First steps in reworking India to address the issue I've seen. Plus some minor polishing I came across while I was doing that. I think I've found a very handy OTL event in the assassination of Lord Mayo I can use to kick off change in India. Okay not so handy for Lord Mayo, but quiet useful if you're trying to rework the TL.
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February 1871: Tsar Alexander II of Russia gifts the Zoological Society of London with three male and seven female of wild Tarpans. Francis Russell, heir to the Duchy of Bedford offers Woburn Abbey as a home for the herd.
February 1872: A small breeding heard of three males and ten female Quagga are established at London Zoo in an attempt to ensure the sub species survival. The Quagga will join the Tarpans at Woburn Abbey.
February 1872: Lord Mayo, Viceroy of India is assassinated by an Afghan convict during a visit to a convict settlement in the Andaman Islands. His death sends shock-waves throughout Britain and India, even raising fears of another rebellion. However an investigation proves the assassin acted alone and from religious motivations. The radical members of the Liberal Party prompt Gladstone to appoint a committee under senior Indian civil servant John Strachey to investigate social conditions in India.
May 1872: Gladstone appoint Thomas Barring to replace the assassinated Lord Mayo as Viceroy of India. Baring embarks on an ambitious program of reform in India, seeking to reduce taxation and improve the distribution of food to tackle widespread starvation.
July 1873: The Strachey report into social conditions in India is released. The report finds many Indians are dissatisfied with their participation in the administration of the sub continent. The report recommends increased Indian representation on the provincial legislative councils, opening the senior levels of the Imperial Civil Service to “suitable” Indian candidates, reforming the Indian Imperial Police and allowing Indian officers to advance to senior levels, and establishing a separate central Indian legislative body to replace the Indian wide legislative functions of the Calcutta Legislative Council, and the inclusion of an Indian representative on the Council of India in London.
September 1873: A drought in the Indian region of Bihar lead to crop failures. Richard Temple, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, fearing the possibility of widespread famine quickly organises an effective relief program, importing and distributing large quantities of rice from Burma as well as extensive public works programs to provide employment. Termple's program is a huge success, with virtually no excess mortality due to the famine, plus major improvements to infrastructure as a result of the public works program. The ration provided also all workers to remain sufficiently health to immediately return to the fields when the rains finally arrive. Despite his success, Temple is heavily criticised for the costs involved, though his timely actions are praised by the radicals in parliament.
October 1873: The first concrete measure from the Strachey report is passed into law with the Indian Councils Act. The act is an attempt to ensure Indians members are include on all legislative bodies in India. While the act simply requires that all legislative bodies in India “include suitable representatives of native opinion.” Despite the vague wording, the act will ensure that between 10-20% of the members of Indian provincial legislative councils are in fact, Indians.
December 1873: Vishvanath Mandlik becomes the first Indian appointed to th Council of India in London. Highly conservative in outlook, he only supports limited and gradual reform in India.
February 1874: With the highly effective response to the Bihar Famine in India ongoing, radical Liberal MP John Bright introduces the Famine Relief (India) Bill into parliament. The bill proposes setting a dedicate commission in India to oversee famine relief and finds widespread support in the house, especially with radial members, but is suspended when Gladstone calls a general elections.
April 1874: At the urging of Viceroy Thomas Baring, the Indian Legislative Council in Calcutta passes the Provincial Civil Service Act increasing Indian represemtation in the uncovenanted Imperial Civil Service at the provincial level. While Indians are still bared from entering the covenanted Imperial Civil which controls the higher level of Indian administration, the act does increase Indian participation in the running of the sub continent.
May 1874: Attempts to reintroduce Bright's Famine Relief (India) Bill are blocked by the new Conservative government, citing the excessive costs of the Bihar relief program. This will lead to the resignation of Thomas Barring as Viceroy of India and his replacement by the highly conservative Edward Bulwar-Lytton. Bulwar-Lytton will abandon Baring's reformist policies in India, instead adopting a ruthless policy in line with his belief in social Darwinism.
