British Rule on India. Harmful or Helpful?

In this I am going to display both sides of the debate. Helpful and harmful. The reason for this is because I do not think it is fair to have a debate/argument with me only focusing on one side and not saying anything about the other. I will tell you near the end of my page which side I am on.


.The Brits gave India more roads, canals, railways, and telegraphs

. They gave them peace, western education, modern things (Thoughts, Sciences, Life), an administration, wise laws, and courts of justice

. The Brits also gave Indians better things for life

. They gave them communications, bridges, railroads, paved roads, skill, industrialization, acres, sanitation, transport system, carefully thought relief work etc.

. Stopped Infanticide (the killing of girl babies)

. Slave trade was ended and the owning of slaves was forbidden

The Brits were called "The Knife of Sugar". That is to say there is no oppression, it is smooth and sweet. But it is a knife nevertheless. Which leads me to my harmful list


. When the British yielded the tropical produce that their citizens need, that was on of the first examples that the Brits were harmful to the Indians

. Poverty started to grow

. Tore down Indian Industry

. Major Unemployment

. Brits took raw materials

. Brits held all political and economic power

. Cash crops made it impossible for small farmers to produce enough food for themselves

. British restricted Indian owned industries

. Racist attitudes of most British officials and missionaries threatened Indian traditional life

Now that I have displayed facts about both sides I will tell you now which side I am on. I am on the harmful side. The reason I say this is because of several reasons. One, true the Brits may have stopped horrible things like infanticide, but it got replaced by something even worse, which leads to my second reason. The British's racist actions caused the Indian soldiers (who were working for the British) to start a rebellion. This rebellion was called "The Sepoy Mutiny". Known as "India's First War of Independence", this mutiny spread into northern and central India. The fighting between the British and the sepoy's (Indians) lasted for a full year before Britain could get everything back under control.

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