OPSC Prelims and Mains Notes-OPSC Test Series
The European Commercial Companies had set up base in different places early during the Mughal era: the Portuguese in Panaji in 1510, the Dutch in Masulipatnam in 1605, the British in Madras in 1639 and the French in Pondicherry (present-day Puducherry) in 1673. From the mid-eighteenth century, there was a new phase of change. Commercial … Read more
Colonial economic policies, the new land revenue system, the colonial administrative and judicial systems, and the ruin of handicrafts leading to the over-crowding of land transformed the agrarian structure and impoverished the peasantry. When the peasants could take it no longer, they resisted this oppression and exploitation. The most militant and widespread of the peasant … Read more
It was the cultural, economic and political process through which colonies broke free from the colonial empires and integrated themselves to the new ‘world order’. Cultural Colonial empires were generally founded on principles of Racism and ‘right to rule’ over ‘inferior races’. These narratives had to be challenged. An image of benevolent and modernising influence … Read more
It is true that occasionally women of the character and personality of Razia Sultana, Chand Bibi, or Ahilyabai Holkar arose in India. But they were exceptions to the general pattern, and do not in any way change the picture. After the 1880s, when Dufferin hospitals (named after Lady Dufferin, the wife of the Viceroy) were … Read more
The revolution led to the establishment of a republic based on the first written constitution in the world. This was a marked contrast to the other states were Monarchies were still in power. This inspired people across the world to struggle for democratic and republican forms of government. It established a federal state with powers … Read more
The caste system was another major target of attack for the social reform movement. The Hindus were at this time divided into numerous castes. The untouchables suffered from numerous and severe disabilities and restrictions. He could not enter the Hindu temples or study the shastras. In some parts of the country, particularly in the south, … Read more
. From conservative moderation to political extremism, from terrorism to incipient socialism, from petitioning and public speeches to passive resistance and boycott, all had their origins in the movement. The movement popularised the use and consumption of indigenous products. Indians started ditching British goods for Indian products. Women, students, and a large section of the … Read more
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 gave an impetus to the nationalist feelings in Indians. The Home Rule League by Lokmanya Tilak and Annie Besant were formed during First World War. At the same time, a revolutionary movement gained popularity – The Ghadar Movement. The Ghadar Movement was an international political movement … Read more
The Home Rule Movement under the leadership of Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak was an important political movement that set the stage for India’s struggle for independence. Annie Besant, who was a proponent of Free Thought, Radicalism, Fabianism and Theosophy, had come to India in 1893 to work for the Theosophical Society. In 1914, … Read more
Mahatma Gandhi, after his struggle against apartheid in South Africa (racial discrimination against the blacks) for almost twenty years, returned to India in 1915. On Gokhale’s advice, he spent a year travelling around British India to understand the problems of Indians. He initially maintained a distance from political affairs, including the Home Rule Movement that … Read more
