British Raj

The **British Raj** (/rɑːdʒ/; from *rāj*, literally, "rule" in Hindustani) was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent from 1858. The rule is also called **Crown rule in India**, or **direct rule in India**. The region under British control was commonly called **British India** or simply **India** in contemporaneous usage, and included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom, which were collectively called British India, and those ruled by indigenous rulers, but under British tutelage or paramountcy, and called the princely states. The *de facto* political amalgamation was also called the **Indian Empire** and after 1876 issued passports under that name.

The Raj is in an unenviable position in 1932, as it faces a vicious Burmese uprising that may only be the beginning of its troubles.

## History

### 1918 - 1920 - The Ashes of the Great War

The Great War ends. Over 1 million Indians served in the army, and over 60,000 will never come home. Due to fears of revolution, the Defence of India Act was created in 1915 to crackdown upon potential revolutionary elements in the Raj, with over 800 people arrested in Bengal alone. Tensions are mounting and radicals gather in secret rooms. The year ends with a great tragedy as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is found dead in his ashram in Ahmedabad. While official autopsies say he died of pneumonia from protesting in Kheda earlier that year, rumours abound of Gandhi being assassinated by the British, Muslims, Socialists or Radical Hindus, creating deep tensions in the Raj.

Events escalate drastically as the India Defence Act is not repealed 6 months after the last gunshots in Europe. Anti-British gatherings occur underground with increasing fervour and frequency. Tensions reach fever pitch after the declaration of the Rowlatt Act, an expansion of the powers granted by the Defence of India Act, an allows for anyone suspected of ‘acting against the state’ to be arrested. This results in the Swaraj Riots. Though not unified by any ideology, the revolters have one common goal, the immediate grant of Swaraj, or self-autonomy to the Indian people. This is violently rejected, as protestors and police clash in almost every city in the Raj, with hundreds dead.

Among the dead is Bal Gangadhar Tilak, one-third of the powerful Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate that most Indians consider the fathers of the revolution. A frenzy of violence occurs with the Amritsar Massacre resulting in over 500 dead, and the start of ‘Bloody Vaisakhi’ as the entirety of the Punjab province goes in flames over the Sikh holy weekend. In response to this, the Emirate of Afghanistan declares war in May, starting the Third Anglo-Afghani War.

With the Punjabi troops guarding the Khyber Pass heavily demoralised and awaiting demobilization after the war, a bloody attack by Afghan troops causes a mutiny along the entire front and results in the loss of the Khyber Pass to the Afghans. Compounding this, revolts explode in Peshawar, as the army is expelled from the entire province. To avoid losing even more land, the Raj signs the Treaty of Takht-e-Nasarati. The Raj allows the Afghans to take the Peshawar province in return for large payments of cash yearly and the recognition of the British sovereignty over all Muslims in India. The British, realising that they are opposed by both Muslims and Hindus, attempt to reach out to other minorities to establish some support before India forcefully removes them from the equation. In this, enter the Sikhs, a fusion of the two faiths, and not accepted by either. The Raj submits a proposal to the central government, which is accepted. Sikhs are now subject to tax breaks, education incentives and housing decreases as the British desperately try to erase the memories of Bloody Vaisakhi.

1920 is a year of rebuilding for the Raj, as the Swaraj Riots nearly caused Delhi to fall to an invader for the first time since Nader Shah of Persia. While revolts simmer down after the chaos of 1919, the Raj faces a new problem, as the Indian National Congress (INC) and All India Muslim League (AIML) hold a congress to attempt a combined action against Britain. This congress fails miserably, as the Muslims and Hindus struggle to achieve common ground, and the alliance between the INC and AIML shatters. No further actions take place, bar isolated incidents without the major players interested. The AIML begins to diversify its support base, with documents entering the throne rooms of various Muslim Princes. In the INC, Nehru is thoroughly disillusioned with the right wing of his party, whom he blames for the failure of the Congress. This splits the INC, as Nehru and his allies form the Indian Socialist Congress (ISC). While it takes a few years to completely die off, this is the nail in the coffin for the INC.

### 1921 - 1924 - The Calm Before the Storm

This period is quiet in the Raj, with recovery continuing after 1919, nothing truly occurs until 1922, when the Stanley Act passes. The Act lowers the standards for Indians to serve in the military, and many currently serving in the military can pursue higher positions as career officers. Furthermore, the military is downsized to lower levels of mobilisation, with many military men joining the private militias of the native princes. Development begins on several railroads linking the backwaters of Orissa with the hubs of Cuttack and Vizagapatam.

In 1921, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is released from prison as part of a mercy plea in which he swears to be a loyal servant of the Raj. He relocates to Gwalior and advocates for the Brahmin class to be released from a guaranteed higher position in government, and for them to be given to educated men of lower castes. This catches the eye of powerful forces in the regency of Jivanjirao II Scindia, who wish to avoid a continuation of the liberalism of Madhva Rao, Jivanjirao’s father. Savarkar is hired as a religious tutor for the young prince and quickly gains his confidence as he regales him with tales of his ancestors’ role in freeing India from the tyrannical Mughal dynasty. Many of Savarkar’s followers move to the princely state, and while all is calm on the surface, ideals of a far-right Hindu state begin to emerge.

