157-500: The Nilgiris district is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu . Nilgiri (English: Blue Mountains ) is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu , Karnataka and Kerala . The Nilgiri Hills are part of a larger mountain chain known as the Western Ghats . Their highest point is the mountain of Doddabetta , height 2,637 m. The district
314-547: A European woman, and ordinarily more problematic to imprison, was arrested in 1917. Now, as constitutional reform began to be discussed in earnest, the British began to consider how new moderate Indians could be brought into the fold of constitutional politics and, simultaneously, how the hand of established constitutionalists could be strengthened. However, since the Government of India wanted to ensure against any sabotage of
471-631: A Railway Board; irrigation reform; reduction of peasant debts; lowering the cost of telegrams; archaeological research and the preservation of antiquities; improvements in the universities; police reforms; upgrading the roles of the Native States; a new Commerce and Industry Department; promotion of industry; revised land revenue policies; lowering taxes; setting up agricultural banks; creating an Agricultural Department; sponsoring agricultural research; establishing an Imperial Library; creating an Imperial Cadet Corps; new famine codes; and, indeed, reducing
628-607: A champion of the emancipation of Indian women, took up the cause of widow remarriage, especially of Brahmin widows, later converted to Christianity. By 1900 reform movements had taken root within the Indian National Congress. Congress member Gopal Krishna Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society , which lobbied for legislative reform (for example, for a law to permit the remarriage of Hindu child widows), and whose members took vows of poverty, and worked among
785-470: A committee chaired by a British judge, Sidney Rowlatt , and was tasked with investigating "revolutionary conspiracies", with the unstated goal of extending the government's wartime powers. The Rowlatt Committee comprised four British and two Indian members, including Sir Basil Scott and Diwan Bahadur Sir C. V. Kumaraswami Sastri , the present and future Chief Justices of the High Court of Bombay and
942-564: A demand for Purna Swaraj ( Hindustani language : "complete independence"), or Purna Swarajya. The declaration was drafted by the Congress Working Committee , which included Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, and Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari . Gandhi subsequently led an expanded movement of civil disobedience, culminating in 1930 with the Salt Satyagraha , in which thousands of Indians defied the tax on salt, by marching to
1099-578: A government-appointed Collector since 1868. The first was James W. Breeks, who was called Commissioner. Since then there have been more than 100 men and women who have held the post. They were responsible for overseeing the various Departments active within the district. The district comprises six taluks: Udhagamandalam (Ooty/Ootacamund) , Kundah , Coonoor , Kotagiri , Gudalur and Pandalur . These are divided among four panchayat unions: Udhagamandalam, Coonoor, Kotagiri and Gudalur. Besides four Municipalities of Ooty, Coonoor, Gudalur and Nelliyalam , there
1256-526: A habitat for the Nilgiri tahr. Silent Valley National Park is just to the south and contiguous with these two parks, and covers an area of 89.52 km. Outside these parks much of the native forest has been cleared for grazing cattle, or has been encroached upon or replaced by plantations of tea , eucalyptus , cinchona and acacia . The entire range, together with portions of the Western Ghats to
1413-629: A loyal supporter of Gandhi and go on to play a prominent role in the Indian independence movement. When Gandhi was ordered to leave by the local British authorities, he refused on moral grounds, setting up his refusal as a form of individual Satyagraha . Soon, under pressure from the Viceroy in Delhi who was anxious to maintain domestic peace during wartime, the provincial government rescinded Gandhi's expulsion order, and later agreed to an official enquiry into
1570-487: A malicious intent that the Badaga non scheduled tribes have lived in nilgiris thousands and thousands of years ago. Supposedly unnamed Badaga elders have regularly recounted these baseless facts as oral history and cannot be relied upon. Though their language is very close to Kannada , it is a mixture of almost all Dravidian languages and yet unique. The migration theory is now totally rejected by educated Badagas, as admittedly
1727-536: A more radical resolution which asked for the British to declare that it was their "aim and intention ... to confer self-government on India at an early date". Soon, other such rumblings began to appear in public pronouncements: in 1917, in the Imperial Legislative Council , Madan Mohan Malaviya spoke of the expectations the war had generated in India, "I venture to say that the war has put
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#17327871108501884-413: A much cooler and wetter climate than the surrounding plains, so the area is popular as a comfortable retreat and is good for tea cultivation. During summer the temperature reaches a maximum of 25 °C (77 °F) and a minimum of 10 °C (50 °F). During winter the temperature maximum is 20 °C (68 °F) and the minimum 0 °C (32 °F). The district regularly receives rain during both
2041-544: A practical level, it was felt that there needed to be more communication and camaraderie between the British and Indians—not just between British army officers and their Indian staff but in civilian life as well. The Indian army was completely reorganised: units composed of the Muslims and Brahmins of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh , who had formed the core of the rebellion, were disbanded. New regiments, like
2198-402: A practical strategy adopted by the weak in the face of superior force; Satyagraha , on the other hand, was for him the "last resort of those strong enough in their commitment to truth to undergo suffering in its cause". Ahimsa or "non-violence", which formed the underpinning of Satyagraha , came to represent the twin pillar, with Truth, of Gandhi's unorthodox religious outlook on life. During
2355-572: A result of his civil liberties protests on behalf of the Indians in South Africa, Gandhi followed the advice of his mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale and chose not to make any public pronouncements during the first year of his return, but instead spent the year travelling, observing the country at first hand, and writing. Earlier, during his South Africa sojourn, Gandhi, a lawyer by profession, had represented an Indian community, which, although small,
2512-658: A result of the reunification of Bengal in 1911, a decision that was seen as ill-disposed to Muslims. In the Lucknow Pact , the League joined the Congress in the proposal for greater self-government that was campaigned for by Tilak and his supporters; in return, the Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims in the provincial legislatures as well as the Imperial Legislative Council. In 1916,
2669-422: A tribal land. The Toda had small hamlets ("mund") across most of the plateau. The Kota lived in seven dispersed villages ("kokal"). The Toda had only a few hamlets on the lower Wynaad plateau and in the nearby Biligiriranga hills . These Indigenous tribes of Nilgiris speak some form of dravidian language. Since the turn of the 21st century, the Badaga have numbered about 135,000 (18% of the district population),
2826-598: A watershed in the imperial relationship between Britain and India. Shortly before the outbreak of war, the Government of India had indicated that they could furnish two divisions plus a cavalry brigade, with a further division in case of emergency. Some 1.4 million Indian and British soldiers of the British Indian Army took part in the war, primarily in Iraq and the Middle East . Their participation had
2983-545: A wider cultural fallout as news spread of how bravely soldiers fought and died alongside British soldiers, as well as soldiers from dominions like Canada and Australia. India's international profile rose during the 1920s, as it became a founding member of the League of Nations in 1920 and participated, under the name "Les Indes Anglaises" (British India), in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. Back in India, especially among
3140-482: Is a Wellington Cantonment and Aruvankadu Township. The district consists of 56 revenue villages and 15 revenue firkas. There are three revenue divisions, Uhagamandalam Coonoor and Gudalur. For local concerns, the Nilgiris also has 35 village panchayats and 11 town panchayats. Coonoor Revenue Division: Udhagamandalam Revenue Division: Gudalur Revenue Division: Blocks and Revenue Taluks: According to
