British Raj
Crown's Indian rule
The British Raj was the period of British colonial rule over the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947. *Raj* comes from Hindi meaning "rule" or "reign." The term encompasses not just the governance but the entire colonial apparatus—the civil service, the army, the social hierarchy.
The railways were a lasting legacy of the British Raj.
India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh emerged from its dissolution.
Partition-split South Asian territory
- PunjabSouth Asian agricultural region
- BombayMumbai's former name
- CalcuttaWest Bengal's capital city
- MadrasFormer name of Chennai
Delhi · Hyderabad · Bihar · Assam · Rangoon · Darjeeling · Lucknow · Amritsar
Lightweight tropical sun hat
- memsahibColonial-era Indian honorific
- sahibIndian honorific for men
- tiffinLight midday meal
- bungalowOne-story house with porch
veranda · cantonment · hill station · gymkhana · polo · tiger hunt · sundowner · bearer
Indian independence leader
- satyagrahaNonviolent resistance philosophy
- nonviolentNot using physical force
- civil disobediencePeaceful refusal to obey
- boycottOrganized economic protest
Salt March · nationalism · freedom fighters · Jallianwala Bagh · Home Rule · sedition · revolutionary
Selfish use of others
- subjugationForcing into submission
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
- forced laborCompelled toil, no consent
- famineSevere food shortage
taxation · divide and rule · racial hierarchy · civilizing mission · Anglicization · extraterritoriality · coercion · missionary activity
South Asian nation
- independenceFreedom from external control
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- migrationMovement to new territory
- NehruIndian leader's namesake jacket
displacement · border · Lahore · Amritsar · mass migration · 1947
Royal colonial governor
- magistrateCivil judicial officer
- bureaucracyRigid administrative system
- censusOfficial population count
- railwaysFixed-track transport systems
telegraph · survey · codification · English education · presidency · residency
Bengal
Partition-split South Asian territory
Madras · Delhi · Hyderabad · Bihar · Assam · Rangoon · Darjeeling · Lucknow · Amritsar · Peshawar
pith helmet
Lightweight tropical sun hat
bungalow · veranda · cantonment · hill station · gymkhana · polo · tiger hunt · sundowner · bearer · ayah
Gandhi
Indian independence leader
- satyagrahaNonviolent resistance philosophy
- nonviolentNot using physical force
- civil disobediencePeaceful refusal to obey
boycott · Salt March · nationalism · freedom fighters · Jallianwala Bagh · Home Rule · sedition · revolutionary
exploitation
Selfish use of others
- subjugationForcing into submission
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
- forced laborCompelled toil, no consent
famine · taxation · divide and rule · racial hierarchy · civilizing mission · Anglicization · extraterritoriality · coercion · missionary activity
Pakistan
South Asian nation
- independenceFreedom from external control
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- migrationMovement to new territory
Nehru · displacement · border · Lahore · Amritsar · mass migration · 1947
viceroy
Royal colonial governor
- magistrateCivil judicial officer
- bureaucracyRigid administrative system
- censusOfficial population count
railways · telegraph · survey · codification · English education · presidency · residency
- IndiaDelhi, Ganges, Mumbai, Taj Mahal, Punjab
- South AsiaIndia, Indian states, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hindustan
- Former StatesPrussia, Czechoslovakia, Austria-Hungary, Soviet Union, Byzantine Empire
- Asian historyancient China, China, empresses, shoguns, Chinese civilization
- British EmpireIndia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong
- colonialismcolony, colonization, colonial rule, colonial powers, colonizer
British Rajsatyagraha
Nonviolent resistance philosophy
civil disobedience · Mahatma Gandhi · Jawaharlal Nehru · nationalist movement