British Rule Research Articles

Portraying Political Ideas of National Revolutionaries: A Case Study of Pandurang Mahadev Bapat

The term ‘revolutionary’ has a unique connotation in India’s struggle for national liberation. It refers to those freedom fighters who scrupulously believed in the efficacy of armed resistance to overthrow British rule in India and justified employing extremist techniques to achieve the objective. Consequently, national revolutionism creates a distinct stream of thinking in the Indian national movement from both the moderate and extremist currents in the movement. While there is no end to the literature on both moderate and extremist thinking in British India, the political philosophy of the revolutionaries has not been satisfactorily addressed by academia in a meaningful manner. While there are a few notable exceptions, social scientists in India have generally ignored the revolutionary political ideas because of the foundation of British authority over Indian land; the nation’s political development began to follow a pattern identical to the Western development model. Following that, some extensive Western influences were seen in education, economy, government organisation and administration, significantly impacting the intellectual development of the time. Moreover, the ideas of revolutionaries were, for the most part, immediate intellectual responses to the political challenges and crises that existed at the time of their birth. However, some of these topics were significant, such as formulating a critique of British imperialism, defining the national identity, reorganising Indian society and developing plans for national liberation. As a result, it will be necessary to examine and evaluate the political views of these revolutionaries in the context of the concerns and problems with which they were confronted at the time. This research explores and explains Bapat’s political thought and situates him in Maharashtra’s revolutionary and Hindu political traditions. Lastly, in the first instance, this research proposes a brief look at the development of Bapat’s political career, which played a vital role in shaping his political ideas. Then, it explores the significant politics of colonial and post-colonial times.

Role of Society in National Consciousness

The role of society in national consciousness is very important. Society influences the interest, organization and status of a nation. Stability, support and partnership of society play an important role in building national consciousness. It establishes the nation's identity and self-respect and promotes prosperity and equality. The emergence of national consciousness in the nineteenth century was actually the result of the British rule. The changes made by the British rule in the political, economic and social fields, which resulted in the exploitation of the Indian society, it is true that the rise and development of nationalism in India is more as compared to other countries. It happened with difficulty. Contemporary modern educated intellectuals like Raja Rammohan Roy, Keshavchandra Sen, Ishwarbandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda Environt, Sir Syed Ahmed etc. tried to eradicate the evils prevalent in the society and became strong critics of the British policy. And by influencing the Indian public with his thoughts and actions, he awakened a sense of self-confidence in them. In the year 1883-54, postal system was established in Marath, railway lines were laid, all the cities were connected by telegraph system, connecting one province to another, there was an opportunity to establish contact with the people living in remote places. This was the beginning of Indian nationalism. Became the main reason for the rise. A sense of solidarity emerged among Indians during the anti-imperialist struggle. The presented research paper investigates these facts.

Man as Nature’s Prodigal: A Study of Environmental Degradation in South East Nigeria, 1990-2022

Man’s degradation and abuse of the environment has become accelerated and much more difficult to manage due to increased human population and industrialization. Against this background, the study examines the role of man in environmental degradation in South East Nigeria between 1990 and 2022. This research, by its nature, adopted the qualitative research methodology because it cannot be subjected to quantitative analysis. The research findings showed that there were several environmental degradation challenges facing South East Nigeria, including soil erosion, land and water pollution, solid waste disposal and air pollution. These were caused mainly by human factors, especially technology and industrialization. The work argued that the South East people had a healthy relationship with the natural environment before the advent of British colonial rule. This relationship changed as a result of colonialism and its attendant effects in the area. Thus environmental problems in South East Nigeria developed over time as human socio-economic relations changed in global context.

Republican violence in Northern Ireland: a comparative case study of County Tyrone

ABSTRACT Ireland has a long history of political violence emanating from Irish republicans’ desire to be free from British rule. The focus of this article is on the use of such political violence in one particular area, namely County Tyrone using a comparative analysis to interrogate republican violence during the Anglo-Irish War (1919–1921) and the period known as the Troubles (1969–1997). Drawing upon archival sources, interviews with ex-security force members and republicans with direct experience of the conflict in County Tyrone and the extant literature, the article examines whether successive generations of republicans drew upon or deviated from established templates of political violence. In doing so, it considers the practical and lethal effect of the exchange of memories, grievance, justifications, tactics and patterns of past episodes of violence. By comparing and analysing differences in the political violence employed by successive generations of republicans, similar strategies and tactics are identified. These include the use of guerrilla warfare, attacks on security forces, the local economy and infrastructure, the creation of security force-free zones and the fostering of sectarian and representative violence. The research has contemporary relevance to improve our understanding, challenge misinterpretations and myths of past events and legacies in County Tyrone.

