Modern India — British Rule — Notes, MCQs & PYQs

📚 This topic overlaps across exams — read our in-depth, shared write-up: The Revolt of 1857 →

📚 This topic overlaps across exams — read our in-depth, shared write-up: Wars Fought by the British in India →

📚 This topic overlaps across exams — read our in-depth, shared write-up: British Constitutional & Administrative Development →

📚 This topic overlaps across exams — read our in-depth, shared write-up: Governors-General & Viceroys of India →

📖 Arrival and expansion of the East India Company

The English East India Company began as a trading enterprise (chartered in 1600) but expanded into territorial control after victories at the Battle of Plassey (1757) and the Battle of Buxar (1764), which brought Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha under its influence via the Diwani rights granted in 1765.

🏛️ Company administration and key policies

The Company introduced revenue systems like the Permanent Settlement (1793, Bengal), the Ryotwari system (Madras/Bombay), and the Mahalwari system (north India) — each with different effects on peasants and land ownership. Governor-Generals like Warren Hastings, Lord Cornwallis, and Lord Wellesley (Subsidiary Alliance) expanded Company control through both administration and diplomacy/war.

⚔️ Expansion through conflict

The Company fought a series of wars to establish dominance — the Anglo-Mysore Wars (against Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan), the Anglo-Maratha Wars, and the Anglo-Sikh Wars — gradually absorbing most of the subcontinent by the mid-19th century.

📜 From Company rule to Crown rule

After the Revolt of 1857, the Government of India Act, 1858 transferred power from the Company to the British Crown. Subsequent Acts (1861, 1892, 1909, 1919, 1935) gradually — and grudgingly — expanded Indian participation in governance, setting the stage for the freedom struggle covered on the dedicated page.

💡 Key Facts

Battle of Plassey (1757) and Battle of Buxar (1764) established Company control over Bengal.
Diwani rights (1765) gave the Company the right to collect revenue in Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha.
The Permanent Settlement (1793) was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal.
Company rule ended and Crown rule began after the Government of India Act, 1858, following the 1857 Revolt.

🔖 60-Second Revision

Plassey (1757) → Buxar (1764) → Diwani rights (1765): Company gains control of Bengal.
Land revenue systems: Permanent Settlement (Bengal), Ryotwari (Madras/Bombay), Mahalwari (north India).
Expansion via Anglo-Mysore, Anglo-Maratha, and Anglo-Sikh Wars.
1857 Revolt → 1858 Act: Company rule ends, Crown rule begins.

Modern India — British Rule