The British Imperial Establishment, Post Imperial Era, and the ‘Churchillian’ World View, 1945-2016. (Adjustments & Challenges in Contemporary British Diplomatic Strategy)

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against
black Africans and Asians. This marked a growing moral disunity within
the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, the
spirit of dissension was sweeping through
India. Indian nationalism had been developing throughout the
nineteenth century.
Though full equality between India and the other white colonies had been
promised in
1858, in practice it did not come about. A local press, which had been
printing without restrictions since
1835, became increasingly critical of British
rule after 1882. Three years later the Indian National
Congress, an organisation
to represent Indian political interests, was formed. At first this body spoke
out
moderately, as the elite band of educated middle class Indians hoped to insinuate
themselves fully
into the British system. However, by the beginning of the
century, rising disillusionment with British
control led to the emergence of a more
extreme, nationalist splinter group. In this case as a contrast to the
white
settlement colonies, the British government did not contemplate conferring self-
government upon
India for some considerable time in the future. A slow path of
political education was expected as necessary
before Indians would be able to
govern themselves to the satisfaction of the British. A start was made in
1882
when Lord Ripon instituted an elected majority for local municipal boards – local
self-government –
but political extensions at the higher levels of government
came more slowly. For example, with Indian
representatives elected indirectly to
the provincial and central legislatures in 1892. At the executive
level, Indians
were put onto the Council of India and the Viceroy’s Executive Council in 1907
and
1909 respectively. Further extensions of the electoral principle were made in
1909, but the British
government was making such political concessions too late
to satisfy the demand for self-government which
increasing numbers of Indian
nationalists were making.

Although
the British government still insisted upon the sharing principle,
notably that at the provincial level
authority be shared between British
officials and elected Indian representatives, in 1919 further
political

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