10. Exploitation of Divide and Rule Strategy
The East India Company adeptly employed a “divide and rule” strategy to consolidate its power over India. By exploiting existing religious, caste, and regional divisions, the Company fostered discord among Indian communities, preventing unified resistance. For instance, it manipulated the caste system, misrepresenting it to create internal divisions, thereby weakening societal cohesion. Additionally, the Company supported the Partition of Bengal in 1905, dividing the region along religious lines to weaken nationalist movements. This deliberate sowing of divisions facilitated the Company’s imperial objectives, laying the groundwork for future communal tensions in the subcontinent. (britannica.com).
