What are some surprising facts about the British Empire?

 

• Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1819 to 1901, was a pioneer of fashion trends. When she married Prince Albert in 1837, wedding gowns were typically multicolored. But Queen Victoria wanted to emphasize the beauty of her gown's embroidery, so she requested it be white. All guests were forbidden to wear white to prevent her wedding dress from stealing attention, and she even ordered that the pattern be destroyed to prevent it from being copied. Since then, members of the British royal family have always worn white for their wedding gowns, a practice imitated by the common people to this day.
• As descendants of European royalty, the British royal family's former surname was Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. It wasn't until the outbreak of World War I, due to anti-German sentiment, that they changed their name to Windsor.
• Queen Elizabeth II (hereinafter referred to as Queen Elizabeth) was not born heir to the British throne. Elizabeth's father was the second son and not the heir apparent. However, when King Edward VIII abdicated to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, Elizabeth's father was crowned King George VI, changing both their destinies.

• Queen Elizabeth was still a teenager when she fell in love with her distant cousin, Philip (they shared a great-grandmother and great-grandfather, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert). Since then, Elizabeth has never fallen in love with another man, although Prince Philip himself had several courtships during his teenage years. Their marriage lasted over 70 years until his death in 2021.
• The Queen receives an annual payment from a tax known as the Sovereign Grant. This money is used to cover palace staff salaries, official travel expenses, and palace maintenance. In 2019 alone, the Queen received a Sovereign Grant of Rp 1.5 trillion. Of course, palace renovations aren't cheap.

• The Queen began keeping corgis in 1944 when she turned 18 and was given a corgi named Susan. Throughout her life, the Queen owned 30 corgis, some of which were known to be naughty. They occasionally bit staff members of the royal family, and even the Queen herself. In 1986, a postman named Peter Doig demanded a Beware of Dog sign be installed at Balmoral Castle after being chased by one of the Queen's dogs. But in 2018, the Queen decided to stop having corgis for the heartbreaking reason that she didn't want her dogs to be lonely if she suddenly died.
• While ordinary people require a passport to travel abroad, Queen Elizabeth II can travel anywhere in the world without one. Because the British passport is issued in Her Majesty's name she does not need to hold her own explains the palace's official website. However, the Queen's children and grandchildren are still required to have passports. The Queen is free.

• Princess Charlotte's financial impact is far greater than Prince George's. In the eyes of the British members of the royal family are like celebrities, so it's no wonder their style is widely imitated. Although Charlotte is second in line to the throne, George is actually a better adept at accumulating pounds sterling than her older brother. At the age of 3, Charlotte contributed $5 billion to the British economy compared to George's $3.6 billion. This is because Charlotte's clothes sell far better than her brother's. Understandably girls' clothes are cuter, right?

What was the effect of the British rule on the old zamindars?

 Obviously there were new changes which happened during the British rule like the introduction of Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793 which was an agreement between the British and the zamindars on the land revenue.The zamindars got exclusive rights on their lands and could collect taxes and give a share of it to the government.

But another major change was the compromise on various traditions to cater to the needs of the British. Beef and Ham dishes from the Wilson’s Hotel(Kolkata) were served to the British men who attended the famous Shovabazar Durga pujo.

Shovabazar Durga puja was started by Maharaja Naba Krishna Deb at his rajbari in 1757. This guy along with Mir Jafar,Amir Beg and Ramchand Roy were responsible for the downfall of Siraj Ud Daulah. So Mir Jafar was not the only traitor,there were many more including Naba Krishna Deb.

All these ministers were given about 8 crore from the treasury of Murshidabad and were given lands to rule.Naba Krishna Deb got the region of Sutanuti,Shovabazar(Sutanuti was one of the three villages which formed Kolkata).He built his rajbari in Shovabazar(named after Shobaram Basak who was among the “Seths and Basaks” of Saptagram,these were Jain(seth) and bengali(basak) traders from the earlier port Saptagram which was abandoned once Kolkata was founded because of changing river course of Saraswati).

Naba Krishna Deb used the wealth given to him after the Battle of PLassey to build his rajbari,a few streets in Shobhabazar(Naba Krishna street),a few temples like the Lal Mondir and to celebrate the famous Durga puja festival.

