatives; secondly, an advisory body with the members from British India and Indian princely states which were supposed to meet at consequent intervals was established … Read more

The European Trading Companies In India

 : Struggle for supremacy The Portuguese From time immemorial India had commercial relations with countries of the west. The commercial route then was not direct by sea. The merchants sailed over the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea and reached Europe through Arabia. But in the seventh cen­tury when Arabia became very strong as … Read more

Freedom of Press

On 29th January 1780, the Hickey’s Bengal Gazette or the Calcutta General Advertizer was published. It was the first English newspaper to be printed in the Indian sub-continent. The press was the chief instrument of forming a nationalist ideology The resolutions and proceedings of the Congress were propagated through press. Trivia: nearly one third of … Read more

Lord William Bentick (1828-1835)

Lord William Bentick (1828-1835) Introduction Lord William Bentinck assumed the office of the Governor- General in 1828. Born in 1774 he commenced his career as a soldier and later at the young age of twenty two he became a Member of Parliament. He was appointed the Governor of Madras in 1803. He supported Sir Thomas … Read more

Development Of Posts And Telegraph During The British Rule

 Development of Posts and Telegraph:-   Posts Britain’s involvement in the postal services of India began in the eighteenth century. Initially the service was administered by the East India Company who established post offices in Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta (now Kolkata) between 1764 and 1766. East India Company and the British Post Office in … Read more

Gandhi’s early career and activism

Gandhi was the first Indian barrister to have come to South Africa. He was faced with various racial discriminations within days of his arrival in SA. He led the Indian struggle in SA. The first phase of Gandhi’s political activities from 1894-1906 may be classified as the ‘moderate’ phase. He set up the Natal Indian … Read more

Emergence of Socialism-

Emergence of socialism in the 1920s in the nationalist ranks JL Nehru and SC Bose Raised the question of internal class oppression by capitalists and landlords MN  Roy became the first Indian to be elected to the leadership of the Communist International Muzaffer Ahmed and SA Dange were tried in the Kanpur Conspiracy Case 1925: … Read more