Significance of India
History: KS3, topic 6.4.4
Significance of India
India became Britain’s most valuable colonial possession, being labelled ‘the jewel in the Crown’.
Wealth
- India became known as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the British Empire, and British control of India brought great wealth back to the Empire into the 1900s.
The nationalist movement
- But in the later-1800s and 1900s, opposition to British rule began to grow in India.
- A nationalist movement developed that demanded independence for India and freedom from British rule.
Mahatma Gandhi
- A key member of this nationalist movement was Mahatma Gandhi, who believed in passive resistance.
- Gandhi believed that Indians should not use violence to achieve independence, but should simply refuse to cooperate with the British government until they forced the British out.
Independence
- Britain continued to control India until 1947, when India achieved independence.
Test yourself on Significance of India
Who was a key member of the Indian nationalist movement?
In which year did India gain independence?