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1 November 1858: a large crowd gathered at the Government House in #Calcutta to hear the Queen's proclamation of the beginning of direct rule by the British government. It was celebrated as a potential new start, which might repair the damage done by the EIC. (Image: @V_and_A )/1
But what happened after? How did the #Victorian period shape #Calcutta society? How did #Bengali society react to the changes brought by direct rule? /2
Well, for one thing they were struck by the inequalities of colonial rule, especially the difference between talk of liberty and equality and the racist actions of both individual Europeans and the colonial state as a whole. /3
An illustrative example was the #1883 #IlbertBill, which simply would have allowed all judges - even Indians - to try any case - even those of Europeans! Indian society was greatly in favor of this bill, as you can see in this print from the Graphic (Credit: @Wikipedia) /4
On the other hand, European society in India was outraged by the idea of Indian judges presiding over cases involving white people. One particularly racist example was John Beames (Image: @Wikipedia), who said the idea "is intensely distasteful and humiliating to all Europeans"/5
The Ilbert Bill was eventually passed through compromises that essentially removed its progressive nature. But more importantly, the controversy made the racial tensions crystal-clear to Indian observers and triggered the real start of the #NationalMovement. /6
To learn more about #Calcutta society during the Victorian period, join me this Sunday for a virtual walking tour of #VictorianCalcutta! Tickets can be fpurchased here: https://bit.ly/2I7xDzx /7
