British Rule
Crown administration (1858–1947) and its transformative impact on Andhra society, economy and polity.
APPSC angle
Coastal Andhra + Rayalaseema = Madras Presidency (Governor at Fort St. George); Telangana = Hyderabad State under the Nizam. Every 20th-century Andhra political question flows from this split.
Divided state into districts, reorganised revenue on Ryotwari lines, opened English schools, built railways (Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway 1874), founded the Chadarghat College and abolished several inland customs. These reforms lag those of British Madras by two decades and explain Telangana's later 'backwardness' arguments.
The 1833 and 1866 Guntur famines pushed Arthur Cotton to design the Dowleswaram anicut (1852) on the Godavari and the Prakasam Barrage predecessor at Vijayawada (1855). Within 20 years, Godavari & Krishna deltas were transformed into India's rice bowl — creating the prosperous 'delta ryot' class that later financed the Andhra Movement.
Madras–Bezwada 1866; Bezwada–Vizag 1893; Nizam's Railway from Secunderabad 1874
Godavari anicut at Dowleswaram (1852) & Krishna anicut at Vijayawada (1855) by Sir Arthur Cotton
Rajahmundry Govt. Arts College 1853; Madras University 1857; Noble College Masulipatnam 1864
Lord Ripon's Resolution (1882) — elected district & taluk boards
Councils Act 1861 → Morley-Minto 1909 → Montagu-Chelmsford 1919 → GoI Act 1935
IPC 1860, CrPC 1861, Indian Evidence Act 1872 — applied uniformly
1858
Crown Rule begins
GoI Act 1858; Queen's Proclamation at Allahabad.
1861
Indian Councils Act
Madras Legislative Council revived with nominated Indians.
1866
Guntur (Great) Famine
Approx. 5 lakh deaths in Guntur–Krishna deltas; triggered Cotton's Godavari works.
1876–78
Great Southern Famine
Rayalaseema — Bellary, Kurnool, Cuddapah worst hit; ~5.5 million deaths in Madras Presidency.
1882
Ripon's Resolution
Elected local boards; first Andhra municipalities at Rajahmundry, Bezwada, Bellary.
1885
INC founded
Andhra leaders P. Ananda Charlu & N. Subba Rao Pantulu among founders.
1892
Indian Councils Act
Enlarged councils; indirect elections introduced.
1905
Bengal Partition & Swadeshi
Andhra's first mass boycott of Manchester cloth.
1909
Morley-Minto Reforms
Separate electorates for Muslims; expanded councils.
1919
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms
Dyarchy in Madras — Indian ministers get transferred subjects.
1920
First Non-Cooperation
Chirala-Perala satyagraha under Gopalakrishnayya.
1935
GoI Act 1935
Provincial autonomy; Madras becomes a fully-elected province.
1937
Congress Ministry in Madras
C. Rajagopalachari as Premier; T. Prakasam Revenue Minister.
1946
Prakasam Ministry
Tanguturi Prakasam becomes Premier of Madras Presidency.
1947
Independence
Andhra districts remain in Madras; Hyderabad accedes in 1948 after Operation Polo.
- 1858
Crown Rule begins (GoI Act 1858)
- 1852 / 1855
Godavari & Krishna anicuts (Cotton)
- 1866
Guntur Great Famine
- 1876–78
Great Southern Famine (Rayalaseema)
- 1882
Ripon's Local Self-Govt Resolution
- 1919
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms — dyarchy
- 1935
GoI Act — provincial autonomy
- 1937
Rajagopalachari Ministry, Madras
- 1946
Prakasam Ministry, Madras
Sir Thomas Munro
Governor of Madras (1820–27)
Ryotwari system architect
Sir Arthur Cotton
Chief Engineer
Godavari (1852) & Krishna (1855) anicuts — 'Delta Bhagiratha'
Lord Ripon
Viceroy 1880–84
Local self-government resolution 1882
Salar Jung I
Diwan of Hyderabad 1853–83
Modernised Nizam's administration
C. Rajagopalachari
Premier, Madras 1937–39
First Congress ministry
Tanguturi Prakasam
Revenue Minister 1937; Premier 1946
Andhra Kesari
P. Ananda Charlu
INC co-founder (1885)
President, Nagpur session 1891
N. Subba Rao Pantulu
Moderate Congress leader
Founded 'The Hindu' (1878)
Arthur Cotton
Engineer
Godavari & Krishna anicuts
Thomas Munro
Governor of Madras
Ryotwari system
Salar Jung I
Diwan of Hyderabad
Modernised Nizam admin
C. Rajagopalachari
Premier of Madras 1937
T. Prakasam
Premier of Madras 1946
- Commercialisation of agriculture — cotton, groundnut, tobacco, indigo replaced subsistence crops in Guntur, Cuddapah.
