Thread by @shrikanth_krish

Late 19th cen was a period of considerable racism and racial segregation in India

Relations between Indians and the British were less chummy and more formal than they had been in the 18th cen

This was mostly caused by the pain of the "Mutiny" (war of independence)

(Contd)

What followed the mutiny was "strict segregation" in many of the large towns with significant Anglo population

One example being Kanpur (Cawnpore as it was spelt then)

There was a "White town" behind the Civil lines and the "Blacktown" on the other side

As per Kipling, in between the two, there was a "Borderline"

"Where the last drop of White blood ends, and the full tide of Black sets in"

In this environment, what was also witnessed was the introduction of the "Industrial Revolution" to India by British businessmen

One such businessman was Hugh Maxwell - whose family had settled in the Cawnpore district in 1806 and pioneered the cultivation of indigo / raw cotton

Later his family pioneered the establishment of "textile mills" in the region modeled after the British mills, with imported spinning and weaving machinery

What's interesting to note is that -

These well established British businessmen / traders were a LOT more prejudiced in their attitude towards the "natives" than the Govt servants / Babus

And this tension came to the fore with the appointment of Lord Ripon as viceroy in 1880

Ripon was born George Frederick Samuel Robinson (Marquess of Ripon) in 1827

He was 53 years old when he was appointed viceroy

A Liberal, he served in just about every Liberal govt in the cabinet between 1861 and 1909

While being Viceroy between 1880 and 1884

Ripon's legacy in India is viewed favorably by Indians and he even has a town named after him in Karnataka -

Riponpet in Shimoga - Southern Karnataka

A key reform instituted by Ripon was the famous "Ilbert Bill" written up by a member of his team - Courtenay Ilbert

This bill permitted suitably qualified Indians to try "white" defendants in the "Moffusil" countryside

In short, make justice color-blind in a truer sense

The reaction to this bill was extremely violent leading to what got dubbed as a "White Mutiny"

Much of this "revolt" was led by the less liberal British businessmen

Men like Hugh Maxwell, and also JJJ Keswick (a tea magnate)

Several thousands of Brits (mostly traders and businessmen) gathered in front of Calcutta's townhall and
there were violent speeches against the foolishness of Ripon and Ilbert!

Some excerpts from Keswick's speeches below (From Niall Ferguson's "Empire")

Keswick ridiculed the belief that Indians could possibly get "europeanized" sufficiently to judge white men and women

"Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard his spots?" - he asked

But the liberal reaction of the likes of Ripon and Ilbert was also "racist" in its own way -

They were "progressives" who thought the project was one of Europeanizing the Indian elite as indicated by the excerpt below (again from Ferguson's "Empire")

Hugh Maxwell too revolted against the bill from distant Cawnpore

Why could Ripon and Ilbert not see "how unfit the native mind is to appreciate and sympathize with European ideas of administering the government of a country and a people"?

What motivated the "White mutiny were multiple -

Racial prejudice

Self interest (a fear that Indian judges might be unfair to British business)

And a third reason

Sexual insecurity (a fear that Indian judges might adjudge rape-complaints of White memsaabs to be false)

In a letter to a newspaper, someone asked

"One's wife may be walked off for an imaginary offence,...what would more please our fellow subjects - than to bully and disgrace a wretched European woman?"

"The higher the husband's station...the greater the delight of her torturer"

Another letter to editor -

"Are our wives to be torn from our homes on false pretences to be tried by men who do not respect our women, and do not understand us, and in many cases hate us?"

It is interesting that there had been no dearth of romantic liaisons between British men and Indian women...since 17th century

That was common enough

But contacts between British women and Indian men - raised a great deal of consternation

As the debate on Ilbert bill reached its climax, there was a case where an Englishwoman accused her sweeper of raping her.

The allegation turned out to be later false (they had been lovers)

The Duke of Connaught (Queen Victoria's son) visited India around this time (the man after whom Connaught Place in Delhi is named)

He rebuked Ripon saying - you are the "Greatest fool in Asia"

Eventually Ripon climbed down, and the Ilbert Bill was modified -

wherein white defendants in any criminal case with an Indian magistrate had the right to demand a jury, where at least 50% of members had to be English or American!

But Ripon's bill had done its work...

It had united Indian opinion against English and created a national consciousness among elites.

And fairly soon after the bill, the Indian National Congress was formed.

References :

Niall Ferguson's
"Empire - How Britain made the Modern World"