New development: Re-investigating the influence of China on the British civil service examination system

IMPACT In the UK, civil servant selection was arranged through patronage until the publication of the 1854 Northcote–Trevelyan Report, which led to the establishment of a competitive examination system for selecting civil servants. The UK may have referenced China's competitive examination system during this process. Missionaries, merchants and diplomats learned about the Chinese government’s system and disseminated it to Europe. This practice was described in books, making European countries, including the UK, aware of such a system. Although the availability of related information in books provides circumstantial evidence to support the Chinese influence on the British examination system, more direct evidence has previously been lacking. Therefore, the authors searched the records of debates in the UK Parliament between 1853 and 1860 and found relevant evidence regarding the Chinese influence on the British examination system. Although much has been written about British colonial rule, less is known about the exchanges of civil service systems and the critical role played by colonial administrations. This article offers valuable insights into a long history of policy transfer among countries, often appropriating better practices, to improve public and civil services.

Examining meaning-making and decolonial resistance in Pakistani women's stories of navigating coloniality and gender

Although Pakistan attained independence from the British colonial rule in 1947, the effects of colonial violence endure in the psychosocial realities of Pakistani people. Centering the stories about coloniality of two women leaders working in nongovernmental organizations, this article examines how psychological processes of meaning-making and decolonial resistance manifest in women's engagement with (de)coloniality in Lahore, Pakistan. I draw from transnational and decolonial feminisms and critical psychologies to highlight how two women's contextually shaped realities reflect colonial legacies interlaced with local and global inequities, and to document the ways women construe and resist coloniality-driven gender injustices. Using thematic narrative analysis, findings show that these women make sense of and resist coloniality through an intersectional approach, historical counter-narratives, and reimagination. The article discusses how context-specific decolonial strategies demonstrate women's agency and resistance within transnational feminist praxis, contributing to pluralistic and justice-enhancing approaches. The findings contribute to decolonizing psychological research by documenting Pakistani women's psychological processes and advancing non-Eurocentric knowledge and practices.

Advertising as a Catalyst for Social Transformation: A Study on Public Service Advertisements and Nation Building in India

Media, the fourth pillar of democracy, is one of the institutions, systems and resources created by the society to fulfill its various needs. Today, as a security guard of democracy, media has reached its reach not only in the country but across the world. In this era of information technology, mass communication has an important contribution in the society. Whatever the limitations of the early forms of communication, the rapid development of communication media has been closely related to the development of modern human society. In the last few years, the revolutionary changes in the procedures of mass communication due to scientific progress have completely changed the human life-style. From Parliament to the streets, all ideological wars are being fought today through the mass media. Before independence, the media awakened the light of patriotism and resistance to British rule among the common people. After independence, this medium of consciousness emerged from new knowledge and science and called upon the common people to protect their rights and duties.

The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Post-World War II Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Philippines

The impacts of colonial history on present-day ethnic relations in Southeast Asia, a region known for its cultural and ethnic diversity, remain significant in understanding the sociopolitical developments within the countries of the region. This paper examines the historical origins and contemporary implications of long-standing ethnic conflicts in Southeast Asia, focusing on Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Philippines. I argue that these conflicts stemmed from colonial legacies and can be traced back to each country’s respective colonial periods, which took place at different points in history. From the imposition of territorial boundaries to racial classification and differential treatment, colonial policies resulted in enduring tensions between ethnic populations, which continue to shape ethnic relations in these countries today. British colonial rule in Myanmar fostered tensions between the Bamar majority and non-Bamar minorities, while in Malaysia, disparities between Malays and ethnic Chinese were fueled by British migration policies. In the Philippines, conflicts involving the Muslim minority in Mindanao originated from attempts by the Spanish at Christianization and subjugation, further exacerbated by American imperialism. Despite variations in colonial experiences and timelines, ethnic conflicts underscore the lasting impact of colonization on these countries’ present-day social and political dynamics.

