User:Fowler&fowler/British India RfC references

Here are the references for the RfC:

The OED (on-line edition) has clarified its definition in view of the language of the British Raj lead
The OED on-line edition (draft revision of June 2008, requires subscription) has clarified its definition of "British Raj" in view of the language of this page's lead (and uses some of the language of the lead)! Here is the new definition: "'raj 2. spec: In full British Raj. Direct rule in India by the British (1858-1947); this period of dominion. Often with the. Also in extended use: any system of government in which power is restricted to a particular group. The British Raj was instituted in 1858, when, as a consequence of the Indian Rebellion of the previous year, the rule of the British East India Company was transferred to the Crown in the person of Queen Victoria (proclaimed Empress of India in 1876). In 1947 the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign dominion states, the Union of India (later the Republic of India) and the Dominion of Pakistan (later the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh) (cf. PARTITION n. 7c)."

Before the revision, it use to simply say: "b. spec. the British dominion or rule in the Indian sub-continent (before 1947). In full, British raj."

And here are OED's examples of usage with dates in boldface: "1857 Times 3 Aug. 5/6 We have just seen a translation of one of the most infamous articles against the British Raj, which we have seen published. 1879 Times 8 Dec. 9/3 The downfall of the British raj was only a matter of time. 1908 Daily Chron. 21 June 4/4 The Indian agitators who represent the British raj as the author of the plague. 1940 Times 10 July 3/6 The Congress demand for a National Government so-called really meant a Congress ‘Raj’. 1969 R. MILLAR Kut xv. 288 Sir Stanley Maude had taken command in Mesopotamia, displacing the raj of antique Indian Army commanders. 1971 Illustr. Weekly India 18 Apr. 4/2 Though it appears paradoxical, in the last days of the Raj, the British were the only people who wished to keep India united. 1987 N. SIBAL Yatra I. 6 Paramjit had written to her saying that the British were pulling out of India and that the Raj was coming to an end. 2006 Daily Mail (Nexis) 6 June 17 I've yet to hear him address the democratic deficit which subjugates the English to rule by a Scottish Raj."

Third meaning of "British Raj" as region of the rule
Here is the link for the Google scholar search for the expression "in the British Raj": Google Scholar Search. There are many examples in which "in the British Raj" is meant in the sense of "in India under British rule," (and not in the sense of Raj as dominion or period) such as: directly out of the anti-colonial struggle in the British Raj" Gazetteers published for provinces in the British Raj), Atkinson's treatment ..." at Sandhurst, afterwards seeing active service in the First World War ..." raj''', the emphasis had always been on nationalism. The ..."
 * "The important case of Islamic economics was a consciously constructed effort arising
 * "... time" (1882: v). In keeping with the purpose of the Gazetteer (and indeed all such
 * "... Robert D’Arblay Gybbon-Monypenny, who had been born in the British Raj and educated
 * "... In contrast, '''during the independence struggle in the British

In other instances "Raj" is used in the second sense of British India, especially in its second meaning of "the British in India": Thus: Indians (called "wogs" for "worthy oriental gentleman") were excluded. ..." of a different race who, as a servant in the British Raj, occupies a ..."
 * "Koch and the Europeans were entertained at clubs in the British Raj from which native
 * "... prejudice and vindictiveness towards one's own race and, especially, toward someone

Raj is not just used in the sense of "dominion/rule," or the "period of dominion," but also refers to the region under the rule (i.e. British India) or the British in this region (i.e. secondary meaning of British India). The collection of the examples above are sufficient to establish that third use of Raj (for British India); although this usage is not as widespread, it is nevertheless to be found in the literature, as seen in the examples from the Google scholar link above.

Other Encyclopedias, Studies, Etc.

 * The OED defines the "British Raj" as stated above, but it has nothing for "British India" (attributively of course)
 * Encyclopedia Britannica has no page or sub-page for "British India." However, it has two long chapters (or subpages): (A) India#British imperial power, 1858–1947, which is clearly the same as this British Raj page, and (B) India#The extension of British power, 1760–1856, which is the same as Company rule in India. The only references to "British India" are in these pages: for example: (a) "In Great Britain the Liberal Party's electoral victory of 1906 marked the dawn of a new era of reforms for British India. Hampered though he was by the viceroy, Lord Minto, the new secretary of state ... (A)" (b) "The realization of supremacy in 1818 made urgent the problem of the organization of and determination of policy for British India (B)"
 * Encyclopedia Encarta has only a dab/definition page for "British India" whose entire contents are: "British India, collective designation of the 17 Indian provinces formerly under direct British administration, as distinguished from the more autonomous regions called the Native States of India."  This is the same as the dab page British rule in India.  Everything else is in this history pages: India#British Expansion (same as Company rule in India), India#Sepoy Rebellion (same as Indian rebellion of 1857), India#Rise of Indian Nationalism (same as British Raj).
 * Library of Congress Country Study on India, has only two sections under "British Empire in India" these are: Company Rule 1757-1857 and British Raj 1858 to 1947.
 * The main point to remember is that all the successive British Governments from 1858 to 1947 talked about the provinces and the Native States, these together made up India. "British India" was just another collective name for the "Provinces"   There is already a page for that: Provinces of India.

