Post by lordroel on Dec 12, 2016 16:58:54 GMT
What If: The British Had Never Ruled India?
The sepoys of the Madras Infantry look down in horror at their general, lying on the ground. He has been blown off his horse. There is a great gaping wound in his chest. His eyes are glazed. Within minutes, he is dead. Within hours, the Marathas have outflanked and trapped the British, on the banks of the River Kaitna, and torn them to pieces with their artillery.
The 74th Highlanders are destroyed as a fighting force. The Madras Infantry are utterly broken. The Marathas win the battle of Assaye and go on to win the First Anglo-Maratha War. The British remain a presence in India, but they never become overlords. In the following decades, Britain is distracted by events in Europe. The Marathas and the Sikhs grow and prosper. Slowly, they begin to industrialise.
It was actually the British who won, of course. But it is a fact that General Wellesley was in the thick of the fight throughout and that the battle was a very close one. He had his horse shot out from under him three times.
What if they really had lost? What if the British had never ruled us? What kind of India would we be?
I: A fragmented nation
The British rule may have united India, but in their absence, the result is the presence of 60-100 princely states that co-exist as rivals or alliances. The big boys in this political set up would probably be the Sikh rulers in the north west, the Marathas in western and central India, and the Mysore Kingdom of Tipu Sultan.
Map of India just before the European colonization.
II: Decline of the Mughal Empire
The Mughals survived as a puppet state under the East India Company. However given the circumstances of this story, their power is rapidly declining with weak rulers and the borders of their territories recede towards Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The rulers of Kashmir, Punjab and the Rajputs pose an imminent threat to the once powerful empire.
III: Presence of other European powers
In the absence of the British and their powerful navy, other European colonial powers enter the waters of Asia. In accordance with actual history, the Portuguese and the French occupy Goa and Pondicherry respectively. With no other worthy opponents, their rivals are the Spanish who occupy the Philippines and the Dutch who have established plantations in Indonesia.
The Portuguese would try to expand further into India. However, they are not as enterprising as the British, and being a trade link between Europe and India is their only interest.
The French Revolution in 1789 affects the French territories as their coffers are empty in funding the war back home. This weakens French influence, leaving them vulnerable should there be any conflict with the Portuguese or Indian kingdoms.
Purple, French rule. Blue, French allies or influence (1741-1754).
IV: Consolidation of British power elsewhere
The British colonies were strong in the Americas, Africa and Australia. With India not being a part of their territory, perhaps they would have put their best interests in these lands and managed to suppress the American Revolution.
V: Slow development of the railways
The British introduced the railways in 1871, but given their absence, the emergence of railways would probably come about much later in the 20th century and would not have covered every part of the country. Perhaps the rail routes would exist from industrial areas that produce raw materials thereby increasing efficiency in transport towards cities and ports.
The pioneers of railways would probably be the stronger and more westernised kingdoms like Baroda, Mysore, Hyderabad and Punjab in collaboration with western powers like the Portuguese and Dutch.
VI: Wars and rebellions
The popularity of regional languages and differences in religion and caste would spur wars and rebellions in various kingdoms which could probably lead to the reduction of their size. As states continue to fragment further, some of them consider not having monarchies and dictatorships as their form of government.
VII: Birth of nationalism
The unification of Germany, Italy and the American Civil War, inspire the educated classes to think along the lines of democracy and nationalism. They want a united India that thrives in diversity but the reality is much different from their ideals.
VIII: World War II
The arrival of World War II affects India deeply as some battles fought in Asia and Japan pose an imminent threat as their Imperial Army defeats European powers occupying South East Asia.
South East Asia.
India, still a continent of kingdoms is left with opposing views on which power cluster they should align themselves with. As the Japanese take control of Singapore and Indonesia, their next target is Burma. This leaves much of the Eastern and Southern coast under threat (the Japanese did have air raids over Calcutta in the 1940s). The kingdoms/states in these areas support the Allies and depend on the United States, the British and the French.
The North western frontier fears attacks by the Soviet Union and the British who are approaching Afghanistan. They appeal to the Axis powers for help, relying on the Germans and Italians.
The northern kingdoms like Punjab would probably go as far as assisting the Japanese to annex the Eastern coast in order to help them fight off the Soviets.
IX: After World War II
We're assuming the war ended as it did in actual history, with the defeat of the Axis. India is divided into two blocks, each with their own political ideologies. The Allies influence peninsular India, while the Soviets set up a Communist government in the north, which borders China and Central Asia.
X: The Cold War
North and South India spend the Cold War hostile to one another due to the differences in their political ideologies. Monarchies no longer exist in the north while the south is a union of democratic states. North India follows East Germany and North Korea in attempts to prevent its citizens from escaping the vicious regime to the South.
XI: The modern era
The collapse of the Soviet Union, the Afghan wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Tienanmen Square massacre, expose the failed concept of communism and socialism which leads to the collapse of the north Indian government as people call for a unified India as an economic block much like the European Union today. India's economies mix the best of socialism and capitalism and refuse to take part in the US-led coalition to overthrow the Taliban, who are ruling from Kandahar.
XII: India today
India would probably be a continent in itself consisting of 30-40 states each aligning its identity to a language or religion. They either have monarchies, parliamentary systems or a presidential system, some being stronger than others. Border security would be tight due to terrorism and revolts by Naxalites.
Cricket would not have such a strong presence in the sub-continent as it does today, with only niche levels of society enjoying it as a leisure activity. Sports like football, hockey and basketball which have a wider global appeal, would have been even more popular, along with native games like kabaddi and gilli-danda.
