How did thw british implement divide and rule policy in india
Answers
The answer would be "Yes", considering the time frame which British had.
First we'll start with what led the British there.
One unique feature of British is that, unlike Mughals or any other previous conquerors of India it never tried to Indianise itself, never had long term plans to be credited as the rulers of the Indian land.
Prime motto:
For tapping the exuberant resources of Indian subcontinent and using them to gain trade dominance over the world, it needed patronage of local rulers.
Minimal taxes, free movement of goods, pro-trades policies were must to flourish in the neck and neck competition with Dutch,French and other European powers. To achieve all this ,the aliens ( foreigners ) primarily needed to know what they were dealing with. Thus followed an extensive study of Indian communities, cultures, customs, capacity and climatic conditions across geographical boundaries. <<It is really ironic that even today, those foreign texts serve as the authentic records of pre-British India.>>
Game plan:
British quite easily understood the heterogeneous, conflicting and chaotic nature of the India. It was a counter intuitive mosaic of contradicting cultures yet unified by Indianess.
East India Company after gaining monopoly over trade in this region was left with the task of gaining the good will of local rulers. EIC started by gifting the rulers and thereby gained initial access to Indian land. It established settlements and began trade.
Conflict:
As the trade flourished the revenues shot high and accordingly the taxes imposed.Cut throat margins made their ventures less profitable
Thus British started meddling with the administrative affairs of the land solely to make more profitable trade. Quid pro quo was expected from the rulers for supporting EIC's commercial interests.
Bingo! :
The British thus started taking sides in local wars and heavily gained by the victory of its allies.Evidently this practice of supporting a few over other proved to be more easier and faster way to profits.
Slowly the greed took over and British started preferential support to few and thus hampering the previous Indian atmosphere. Though Indians rulers were always under constant conflicts, they always had a level playing field. "Powerful and most efficient won, while the latter lost." The advent of British changed this basic equation.
It started playing the system to its advantage.
Aftermath:
Till 1857, EIC company had to deal only with economic affairs and consensus of a few top rulers was needed. Hence though it took sides, it never directly affected the masses.
The Crown's take over of Indian administration in 1857, expanded the purview of British affairs and they turned more political thus involved more diverse masses.
The puzzle of obtaining consensus from the conflicting Indians was never solved by the British. Hence the Crown merely practised their time tested policy of taking sides ( Divide & Rule ).
Starting from partnering Mir Jafar in Battle of Plassey till the allocation of separate electorates in British India, all of these depict one thing, "British will take any measure to aid its interests, however derogatory they might be for the Indian community in the long run".
Since they never meant to rule India, and with the prior mentioned psyche of them, ''Divide & Rule'' policy forms the easiest way to get what they wanted in the least time frame possible. Hence as a foreigner whose only motto was approval at any cost, yes the British had to apply the Divide & Rule policy.
Hope this answers your question.
@SNEHASINGH