Racism and Alienation in Postcolonial Context: A Study of Tariq Rehman’s Short Story “BINGO”

Referring to the phenomenon of racism and alienation in Pakistani literature, it is first advantageous to examine Pakistan’s Postcolonial democracy. Pakistan was colonized under British rule for 90 years and got its independent recognition in 1947. In 1971, the political and social conflicts fueled the armed forces to start a third war between India and Pakistan. Consequently, East Pakistan (i.e., present Bangladesh) formally separated from West Pakistan. This paper focuses on two major dimensions of postcolonialism i.e., Racism and Alienation, in Tariq Rehman’s short fiction Bingo. Postcolonialism is used as a theoretical framework to postulate the formation and fragmentation of East and West Pakistani nations in 1971. The conventional treatment of colonial hegemony by West Pakistan to East Pakistan is analyzed through the characters of Tajassur and Safeer. The outcome of the hegemonic scenario gives birth to some toxic substances of civil war such as brutality, mass destruction, deprivation, hatred, and family loss, which are couched through the diction and style opted by Tariq Rehman. This study is exclusive in a way that it elucidates the social and emotional estrangement of the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) towards a minority (i.e., Bengalis) before the independence of Bangladesh. This work further examines the text to mediate all the scenarios of West Pakistan’s power shift from being under British raj to rule over Bengalis. To interpret the orientation and worthiness of data; thematic analysis is used as a more flexible yet influential tool; to discuss the hegemonic foundation after partition in Pakistan

Anthropological Developmentalism: Furer-Haimendorf and the Making of Social Policy in Hyderabad State 1

Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf has left a formidable legacy on the social policy of Hyderabad state, which was ruled by an Indian ruler during British colonial rule. As a field anthropologist, administrator and professor at Osmania University, Haimendorf played an important role in designing Adivasi development policies that were mainly rooted in a paternalistic and evolutionistic approach—what I call anthropological developmentalism—which was designed to overturn the political aspirations of the Adivasi communities. This approach neither empowered the Adivasis nor protected them from outsiders. Yet, Haimendorf and his legacy have been celebrated by the Adivasis in particular, and the state in general. This article explores this paradox by examining the intellectual and contextual role of Haimendorf’s anthropological ideas and their application to Hyderabad state.

The History of Togoland Under the British Rule (1914‒1956)

The article is devoted to the history of British Togoland, in particular, the central part of the Volta region (southeast of modern Ghana). The time frame of the study covers the period from the First World War to the incorporation of the Volta region into the Gold Coast. During the pre-colonial period, the region was a zone of active commercial networks, both in the slave trade and in a wide range of goods, which varied according to local and international demand. The ethnic majority living in the region is the Ewe group of peoples. The transition from the German colonial rule (1890–1914) – a short-term, but fundamentally important factor for the history of the region – led to the need of the Bremen missionaries work adaptation to the new conditions, the formation of Ewe’s own synod and political associations. Until 1957, the inhabitants of the central part of the Volta region tried to defend their right to unite the territory of the former German Togoland and maintain contacts with the Germans. The management of Togoland was also complicated by the location of the colonial government’s main office in the Gold Coast: by 1920s the Bremen missionary schools had already been transferred to the Gold Coast Department of Education, and the United Free Church of Scotland had to act as intermediaries between the British colonial government and German missionaries, most of the time remotely.