3297-532: Is a Swiss-designed rack railway . The railway is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . It serves certain areas of the district, including Coonoor, Wellington , Aruvankadu , Ketti , Lovedale and Ooty . There is no seaport or airport in the district; the nearest airport is Coimbatore . There are 10 Hydel Power Houses ( hydroelectric ) in this district. There are one district headquarters government hospital, five taluk hospitals, 38 primary health centres, 194 health sub-centres, and five plague circles in
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#17327871108503454-632: Is also grown in the Thengumarahada area in Kotagiri Taluk. Besides these crops, millet , wheat , fruit and vegetables , etc., are also cultivated throughout the district. There are no irrigation schemes here. The crops are mainly rain-fed. Check dams have been constructed wherever possible to exploit natural springs. Two ecoregions cover portions of the Nilgiris. The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests lie between 250 and 1000 metres' elevation. These forests extend south along
3611-739: Is also home to the Kurumba , Irula , Paniya and Kattunayakan or Nayaka. The entire Nilgiris plateau and all the hilly regions above the plains (altitude higher than 500m MSL) across the Western and Eastern Ghats and the Mysore plateau fell under the Kannada speaking area as per the linguistic survey and history by Colonel Mark Wilks . As per the Census of 2011, the Nilgiris district had 76.61% Hindus , 11.51% Christians and 10.67% Muslims . Many of
3768-638: Is arguably the most multi lingual and multicultural district in Tamil Nadu State. Tamil is the principal and most spoken language in the Nilgiris district followed by Malayalam , Badaga , Kannada , Telugu and Urdu languages. Other smaller languages include Irula, Paniya, Kurumba , Toda and Kota are also spoken here. The Nagapattinam–Gudalur National Highway passes through this district. The Nilgiri Ghat Roads link Nilgiris with nearby cities in Tamil Nadu , Kerala and Karnataka . All
3925-531: Is contained mainly within the Nilgiri Mountains range. The administrative headquarters is located at Ooty (Ootacamund or Udhagamandalam). The district is bounded by Coimbatore to the south, Erode to the east, and Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka and Wayanad district of Kerala to the north. As it is located at the junction of three states, namely, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, significant Malayali and Kannadiga populations reside in
4082-724: Is probably the most heavily studied rural area anywhere in India, with close to 7,000 items in that list. It has been the subject of more than 120 doctoral and master's theses in the natural and human sciences. Indian and foreign scholars wrote these works, and only recently have local people published work about it. More than a dozen languages are spoken in the Nilgiris, but the indigenous people did not write or read them. After 1847 German and Swiss missionaries opened schools for boys and girls in some Badaga villages, teaching them literacy. Ten Dravidian languages are found only here, and they have been studied in great detail for decades by professional linguists. Local place names are derived mainly from
4239-541: Is the headquarters of various government and semi-private organizations engaged in research into horticulture, forestry, botanical sciences and physics. Listed below are a few of the most important ones: Tourism is an important source of revenue for the Nilgiris. The district is home to several hill stations which are visited by tourists during summer. These include Ooty (Udhgamandalam) (district headquarters), Coonoor , Kotagiri . The Nilgiri Mountain Train , locally known as
4396-691: Is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain , a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar Desert . In addition, at various times, it included Aden (from 1858 to 1937), Lower Burma (from 1858 to 1937), Upper Burma (from 1886 to 1937), British Somaliland (briefly from 1884 to 1898), and the Straits Settlements (briefly from 1858 to 1867). Burma
4553-433: The 2011 census , the Nilgiris district had a population of 735,394 with a sex-ratio of 1,042 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929 females. 59.24% of the population lived in urban areas. A total of 66,799 people were under the age of six, 33,648 males and 33,151 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 32.08% and 4.46% of the population, respectively. The average literacy of
4710-654: The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 added to the general jitters; the former among the population already experiencing economic woes, and the latter among government officials, fearing a similar revolution in India. To combat what it saw as a coming crisis, the government now drafted the Rowlatt committee's recommendations into two Rowlatt Bills . Although the bills were authorised for legislative consideration by Edwin Montagu, they were done so unwillingly, with
4867-731: The British Raj , 12 districts of the erstwhile Madras Presidency had their boundaries within the present-day Tamil Nadu. Post the Indian Independence in 1947 and the political intergration , the Madras Province inherited parts of the earlier Madras Presidency. Following the adoption of the Constitution of India in 1950, the Madras State was formed, which was further reorganized in 1953 and 1956. After
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5024-584: The Census of British India in 1871, which had for the first time estimated the populations in regions of the Muslim majority (for his part, Curzon's desire to court the Muslims of East Bengal had arisen from British anxieties ever since the 1871 census—and in light of the history of Muslims fighting them in the 1857 Mutiny and the Second Anglo-Afghan War —about Indian Muslims rebelling against
5181-510: The Duke of Wellington , conducted a short military operation in the Wynaad in 1800. During 1804–1818 several East India Company personnel briefly visited parts of the district. John Sullivan , then the collector of Coimbatore , just south of the Nilgiris, sent two surveyors (W. Keys and C. McMahon) to make a comprehensive study of the hills. They reached the site of Ootacamund, but failed to see
5338-634: The Government of India Act 1935 , which authorised the establishment of independent legislative assemblies in all provinces of British India, the creation of a central government incorporating both the British provinces and the princely states, and the protection of Muslim minorities. The future Constitution of independent India was based on this act. However, it divided the electorate into 19 religious and social categories, e.g., Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Depressed Classes, Landholders, Commerce and Industry, Europeans, Anglo-Indians, etc., each of which
5495-679: The High Court of Madras . It presented its report in July 1918 and identified three regions of conspiratorial insurgency: Bengal , the Bombay presidency , and the Punjab . To combat subversive acts in these regions, the committee unanimously recommended that the government use emergency powers akin to its wartime authority, which included the ability to try cases of sedition by a panel of three judges and without juries, exaction of securities from suspects, governmental overseeing of residences of suspects, and
5652-740: The Indian Independence on 15 August 1947, the Madras Presidency became the Madras Province of the Dominion of India . The princely state of Pudukottai acceded to the Indian Union on 4 March 1948 and was made as a part of the Trichinopoly district. When the new Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, the Madras Province became the Madras State of the Republic of India . The Madras State included most of
5809-557: The Minto–Morley Reforms , and more recently of the Congress-Muslim League Lucknow Pact, was reaffirmed, with seats being reserved for Muslims, Sikhs , Indian Christians , Anglo-Indians , and domiciled Europeans, in both provincial and Imperial legislative councils. The Montagu–Chelmsford reforms offered Indians the most significant opportunity yet for exercising legislative power, especially at
5966-575: The Partition of Bengal , which was a strategy set out by Lord Curzon to weaken the nationalist movement, Tilak encouraged the Swadeshi movement and the Boycott movement. The movement consisted of the boycott of foreign goods and also the social boycott of any Indian who used foreign goods. The Swadeshi movement consisted of the usage of natively produced goods. Once foreign goods were boycotted, there