- Deindustrialisation — Masulipatnam kalamkari, Pochampalli & Ventrapragada handlooms declined against Manchester imports.
- Rise of a rich peasant class (Kammas, Reddys, Kapus) in the deltas due to Ryotwari + irrigation.
- Drain of wealth — Home Charges, railway guarantees, remittances to Britain (Dadabhai Naoroji's critique).
- Recurrent famines — 1833, 1866, 1876–78, 1896–97, 1900, 1943 — with high mortality in dry Rayalaseema.
- New professions — lawyers, teachers, clerks — filled by Brahmin and later non-Brahmin castes.
After the 1857 Revolt, Queen Victoria's Proclamation (1 November 1858) transferred Indian administration from the East India Company to the British Crown through the Government of India Act, 1858. The Board of Control and Court of Directors were abolished; a Secretary of State for India was created in London, aided by a 15-member India Council.
In Andhra, the coastal districts (Northern Circars acquired 1765–68) and Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts 1800) formed part of the Madras Presidency headed by a Governor at Fort St. George. The Telangana region continued under the Nizam of Hyderabad, a princely state within the paramountcy framework. This dual administration produced two very different tax, land and language trajectories for the two Telugu-speaking regions.
British rule brought railways, telegraph, English education, printing press, Cotton's anicuts, modern courts and codified law — but also recurrent famines, deindustrialisation of handloom, and heavy revenue extraction.
| Level | Officer | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Presidency | Governor at Fort St. George | Executive Council; legislative power via Madras Legislative Council (from 1861) |
| Division | Commissioner | Groups of 3–5 districts (e.g., Circars, Ceded) |
| District | Collector-Magistrate (ICS) | Revenue, magisterial powers, land records |
| Sub-Division | Sub-Collector / RDO | Supervision of taluks |
| Taluk | Tahsildar | Revenue collection, minor magistracy |
| Firka | Revenue Inspector | Cluster of villages |
| Village | Karnam (accountant) & Munsif (headman) | Records, cess collection, petty justice |
Swipe horizontally to see more →
| Level | Officer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| State | Nizam & Prime Minister (Diwan) | Salar Jung I (1853–83) modernised administration |
| Division / Subah | Subedar | 5 subahs (Telangana had 4 — Warangal, Medak, Karimnagar, Aurangabad share) |
| District (Zilla) | Talukdar / Collector | Combined revenue & magistracy |
| Taluk | Tahsildar | Revenue |
| Village | Patel (headman) & Patwari (accountant) | Deshmukh / Deshpande as hereditary supervisors |
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| System | Region | Basis | Introduced by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zamindari (Permanent) | Northern Circars zamindaris (Vizianagaram, Bobbili, Pithapuram) | Fixed revenue via zamindar | Cornwallis 1802 (extended) |
| Ryotwari | Ceded Districts & most of coastal Andhra | Direct settlement with ryot; 30-yr revision | Sir Thomas Munro 1820 |
| Mahalwari | Absent in Andhra | Village community based | Holt Mackenzie 1822 (N. India) |
| Jagirdari / Sarf-e-Khas | Telangana | Grants to nobles & Nizam's personal estate | Nizam's administration |
Swipe horizontally to see more →
1866 = Guntur & Krishna deltas. 1876–78 = Bellary, Kurnool, Cuddapah (Rayalaseema).
Presidency = British-ruled (Coastal + Rayalaseema). Hyderabad = princely state under Nizam (Telangana).
Godavari = Dowleswaram (Rajahmundry). Krishna = Bezwada (Vijayawada).
Ryotwari = direct settlement with cultivator (Munro). Zamindari = through intermediary landlord (Cornwallis).
GRIP-M
Governor · Ryotwari · Irrigation (Cotton) · Press · Ministries (1937/46) — five pillars of British Andhra.
- Crown Rule from 1858; Madras Presidency covered Coastal Andhra + Rayalaseema; Telangana under Nizam.
- Ryotwari (Munro 1820) in Ceded/Circars; Zamindari in Vizianagaram/Bobbili; Jagirdari in Telangana.
- Arthur Cotton — Godavari anicut 1852, Krishna anicut 1855 — created the delta rice bowl.
- Great Famines: 1866 (Guntur, 5 lakh dead) & 1876–78 (Rayalaseema, ~5.5 million).
- Ripon 1882 → Morley-Minto 1909 → Montford 1919 → GoI Act 1935 → Congress Ministry Madras 1937 (Rajaji).
- Prakasam became Premier of Madras in 1946 — precursor to CM of Andhra 1953.
Order of constitutional reforms 1858→1935
MCQCotton's anicuts — river, place, year
MCQRyotwari vs Zamindari in Andhra
MainsSalar Jung reforms in Hyderabad
MCQFirst Congress Ministry (1937) — who & subjects
MCQ