The British Royals in Australia

This article examines how and why, from Australia’s colonial past to today, the British monarchy have “intruded” into our daily lives (Cannadine Orientalism 103). To ‘intrude’ suggests consciousness and agency in making sure they are constantly part of our social life. Public events, press releases, Websites, ceremonies, and the like do not occur randomly. Queen Elizabeth II was very aware that she ‘needed to be seen to be believed’. Is this enough of a reason for the British royals to appear on our currency or postage stamps, for their images to adorn tea towels and magazine covers, or for them to be subject of films, television shows, and book? Is the need to be seen the reason they visit our shores so frequently? If the British monarch rules with divine right, why does the royal family need to spend their time intruding into the lives of everyday people? Given Cannadine’s arguments that the royal family adopts traditions, symbols, and signifiers to reinforce and legitimate their power, it is possible to come to a view that the word ‘intrusion’ is not used by Cannadine by accident. The British royals need more than to be seen: they need to be seen in a particular light, with meanings that reinforce their positive role in national life – or at least posit that they do no harm and that they may indeed be good for the economy. It is not only their apparent public good that endlessly intrudes in our daily lives; so too do their transgressions. Regardless, they remain ever present. While representations of the British royals are not always positive, they are constant. Because they are constant, the public form views about them and their character. In this ‘social construction of reality’, as sociologists Berger and Luckman would put it, we think we know who and what the royals are, and for the most part we accept them as their preferred representation. If this is the case, the British royal family have successfully engaged in a hegemonic project – which explains why the royal family has survived, when so many other European royal families did not, and it also explains why they need to intrude into our daily lives. In her 2021 book Running the Family Firm: How the Monarchy Manages Its Image and Our Money, Laura Clancy argues that the British royals are very conscious of the need to present and continually represent a very particular, curated, and stage-managed version of themselves as a benign middle-upper class family, committed to public duty and sacrifice, who symbolise the nation and stability. This image, along with the public’s emotional investment in their daily lives, particularly when they marry and have children, seeks to render their capital accumulation, immense wealth, corporate and political power, and social and cultural privilege invisible. Clancy argues that this carefully curated public image of family and tradition not only conceals the power and wealth of the royals, but acts to counter criticisms and silence calls for their devolution. Invented Traditions What were the early expressions of empire and monarchy? For Australians, early expressions of empire and the British monarchy were evident in annual Empire Day activities and in royal visits. These expressions were accompanied by material expressions, including the British monarchy giving its names to our states, cities, streets, and parks as well as appearing on our postage stamps and currency. Monarchial kitsch including everyday items such as crockery, glassware, and tea towels aimed at family consumption were complemented with items aimed to be consumed by younger Australians, such as schoolbook covers. Overlaying this was the ubiquitous images of the monarch, hung in family homes and government offices, the flying of the Union Jack, and the daily singing of God Save the Queen at schools, its regular playing on the ABC, its playing at the start of theatrical productions, and sometimes at national sporting events, and its rendition at official events such as the opening of state and federal parliaments.  The British empire was once vast and powerful, however its size and authority has always required its attention. Empire Day was first envisaged in 1897, when Queen Victoria ruled one quarter of the world. The early aim of Empire Day was to remind children what it “meant to be sons and daughters of such a glorious Empire” (Johnson). It was an invented tradition, largely a product of imperial Irishman Lord Meath (English 258). Meath believed that “from their earliest years the children of the Empire should grow up with the thought of its claim upon their remembrance and their service” (Johnson). Unsettled by British vulnerabilities experienced during the Boer War (1899-1902), Meath wanted to “nurture a sense of collective identity and imperial responsibility among young empire citizens” to ensure the future defence of the empire (English 248). Simultaneously, with the power of America and Germany rising, and with “public enthusiasm” for Britain’s “imperial enterprise” waning, efforts were needed to reconsolidate British authority in the realm (Thompson 152). Empire Day was first celebrated in Australia in 1905. Initially a day aimed at children, it included saluting the British Union Jack and singing Jerusalem and God Save the Queen (Johnson), but it quickly became a ritual celebration which captured the popular imagination of both children and adults (English). Whole communities participated in Empire Day spectacles including flag waving, fetes, galas, parades, and the like, which rapturously demonstrated “unembarrassed fervor for King and country” (English 253). One 1908 example is indicative of Australian Empire Day celebrations. At three o’clock a procession will be formed and the Cadet Corps with the band playing and colours flying will march to the reserve enclosure on the Common. Arriving at the Arena, the Cadet Corps will fall in line with the school children in alphabetical order from the right. At 3.30, the Cadet Corps will troop the colours at the saluting base, the school children and Cadet Corps will march past and give three cheers and sing ‘God Save the King’. (Beaven and Griffiths 384) The initial success of Empire Day was that it “incorporated the cultural elements of imperial nationalism” (English 258), and at least until World War I it provided “social cohesion” that “appeared to transcend class divisions”. More likely, the day “reinforced social relations” by performing a “socialising role that upheld a belief in the racial superiority and the righteousness of the British Empire” (English 275). Empire Day provided a potent vehicle to indoctrinate Australians with British virtues (Springhall 97). These virtues were clearly spelt out by the watchwords of the Empire Movement, “Responsibility, Sympathy, Duty, and Self-sacrifice”, realising its “hegemonic potential” (English 258). It proved to be a “useful and important index of imperial sentiment” especially during the wars. That said, the “hegemonic imperial ideology” was not “uncontested” (English 258). But reflecting the decline of the British empire in the post-war period, Empire