6123-688: The Second Anglo-Afghan War ) and the attempts to control the vernacular press (e.g. in the Vernacular Press Act of 1878 ). It was, however, Viceroy Lord Ripon 's partial reversal of the Ilbert Bill (1883), a legislative measure that had proposed putting Indian judges in the Bengal Presidency on equal footing with British ones, that transformed the discontent into political action. On 28 December 1885, professionals and intellectuals from this middle-class — many educated at
6280-547: The Viceroy and the central government in New Delhi, other departments like public health, education, land-revenue, local self-government were transferred to the provinces. The provinces themselves were now to be administered under a new diarchical system, whereby some areas like education, agriculture, infrastructure development, and local self-government became the preserve of Indian ministers and legislatures, and ultimately
6437-572: The montane grasslands of the Southwestern Ghats, and number barely 2000 individuals. Three national parks protect portions of the Nilgiris. Mudumalai National Park lies in the northern part of the range where Kerala, Karnataka , and Tamil Nadu meet, and covers an area of 321 km. Mukurthi National Park lies in the southwest of the range, in Kerala, and covers an area of 78.5 km, which includes intact shola -grassland mosaic,
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6594-650: The princely states . The region was sometimes called the Indian Empire , though not officially. The area of British India contained much of the present-day states of Pakistan , India , Bangladesh , and Myanmar (Burma) . This system of governance was instituted on 28 June 1858, when, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , the rule of the East India Company was transferred to the Crown in
6751-401: The reorganization of Indian states in 1956 , the state had 13 re-organized districts, which were further divided later over the years. Between 1960 and 1980, three additional districts were formed. In the late eighties, five more districts were bifurcated from existing districts. Ten more districts were formed in the nineties, taking the total count to 30. Three new districts were bifurcated in
6908-447: The untouchable community . By 1905, a deep gulf opened between the moderates, led by Gokhale, who downplayed public agitation, and the new "extremists" who not only advocated agitation, but also regarded the pursuit of social reform as a distraction from nationalism. Prominent among the extremists was Bal Gangadhar Tilak , who attempted to mobilise Indians by appealing to an explicitly Hindu political identity, displayed, for example, in
7065-472: The 2000s. In 2019-20, five more districts were formed for a total of 38 districts. During the British Raj , the Madras Presidency was made up of 26 districts , 12 of which were part of the boundaries of the present-day Tamil Nadu, namely, Chingleput , Coimbatore , Nilgiris , North Arcot , Madras , Madura , Ramnad , Salem, South Arcot , Tanjore , Tinnevely , and Trichinopoly . After
7222-621: The Badagas. Sadly, these half-truths are being relied on by the regime to deny the Badagas their rightful livelihood. During the early 17th century, the first European is recorded as entering the Nilgiri Hills, an Italian priest/explorer named Fenicio. He interviewed people who identified as Toda and Badega, the latter occupying three villages at that time. The British in India mostly ignored the Ghats for two centuries. Arthur Wellesley , later
7379-431: The British enterprise in India, it had not derailed it. Until 1857, the British, especially under Lord Dalhousie , had been hurriedly building an India which they envisaged to be on par with Britain itself in the quality and strength of its economic and social institutions. After the rebellion, they became more circumspect. Much thought was devoted to the causes of the rebellion and three main lessons were drawn. First, at
7536-422: The British felt disenchanted with Indian reaction to social change. Until the rebellion, they had enthusiastically pushed through social reform, like the ban on sati by Lord William Bentinck . It was now felt that traditions and customs in India were too strong and too rigid to be changed easily; consequently, no more British social interventions were made, especially in matters dealing with religion, even when
7693-494: The British felt very strongly about the issue (as in the instance of the remarriage of Hindu child widows). This was exemplified further in Queen Victoria's Proclamation released immediately after the rebellion. The proclamation stated that 'We disclaim alike our Right and Desire to impose Our Convictions on any of Our Subjects'; demonstrating official British commitment to abstaining from social intervention in India. In
7850-550: The British subsequently widened participation in legislative councils with the Indian Councils Act of 1892 . Municipal Corporations and District Boards were created for local administration; they included elected Indian members. The Indian Councils Act 1909 , known as the Morley-Minto Reforms ( John Morley was the secretary of state for India, and Minto was viceroy)—gave Indians limited roles in
8007-499: The British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a princely state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861; however, the issue of sovereignty was left undefined. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, but not part of British India. Although the Indian Rebellion of 1857 had shaken
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#17327871108508164-497: The Congress primarily debated British policy toward India. Its debates created a new Indian outlook that held Great Britain responsible for draining India of its wealth. Britain did this, the nationalists claimed, by unfair trade, by the restraint on indigenous Indian industry, and by the use of Indian taxes to pay the high salaries of the British civil servants in India. Thomas Baring served as Viceroy of India 1872–1876. Baring's major accomplishments came as an energetic reformer who
8321-467: The Crown). In the three decades since, Muslim leaders across northern India had intermittently experienced public animosity from some of the new Hindu political and social groups. The Arya Samaj , for example, had not only supported Cow Protection Societies in their agitation, but also—distraught at the 1871 Census's Muslim numbers—organized "reconversion" events for the purpose of welcoming Muslims back to
8478-649: The Government of India reporting 379 dead, with 1,100 wounded. The Indian National Congress estimated three times the number of dead. Dyer was removed from duty but he became a celebrated hero in Britain among people with connections to the Raj. Historians consider the episode was a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India. In 1920, after the British government refused to back down, Gandhi began his campaign of non-cooperation , prompting many Indians to return British awards and honours, to resign from
8635-522: The Hindu fold. In 1905, when Tilak and Lajpat Rai attempted to rise to leadership positions in the Congress, and the Congress itself rallied around the symbolism of Kali, Muslim fears increased. It was not lost on many Muslims, for example, that the rallying cry, "Bande Mataram", had first appeared in the novel Anand Math in which Hindus had battled their Muslim oppressors. Lastly, the Muslim elite, and among it Dacca Nawab , Khwaja Salimullah , who hosted
8792-463: The Indian National Congress surprised Raj officials, who previously had seen the Congress as a small elitist body. The British separated Burma Province from British India in 1937 and granted the colony a new constitution calling for a fully elected assembly, with many powers given to the Burmese, but this proved to be a divisive issue as a ploy to exclude Burmese from any further Indian reforms. With
8949-422: The Indian electorates, while others like irrigation, land-revenue, police, prisons, and control of media remained within the purview of the British governor and his executive council. The new Act also made it easier for Indians to be admitted into the civil services and the army officer corps. A greater number of Indians were now enfranchised, although, for voting at the national level, they constituted only 10% of
9106-519: The League's first meeting in his mansion in Shahbag , was aware that a new province with a Muslim majority would directly benefit Muslims aspiring to political power. The first steps were taken toward self-government in British India in the late 19th century with the appointment of Indian counsellors to advise the British viceroy and the establishment of provincial councils with Indian members;
9263-818: The Malabar district was added to the State of Travancore-Cochin to form Kerala. The Tamil speaking regions of Kanyakumari , which were earlier part of Travancore-Cochin, were merged to the Madras State. After the reorganisation, the Madras state had 13 districts namely: Chingleput , Coimbatore , Kanyakumari , Madras , Madurai , Nilgiris , North Arcot , Ramanathapuram , Salem , South Arcot , Thanjavur , Tiruchirappalli and Tirunelveli . British Raj The British Raj ( / r ɑː dʒ / RAHJ ; from Hindustani rāj , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government')
