Introduction
Before the First World War, the international system was characterized by multi-polarity whereby political power was distributed among a number of states. Britain was one of the states that controlled the affairs of the world economically, politically, and socially.
Other superpowers included Germany, France, Britain, and Spain. The war affected many states in different measures, with some benefiting while others losing seriously. Britain was one of the allied forces consisting of France, Russia, and later the United States.
Before the war, colonialism was at its peak since Britain had increased its influence in the third world by designing some of the strictest policies regarding movement of people and goods. Its major policy was divide and rule whereby the locals were not allowed to converge since it was feared that they could organize strikes and demonstrations.
The First World War tested the political and military power of the British since it had to deal with uprisings in a number of colonies, including India. In this regard, Britain had to restructure its policies, both domestically and internationally for it to withstand the strong wind of change.
Domestically, the state was performing dismally economically since the war had destroyed infrastructure major industries. This article looks at the ways in which the First World War affected the policies of Britain in India.
The state had to streamline its foreign policy towards India, as well as other states in the world since there was a new world order.
Effects of the First World to the Policies
It is important to note that India played a critical role in the First World War, both militarily and economically. Again, the war broke out when India was in a state of political quagmire since political unrests were witnessed in various parts of the country.
The National Congress demanded for more representation in the house. Moreover, it wanted a self-government that consisted of only Indians. Germany played a critical role in fuelling the violence since it sponsored freedom fighters to destabilize the British colonial government.
Britain was considered a force to reckon with in Europe due to its economic and political might. One of the effects of the war was that many Indians were willing to engage in conflicts with the British since they had now realized that the British government could easily be conquered. Before the war, Indians believed that Britain was the most powerful state in the world.
This was no longer the belief because Indian troops had fought alongside the British soldiers in many parts such as North Africa, East Africa, and Gallipoli (Bose and Sisir 14). The British policy towards India had to be changed since the locals were now aware of the weaknesses of the British Government.
Britain had to readjust their policy since direct rule with the use of force was no longer sustainable owing to the fact that it was involved in very many conflicts worldwide. The First World War encouraged freedom fighters and separatist groups to engage the British in war.
Since the state was going through economic difficulties back at home, it would be impossible to facilitate soldiers fighting in all colonies.
When the war broke out in on 4 August, India supported the British fully, even though others expected the freedom fighters to capitalize on the conflict to demand for independence. However, the reasoning of freedom fighters, including the officials of the National Congress Movement, was that helping the British to win the war would elevate the status of India.
Indian princes and the wealthiest in society offered huge chunks of money to the British government while the poor volunteered by fighting in the war. For instance, Nepal sent over a hundred thousand Gurkhas to help the British in the battlefield. In Tibet, the Dalai Lama sacrificed over one thousand troops to help the British defeat its enemies, especially Germany.
After the war, Britain had a debt to pay since Indians had supported it fully. In this case, the policies had to be adjusted. The war resulted to the killing of very many Indian fighters in Ypres. Because of this, the Indian people believed that the British would reward them with independence or at least self-government. However, none of these happened.
Many Indians were frustrated, especially Gandhi Mahatma who had encouraged people to join the army during the war. To his disappointment, Gandhi was alienated and his role in the British government was delegated to a different person. This proved to the nationalists that the British only needed their support during the war, but the imperial government was reluctant to grant independence.
Nevertheless, the British government formulated policies aimed at ensuring transparency and fairness in society. The parliament of India was introduced under the new policy, which comprised of the two houses.
The two houses were designed specifically to draw policies that would guide the Indians, but not the British colonialists. In other words, colonialists would continue enjoying their powers, including holding large tracts of land and the running of major companies (Lloyd 78).
Even though Indians were a majority in society, they were never allowed to participate in electing leaders and they could never present their candidature during elections. Moreover, no Indian had the right to vote for his or her preferred candidate.
After the war, the law was changed because a small percentage of wealthy Indians were allowed to participate in elections, but simply as voters. The law was amended to allow five million wealthiest Indians to vote for their preferred British candidate, but not an Indian.
Therefore, those seeking political power had to satisfy the wealthiest Indians in case they wanted their votes. For the rich, this was a relief because they now had a bargaining power. The poor continued to languish in poverty since their views were never wanted in government.
The war was beneficial to Indians in the sense that they were allowed to participate in provincial politics and governance. In the Provincial governments, Indians had a right to apply for positions as ministers of education, health, and public works. However, this was restricted to a number of provinces since the British settlers always controlled the most lucrative ones.
Because of the support that Indians showed to the British, a commission was formed, which would advise the British government on whether the country was ready for independence. It is therefore true to note that the First World War put in place some policies that would aimed at granting independence to Indians in the end (Das 89).