Day was re-badged as British Commonwealth Day in 1958, and in 1966 it became known as Commonwealth Day. The date of Commonwealth Day was also changed to 10 June, the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The date was again changed in 1977 to the second Monday in March, when each year the Queen sent a special message to the youth of the Commonwealth via a radio broadcast. Empire Day was a celebration of British imperialism situated in, and performed by, citizens of the Commonwealth, to maintain British legitimacy and relevance; however, with the demise of such imperial days, royal tours took on new meanings. This was especially the case with the newly coronated Queen Elizabeth II. Royal Tours Though a modern concept, the idea of royal tours has a much longer heritage, dating to the Tudor and Elizabethan eras. By the time of Queen Victoria, royal tours came to be seen as a “more immediate way in which the crown was made truly imperial and the empire authentically royal” (Cannadine Orientalism 115), because they were majestic journeys to the empire which reciprocated and paralleled the pilgrimages made by the potentates from the periphery to the imperial metropolis … . These grand progresses by land and sea, lasting many months and covering many miles, involving countless receptions, dinners, parades, and speeches, and all carried on before vast, delighted and admiring crowds. (Cannadine Orientalism 115) British imperialism, and its own sense of righteousness and racial superiority, meant that royal tours were appealing (Reed 2). While events such as royal tours may appear on the surface as unproblematic, royal visits are more than benign public relations exercises. Decades of curated royal tours have acted more akin to propaganda, as they arguably ensure ongoing social, cultural, and political support for the British monarchy. In considering the nature of royal tours and other royal-related events and ephemera, it is timely to consider how much of what is presented to us is born out of tradition and how much of it is a construct designed to maintain the royals’ relevance. With monarchies in decline, largely seen as a relic of a past now unimaginable to many, it is necessary for them to ensure they are seen as vibrant and relevant. Royal tours provide a controlled opportunity to put themselves before flag-waving crowds and give speeches that speak of their affection for the host country. Royal tours do several things, but largely they seek to reaffirm the current and future monarchy, and they act to resist histories of racism and colonisation. In grief following the death of her husband in 1861, Queen Victoria herself rarely appeared in public and did not leave the British Isles, but by the last decades of her reign she did re-emerge as a “public icon, a national symbol, and an imperial totem” (Cannadine History 43). Reluctant to conduct royal tours herself, Queen Victoria arranged for other royals to represent her overseas, and these tours took on a ceremonial feel which became standardised and considered (Reed 3). Hence, royal tours emblematised a “newfound raison d’être” and “ceremonially perform[ed] as a symbol of the British nation-empire” (Reed 4). This was necessary considering that by the start of the twentieth century the British Empire was an “astonishingly diverse dominion, a rag-bag of territorial bits and pieces, created and governed in a correspondingly disorganised and unsystematic way” (Cannadine History 145-146). On becoming Empress of India in 1876, and with Queen Victoria’s Golden (1887) and Diamond Jubilees (1897), this saw a “symbolic reinvention, during which the monarchy was celebrated in grand style in Britain and across the empire” (Reed 4). The years also saw the arrival of mass-produced consumer items, meaning the “face of the Queen went around the world on souvenir crockery, handkerchiefs and chocolate wrappers”, making her the most famous person on earth at the time of her death (Connors 4). The royal family has “always reproduced itself” in pictures: be it coins, statues, paintings, photographs, and later television, “reiterating its symbolic identification with the nation” (Roberts 38). Event such as royal Jubilees and early royal tours provided crowds in Britain and throughout the empire with “ripe occasions on which to celebrate their white supremacy” (Connors 4). The British monarchy then and now has sought to project itself not only as “ancient and timeless, and therefore indispensable to national identity, but also as modern and useful” (Reed 5). But it remained a “cornerstone of an Anglo-Saxon race imperialism, the racially based patriotism that cemented the success of empire” (Connors 4). As such, royalty has always been produced to reify not just power but an idealized racial image. The pale-skinned, white-haired, pearl-draped Queen Victoria, her image reproduced on stamps, money, biscuit tins, postcards, and her portrait hung in colonial offices all over the British Empire served to make white rule of the non-white seem normative. (Roberts 33) With colonial policy shifting from military administrations in some parts of the British empire to one which recognised the “distant sympathies” of the empire, the realm was increasingly seen as “a source of incalculable strength and happiness” for Britain (Connors 2). In this context, the “imperial fantasy” was appealing (Reed 2). Since 1867, there have been over 50 royal tours of Australia, but only six before 1954. Queen Elizabeth’s first royal tour as the monarch was a six-month tour of the British Commonwealth beginning in November 1953, including a two month visit to Australia. The tour was planned as an “opportunity to thank the Commonwealth for its support during the Second World War, and to introduce the new Queen to her subjects” (HM Queen Elizabeth II). Queen Elizabeth II is the only reigning monarch to visit Australia, and did so 16 times before her death in 2022. The Australian leg of her royal tour began in Sydney on 3 February 1954. She was 27 and had only been coronated in June of the previous year. Royal visits consist of official events, such as the opening of parliament or attending Anzac Day services, and they consist of a range of highly curated visits to iconic Australian locations, including Bondi Beach or Uluru (Brien). Each event provides carefully managed photo opportunities of the royals. Enveloped in ceremony and pomp, such regular and ongoing events entrench the British royals into the daily lives of Australians. The aim of the visits is to represent the royals in ways which capture Australia’s imagination – hence the use of iconic locations. Modern societies often draw on “myth and ritual”, and the British royal family supply this with public ceremonies, including royal tours, that observers may have assumed have always existed and have been passed through the ages largely unchanged (Cannadine Context 102). Such ceremonies act to embody, reflect, uphold, and reinforce popular views about the royal family and their ongoing function and value. Ceremonies are therefore one example of how the royal family consolidates “its ideological