“Glimpses of the Past Summary” is a story which initiates with the events of 1757 under the British Raj in India. The situation of the Indians has been described in this chapter during the span of around 100 years, from 1757 to 1857. British rulers take the advantage of the situation of the social conditions when the princes of different states were busy fighting with each other. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was one of those who took different steps to reform Indian society during that period. The unity of the Indian princes lacks and it made the British rulers play the Divide and Rule theory. This story signifies the story of the Indian freedom fighters.
Indian princes were short-sighted in their appearance to make for the 1757 event towards India’s freedom. There were multiple reasons that caused the princes to resist appearing in the freedom movement by the Indians. Princes were busy conducting wars against each other which let them resist announcing any united war against the British rulers in India. Indian rulers from different states took help from the East India Company which was not allowing them to conduct any movement against the British raj. They started to believe God sent the British to rule India and their future is connected with the British. Indian rulers were not liable to realise the policy of the East India Company was harmful to society and its citizens.
The rulers in India were involved in wars with others from different princes of different Indian states. A few of them called the British merchants to help them in winning the war. With the help of some greedy leaders from different states, the British defeated the Indian princes. The policy developed by the British raj made the Indian princes surrounded in front of them. The rivalries assisted the East India Company subdue the princes of India. The greediness of the Indian leaders let the British easy to implement the authorities in India over time.
Image source: Rembrandt Peale, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The famous quote delivered by Raja Ram Mohan Roy to his wife Uma signifies that the different items available from different sites can deliver a similar meaning. It is essential to understand the inner meaning and not the outlook. He stated that Cows are of different colours, but the colour of their milk is the same. This signifies the output of the different leaders in India can lead to the same significance for the uplift of the society and deliver a better result to the people of India. He also added, different teachers have different opinions but the essence of every religion is the same. It means that understanding the objectives of Indian freedom is more significant than the ways followed by different leaders.
The common way of exploiting the Indians followed by the British officers was the implementation of different policies and tax regulations. They reinforced heavy taxation of the farmers and made different strict regulations to punish them if the taxes remained unpaid. The regulations developed by the British rulers made the farmers abandon their fields. They often sent the farmers to jail if they were not able to pay heavy taxes.
Tatya Tope and Kunwar Singh were the two rulers who fought pitched battles against the British and died during the fighting.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an educated man from the land of Bengal who wanted to reform society.
Lord Macaulay also known as Thomas Babington recommended the introduction of English education in India.
The popular leaders who led the revolt of 1857 were Rani Laxmibai and Tatya Tope.
Untouchability and Child marriage were two examples of social practices prevailing in the time from 1757 to 1857.
There are two oppressive policies of the Britishers and they are -
The Britishers ruined the cottage industries in India.
The imports that happened in the mainland of India, the British masters make tax-free.
Common people in India or the farmers get suffered from the heavy tax of British people and their thumbs were cut off.
The four reasons for discontent which led to the 1857 war of Independence are –
The Santhals lost their lands and became desperate and as a result, the revolt took place.
The white soldiers were paid much more money than the sepoys in the English army. The result of it is that they are discontented and angry.
The Brahmins get angry when they get to know that kartuz is consist of pig and cow-fat which they had to cut off.
The landlords became angry because they were deprived of their own lands as well as estates.
Q1. How do the Britishers make profits in business in India?
Ans. The Britishers charged huge taxes and thus make more profit in business in India.
Q2. When was Regulation III passed?
Ans. Regulation III was passed in 1818 and it means that an Indian could be jailed without trial in a court.
Q3. What were the bad social practices in the time of Britishers?
Ans. The two evil social practices are- women are the cause of misery in the world and whoever crosses the seas loses his religion.
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