Robert Clive attending the Durga pujo of Shovabazar rajbari-it became a tradition for the British to visit this pujo after Robert Clive

This Durga puja became a fashion and status symbol for the merchant class of Kolkata and compromised on many traditions. It was made into a party with muslim nautch girls dancing.The British men in these parties were offered beef and ham which were completely against Hindu traditions.

Lord Kartikeyar was dressed in European breeches instead of his traditional dhuti-churidar.Interestingly the worship of Lord Ganesha along with the other deities in Shovabazar Durga puja was popularised by the marwari traders of the lineage of Jagat Seth. The Durga idol was dressed with jewellery of the Mughals and Nawabs of oudh.

Worship of Ganesha in Shovabazar Durga Puja(lower left corner)-popularised by the marwari traders of Bengal

This was just one zamindar family.There were plenty of changes brought with time.Making a religious festival into a grand European party was one of them.

Even to this day,we make a lot of compromises to celebrate Durga puja in Kolkata like revealing faces of the idols before Sasthi or making various “themed” puja pandals because it has now become a status symbol.This is often disliked by the more traditional people of Bengal,Assam and Odisha.

Who were the rulers that defeated the British in India? Were they Marathas, Sikhs, or other groups?

 Indian Rulers who fought against the British:

King Puli Thevar resisted the British rule as did the Queen of Jhansi, Maharaja Kumar Singh and Mahadji Shinde and Nana Phadnavis who defeated British in the 1st Anglo Maratha War as well as the heroes of 1857 War of Indian Independence.

Maharaja Kumar Singh: In around 1857 he was 80 year old King of Jagdishpur and in ailing condition. The British sent him a letter on his 80th Birthday that as he had no heir the British would take control of Jagdishpur and as he is already old they will take care of him for the rest of his life in return. He flatly refused saying that he won't give up Jagdishpur. Soon the British entered his palace and threw him out. For the next 6 months Kumar Singh lived in the forests, relearned guerilla warfare and raised his army and marched on Jagdishpur to reclaim his territory. After a day long battle and losing his arm to bullet wounds he sent the British packing out of Jagdishpur, reentered his palace and finally took possession of his throne. He was able to rule for the next few days in style from his kingdom however his bullet wounds turned fatal as gangrene developed, and Maharaja Kumar Singh breathed his last but died satisfied as he could leave his mortal body and get cremated with honours in his own kingdom after tasting sweet victory in war against the British.

Mahadji Shinde: if someone says that Tipu was the first freedom fighter of India share this fact that Mahadji Shinde fought the British and defeated them in the First Anglo Maratha War with the able support of Nana Phadnavis 18 years before Tipu fought his battle with the British (Tipu died in his battle but the Marathas were victorious in the First Anglo Maratha War).

Puli Thevar: King Puli Thevar who reigned between 1715 to 1767 could very well be the first freedom fighter against the British. He fought the British in 3 wars only to defeat them every single time. He even once battled a combined force between Yusuf Khan and the British making both bite the dust.

Queen Kittur Chenamma: Defeated the British in a fight to retain her kingdom. Won the first battle however was captured in the second and was martyred as prisoner of war. Her deputy S Rayanna also died a martyr after a fierce battle with the British.

Rani Laxmibai: Martyr in the War of 1857 and the most known female freedom fighter in history.

Begum Hazrat Mahal: Led rebellion in the War of 1857 teaming up with Nanasaheb Peshwa, Raosaheb Peshwa, Tatya Tope, Azimullah Khan, Bahadurshah Zafar and Ahmedshah Moulvi

Bahadurshah Zafar: The last Mughal Emperor (crowned by Hindus) was Bahadur Shah Zafar. The Mughal Empire was decimated by the Marathas in 1737 Battle of Delhi and after that no Mughals ever sat on the Delhi throne without prior approval from the Marathas. The Marathas preferred to rule from the Deccan and appoint a Mughal well versed with local politics to sit on the Delhi throne.

The last and greatest Mughal Emperor was Bahadur Shah Zafar the hero of 1857 War of Independence,

1857 War of Indian Independence remains most successful fight against the British ever, for the simple reason that Indian revolutionaries conquered territories from Delhi to Cooch Behar to Gwalior which were under British occupation in year 1857. The British feringhees were never more than 75000 at any stage in their rule and pitting them against crores of Indians is actually a no-brainer on who will win if 75000 British people go to battle against say 100 crore Indians.

