no longer controlled British India, and a year later, the British Crown
took over the administration. Almost two decades later, in 1876, Parlia-
ment ruled that India should be designated part of the British empire; the
following year Queen Victoria was crowned empress of India.THE BRITISH RAJ
For the next quarter century following the Indian Mutiny, British rule,
or raj, of India was at its peak. Haunted by the horrific memory of the
mutiny, the British government enacted a series of measures to avoid an-
other conflict from taking place. To oversee the day-to-day administration
of the colony’s provinces, a viceroy of India was appointed by the crown.
However, Hindu and Muslim princes continued to govern almost 600 na-
tive states, which were for the most part autonomous. However, they were
forbidden to make war on one another, and to keep an eye on things, the
viceroy appointed an agent to each royal state whose job it was to advise
the ruler.
British rule brought internal peace and economic development to
India. The British not only built roads and railways, but canals, irrigation
works, mills, and factories. They introduced Western law and police sys-
tems, modernized cities, and built schools. Despite these efforts at nation
building, many Indians resented the aloof and exacting attitude of the
British government. A growing number of Indian intellectuals, many of
whom were the products of an English education, began dreaming of a
free India. In 1885, the Indian National Congress was created; its estab-
lishment marked the beginnings of a growing and organized protest for In-
dian independence.
TOWARD A FREE INDIA
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Indian troops were called
upon to aid the British and their allies against the Germans. Although In-
dians did so, in the wake of the war, nationalist agitation increased. The
British Parliament, recognizing that something had to be done to appease
the nationalists, passed a reform act in 1919, which provided for the cre-
ation of provincial councils that allowed Indians to participate in helping
form policy with regard to agriculture, education, and public health. But
the provincial councils were not enough for the extreme nationalists,
such as those under the leadership of Mohandas K. Gandhi. This group
soon gained control of the Indian National Congress. In addition, Gandhi
preached resistance to the British by noncooperation,or nonviolent resis-
ANSWERING THE CALL 23