British Raj

The **British Raj** was the colonial rule of the British Crown from 1858 to 1947 of the Indian Subcontinent. _Raj_ is a word in Sanskrit that means "rule" and so "British Raj" means rule of the British Empire. The area of the colony is now in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The _British Raj_ was officially called **India** or the **Indian Empire**.

The term _British Raj_ is used for the direct British rule over areas that had been conquered by the British in the Subcontinent. It also included the independent princely states. These areas were governed by their own traditional rulers although they were under the overall authority of the British crown. An estimated 165 million people may have died as a result of British colonial policies from 1880 to 1920. This number is larger than the death toll from both World War I and World War II, including The Holocaust.

Myanmar or Burma became  its own British colony in 1937. The colony of Aden came under the same government from 1858 to 1937, as were British Somaliland (now part of Somalia) from 1884 to 1898 and Singapore from 1858 to 1867.

British rule ended on 15 August 1947. The borders between India and Pakistan came into effect on the 18 August. Many people died during the Partition of India.

Jammu and Kashmir, like the other princely states, had not been under direct British rule. India and Pakistan went to war over the area, which is now divided between them.

The 1861 census showed that the British population in the subcontinent was 125,945. Only 41,862 of them were civilians as compared with 84,083 European officers and men of the Army. In 1880, the standing Indian Army consisted of 66,000 British soldiers, 130,000 natives, and 350,000 soldiers in the princely armies.

## Infobox (former country)

- **conventional long name**: British India
- **linking name**: British Raj
- **native name**: अंग्रेजी भारत
- **common name**: India
- **status**: British Empire, Imperial political structure
- **p1**: Company rule in India
- **p2**: Mughal Empire
- **s1**: Dominion of India
- **s2**: Dominion of Pakistan
- **image flag**: British Raj Red Ensign.svg
- **national anthem**: "God Save the Queen, God Save the King/Queen"  <div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;"></div>
- **image map**: British Indian Empire 1909 Imperial Gazetteer of India.jpg
- **image map caption**: 1909 Map of the British Indian Empire, showing British India in two shades of pink and the princely states in yellow.
- **capital**: Kolkata, Calcutta
 New Delhi
- **religion**: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism
- **government type**: British Colonial Government
- **title leader**: Monarch of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India, Emperor/Empress
- **leader1**: Queen Victoria, Victoria
- **year leader1**: 1858–1901
- **leader2**: Edward VII
- **year leader2**: 1901–1910
- **leader3**: George V
- **year leader3**: 1910–1936
- **leader4**: Edward VIII
- **year leader4**: 1936
- **leader5**: George VI
- **year leader5**: 1936–1947
- **title representative**: Governor-General of India, Viceroy
- **representative1**: Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning, The 2nd Viscount Canning (first)
- **year representative1**: 1858–1862
- **representative2**: Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, The 1st Viscount Mountbatten (last)
- **year representative2**: 1947
- **title deputy**: Secretary of State for India, Secretary of State
- **deputy1**: Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, Lord Stanley (first)
- **year deputy1**: 1858–1859
- **deputy2**: William Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel, The 5th Earl of Listowel (last)
- **year deputy2**: 1947
- **legislature**: Imperial Legislative Council
- **event pre**: Battle of Plassey & Indian Rebellion of 1857, Indian Rebellion
- **date pre**: 23 June 1757 & 10 May 1857
- **event start**: Government of India Act 1858, Government of India Act
- **date start**: 2 August
- **year start**: 1858
- **date end**: 18 July
- **year end**: 1947
- **event post**: Partition of India
- **date post**: 14 and 15 August 1947
- **currency**: Indian rupee
- **footnote a**: Title of Emperor/Empress of India existed 1876–1948
- **footnote b**: Full title was "Viceroy and Governor-General of India"
- **image coat**: Star of the Order of the Star of India (gold).svg
- **symbol type**: Indian Star