September 1875: Indian nationalists Sisir Ghosh and Sambhu Mukherjee found the the India League in Calcutta. The league aims to foster the growth of pan Indian nationalist sentiment and attracts a number of prominent members of the previously unrepresented middle class in Bombay,
=McUpdate=
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February 1871: Tsar Alexander II of Russia gifts the Zoological Society of London with three male and seven female of wild Tarpans. Francis Russell, heir to the Duchy of Bedford offers Woburn Abbey as a home for the herd.
February 1872: A small breeding heard of three males and ten female Quagga are established at London Zoo in an attempt to ensure the sub species survival. The Quagga will join the Tarpans at Woburn Abbey.
February 1872: Lord Mayo, Viceroy of India is assassinated by an Afghan convict during a visit to a convict settlement in the Andaman Islands. His death sends shock-waves throughout Britain and India, even raising fears of another rebellion. However an investigation proves the assassin acted alone and from religious motivations. The radical members of the Liberal Party prompt Gladstone to appoint a committee under senior Indian civil servant John Strachey to investigate social conditions in India.
May 1872: Gladstone appoint Thomas Barring to replace the assassinated Lord Mayo as Viceroy of India. Baring embarks on an ambitious program of reform in India, seeking to reduce taxation and improve the distribution of food to tackle widespread starvation.
July 1873: The Strachey report into social conditions in India is released. The report finds many Indians are dissatisfied with their participation in the administration of the sub continent. The report recommends increased Indian representation on the provincial legislative councils, opening the senior levels of the Imperial Civil Service to “suitable” Indian candidates, reforming the Indian Imperial Police and allowing Indian officers to advance to senior levels, and establishing a separate central Indian legislative body to replace the Indian wide legislative functions of the Calcutta Legislative Council, and the inclusion of an Indian representative on the Council of India in London.
September 1873: A drought in the Indian region of Bihar lead to crop failures. Richard Temple, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, fearing the possibility of widespread famine quickly organises an effective relief program, importing and distributing large quantities of rice from Burma as well as extensive public works programs to provide employment. Termple's program is a huge success, with virtually no excess mortality due to the famine, plus major improvements to infrastructure as a result of the public works program. The ration provided also all workers to remain sufficiently health to immediately return to the fields when the rains finally arrive. Despite his success, Temple is heavily criticised for the costs involved, though his timely actions are praised by the radicals in parliament.
October 1873: The first concrete measure from the Strachey report is passed into law with the Indian Councils Act. The act is an attempt to ensure Indians members are include on all legislative bodies in India. While the act simply requires that all legislative bodies in India “include suitable representatives of native opinion.” Despite the vague wording, the act will ensure that between 10-20% of the members of Indian provincial legislative councils are in fact, Indians.
December 1873: Vishvanath Mandlik becomes the first Indian appointed to th Council of India in London. Highly conservative in outlook, he only supports limited and gradual reform in India.
February 1874: With the highly effective response to the Bihar Famine in India ongoing, radical Liberal MP John Bright introduces the Famine Relief (India) Bill into parliament. The bill proposes setting a dedicate commission in India to oversee famine relief and finds widespread support in the house, especially with radial members, but is suspended when Gladstone calls a general elections.
April 1874: At the urging of Viceroy Thomas Baring, the Indian Legislative Council in Calcutta passes the Provincial Civil Service Act increasing Indian represemtation in the uncovenanted Imperial Civil Service at the provincial level. While Indians are still bared from entering the covenanted Imperial Civil which controls the higher level of Indian administration, the act does increase Indian participation in the running of the sub continent.
May 1874: Attempts to reintroduce Bright's Famine Relief (India) Bill are blocked by the new Conservative government, citing the excessive costs of the Bihar relief program. This will lead to the resignation of Thomas Barring as Viceroy of India and his replacement by the highly conservative Edward Bulwar-Lytton. Bulwar-Lytton will abandon Baring's reformist policies in India, instead adopting a ruthless policy in line with his belief in social Darwinism.
September 1875: Indian nationalists Sisir Ghosh and Sambhu Mukherjee found the the India League in Calcutta. The league aims to foster the growth of pan Indian nationalist sentiment and attracts a number of prominent members of the previously unrepresented middle class in Bombay,
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