dominance by exploiting pageantry as propaganda” (Cannadine Context 104). The reasons for public engagement with royal tours and to participate in royal tourism are diverse. They often do so to “satisfy their desires for aesthetic pleasure, edification, elitism, and/or entertainment”. They may also “make explicit connection to their citizenship, ethnicity, genealogy, or gender” (Otnes and Maclaran 195). Royal Icons The British empire successfully imported itself throughout its realm in the building of monuments and statues which glorified British monarchs. Such physical intrusions ensured a “powerful and widespread sense of the royal presence throughout the empire” which was not just “cartographical, sculptural, architectural or cadastral”: it was also an intrusion on “individual and collective” lives and imaginations (Cannadine Orientalism 103). Queen Victoria especially became a “ubiquitous symbol of Britain and its empire, made real to people across the world through images, statues, and visits” (Reed 2), and she “covered her colonies with the mantle of her name” (Connors 6). There are perhaps more statues of Victoria on earth than of any other non-religious figure in history. She sits or stands among whizzing automobiles in Auckland, in front of neo-Gothic façades in Mumbai, and near the waterfront that bears her name in Cape Town – in bustling metropolises and provincial towns, near churches, mosques, and temples. (Reed 1) The royal soap opera of weddings, babies, divorces, transgressions, and celebrities provides entertainment, but it also provides insights into the lives of people who are rich, famous, separated from us, but part of our memories and experiences. The impact they have on our lives is not just in royal tours or royal scandals, they provide a barometer of national life and are a reminder of where we were at pivotal moments, like the death of Princess Diana or King Charles III’s coronation. Hence the royals have become a part of our national consciousness and continue to be a part of our nation as a constitutional monarchy. The royals also do so much more, most of it grounded in invented traditions and imagined rituals; in fact, “with the possible exception of the papacy, no head of state is surrounded by more popular ritual” than the modern British royal family (Cannadine Context 102). It was via the creation and performance of public ceremonies from Empire Day to royal tours, at which we lined the streets for glimpse of a famous royal, be they happy to be here or not, that the royals became part of our everyday life. When the royals are not here wandering about on our beaches or judging sheep at agricultural shows, we don’t forget them. They are constant images on the cover of women’s magazines; as we wait in the checkout we are constantly reminded of them. We consume images of them and their children in designer clothes, mixing with the rich and famous, living a life most will never know, and safe from worries about the cost of living or mortgage rates. They holiday in exotic places and are featured in films and television. They give a glimpse of their rarefied world. 'Royalty’ has in many ways always been a construction. Royalty is political, gendered, raced, sexualised, and embodied. Royalty is imagined, in that is it something sculpted monumentally as if they were giants, to Elizabeth I, whose portraits in dresses heavy with pearls and rubies, both erase her body and celebrate its virginity (always figured as white), depicting her at once as the Fairy Queen (a supernatural being) and a tough, worldly, almost genderless ruler. (Roberts 35) The iconography, for example, of Princess Diana is symptomatic of a deep nostalgia for a white class that had been based on royal birth and marriage … . Diana, Princess of Wales, is emblematic of the good-white female of class and nobility. Though her marriage to Prince Charles was a disaster, the media portrays her as the beneficent, long-suffering good-white mother, who seemingly gave up her party girl ways to make sure that her sons kept their whitened royal stature. (Foster 125) The royal tour to Australia seems an apt place to exhibit the young female royal bodies of just coronated Queen Elizabeth II, an even younger Princess Diana, and the newly married Princess Catherine. But regardless of the popularity of Meghan in Australia in 2018, her ‘princess’ status was slippery; she was a Duchess, she was also divorced, and her age (37 at the time of the 2018 Australian royal tour and older than Prince Harry) may have meant that she did not neatly fit into the category of ‘young’. Princess Diana was 22 at the 1983 royal tour, Queen Elizabeth was 27, and Princess Catherine was 32. More so, much like Sarah, Duchess of York, Meghan did not fit the stereotype of the white, English princess because of her non-white, non-blonde appearance, never mind that she is American and divorced. Popular culture is saturated with idealised images and adoration for the ‘princess’, whether she is real, constructed, or imagined. The ‘princess’ is a “commodity, created and sanctioned by those who buy her image, a fiction written to feed those who 'read' her … she is deeply satisfying to us archetypally [and] emotionally” (Roberts 36). She is unattainable, revered, and celebrated. The role and history of British female monarchs – princesses and queens – has been a staple of popular culture representations, and ‘she’ has been the theatre of how audiences engage with the British monarchy. It is in film, television, theatre, statues, songs, magazine covers, and all manner of imagery from Queen Elizabeth I to Catherine, Princess of Wales, that the public has experienced, and often romanticised princesses. It is in these everyday iterations of British monarchs that we are reminded of how they have entered our public imaginations. Considering how many everyday and exceptional moments of royal engagement we encounter in our life, when it comes to questions like Australia becoming a republic the hegemonic work of the royals in becoming a part of our everyday lives and memories has been a success. It is in this project, evident most noticeably since the end of World War II when the British monarch was possibly on the slippery slope to obscurity, that a conscious, curated, and mediated project of royal tours, celebrations, births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and even scandals and transgressions, has kept the royals in our everyday lives (Hackett and Coghlan). Some we love, some we hate; they fight, just as our families do, and they represent and embody things they want us to believe and things we want them to be. As Walter Bagehot argued in the middle of the nineteenth century, and as is often repeated, it is the “symbolic, psychological and theatrical role of the constitutional monarchy” that the British royals provide to Britain and the Commonwealth. It is in the symbolism, theatrics, iconography, and ceremony that they continue to make themselves part of our national consciousness. While they continue to do so, Australia may well remain a constitutional monarchy rather than become a republic. 