Historical use of term "British India" for period between 1600 and 1857

 * From The Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume IV, Indian Empire: Administrative (1907). Published under the Authority of His Majesty's Secretary of State for India-in-Council. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Pp. xxx, 552. Quote: (p. 5) "The history of British India falls, as observed by Sir. C.P. Ilbert in his Government of India, into three periods. From the beginning of the seventeenth to the middle of the eighteenth century the East India Company is a trading corporation, existing on the sufferance of the native powers and in rivalry with the merchant companies of Holland and France.  During the next century the Company acquires and consolidates its dominion, shares its sovereignty in increasing proportions with the Crown, and gradually loses its mercantile privileges and functions.  After the mutiny of 1857 the remaining powers of the Company are transferred to the Crown, and then follows an era of peace in which India awakes to new life and progress."
 * Here is a list of publications between 1600 and 1857 that used the term "British India": References to "British India" before 1858
 * For example, by "British India," in History of British India (1817), James Mill (father of John Stuart) means all of the Indian subcontinent. He includes the history of the "Hindu period (up to 1300 CE), the Muslim period (1300 to 1757), etc. He describes the Shakuntala of Kalidasa (ca 4th century CE) in good detail; Shakuntala is a mythical drama, not obviously associated with a region of early-19th century British-administered regions of India, which you can see in  this map in pink,  were still quite modest in geographical extent. By "British India" he means the historical and cultural region "India," a small part of which the British were now in control.


 * The term was used legally as early as 1770: The Statutes: From the Twentieth Year of King Henry the Third to the ... by Robert Harry Drayton, Statutes of the Realm - Law - 1770 Page 211 (3) "Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the law of British India and of the several parts thereof existing immediately before the appointed ..."

Modern scholarly use of "British India in reference to the period 1765 to 1857
These are just some of the publications that have both "British India" and the time period in their titles; there are plenty more (as can be readily observed) that use the term "British India" somewhere in the text and refer to the Company years.
 * (Scholarly articles or books 1983-2008):
 * Mapping an Empire: The Geographical Construction of British India, 1765-1843 (Book, published 1997).
 * Poor Relations: The Making of a Eurasian Community in British India, 1773-1833 (Book, published 1996).
 * "Idioms of Madness and Colonial Boundaries: The Case of the European and “Native” Mentally Ill in Early Nineteenth-Century British India" (Journal article, 1997)
 *  Mad Tales from the Raj: The European Insane in British India, 1800-1858 (Book, published 1990)
 * "Imperial Environmentalism or Environmental Imperialism? European Forestry, Colonial Foresters, and the Agendas of Forest Management in British India, 1800-1900" (Journal article, published 1998)
 * British India and British Scotland, 1780 to 1830: Career Building, Empire Building and a Scottish School of Thought on Indian Governance (Book published 2001)
 * Patrons and Philistines: Arts and the State in British India, 1773-1947 (Book published 1995)

Contemporary journalistic use of "British India" for period between 1765 and 1857
There is evidence of use of the term "British India" in newspapers to refer to the eighteenth century. Here are the results of Google News Advanced Archive Search: See Results among newspaper articles published between 1983 and 2008

Contemporary published books use of "British India" for period between 1765 and 1857
See Google Books Advanced Book Search for books published between 1983 and 2008. For example: Civility and Empire: Literature and Culture in British India, 1822-1922, by Anindyo Roy, Routledge, 2005, ISBN 0415304350.

Contemporary use of "British India" for period 1858 to 1947

 * 1. Kakar, S. (1996) "Leprosy in British India, 1860-1940: colonial politics and missionary medicine", Medical History. 40(2): 215–230.
 * 2. Blunt, Alison. (2002) ‘Land of our Mothers’: Home, Identity, and Nationality for Anglo-Indians in British India, 1919–1947, History Workshop Journal 54(1):49-72.

Use of "British India" to mean the "British in India"

 * 1. Caplan, Lionel. (2000) "Iconographies of Anglo-Indian Women: Gender Constructs and Contrasts in a Changing Society,"  Modern Asian Studies, 34(4):863-892. Quote: "He concludes that, away from the 'restrictions and prejudices of British India', their achievements 'contradict[ed] ... the popular British stereotypes of ..."
 * 2. Gentleman's Magazine (1830). Quote: "... the habits and character of British India."
 * 3. he London catalogue of books published in Great Britain, 1816 to 1851 Quote: The Manners and Customs of British India

The Disambiguation page
British India, may refer to:
 * British India (band), a garage rock band based in Australia.
 * Collectively to the Bengal Presidency, Madras Presidency, and Bombay Presidency while they were under Company rule in India (ending 1858) and governed by the British East India Company's representatives.
 * Provinces of British India under the British Raj in India (1858 to 1947) that were directly administered by the British Government India Office and by the Viceroy and Governor-General of India in the name of the British Crown.


 * Also
 * British rule in India
 * "British India" has also been used in the sense of "the British in India."