INDIAN INDEPENDENCE

                      INDIA BECOME INDEPENDENT

                                                  The physical presence of the British in India was not significant. Yet the British were able to rule two-thirds of the subcontinent directly and exercise considerable leverage over the princely states that accounted for the remaining one-third. The British employed "Divide and Rule" in British India as a means of preventing an uprising against the Raj.

In this environment of Hindu-Muslim disunity, the first step toward Indian independence and western-style democracy was taken with the appointment of Indian councilors to advise the British viceroy, and with the establishment of provincial Councils with Indian members, the councilors' participation was
subsequently widened in legislative councils. From 1920 leaders such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi began highly popular mass movements to campaign against the British Raj using largely peaceful methods. Some others adopted a militant approach that sought to overthrow British rule by armed struggle; revolutionary activities against the British rule took place throughout the Indian sub-continent. The Gandhi led independence movement opposed the British rule using non-violent methods like non-cooperation, civil disobedience and economic resistance. These movements succeeded in bringing independence to the Indian sub-continent in 1947