Self-defence Against Metaphysical Witch Attacks: A Legal Conundrum in Anglophone Africa

AbstractSuperstition-driven homicide is a frequent occurrence in many African societies. People charged with homicidal acts supposedly perpetrated under the influence of belief in witchcraft and juju sometimes raise the plea of self-defence or self-defence in conjunction with mistaken belief. Hence, since the latter part of British colonial rule in Africa, particularly the 1930s, the courts in Anglophone Africa have on several occasions been invited to address the question of whether killing suspected witches to repel supposed metaphysical attacks avails to accused persons the plea of self-defence or self-defence based on mistaken belief and, if so, under what conditions. Drawing on case law, statutes, and a range of pertinent academic literature, the present study explores the historical development of the self-defence based on mistaken belief plea in witchcraft-related homicide cases in English-speaking Africa. It examines the African courts’ attitude towards the self-defence against metaphysical witch attacks defence, highlighting the divergent perspectives of various national and regional courts.

Economic Transformations in British Colonial Punjab and the Feudal Identity of District Jhang

Jhang a historic city of Punjab is situated at the junction of two rivers Jehlum and Chenab. Its fertile lands have always been a big source of prosperity. During British rule, colonial authorities in Punjab made many reforms in this region. They not only reformed the agriculture sector but also improved infrastructure. Construction of a road network, railway line, postal and telegraph system as well as supply of electricity had positive impacts on the social and economic life of Jhang. Although all these developments were made for colonial interests ultimately these benefitted the peoples of Jhang. Among British reforms, the most important were agricultural reforms. These reforms had a deep impact on the future and socio-economic and political setup of Jhang. After agricultural reforms and establishing canal colonies, Jhang was neglected in terms of establishing agro-based and other industrial units and new agricultural research and science and technology institutions. As a result, the Jhang was denied the chances for advancement and growth that could have driven and propelled it to become a more prosperous and progressed region. Here the question arises of whether the actual purpose of agricultural reforms in district Jhang was only to create certain classes to protect colonial interests and reward them for their loyalties? Did the British Colonial agrarian reforms lay the foundation for the Feudal system in Jhang? 

Irish-American Anti-Imperialism in Patrick Ford’s The Criminal History of the British Empire

Abstract In 1881, Patrick Ford, the Irish-American nationalist editor of the New York Irish newspaper The Irish World and American Industrial Liberator, published The criminal history of the British empire, a collection of five letters that he had written to William Gladstone. In The criminal history, Ford constructed a comprehensive account of British imperial history, beginning with England’s conquest of Ireland, before detailing the colonization of North America, Britain’s participation in the transatlantic slave trade, the American Revolution, British rule in India, the opium wars, and Britain’s contemporary colonization of Africa. This article contributes to scholarship on American views of the British empire in the post-bellum United States. In exploring how Ford constructed a Manichean interpretation of world history, where the British imperial project devastated every region it invaded, the article analyses Ford’s reasons for writing and publishing the letters that formed The criminal history. Finally, the article shows that Ford’s central purpose was to foster a visceral hatred of the British empire among his Irish-American readership, to maintain a commitment to their ethnic heritage as proud Irish people, and to encourage his readers that a better future would soon arrive, when the British empire was finally a relic of the past.