9420-401: The Muslim League had anywhere between 500 and 800 members and did not yet have the wider following among Indian Muslims that it enjoyed in later years; in the League itself, the pact did not have unanimous backing, having largely been negotiated by a group of "Young Party" Muslims from the United Provinces (UP), most prominently, two brothers Mohammad and Shaukat Ali , who had embraced
9577-438: The Muslims and Christians have migrated to the Nilgiris from adjoining Wayanad, Malappuram and Palakkad districts in Kerala state. Hindus are more dominant in rural areas. Languages of Nilgiris district (2011) At the time of the 2011 census, 48.55% of the population spoke Tamil , 16.96% Malayalam , 16.65% Badaga , 6.66% Kannada , 3.63% Telugu , 1.59% Urdu , 1.07% Irula and 0.95% Pania as their first language. Nilgiris
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#17327871108509734-516: The Mutiny. Since Dalhousie had embraced the technological change then rampant in Great Britain, India too saw the rapid development of all those technologies. Railways, roads, canals, and bridges were rapidly built in India, and telegraph links were equally rapidly established so that raw materials, such as cotton, from India's hinterland, could be transported more efficiently to ports, such as Bombay , for subsequent export to England. Likewise, finished goods from England, were transported back for sale in
9891-451: The Nilgiri plateau and the lower, smaller Wayanad plateau. The district lies at the juncture of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats . Its latitudinal and longitudinal location is 130 km (Latitude: 11°12 N to 11°37 N) by 185 km (Longitude : 76°30 E to 76°55 E). The district is bounded by Coimbatore and Palakkad to the south, Erode to the east, Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka and Wayanad district of Kerala to
10048-408: The Nilgiris district had a population of 735,394, with a sex-ratio of 1,042 females for every 1,000 males. All types of single use plastics are banned in Nilgiris district: it is the first plastic free district in Tamil Nadu. The history of peoples settled in the Nilgiri hills has been recorded for several centuries. The Blue Mountains were likely named for the widespread blue Strobilanthes flower or
10205-429: The Pan-Islamic cause; however, it did have the support of a young lawyer from Bombay, Muhammad Ali Jinnah , who was later to rise to leadership roles in both the League and the Indian independence movement. In later years, as the full ramifications of the pact unfolded, it was seen as benefiting the Muslim minority élites of provinces like UP and Bihar more than the Muslim majorities of Punjab and Bengal; nonetheless, at
10362-403: The Sikhs and Baluchis, composed of Indians who, in British estimation, had demonstrated steadfastness, were formed. From then on, the Indian army was to remain unchanged in its organisation until 1947. The 1861 Census had revealed that the English population in India was 125,945. Of these only about 41,862 were civilians as compared with about 84,083 European officers and men of the Army. In 1880,
10519-435: The Southwest Monsoon and the Northeast Monsoon. The entire Gudalur and Pandalur, Kundah Taluks and parts of Udhagamandalam Taluk get rain from the Southwest Monsoon, while part of Udhagamandalam Taluk and the entire Coonoor and Kotagiri Taluks get rains of the Northeast Monsoon. There are 16 rainfall-registering stations in the district, and the average annual rainfall of the district is 1,920.80 mm. The principal town of
10676-441: The Toda are barely 1,500 and the Kota just over 2,000. Beginning in 1819, the British colonial administration developed the hills rapidly and peaceably, for use as coffee and tea plantations, and summer residences. The 40 mud-forts in the area had been abandoned. During the British raj , Ooty (the popular name for Ootacamund) served as the summer capital of the Madras Presidency from 1870 onwards. District Gazetteers published by
10833-462: The Toy Train, attracts tourists as the journey has extensive views of the hills and forests. Mudumalai National Park is commonly visited by wildlife enthusiasts, campers and backpackers. The annual flower show, organised by the Government of Tamil Nadu at the Botanical Garden in Ooty, is an annual event, known for its display of roses. Nilgiris is known for its eucalyptus oil and tea, and also produces bauxite . Some tourists are attracted to study
10990-403: The United Nations and the Food and Agricultural Organisation well into the 1970s. By 1880, a new middle class had arisen in India and spread thinly across the country. Moreover, there was a growing solidarity among its members, created by the "joint stimuli of encouragement and irritation". The encouragement felt by this class came from its success in education and its ability to avail itself of
11147-482: The Western Ghats range to the southern tip of India, and are dominated by a diverse assemblage of trees, many of them deciduous during the winter and spring dry season. These forests are home to the largest herd of Asian elephants in India, who range from the Nilgiris across towards the Eastern Ghats . The Nilgiris and the Southwestern Ghats are also one of the most important tiger habitats left in India. The South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion covers
11304-466: The accompanying declaration, "I loathe the suggestion at first sight of preserving the Defence of India Act in peacetime to such an extent as Rowlatt and his friends think necessary." In the ensuing discussion and vote in the Imperial Legislative Council, all Indian members voiced opposition to the bills. The Government of India was, nevertheless, able to use of its "official majority" to ensure passage of
11461-487: The annual public Ganapati festivals that he inaugurated in western India. The viceroy, Lord Curzon (1899–1905), was unusually energetic in pursuit of efficiency and reform. His agenda included the creation of the North-West Frontier Province ; small changes in the civil services; speeding up the operations of the secretariat; setting up a gold standard to ensure a stable currency; creation of
11618-550: The area is Ootacamund, also known as Ooty or Udhagamandalam, the district headquarters. It has several buildings designed in the British style, particularly the churches, many of which were designed by architect Robert F. Chisholm . A road junction became known as Charing Cross (after famous intersections in London and Lahore ). The other main towns in the Nilgiris are Coonoor , Kotagiri , Gudalur . Ooty too has an annual summer flower show. The Nilgiris district has been headed by
11775-522: The benefits of that education such as employment in the Indian Civil Service . It came too from Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858 in which she had declared, "We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our Indian territories by the same obligation of duty which bind us to all our other subjects." Indians were especially encouraged when Canada was granted dominion status in 1867 and established an autonomous democratic constitution. Lastly,
11932-557: The bills early in 1919. However, what it passed, in deference to the Indian opposition, was a lesser version of the first bill, which now allowed extrajudicial powers, but for a period of exactly three years and for the prosecution solely of "anarchical and revolutionary movements", dropping entirely the second bill involving modification the Indian Penal Code . Even so, when it was passed, the new Rowlatt Act aroused widespread indignation throughout India, and brought Gandhi to
12089-410: The burgeoning Indian markets. Unlike Britain, where the market risks for the infrastructure development were borne by private investors, in India, it was the taxpayers—primarily farmers and farm-labourers—who endured the risks, which, in the end, amounted to £50 million. Despite these costs, very little skilled employment was created for Indians. By 1920, with the fourth largest railway network in
12246-525: The case. Although the British planters eventually gave in, they were not won over to the farmers' cause, and thereby did not produce the optimal outcome of a Satyagraha that Gandhi had hoped for; similarly, the farmers themselves, although pleased at the resolution, responded less than enthusiastically to the concurrent projects of rural empowerment and education that Gandhi had inaugurated in keeping with his ideal of swaraj . The following year Gandhi launched two more Satyagrahas—both in his native Gujarat —one in
