A "Diadochoi"-like British India?

Just been doing some reading about the extent of Hellenisation in the East in the 200s BC, and wondered if it's possible to get a "Seleucid Empire" style mixed state in British India?

By which I mean some sort of successor state to the British Empire, ruled over by a mixed English and Indian aristocracy. It'd be a dictatorial state, with a white ruling family that may perhaps have some Indian blood. The lower tiers of the administration would largely be Indian, as would the countryside, though there'd be white enclaves here and there and a strongly British-influenced culture.

Is it possible? And how would such a state form?
 

RousseauX

Donor
So something like a revolution (Chartist/Socialist/Communist) in Britain itself and the "white" dominions and the royal family fleeing to India?
 
So something like a revolution (Chartist/Socialist/Communist) in Britain itself and the "white" dominions and the royal family fleeing to India?

Sort of, but the ruling dynasty wouldn't be related to the British Royal Family- or would have only the most tenuous connections.
 
So something like a revolution (Chartist/Socialist/Communist) in Britain itself and the "white" dominions and the royal family fleeing to India?

Sort of, but the ruling dynasty wouldn't be related to the British Royal Family- or would have only the most tenuous connections.

Then your best bet would be to have the Chartist/Socialist/Communist revolution RousseauX suggested except the royal family is killed off, and then the Viceroy of India at the time declares himself Emperor.
 
Yeah, I have to be honest--the problem such a scenario runs into is that by the time British India has come into existance, the political situation is such that it would be very hard to have a successor state of that sort.
 
Weren't the first Company men keen on this form of rule? I believe the first Viceroy was an Anglo-Indian himself
 
Have France somehow destroy the British fleet during the Napoleonic wars. The EIC will be forced to get on without them and by the time the British come back it'll be a benign neglect situation, like with the American colonies.
 
Have France somehow destroy the British fleet during the Napoleonic wars. The EIC will be forced to get on without them and by the time the British come back it'll be a benign neglect situation, like with the American colonies.

No, just no. The EIC main source of revenue was the massive profits it made on the British-India trade route. With that shut down they would go bust, stop paying their army and get overrun within about 10 minutes.


That said have the EIC do better earlier and then last longer allowing 3 or 4 generations for the creation of a Anglo-Indian EIC elite and then have Britain fall in some way in the early 1900's and with India still under EIC control you could manage the OP.
 
I always wonder in scenarios like this just how the Mighty Whiteys are able to maintain their rule over the benighted natives. Colonial rule was always predicated on a balance between co-opting local elites and the possibility of brute force being unleashed from the home country. Take away the latter and you just have a few thousand white guys in a sea of millions of pissed off Indians.
 
I always wonder in scenarios like this just how the Mighty Whiteys are able to maintain their rule over the benighted natives.
Maybe by being regarded as natives themselves. After all Monarchs of French decent ruled over England simply because the English regarded them and they regarded themselves as English. Give it enougth time and cut the ties with Britain firmly enougth (a war might help) and the dynasty will no loger be regarded as foreign but as native itself. After all how many British get upset that the Royal family is of German origin.
 

RousseauX

Donor
I always wonder in scenarios like this just how the Mighty Whiteys are able to maintain their rule over the benighted natives. Colonial rule was always predicated on a balance between co-opting local elites and the possibility of brute force being unleashed from the home country. Take away the latter and you just have a few thousand white guys in a sea of millions of pissed off Indians.
before nationalism you had many, many cases of foreigners, white or not, ruling over natives more or less stably.
 
I always wonder in scenarios like this just how the Mighty Whiteys are able to maintain their rule over the benighted natives. Colonial rule was always predicated on a balance between co-opting local elites and the possibility of brute force being unleashed from the home country. Take away the latter and you just have a few thousand white guys in a sea of millions of pissed off Indians.

The whole point of the scenario is to get a more active participation in rule by local elites- and, furthermore, to have the whites start to behave in a similar way to native elites, as Ptolemaic and Seleucid kings did in their own dominions. This could mean, for example, a C of E ruling dynasty going out of its way to endow Hindu religious foundations.
 
Maybe by being regarded as natives themselves.
Perhaps instead of children being sent to Britain to be educated, encourage them to be kept in India?

Even if it's all British schools or private tutors become the norm just staying in country means more time to absorb the culture.
 
The Viceroy becoming Emperor would be interesting, however I disagree with the dismissal of French destruction of British fleets. The EIC, being isolated, would then change its trade course more or less, to appeal to closer markets, and this isolation could still lead to interesting consequences.
 

Kosta

Banned
Have more men like this guy be born. And with that, I'm going to pass out.

There was also a Briton that converted to Hinduism and adopted the Indian lifestyle and converted to Hinduism; more people like him could be gateways between the two communities. I can't remember his name, but I'll search for him on Wikipedia.

Back when I would listen to a lot of Internet videos to try and learn Ullans, I listened to a podcast about Amy Carmichael, a Presbyterian missionary to India who adopted Indian culture and actively made it known that no culture contradicts with Christianity. More people like her could also link both communities.
 
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