The First World War changed the British foreign policy towards India. In the International system, there were other new superpowers, including the United States and Japan, which were mainly considered the naval powers.
Britain was its capability in the sea because it had one of the strongest navies in the world. In India and the whole of Asia, no naval force could match that of the British. Things were different after the war since Japan became a threat that would interfere with the interests of Britain in India.
After the war, a number of Independence movements emerged in India and Ireland. Britain had to reorganize its policy towards India because new superpowers such as Japan and the United State could capitalize on the civil strive to outdo it. In 1922, the British government had to choose between working with the United States and Japan as far as Indian was concerned.
It opted to work with the United States by signing a treat in Washington referred to as the Washington Naval Treaty. The treaty was signed because Britain realized that pressure was pilling up in India in demand for independence yet other aggressors such as Japan and Germany were after acquiring some territories in India (Brown 90).
Britain signed the deal upon the realization that it could not sustain the war with the Indian militias, as well other foreign powers among them Germany and Japan. In 1919, another treaty was signed between the British and the government of India referred to as the Government of India Act of 1919.
There was tension in government over claims that communism was taking root in society following the Ghadar conspiracy. The government came up with a policy that renewed the wartime strictures by restituting Rowlatt Acts, which had been abandoned long time ago.
The new policy affected the security of the country after it was applied in Punjab. In Punjab, a number of people were butchered because the new policy allowed the state security agents to use force whenever there was resistance against government. The policy led to Amritsar Massacre, causing tension both in India and in Britain (Draper 88).
In Britain, a section of society believed that the actions of security agencies at Punjab that led to the killing of innocent people were uncalled for since the law was not followed.
However, others interpreted it differently since they believed that the action saved India from anarchy. Pressure pilled on the government after another massacre, which led to the banning of nationalist movements.
Even after the First World War, Britain was still driven by its economic interests in the making of policies in India. However, the British opened up the agricultural sector in India after the war. Initially, a policy existed that barred the Indians from engaging in any cash crop production.
Cash crop agriculture was the backbone of the British administration in India since it provided adequate raw materials for the industries. Moreover, production of cash crops in India was cheaper as compared to any other country at the time because of the availability of cheap labor.
However, the local rich were also issued with permits allowing them to engage in large-scale agriculture. It should be noted that the policy forced farmers to dispose the agricultural produce at a relatively cheaper cost as compared to the normal market price. Many Indians were satisfied with this policy other than being denied to engage in cash crop farming.
The regions that supported the British in war were given roads and other infrastructural resources. The policy boosted the standards of living of the poor since engaged in small-scale trade. The policy that allowed the locals to engage in cash crop agriculture was very dangerous because many people abandoned food agriculture in favor of cash crop agriculture.
This predisposed many people to hunger since the prices of foodstuffs skyrocketed (Markovits 77). Surprisingly, the divide and rule policy was strengthened to ensure that Indians could not unite to fight the common enemy.
The caste system was reinforced whereby a member of the low caste could not intermarry or even relate with another Indian from a high caste. In fact, it was very easy for the British to implement the policy of divide and rule since the society was already stratified based on the caste.
Conclusion
Britain lost its power after the First World War since it was no longer hegemony in the international system. The First World War gave rise to other powers, including Japan and the United States. However, nothing changed so much in terms of the world order since the international system was still multi-polar.
The war weakened the state in a number of ways because it had to fight so many wars. Apart from fighting in Europe, it had to engage Germany in North and East Africa. The war reduced the military and economic capability of the Britain, forcing it to readjust its policies in India and other countries.
In India, the populace, including the ruling class, supported Britain financially and in terms of human resources during the war. Britain had to compensate these locals for their sacrifices after the war. However, the locals never achieved their ambition of being granted independence.
However, some reforms were introduced in government that allowed Indians to serve in the provincial governments. Moreover, the rich were given the right to participate in elections through voting for their preferred British candidate.
Works Cited
Bose, Subhas, and Sisir, Bose. The Indian Struggle, 1920 – 1942. Delhi: Oxford Press, 1998. Print.
Brown, Judith. Gandhi’s Rise to Power: Indian Politics, 1915-1922. London: Cambridge, 1972. Print.
Das, Gupta. Science, Technology, Imperialism, and War. New Delhi: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.
Draper, Alfred. Amritsar, the Massacre That Ended the Raj. Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd, 1981. Print.
Lloyd, Nick. The Amritsar Massacre: The Untold Story of One Fateful Day. London: Tauris, 2011. Print.
Markovits, Claude. A History of Modern India 1480-1950. London: Anthem, 2002. Print