12403-462: The central and provincial legislatures. Upper-class Indians, rich landowners and businessmen were favoured. The Muslim community was made a separate electorate and granted double representation. The goals were quite conservative but they did advance the elective principle. The partition of Bengal was rescinded in 1911 and announced at the Delhi Durbar at which King George V came in person and
12560-581: The civil services, and to again boycott British goods. In addition, Gandhi reorganised the Congress, transforming it into a mass movement and opening its membership to even the poorest Indians. Although Gandhi halted the non-cooperation movement in 1922 after the violent incident at Chauri Chaura , the movement revived again, in the mid-1920s. The visit, in 1928, of the British Simon Commission , charged with instituting constitutional reform in India, resulted in widespread protests throughout
12717-475: The clock ... fifty years forward ... (The) reforms after the war will have to be such, ... as will satisfy the aspirations of her (India's) people to take their legitimate part in the administration of their own country." The 1916 Lucknow Session of the Congress was also the venue of an unanticipated mutual effort by the Congress and the Muslim League, the occasion for which was provided by
12874-477: The complete plateau. In 1812 they were the first British to make a cursory survey of the Nilgiri plateau and produce a map. A more detailed exploration was done in the 1818 survey by J.C. Whish, N.W. Kindersley and Mohammed Rifash Obaidullah for the Madras Civil Service, who reported back that they had discovered "the existence of a tableland possessing a European climate." Collector Sullivan became
13031-579: The continuing distrust of Indians resulted in a declining base in terms of quality and quantity. By 1945 Indians were numerically dominant in the ICS and at issue was divided loyalty between the Empire and independence. The finances of the Raj depended on land taxes, and these became problematic in the 1930s. Epstein argues that after 1919 it became harder and harder to collect the land revenue. The Raj's suppression of civil disobedience after 1934 temporarily increased
13188-662: The country, but especially in the Madras Presidency and in regions like Sind and Gujarat that had hitherto been considered politically dormant by the Congress. Both leagues rapidly acquired new members—approximately thirty thousand each in a little over a year—and began to publish inexpensive newspapers. Their propaganda also turned to posters, pamphlets, and political-religious songs, and later to mass meetings, which not only attracted greater numbers than in earlier Congress sessions, but also entirely new social groups such as non- Brahmins , traders, farmers, students, and lower-level government workers. Although they did not achieve
13345-593: The country. Earlier, in 1925, non-violent protests of the Congress had resumed too, this time in Gujarat, and led by Patel, who organised farmers to refuse payment of increased land taxes; the success of this protest, the Bardoli Satyagraha , brought Gandhi back into the fold of active politics. At its annual session in Lahore , the Indian National Congress, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru , issued
13502-512: The district was 77.46%, as compared to the national average of 72.99%. The district had a total of 197,653 households. There were a total of 349,974 workers, comprising 14,592 cultivators, 71,738 agricultural labourers, 3,019 in household industries, 229,575 other workers, 31,050 marginal workers, 1,053 marginal cultivators, 7,362 marginal agricultural labourers, 876 marginal workers in household industries and 21,759 other marginal workers. Anthropologists, who have worked intensively in this district for
13659-692: The district. The Nilgiris district is basically a horticulture district. Its economy is based on commodity crops of tea , coffee , and spices , followed in importance by potato , cabbage , carrot , and fruit . The main cultivation is plantation crops such as tea and coffee, but with some cardamom, pepper and rubber too. Tea grows at elevations of 1,000 to over 2,500 metres. The area also produces eucalyptus oil and temperate-zone vegetables. Potato and other vegetables are raised throughout Udhagamandalam and Coonoor Taluks. Paddy (rice), ginger, pepper and rubber are grown in Gudalur and Pandalur Taluks. Paddy
13816-677: The district. Nilgiris district is known for natural mines of Gold , which is also seen in the other parts of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve extended in the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Kerala too. Nilgiris district ranked first in a comprehensive Economic Environment index ranking districts in Tamil Nadu (except Chennai district ) prepared by the Institute for Financial Management and Research in August 2009. Tea and coffee plantations have been important to its economy. As of 2011,
13973-494: The dominant Badaga language , e.g., Doddabetta , Coonoor , Kotagiri , Gudaluru , Kunda, etc. Ootacamund is of Toda origin, and Udagamandalam is a very recent Tamil-language version of this place. Before British-owned tea and coffee plantations were developed, the dominant landholders were the Badaga. A great deal of linguistic and other cultural evidence—based on unauthentic interpretation of ballads and stories collected from unverifiable individuals—indicates erroneously with
14130-523: The effect of approximately doubling the index of overall prices in India between 1914 and 1920. Returning war veterans, especially in the Punjab, created a growing unemployment crisis, and post-war inflation led to food riots in Bombay, Madras, and Bengal provinces, a situation that was made only worse by the failure of the 1918–19 monsoon and by profiteering and speculation. The global influenza epidemic and
14287-418: The encouragement came from the work of contemporaneous Oriental scholars like Monier Monier-Williams and Max Müller , who in their works had been presenting ancient India as a great civilisation. Irritation, on the other hand, came not just from incidents of racial discrimination at the hands of the British in India, but also from governmental actions like the use of Indian troops in imperial campaigns (e.g. in
14444-486: The end of the 19th century, the hills were completely accessible, as several Ghat roads and the railway line had been constructed. In the later 19th century, when the British Straits Settlement shipped Chinese convicts to be jailed in India, some of these men were settled on the Nilgiri plateau near Naduvattam . They married Tamil Paraiyan women and had children with them. One Chinese gardener
14601-544: The face of new strength demonstrated by the nationalists with the signing of the Lucknow Pact and the founding of the Home Rule leagues , and the realisation, after the disaster in the Mesopotamian campaign , that the war would likely last longer, the new viceroy, Lord Chelmsford , cautioned that the Government of India needed to be more responsive to Indian opinion. Towards the end of the year, after discussions with
14758-482: The first European resident the next year, when he built a seasonal residence on the plateau. He reported to the Madras Government on the mildness of the climate. Europeans soon started settling here or using the plateau as a summer resort and homes for retirees. In 1870 the practice began of key government personnel moving to the hills to conduct business during summer months in this more temperate climate. By
14915-572: The forefront of the nationalist movement. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre or "Amritsar massacre", took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the predominantly Sikh northern city of Amritsar . After days of unrest Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer forbade public meetings and on Sunday 13 April 1919 fifty British Indian Army soldiers commanded by Dyer began shooting at an unarmed gathering of thousands of men, women, and children without warning. Casualty estimates vary widely, with
15072-511: The form predominantly of the Swadeshi ("buy Indian") campaign led by two-time Congress president, Surendranath Banerjee , and involved boycott of British goods. The rallying cry for both types of protest was the slogan Bande Mataram ("Hail to the Mother"), which invoked a mother goddess, who stood variously for Bengal, India, and the Hindu goddess Kali . Sri Aurobindo never went beyond
15229-533: The founding of the All-India Muslim League in Dacca . Although Curzon, by now, had resigned his position over a dispute with his military chief Lord Kitchener and returned to England, the League was in favour of his partition plan. The Muslim elite's position, which was reflected in the League's position, had crystallized gradually over the previous three decades, beginning with the revelations of
