During the late 16th and the 17th Centuries, the
European trading companies in India competed with each other
ferociously. By the last quarter of the 18th Century the English had
outdone all others and established themselves as the dominant power in
India. The British administered India for a period of about two
centuries and brought about revolutionary changes in the social,
political and the economic life of the country.
Once the British set their foot solidly on Indian soil, they began the
commercial exploitation of the natural resources of India. By the middle
of the 19th Century arrogant exploitation of the people had tried the
patience of the Indians to the limit. The British imperialism reached
its zenith between the middle of the nineteenth century and the First
World War. The exploitative policies of the British in India saw the
birth of nationalist agitation against it. With increasing intrusion of
aliens in their lives, a group of middle class Indians formed the Indian
National Congress (1885).
The anti British struggle became truly a mass movement with the arrival
of Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948). It was followed by numerous movements
against the British rule. With the passage of time and stubbornness of
the Indians the British had come to realize that the day was not far off
when they will have to quit India. Successive campaigns had the effect
of driving the British out of India in 1947, but with independence came
the independence of the country into Pakistan.
