The royal proclamation of 1858

In 1858, the year after the Great Uprising, the British Crown took direct control of India from the East India Company.

British India was now governed in the Queen's name by the Secretary of State for India in London and the Viceroy (the Queen's representative in India, also called Governor General).

A 'royal proclamation' was issued in Victoria's name, with three promises:

• to respect 'the rights, dignity and honour of native Princes', so some 560 Indian princes kept their states under British supremacy, called 'paramountcy';
• to treat the 'natives of our Indian territories' like 'all our other subjects';
• to make no attempt to impose Christianity.

The message was that the colonial rulers would now prefer to rule in peace rather than by military force.

The chapter's next sentence is short and decisive: "But, of course, none of those assurances were respected in practice."

Princely states were closely watched, with a 'Resident' or 'Political Agent' posted in almost all of them, interfering so often that their independence became only a symbol. Missionary activity continued with indirect state support and open encouragement from high officials.

Economic exploitation went on too. Heavy land taxes caused severe famines and anger among peasants and tribal people, and local industries could not compete with cheap British goods.

And Indians were treated as inferior throughout:

• lower pay for the same posts in the army, civil services and universities;
• juries with British majorities, soft on European crimes against 'natives';
• kept out of clubs, trains and parts of cities;
• in 1878, an Arms Act forbidding Indians weapons the British could keep, and a Vernacular Press Act censoring the Indian-language press.