15386-506: The fringes of the Nilgiri plateau, as sentries to the Central district. They were the ancient agriculturists in the district, cultivating traditional crops such as samai , vathm, ragi . Under British influence they cultivated English vegetables and later moved on to tea. Unlike elsewhere in the country, no historical evidence is found of a state on the Nilgiris or that it was part of any ancient kingdom or empire. It seems always to have been
15543-401: The full control of their hereditary rulers, with no popular government. To prepare for elections Congress built up its grass roots membership from 473,000 in 1935 to 4.5 million in 1939. In the 1937 elections Congress won victories in seven of the eleven provinces of British India. Congress governments, with wide powers, were formed in these provinces. The widespread voter support for
15700-507: The government (1880, 1908, 1995) were reliable reports on the district, its economy, demography and culture. They with the support of political parties inimical to the natives of Nilgiris have been superseded by the Encyclopaedia of the Nilgiri Hills (2012) authored by California-based researcher Paul Hockings , who has been studying the Badagas for over sixty years. According to a 1996 bibliography of publications of this district, it
15857-512: The government in London, he suggested that the British demonstrate their good faith—in light of the Indian war role—through a number of public actions, including awards of titles and honours to princes, granting of commissions in the army to Indians, and removal of the much-reviled cotton excise duty, but, most importantly, an announcement of Britain's future plans for India and an indication of some concrete steps. After more discussion, in August 1917,
16014-494: The land holdings of the district majorly indicates the Badagas as owners in almost all Taluks of the district. This land is the major resource amongst the Badagas, which even today most Badagas are ignorant about. The Badagas did not find any representation in independent India's Constituent Assembly; to deprive the unlettered Badaga of their land it was intentionally left out of the tribal list post independence. The result of this socio-economic engineering seems to be bearing fruit for
16171-545: The law when he edited the Bande Mataram magazine; it preached independence but within the bounds of peace as far as possible. Its goal was Passive Resistance. The unrest spread from Calcutta to the surrounding regions of Bengal when students returned home to their villages and towns. Some joined local political youth clubs emerging in Bengal at the time, some engaged in robberies to fund arms, and even attempted to take
16328-548: The leaders of the Indian National Congress , the war led to calls for greater self-government for Indians. At the onset of World War I, the reassignment of most of the British army in India to Europe and Mesopotamia , had led the previous viceroy, Lord Harding , to worry about the "risks involved in denuding India of troops". Revolutionary violence had already been a concern in British India; consequently, in 1915, to strengthen its powers during what it saw
16485-504: The lifestyles of the various tribes living here or to visit the tea and vegetable plantations. Other tourist destinations in the district are Pykara Waterfalls and the Ooty Lake , Avalanche and Doddabetta peak . List of districts of Tamil Nadu The Indian state of Tamil Nadu is divided into 38 districts . Districts are the major administrative divisions of a state and are further sub-divided into smaller taluks . During
16642-412: The lives of Raj officials. However, the conspiracies generally failed in the face of intense police work. The Swadeshi boycott movement cut imports of British textiles by 25%. The swadeshi cloth, although more expensive and somewhat less comfortable than its Lancashire competitor, was worn as a mark of national pride by people all over India. The overwhelming, but predominantly Hindu, protest against
16799-561: The magnitude or character of a nationwide mass movement, the Home Rule leagues both deepened and widened organised political agitation for self-rule in India. The British authorities reacted by imposing restrictions on the Leagues, including shutting out students from meetings and banning the two leaders from travelling to certain provinces. The year 1915 also saw the return of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to India. Already known in India as
16956-429: The new British-founded universities in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, and familiar with the ideas of British political philosophers, especially the utilitarians assembled in Bombay — founded the Indian National Congress . The 70 men elected Womesh Chunder Bonerjee as the first president. The membership consisted of a westernised elite, and no effort was made at this time to broaden the base. During its first 20 years,
17113-482: The new Liberal secretary of state for India, Edwin Montagu , announced the British aim of "increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration, and the gradual development of self-governing institutions, with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire". Although the plan envisioned limited self-government at first only in
17270-629: The newly canalled Punjab, led to increased food production for internal consumption. The railway network provided critical famine relief, notably reduced the cost of moving goods, and helped nascent Indian-owned industry. After, the Great Famine of 1876–1878 , The Indian Famine Commission report was issued in 1880, and the Indian Famine Codes , the earliest famine scales and programmes for famine prevention, were instituted. In one form or other, they would be implemented worldwide by
17427-456: The north, and Malappuram district of Kerala to the west. In this district the topography is rolling, with steep escarpments; about 60% of the cultivable land is slopes ranging from 16° to 35°. The rolling hills of the Downs look quite similar to the Downs in southern England , and were formerly used for such activities as hunting and picnicking . The elevation of the Nilgiris results in
17584-610: The northwest and southwest, was included in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in 1986, India's first biosphere reserve. In January 2010, the Nilgiri Declaration set out a wide range environmental and sustainable development goals to be reached by 2015. The region has also given its name to a number of bird species, including the Nilgiri pipit , Nilgiri woodpigeon and Nilgiri blackbird. The Nilgiris
17741-474: The partition of Bengal and the fear in its wake of reforms favouring the Hindu majority, led the Muslim elite in India to meet with the new viceroy, Lord Minto in 1906 and to ask for separate electorates for Muslims. In conjunction, they demanded proportional legislative representation reflecting both their status as former rulers and their record of cooperating with the British. This led, in December 1906, to
17898-518: The past 140 years, recognise 15 tribes living here. Their origins are uncertain as there were no written records about them. The best-known of these are the Toda and Kota , whose related cultures are based on pastoral management of the buffalo , with its dairy products being the basis of their diets. They have developed highly refined red, black and white embroidered shawls , and silver jewellery , which are GI-registered and much sought after. The district
18055-433: The perpetrators of such engineering. The district has been intentionally underdeveloped as it is bereft of quality healthcare facilities , universities , environment-friendly industries, affordable quality higher education and basic infrastructure . This underdevelopment has ensured the Badagas need to go outside the district to survive. Certain vested interest have invested in researchers to bring about half-truths about
18212-652: The person of Queen Victoria (who, in 1876, was proclaimed Empress of India ). It lasted until 1947, when the British Raj was partitioned into two sovereign dominion states: the Union of India (later the Republic of India ) and Pakistan (later the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ). Later, the People's Republic of Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan. At the inception of the Raj in 1858, Lower Burma
18369-416: The portion of the range above 1000 metres' elevation. These evergreen rain forests are extremely diverse. Above 1500 metres' elevation, the evergreen forests begin to give way to stunted forests, locally called sholas , which are interspersed with open grassland The high grasslands are home to the endangered Nilgiri tahr , which resembles a stocky goat with curved horns. The Nilgiri tahrs are found only in