The sepoys of the Madras Infantry look down in horror at their general, lying on the ground. He has been blown off his horse. There is a great gaping wound in his chest. His eyes are glazed. Within minutes, he is dead. Within hours, the Marathas have outflanked and trapped the British, on the banks of the River Kaitna, and torn them to pieces with their artillery.
The 74th Highlanders are destroyed as a fighting force. The Madras Infantry are utterly broken. The Marathas win the battle of Assaye and go on to win the First Anglo-Maratha War. The British remain a presence in India, but they never become overlords. In the following decades, Britain is distracted by events in Europe. The Marathas and the Sikhs grow and prosper. Slowly, they begin to industrialise.
It was actually the British who won, of course. But it is a fact that General Wellesley was in the thick of the fight throughout and that the battle was a very close one. He had his horse shot out from under him three times.
What if they really had lost? What if the British had never ruled us? What kind of India would we be?
I: A fragmented nation
The British rule may have united India, but in their absence, the result is the presence of 60-100 princely states that co-exist as rivals or alliances. The big boys in this political set up would probably be the Sikh rulers in the north west, the Marathas in western and central India, and the Mysore Kingdom of Tipu Sultan.
Map of India just before the European colonization.
II: Decline of the Mughal Empire
The Mughals survived as a puppet state under the East India Company. However given the circumstances of this story, their power is rapidly declining with weak rulers and the borders of their territories recede towards Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The rulers of Kashmir, Punjab and the Rajputs pose an imminent threat to the once powerful empire.
III: Presence of other European powers
In the absence of the British and their powerful navy, other European colonial powers enter the waters of Asia. In accordance with actual history, the Portuguese and the French occupy Goa and Pondicherry respectively. With no other worthy opponents, their rivals are the Spanish who occupy the Philippines and the Dutch who have established plantations in Indonesia.
The Portuguese would try to expand further into India. However, they are not as enterprising as the British, and being a trade link between Europe and India is their only interest.
The French Revolution in 1789 affects the French territories as their coffers are empty in funding the war back home. This weakens French influence, leaving them vulnerable should there be any conflict with the Portuguese or Indian kingdoms.
Purple, French rule. Blue, French allies or influence (1741-1754).
IV: Consolidation of British power elsewhere
The British colonies were strong in the Americas, Africa and Australia. With India not being a part of their territory, perhaps they would have put their best interests in these lands and managed to suppress the American Revolution.
V: Slow development of the railways
The British introduced the railways in 1871, but given their absence, the emergence of railways would probably come about much later in the 20th century and would not have covered every part of the country. Perhaps the rail routes would exist from industrial areas that produce raw materials thereby increasing efficiency in transport towards cities and ports.
The pioneers of railways would probably be the stronger and more westernised kingdoms like Baroda, Mysore, Hyderabad and Punjab in collaboration with western powers like the Portuguese and Dutch.
VI: Wars and rebellions
The popularity of regional languages and differences in religion and caste would spur wars and rebellions in various kingdoms which could probably lead to the reduction of their size. As states continue to fragment further, some of them consider not having monarchies and dictatorships as their form of government.
VII: Birth of nationalism
The unification of Germany, Italy and the American Civil War, inspire the educated classes to think along the lines of democracy and nationalism. They want a united India that thrives in diversity but the reality is much different from their ideals.
VIII: World War II
The arrival of World War II affects India deeply as some battles fought in Asia and Japan pose an imminent threat as their Imperial Army defeats European powers occupying South East Asia.
South East Asia.
India, still a continent of kingdoms is left with opposing views on which power cluster they should align themselves with. As the Japanese take control of Singapore and Indonesia, their next target is Burma. This leaves much of the Eastern and Southern coast under threat (the Japanese did have air raids over Calcutta in the 1940s). The kingdoms/states in these areas support the Allies and depend on the United States, the British and the French.
The North western frontier fears attacks by the Soviet Union and the British who are approaching Afghanistan. They appeal to the Axis powers for help, relying on the Germans and Italians.
The northern kingdoms like Punjab would probably go as far as assisting the Japanese to annex the Eastern coast in order to help them fight off the Soviets.
IX: After World War II
We're assuming the war ended as it did in actual history, with the defeat of the Axis. India is divided into two blocks, each with their own political ideologies. The Allies influence peninsular India, while the Soviets set up a Communist government in the north, which borders China and Central Asia.
X: The Cold War
North and South India spend the Cold War hostile to one another due to the differences in their political ideologies. Monarchies no longer exist in the north while the south is a union of democratic states. North India follows East Germany and North Korea in attempts to prevent its citizens from escaping the vicious regime to the South.
XI: The modern era
The collapse of the Soviet Union, the Afghan wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Tienanmen Square massacre, expose the failed concept of communism and socialism which leads to the collapse of the north Indian government as people call for a unified India as an economic block much like the European Union today. India's economies mix the best of socialism and capitalism and refuse to take part in the US-led coalition to overthrow the Taliban, who are ruling from Kandahar.
XII: India today
India would probably be a continent in itself consisting of 30-40 states each aligning its identity to a language or religion. They either have monarchies, parliamentary systems or a presidential system, some being stronger than others. Border security would be tight due to terrorism and revolts by Naxalites.
Cricket would not have such a strong presence in the sub-continent as it does today, with only niche levels of society enjoying it as a leisure activity. Sports like football, hockey and basketball which have a wider global appeal, would have been even more popular, along with native games like kabaddi and gilli-danda.