Tatya Tope, Nanasaheb Peshwa (younger), Raosaheb Peshwa, Rani Laxmibai, Azimulla Khan, Ahmed Shah Moulvi, Begum Hazrat Mahal and other allies conquered Delhi and nominated Bahadur Shah Zafar as the King and made him sit on the throne of Delhi in 1857 as they would go on to free territories from Delhi to Bengal to Gwalior for about a year between 1857 to 1858.

This remains the most successful fight against the British ever in the history of Indian freedom struggle though it was unsuccessful in the end. Bahadurshah Zafar was captured by the British and exiled to Burma where he died.

The famously patriotic lines of Bahadurshah Zafar are: Jab Tak Bazuon Mein Hai Dum Apne Iman Ki London Tak Chalegi Tegh Hindustan Ki.

PS: When Bahadurshah Zafar was crowned as King of Delhi by Indian revolutionaries Nanasaheb Peshwa and Tatya Tope, a few Muslim courtiers sensing some chance approached Bahadurshah Zafar and advised him not to let go of this opportunity and wage a Jihad against the Hindus. An angry Bahadurshah Zafar refused to launch a Jihad against the Hindus and also thundered that he will cut off the hands of whosoever brings such a vile advice in front of him.

Bahadurshah Zafar is still not blemish free. Though Veer Savarkar described him as a hero and a patriot who would put country above religion and also described 1857 as not just a mutiny but a full fledged War of Independence, in contrast Dr Ambedkar dismissed 1857 as just a Jihad of the Muslims against the British and Zafar as someone who fought for Islam taking support from the Hindus who were also against the British.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh: During his reign the British could not even dream of getting 1 inch of land in the Sikh Empire.

Picture depicting the Treaty of Salbai in which the Marathas defeated the British in 1st Anglo Maratha War in 1782 showing the British commander paying respects to Mahadji Shinde and Nana Phadnavis

ಮರಾಠಾ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ, ಸಿಖ್ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಬ್ರಿಟಿಷ್ ಭಾರತದಂತಹ ಇತರ ಭಾರತೀಯ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೋಲಿಸಿದರೆ ಮೊಘಲ್ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಬಲ ಹೇಗಿತ್ತು?

 ಅವರ "ಮಹಾನ್" ಮೊಘಲ್ ಔರಂಗಜೇಬ್ ಶೋಚನೀಯವಾಗಿ ಸೋತ ಯುದ್ಧಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ-

1) ಸರೈಘಾಟ್ ಕದನ (1671)- ಅಹೋಮ್ಸ್

2) ಸಲ್ಹೇರ್ ಕದನ (1672) - ಮರಾಠರು

3) ಡೆಬಾರಿಸ್ ಕದನ (1680) - ರಜಪೂತ

4) ಅರಾವಳಿ ಕದನ (1680) - ರಜಪೂತರು

5) ಬುರ್ಹಾನ್‌ಪುರ ಕದನ (1681)- ಮರಾಠರು

6) ಇಟಖುಲಿ ಕದನ (1682)- ಅಹೋಮ್ಸ್

7) ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ್ ಕದನ (1682) - ಮರಾಠರು.

?? ಕೊಂಕಣರ ಮೇಲೆ ಮೊಘಲರ ಆಕ್ರಮಣ (1684) - ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಮರಾಠರು

9) ವೈಸ್ ಕದನ (1687) - ಮತ್ತೆ ಮರಾಠರು

10) ಅಥಾನಿಸ್ ಕದನ (1690) - ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಮರಾಠರು

11)ನದೌನ್ ಕದನ (1691) - ಸಿಖ್ ಮತ್ತು ರಜಪೂತ ಪಡೆಗಳ ಒಕ್ಕೂಟ

12) ಗುಲೇರ್ ಕದನ ( 1696) - ಸಿಖ್ಖರು

13) ಆನಂದಪುರ ಕದನ (1700) - ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಸಿಖ್ಖರು

14) ನಿರ್ಮೋಹಗಢ ಕದನ (1702) -ಸಿಖ್ಖರು ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ.

15) ಬಸೋಲಿ ಕದನ (1702) - ಮತ್ತೆ ಸಿಖ್ಖರು.