18526-483: The power for provincial governments to arrest and detain suspects in short-term detention facilities and without trial. With the end of World War I, there was also a change in the economic climate. By the end of 1919, 1.5 million Indians had served in the armed services in either combatant or non-combatant roles, and India had provided £146 million in revenue for the war. The increased taxes coupled with disruptions in both domestic and international trade had
18683-577: The power of the revenue agents but after 1937 they were forced by the new Congress-controlled provincial governments to hand back confiscated land. Again the outbreak of war strengthened them, in the face of the Quit India movement the revenue collectors had to rely on military force and by 1946–47 direct British control was rapidly disappearing in much of the countryside. In 1935, after the Round Table Conferences, Parliament passed
18840-538: The present-day Tamil Nadu , Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of the present-day Andhra Pradesh , the Malabar region of the present-day Kerala , Bellary and South Canara districts of the present-day Karnataka . The Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions were separated to form the new Andhra State in 1953. As a result of the re-organization of states in 1956, South Canara and Bellary districts were merged with Mysore State , which became Karnataka and
18997-544: The provinces—with India emphatically within the British Empire—it represented the first British proposal for any form of representative government in a non-white colony. Montagu and Chelmsford presented their report in July 1918 after a long fact-finding trip through India the previous winter. After more discussion by the government and parliament in Britain, and another tour by the Franchise and Functions Committee for
19154-515: The provincial level; however, that opportunity was also restricted by the still limited number of eligible voters, by the small budgets available to provincial legislatures, and by the presence of rural and special interest seats that were seen as instruments of British control. Its scope was unsatisfactory to the Indian political leadership, famously expressed by Annie Besant as something "unworthy of England to offer and India to accept". In 1917, as Montagu and Chelmsford were compiling their report,
19311-562: The purpose of identifying who among the Indian population could vote in future elections, the Government of India Act 1919 (also known as the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms ) was passed in December 1919. The new Act enlarged both the provincial and Imperial legislative councils and repealed the Government of India's recourse to the "official majority" in unfavourable votes. Although departments like defence, foreign affairs, criminal law, communications, and income-tax were retained by
19468-464: The reform process by extremists, and since its reform plan was devised during a time when extremist violence had ebbed as a result of increased governmental control, it also began to consider how some of its wartime powers could be extended into peacetime. After the 1906 split between the moderates and the extremists in the Indian National Congress , organised political activity by the Congress had remained fragmented until 1914, when Bal Gangadhar Tilak
19625-414: The removal of untouchability from Indian society; and the exercise of swadeshi —the boycott of manufactured foreign goods and the revival of Indian cottage industry . The first two, he felt, were essential for India to be an egalitarian and tolerant society, one befitting the principles of Truth and Ahimsa , while the last, by making Indians more self-reliant, would break the cycle of dependence that
19782-507: The rural Kaira district where land-owning farmers were protesting increased land-revenue and the other in the city of Ahmedabad , where workers in an Indian-owned textile mill were distressed about their low wages. The satyagraha in Ahmedabad took the form of Gandhi fasting and supporting the workers in a strike, which eventually led to a settlement. In Kaira, in contrast, although the farmers' cause received publicity from Gandhi's presence,
19939-488: The same time, it was felt that the peasants, for whose benefit the large land reforms of the United Provinces had been undertaken, had shown disloyalty, by, in many cases, fighting for their former landlords against the British. Consequently, no more land reforms were implemented for the next 90 years: Bengal and Bihar were to remain the realms of large land holdings (unlike the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh ). Third,
20096-537: The satyagraha itself, which consisted of the farmers' collective decision to withhold payment, was not immediately successful, as the British authorities refused to back down. The agitation in Kaira gained for Gandhi another lifelong lieutenant in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel , who had organised the farmers, and who too would go on to play a leadership role in the Indian independence movement. In 1916, in
20253-505: The sea and making their own salt by evaporating seawater. Although, many, including Gandhi, were arrested, the British government eventually gave in, and in 1931 Gandhi travelled to London to negotiate new reform at the Round Table Conferences . In local terms, British control rested on the Indian Civil Service (ICS), but it faced growing difficulties. Fewer and fewer young men in Britain were interested in joining, and
20410-455: The second half of the 19th century, both the direct administration of India by the British crown and the technological change ushered in by the industrial revolution, had the effect of closely intertwining the economies of India and Great Britain. In fact many of the major changes in transport and communications (that are typically associated with Crown Rule of India) had already begun before
20567-691: The smoke nuisance in Calcutta. Trouble emerged for Curzon when he divided the largest administrative subdivision in British India, the Bengal Province , into the Muslim-majority province of Eastern Bengal and Assam and the Hindu-majority province of West Bengal (present-day Indian states of West Bengal , Bihar , and Odisha ). Curzon's act, the Partition of Bengal , had been contemplated by various colonial administrations since
20724-558: The smoky haze enveloping the area. This area was long occupied by the indigenous tribal peoples of the Toda , Kota , Kurumba , Irula and Badagas . The Badagas were also indigenous to the district but were never a tribal group. Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups PVTGs, the dominant land owners of the tribal district. The lower Wayanad plateau in the west of the district had a different tribal population namely Kattunaika and Paniya . The Todas and Kota, who are similar in culture, language and genetic ancestry, were settled across
20881-579: The standing Indian Army consisted of 66,000 British soldiers, 130,000 Natives, and 350,000 soldiers in the princely armies. Second, it was also felt that both the princes and the large land-holders, by not joining the rebellion, had proved to be, in Lord Canning's words, "breakwaters in a storm". They too were rewarded in the new British Raj by being integrated into the British-Indian political system and having their territories guaranteed. At
21038-450: The superiority of this new form of organised agitation, which had achieved some success in the Irish home rule movement , over the political violence that had intermittently plagued the subcontinent during the years 1907–1914. The two Leagues focused their attention on complementary geographical regions: Tilak's in western India, in the southern Bombay presidency , and Besant's in the rest of
21195-529: The taluks are connected with major roads. Ooty bus stand serves as the central bus stand for the district.Several crucial Ghat roads were cut in the 19th century. The village roads are maintained by the Panchayat Union. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway from Mettupalayam to Udhagamandalam , is a great tourist attraction. It was filmed in A Passage to India , representing the railway to the caves. It
21352-465: The time of Lord William Bentinck, but was never acted upon. Though some considered it administratively felicitous, it was communally charged. It sowed the seeds of division among Indians in Bengal, transforming nationalist politics as nothing else before it. The Hindu elite of Bengal, among them many who owned land in East Bengal that was leased out to Muslim peasants, protested fervidly. Following
21509-417: The time, the "Lucknow Pact" was an important milestone in nationalistic agitation and was seen as such by the British. During 1916, two Home Rule Leagues were founded within the Indian National Congress by Tilak and Annie Besant , respectively, to promote Home Rule among Indians, and also to elevate the stature of the founders within the Congress itself. Besant, for her part, was also keen to demonstrate