With this peace, industrial innovations explode, as steel, electricity and textiles become more productive, Tata Steel establishes the world’s largest working steel plant at the time in Jamshedpur, Electric bulbs appear in train cars in Jaipur and cotton growers achieved profit by switching to Egyptian cotton from Manchester cotton. While industrial growth is still minuscule compared to the dizzying heights of Mughal India, there are signs of a tentative recovery.

### 1925 - 1928 - The Red Revolt

*see main page: Red Revolt*

The Red Revolt was the protracted guerrilla movement composed of Indian agrarians under the leadership of Lala Lajpat Rai (Lal) to establish the Union of Bharat. Started after Lal’s escape from Yerawada Central Jail in Pune, at its height, the Revolt affected large swathes of the Indian countryside and was covertly supported by small-scale farmers with excess rice. After the passage of the Indian Princes Defence Scheme, the Red Revolts was pushed back and was effectively over after the death of Lal due to a counter-raid by an early form of Special Operative military units. The Red Revolt shook the existing governance of India and led to the streamlining of government as well as the rise of native princely powers.

The Red Revolt ended officially when the Lahore 6 revealed themselves in Moscow on the 17th of July 1928. Weeks of negotiations ensued and all the gun salute states who served the Raj gained territory and were allowed to trade with Portugal as well as the Allied nations through Goa. The Raj set up a Board of Agriculture in response to the enthusiastic support the rebels received from small farmers during the revolt. The Board had many powers, but most importantly the right to requisition rice in the event of ‘elements threatening the safety and security of His Majesty’s subjects and governance of India becoming prevalent’.

The Indian Board of Agriculture creates immediate change in the farming practices by prioritising cash crops such as cotton, chillies and tea, to sell to Britain. This has the dual effect of reducing the amount of excess rice farmers have access to and pushing the profit margins of the agricultural industry within the Raj higher. Farmers who oppose these measures are at the very least, beaten by police and at the worst, imprisoned through the harvest season, effectively starving them. In 1928, the British Parliament amends the Indian Government Act, streamlining the organisation of the Raj, with Viceroys and Governors holding concurrent terms for 7 years, with the appointment for the first batch under the new law occurring for 6 years, and causing the first Governors and Viceroy to hold six-year terms.

Among the princes, things begin to become very rosy, as they begin large scale trade with the Japanese and Portuguese, things like turmeric, saffron and chilli peppers become more prevalent in Portuguese and Japanese cooking, and in return the Princes can provide their troops with experience to Japanese arms and Portuguese artillery, which was sold in limited quantities by Britain. Furthermore, Osman spearheads a growing trend, opening the Nizam’s Own Aeronautics factory in Osmanabad. Factories pop up in Princely territories at a stunning rate, as industrialization races to catch up after two centuries of deindustrialization.

Politically, the Crown extends the powers of debate the princes have, able to negotiate autonomy in some respects that match full-blown dominions. But some Princes have greater ambitions. Gwalior experiences a political coup-d’état when Savarkar is appointed Diwan by Jivajirao II Scindia. Savarkar skilfully weeds out old monarchists and authoritarian army generals for a new class of political subordinates and young nationalists. After Savarkar’s purge, the court of Gwalior is dominated by Savarkar’s party, the Gwalior Mahasabha.  Covert enquires have established that Jivajirao tacitly supported the move and may even actively encouraged Savarkar. Other princes have productive discussions with Britain, and Osman Ali Khan plans a visit to London in early 1932, ostensibly to discuss private matters with the King and his ministers, but to purchase several pieces of Indian made jewellery to display Hyderabad’s wealth and power.

### 1929 - 1931 - The London Crash and India

The London Crash stuns the globe in 1929, but the Raj is surprisingly unaffected. Agricultural exports form the backbone of the economy, and Britain needs more cotton to compensate for American cotton becoming too expensive. Furthermore, the additional cash crops compensate for any losses in the British and Dominion markets. However, the Raj is incredibly dependent on agriculture and if the industry suffers from the devastating natural disasters that plagued India in the past, simmering discontent that brews in the populace may blow out with devastating consequences. In late 1931, the British enact Operation Victoria, a plan to seize Daman and Diu, the only Portuguese colonies in India after the eruption of the Portuguese Civil War. The action goes off without a hitch and Britain assures Portuguese officials that the territories will be returned in the event the Portuguese conservatives win the civil war.

Due to the focus on India, the Raj has neglected Burma, where rice from China has been difficult to purchase post-London Crash. Crackdowns on rioting peasants in Burma led to the Great Burma Revolt, which was initially handled by police and garrison units. However, the Princes refused to send their troops, as they argue that Burma does not constitute a domestic threat. After months of deadlock, the British resignedly sends the order for the Indian Army to be deployed in Burma by the end of 1931.