British Administration and the Indian Middle Classes:Mutuality and Antagonism

The pre-independence era in the Indian history has seen the emergence of different equations between the various stakeholders. It saw the emergence of specific relations between the various sections in Indian society, between the subjects and the rulers and between the rulers and the various classes and communities. There emerged an equation also between the rulers and the instruments of subjugation on the one hand and between the instruments of subjugation and the masses on the other hand. For the purpose of this work, of particular interest is the relationship between the British administration and the Indian middle classes. The middle classes provided the mediating link between the British and the Indian masses. The Indian Political elites formed a section of the upper middle classes. They provided leadership to the masses as a class of Indians forming part of the ruling elite and also led the struggle for freedom. This paper tries to explore the symbiotic relationship between the British administration and the middle classes. It also tries to explore the antagonistic aspects of this relationship. In other words it tries to probe how far the middle classes and the political elites owe their emergence to the British rule and how far the British rule owes its sustenance to the political elite. It also explores the role of middle classes in providing leadership to the masses in the national movement and further impetus to the freedom struggle which ultimately led to the end of the colonial rule in India.