21666-541: The total adult male population, many of whom were still illiterate. In the provincial legislatures, the British continued to exercise some control by setting aside seats for special interests they considered cooperative or useful. In particular, rural candidates, generally sympathetic to British rule and less confrontational, were assigned more seats than their urban counterparts. Seats were also reserved for non-Brahmins, landowners, businessmen, and college graduates. The principal of "communal representation", an integral part of
21823-529: The wartime partnership between Germany and Turkey. Since the Turkish Sultan , or Khalifah , had also sporadically claimed guardianship of the Islamic holy sites of Mecca , Medina , and Jerusalem , and since the British and their allies were now in conflict with Turkey, doubts began to increase among some Indian Muslims about the "religious neutrality" of the British, doubts that had already surfaced as
21980-494: The whims of those markets, lost land, animals, and equipment to money-lenders. The latter half of the 19th century also saw an increase in the number of large-scale famines in India . Although famines were not new to the subcontinent, these were particularly severe, with tens of millions dying, and with many critics, both British and Indian, laying the blame at the doorsteps of the lumbering colonial administrations. There were also salutary effects: commercial cropping, especially in
22137-535: The world and a history of 60 years of its construction, only ten per cent of the "superior posts" in the Indian Railways were held by Indians. The rush of technology was also changing the agricultural economy in India: by the last decade of the 19th century, a large fraction of some raw materials—not only cotton, but also some food-grains—were being exported to faraway markets. Many small farmers, dependent on
22294-444: The years 1907–1914, Gandhi tested the technique of Satyagraha in a number of protests on behalf of the Indian community in South Africa against the unjust racial laws. Also, during his time in South Africa, in his essay, Hind Swaraj , (1909), Gandhi formulated his vision of Swaraj , or "self-rule" for India based on three vital ingredients: solidarity between Indians of different faiths, but most of all between Hindus and Muslims;
22451-611: Was a founding member of the League of Nations , and a founding member of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945 . India was a participating state in the Summer Olympics in 1900 , 1920 , 1928 , 1932 , and 1936 . The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, except for small holdings by other European nations such as Goa and Pondicherry . This area
22608-577: Was a gap which had to be filled by the production of those goods in India itself. Bal Gangadhar Tilak said that the Swadeshi and Boycott movements are two sides of the same coin. The large Bengali Hindu middle-class (the Bhadralok ), upset at the prospect of Bengalis being outnumbered in the new Bengal province by Biharis and Oriyas, felt that Curzon's act was punishment for their political assertiveness. The pervasive protests against Curzon's decision took
22765-596: Was a time of increased vulnerability, the Government of India passed the Defence of India Act 1915 , which allowed it to intern politically dangerous dissidents without due process, and added to the power it already had under the Indian Press Act of 1910 to imprison journalists without trial and to censor the press. It was under the Defence of India act that the Ali brothers were imprisoned in 1916, and Annie Besant ,
22922-472: Was already a part of British India; Upper Burma was added in 1886, and the resulting union, Burma , was administered as an autonomous province until 1937, when it became a separate British colony, gaining its own independence in 1948. It was renamed Myanmar in 1989. The Chief Commissioner's Province of Aden was also part of British India at the inception of the British Raj, and became a separate colony known as Aden Colony in 1937 as well. As India , it
23079-514: Was critical to the district's future, for he worked with Margaret B. L. Cockburn in Aruvenu , near Kotagiri, to develop Allport's, the first Nilgiri tea plantation, which started operations in 1863. Her father, Montague D. Cockburn, had opened the first coffee plantation there soon after 1830. The district has an area of 2,552.50 km. The district is basically hilly, lying at an elevation of 1,000 to 2,600 metres above MSL, and divided between
23236-455: Was crowned Emperor of India . He announced the capital would be moved from Calcutta to Delhi. This period saw an increase in the activities of revolutionary groups , which included Bengal's Anushilan Samiti and the Punjab's Ghadar Party . However, the British authorities were able to crush violent rebels swiftly, partly because the mainstream of educated Indian politicians opposed violent revolution. The First World War would prove to be
23393-461: Was dedicated to upgrading the quality of government in the British Raj. He began large scale famine relief, reduced taxes, and overcame bureaucratic obstacles in an effort to reduce both starvation and widespread social unrest. Although appointed by a Liberal government, his policies were much the same as viceroys appointed by Conservative governments. Social reform was in the air by the 1880s. For example, Pandita Ramabai , poet, Sanskrit scholar, and
23550-563: Was given separate representation in the Provincial Legislative Assemblies. A voter could cast a vote only for candidates in his own category. The 1935 Act provided for more autonomy for Indian provinces, with the goal of cooling off nationalist sentiment. The act provided for a national parliament and an executive branch under the purview of the British government, but the rulers of the princely states managed to block its implementation. These states remained under
23707-403: Was invited by a group of disgruntled tenant farmers who, for many years, had been forced into planting indigo (for dyes) on a portion of their land and then selling it at below-market prices to the British planters who had leased them the land. Upon his arrival in the district, Gandhi was joined by other agitators, including a young Congress leader, Rajendra Prasad , from Bihar, who would become
23864-632: Was perpetuating not only the direction and tenor of the British rule in India, but also the British commitment to it. At least until 1920, the British presence itself was not a stumbling block in Gandhi's conception of swaraj ; rather, it was the inability of Indians to create a modern society. Gandhi made his political debut in India in 1917 in Champaran district in Bihar , near the Nepal border, where he
24021-465: Was referred to coastal regions and northern part of the island at that time (now Sri Lanka ) was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens . These coastal regions were temporarily administered under Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, but for later periods the British governors reported to London, and it was not part of the Raj. The kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan , having fought wars with
24178-420: Was released from prison and began to sound out other Congress leaders about possible reunification. That, however, had to wait until the demise of Tilak's principal moderate opponents, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Pherozeshah Mehta , in 1915, whereupon an agreement was reached for Tilak's ousted group to re-enter the Congress. In the 1916 Lucknow session of the Congress, Tilak's supporters were able to push through
24335-616: Was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948. The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf and the other states under the Persian Gulf Residency were theoretically princely states as well as presidencies and provinces of British India until 1947 and used the rupee as their unit of currency. Among other countries in the region, Ceylon , which
24492-425: Was sufficiently diverse to be a microcosm of India itself. In tackling the challenge of holding this community together and simultaneously confronting the colonial authority, he had created a technique of non-violent resistance, which he labelled Satyagraha (or Striving for Truth). For Gandhi, Satyagraha was different from " passive resistance ", by then a familiar technique of social protest, which he regarded as
24649-681: Was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent , lasting from 1858 to 1947. It is also called Crown rule in India or, in contexts referencing the British government’s authority, direct rule in India . The region under British control was commonly called India in contemporaneous usage and included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom , which were collectively called British India , and areas ruled by indigenous rulers, but under British paramountcy , called
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