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Sepoy Rebellion
By 1857 many sepoy soldiers had been working in the British Army. A rumor had spread out that the cover of the rifle that the Sepoys had to used had been greased with pork and beef. Hindus were not supposed to eat beef and Muslims were not allowed to eat pork. This rumor caused a rebellion because the sepoys felt their religion was being violated and abused. At the end, the conflict was resolved with force and caused the British Government to take control of India and make it a colony. -
The Great Rebellion
In 1858, The British took over India, ending a century of control by the East India Company. The formalization of British control lasted nearly two years, and it is also known by the “Great Rebellion”, the “Indian Mutiny” or the “First War of Indian Independence”. The outcome of this “Great Rebellion” marked the nature of political, social and economic power that the British established during its colonization. The “Great Rebellion” never colonized the whole entire land mass, just 3/5th. -
Indian National Congress
One of the world’s largest and oldest political parties of its kind, the Indian National Congress was founded on December 28, 1885, by Allan Octavian Hume. The Congress led India to Independence in 1947 after a long but remarkably peaceful struggle. The first session of Indian National Congress was held at Mumbai (1885), and the first President of the Indian National Congress was Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee. -
Role of India in WW1
Indian political leaders from the National Congress were eager to support the British in war, since they believed that strong support for the war effort would further the cause of Indian Home Rule. The Indian Army in fact outnumbered the British Army at the beginning of the war; about 1.3 million Indian soldiers and laborers served in Europe, Africa. In all, 140,000 men served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East. 47,746 Indian soldiers were killed and 65,126 were wounded. -
Amritsar Massacre
10,000 people, including many women and children, gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh, a garden in the city of Amritsar. It was a peaceful protest and the people who gathered there were all unarmed. They were protesting against the arrest of two leaders of the Indian National Congress. At that time, Edward Dyer was the British General and on seeing the crowd, he ordered his men to open fire on the group of innocent people. Nearly four hundred people were killed and more than a 1,000 were injured. -
Gandhi's first Protest
Gandhi supported the British in the First World War but in 1919 launched a new satyagraha (nonviolent resistance) in protest of Britain’s mandatory military draft of Indians. Hundreds of thousands perused his protest, and by 1920 he was leader of the Indian movement for independence. Always nonviolent, he asserted the unity of all people under one God. The British authorities jailed him several times, , but his following was so great that he was always released. -
Involvement of India in WW2
During WW2, India was controlled by Britain. British India officially declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939, and because of that; The British Raj, as part of the Allied Nations, sent over 2.5 M volunteer soldiers to fight under British command. Additionally, several Indian Princely States provided large donations to support the Allied campaign during the War. Over 87,000 Indian soldiers died in World War 2. -
End of British Rule
The British made an offer of Dominion status to India in 1942 in return for full co-operation during the war. However, there were too many restrictions on this offer and Indian National Congress leader Nehru turned it down. Gandhi and others continued to demand independence for India throughout the war. When the war ended the protests increased. One reason why the British were reluctant to leave India was that they feared India would erupt into civil war between Muslims and Hindus. -
Gandhi Dies
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a young Hindu extremist while walking to his prayer meeting in the lawn of Birla House, New Delhi. He was 78. Gandhi smiled at him, and, according to one version, spoke to him. The man then whipped out a pistol from inside his pocket and fired three times at point-blank range. The bullets lodged in Gandhi's chest, stomach and groin. He raised his hands above his head in the same salutation as he fell. He was carried into Birla House and died half an hour later. -
Muslim riot against Hindus
Hindu population in India was growing and over passing the Muslim population. At that moment the Muslims had feared being ruled over Hindus. Because of that mentality; Muslims rioted against the Hindu and killed more than 2.4 M and raped more than 200,000 women.
