British Colonialism in South Asia and Significant Impacts
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British Colonialism in South Asia
British colonialism had significant impacts in South Asia and the effects and changes during that period are still felt to date. The long-term effects in the region are the partition that places people within different boundaries, political divisions, and ethnic tensions (Del Casino, Knox, Liverman, Marston, & Robbins, 2013). The colonialism in the area began in the 17th Century, and establishment of colonies spurred deep rivalry among kingdoms of the area. The effect of colonialism is the introduction of English as a language and administrative shift from monarchical system to the modern political system that is practiced in the region.
The British colonialists relied on the indigenous political systems to conduct trade and exchanges and create their colonies. The differences that existed between the kingdoms and tensions that arose were to the advantage of colonialists into establishing bases in the region (Del Casino et al., 2013). Colonialism brought about advancements, introduction of the colonialist education systems and learning of the English language in the area. Colonialism brought up the current political borders and cross-border trade that is still felt to date. In the full century that the British actively controlled the region, they established permanent changes through their activities and engagements.
The boundaries have significant impacts in the region, with violence and conflict still superseding along ethnic lines. Some of the boundaries were set because of religious groups such as that of Pakistan and Bangladesh that ended up landing other groups on the wrong sides of the boundaries (Del Casino et al., 2013). Civil war arises as people struggle to identify themselves with their regions of choice leading to suffering and loss of lives. The area has suffered continuous civil war and political instability from the boundaries established by the British.