A Welsh Vision of Empire? Welsh Imperialists and the Indian Empire

Neither Welsh history nor imperial history has given much attention to the Welsh connection with empire. While English, Scottish, and Irish imperial history have been developed in recent decades, Wales has been largely ignored. In relation to India, there have been projects on missionaries and the East India Company, but little that focuses on Welsh imperialists during the period of Crown Rule. Despite having a smaller presence than other British nationalities, the Welsh were present in India between 1858–1947, and interacted with imperialism in ways which were distinctly Welsh. This research will explore the Welsh in India during this period and how their Welsh identity interacted with the empire to create a unique Welsh conception of imperialism. Constructed in the domestic press, it emphasised Welsh understanding of indigenous peoples through their own experience of being a minority within the UK and attached itself to a strong sense of Britishness manifested in loyalty to the empire. This ideology, however, had limited impact on the ground in India, with Welsh imperialists generally conforming to the racial and class norms of British India. Welsh imperialism remained a prism through which the Welsh thought about themselves rather than a method of action. Examining this experience adds new dimensions to imperial thinking, especially in relation to how faith and language were transported, reimagined, and contested in the colonial sphere. It demonstrates how the British exported their national and regional ideological baggage which continued to influence their thinking, despite being removed from the physical landscape in which they were forged. Welsh people like Sir Lawrence Jenkins and the missionaries of the Northeast of India had tangible impacts on the colonial space which were fundamentally inspired by their Welshness. This greatly adds to our understanding of how British imperialism operated and has implications far beyond India.

Hansen’s discovery of the Leprosy Bacillus: controversy over preventive measures in 19th Century British Colonial India

Hansen’s discovery of the Leprosy Bacillus: controversy over preventive measures in 19th Century British Colonial India

BORDERLANDS: STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY AND PRESS DEPICTIONS OF THE BORDER BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND AND THE STATE OF NORTHERN IRELAND

This article explores photographic representations of the border between the Republic of Ireland and the state of Northern Ireland. This contentious division of the island occurred in 1921 following a War of Independence. It left six of the island’s thirty-two counties under British rule and its creation precipitated a Civil War (1922-1923). Photography has been employed to either undermine or solidify the border’s existence. At various times its visibility was heightened or negated reflecting the political climate. The article will consider the border imagery reproduced in popular magazines such as LIFE and also those created by stock photo-agencies. Mainly consumed by non-Irish audiences, these representations were initially quaint, however, as political and civil unrest grew, and British troops occupied and patrolled the border area, the depictions became more sinister. Border checkpoints and a ‘wild’ countryside teeming with paramilitaries became visual shorthand for this ‘problematic’ space. Recent Fine Art representations of the border in the post-Brexit era will also be considered.

Agrarian transformations in British India: A case study of colonial Punjab

ABSTRACT The agrarian transformation in Punjab under British rule had significant implications for understanding the fundamental principles behind these agricultural developments. The British government aimed to transform agricultural practices in Punjab for strategic, military, geostrategic, and geopolitical reasons. The integration of railways, highways, telecommunications, farming techniques, and canal settlements transformed the arid terrain into a prosperous region in British India. However, the transformation significantly impacted the local residents by advancing the British government's agenda. Against this background, the major focus of this paper is to analyze the agricultural transformation during British rule regarding the complex interactions between social, cultural, and political factors that shaped the region's history.

Revisiting Punjab’s Transformative Journey, 1947-1966: An Appraisal

"Punjab, often referred to as the 'Land of five rivers,' has been a significant player in shaping India's historical narrative, leaving an enduring mark on its trajectory. This imprint stems from the courageous and patriotic endeavours of the people of Punjab, who have etched out a distinctive place for themselves. A comprehensive study of its people becomes imperative to comprehend the nuanced dynamics of Punjab's history. This involves delving into their historical, cultural, and religious roots and understanding their political legacy. The year 1947 marked India's liberation from British rule, coinciding with a partition based on the two-nation theory. Punjab bore a heavy toll during this partition, experiencing substantial human and territorial losses. The partition's catastrophic aftermath overshadowed the jubilation of independence for Punjab. Post-partition, Punjab portrayed a sombre and bleak landscape, with the migration of refugees significantly altering the communal composition of the region. This migration upheaved the administrative, economic, and political structures, introducing many complex challenges. The division of Punjab along communal lines generated a palpable sense of indignation and frustration among the Sikh community. The expectations of establishing a Sikh State in independent India, fervently supported by Sikh, Congress, and Hindu leaders, remained unfulfilled. Perceiving an unequal distribution of territory between Hindus and Muslims, the Sikhs advocated for a Punjabi Suba. In their pursuit of this objective, the Akali Dal employed diverse strategies. This culminated in the reorganisation of Punjab on March 21, 1966, leading to its further trifurcation."