Name of the Student: Syed Talha Hussaini

Roll No: 2021LLB121

Semester: 1

Name of the Program: 5 years (B.A., LL.B.)

Name of the Faculty Member

Mr. VISWACHANDRANATH MADASU

Professor

Date of Submission: 31st January 2022

DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

NYAYAPRASTHA “, SABBAVARAM, VISAKHAPATNAM – 531035,

ANDHRA PRADESH
Acknowledgement
I'd want to express my gratitude to my parents and friends for their assistance in completing this
project within the time constraints. Your valuable guidance and suggestions helped me in various
phases of the completion of this project. I will always be thankful to you in this regard. I am
ensuring that this project was finished by me and not copied. The completion of this project
could not have been accomplished without the support of my classmates, as well as my parents
and other well-wishers

TABLE OF CONTENT:

Acknowledgement…………………………………………….………… 2

Table of content……………………………………………….………….3

Abstract……………………………………………………..……………4

Synopsis ……………………………………………………….…………4

Introduction………………………………………………………………5

Slave trade in British India - how it came………………………………6

Succession of slaves……………………………………………………….7

Slave warehouses………………………………………………………….8

Treatment of slaves………………………………………………………8

British Attitude Toward Slavery……………………………………….9

Punishment for disobeying…………………………………………………10

Exploitation of slave girls…………………………………………………..11

Who were Anglo Indians…………………………………………………………………………………….11

Movement for the emancipation of slaves……………………………………………………………12
Abolition of slavery in British India…………………………………………..14
Indian Slavery Act, 1843……………………………………………………….16
Concluion……………………………………………………………………..17
Abstract
Slavery has become theoretically outlawed throughout all advanced nations. However, we cannot
say that almost all forms of slavery have been abolished.
It is just an ancient institution that seems to have been somewhat ubiquitous too though.
Numerous societies found it useful to always have slaves-"living tools," as Aristotle described
them-"tools" that could walk, communicate, comprehend, and labor with some understanding.
Some people's consciences were awakened belatedly in history to the fact that slavery is
essentially evil and demeaning. The tale of the valiant, laborious, and long-lasting campaign over
slavery and the slave trade is well-known.
Enslavement was defined by the treatment of persons as goods. Black people from African
nations such as Nigeria, South Africa, Libya, and others were kidnapped and sold into slavery in
Countries like America for cash. However these captives could be forced to perform whatever
their masters wanted, from simple housekeeping to brothel, they were mostly required to work in
european folk's cotton fields, coffee plantations, mines, and rainforests. Some captives who were
lucky enough were also able to help white women with raising children and other home chores.
The belief of white supremacy over blacks was one of the reasons why whites used to acquire
black slaves, and the issue of slavery became a situation of racism as well. The author also feels
that the contrary is true, that racism towards blacks was partly to blame for the casting of
enslavement over blacks. This is why, at the time, even the authorities condoned this kind of
human smuggling.
Slavery, in some form or another, was practiced in India in practically every era. We'd like to
think Megasthenes was correct when he declared there were no slaves in India. It's reassuring to
know that certain Smritis, at the very least, prohibited making a "Arya" a servant. Nevertheless,
it does not appear that enslavement was indeed a significant organization in India anywhere at
point in time. Indians rarely relied on slaves in the same sense that the Greek, Roman, or Deep
south of the United States did. Regardless, features of captivity in India in various places and
times need to be examined in more depth. For example, relatively few people think that slavery
still exists.
Synopsis
Introduction
Undoubtedly man is the cruelest of all creatures in the universe since, from the birth of society,
he has created various means to satisfy his perpetual drive for dominion over the earth, along
with all species. Man utilized not just environment and its plentiful supplies for his own benefit,
as well as other species.
The doctrine that just might is the ultimate virtue has had the solitary biggest impact on man
across all eras and ages. And man has always honestly embraced this concept, never hesitating to
adopt the slave economy as an essential institution in the economic and social life of prehistoric
days.

From the birth of society, man has tormented man in numerous ways, the most heinous of which
was the establishment of slave and its steady growth as a major social and economic organization
in all nations throughout the globe.
It is widely assumed that the beginning of slavery was linked to warlike actions by a tribal and
the enslavement of a vanquished group. In medieval India, as everywhere else, hostages (dvaja
hrita) of military conflict were the kidnapper's servants; and they were released early from
enslavement after paying the required extortion money; Those enslaved people who made it out
alive  did not regain their autonomy, but were passed down to a rightful heir among other
master's assets.

Objective of the study

The objective of the study is to analyze the slave trading activities in British India along with the
people who enabled it as well as the people who vehemently opposed it

Scope of the study

The scope of the study is limited till the abolition of slavery by the act of Indian Slavery Act,
1843

Significance of the study

This study elucidates as to how the institution if slavery reached the shores of India and how
eventually this heinous institution was done away with thanks to the humanitarian ideals of some
great figures whom India was blessed to have.

Research methodology
This researcher has used the primary and secondary sources of data. This is a doctrinal and
analytical study where different terms have been defined and a hypothesis has been formed.
Type of research
This research is a descriptive and explanatory research

Research questions
How did the Englishmen assist in the proliferation of the sentiments of anti slavery moment
among slave owners?

Introduction

The British arrived in India as a business country, but they eventually achieved political
dominance over the country. After overcoming Nawab Sirajuddaula just at Battle of Plassey,
Lord Clive established British dominion in Bengal in 1757, marking a watershed moment in
Indian history.
From this point on, India's history enters a new period.
Slavery started in India, as it did everywhere, with the first rules of war. The law of battle states
that the loser becomes the winner's servant. Enslavement grew increasingly institutionalized as
time passed and social systems crystallised, and its types and variety expanded. The Arthasastra
divides slaves into five types: (l) Dhvajahrita (captured in war), (2) Atmavikroyin (who
advertises himself), (3) Udaradasha or Garvadasha (one conceived to a Dashi from a servant), (4)
Ahitaka (one sold into slavery for a liabilities or made a pledge), as well as (5) Danda Pranita
(one sold into slavery for a penalty or prosecutor's proclamation
However, Manu actually talks of seven types of slaves: (1) captured in battle, (2) one who has
become a servant for meal (i.e. in food shortage or famine), (3) person conceived in the residence
(i.e. of a female slave), (4) somebody purchased, (5) person offered, (6) ore acquired (as a part of
heritage), and (7) person who has become a servant to pay off a fine or prosecutorial declaration.
His shape and character changed dramatically throughout time, and Narada, among all the
Smritikaras, has the most detailed analysis of slavery. He identifies fifteen different types of
enslavement.
The offspring of a slave woman in the bosom of a man servant would become a slave to the very
same owner He was a In Narada, this is referred to as Grihaja or Udaradasha. Manu. Slaves
might be freed, like in ancient Greece. be acquired for cash in Indian slavery marketplaces
(krita). Narada recognizes slavery as a blessing as well. There are several There are few allusions
to this type of slavery in ancient writings and Jaw texts, however, throughout the Islamic and
British periods, the Female slaves were formerly given as a gift by kings and Indian rulers. a
portion of their daughters' alimony According to Narada, the captives' lawful master They might
pledge or sell their property.
The mortgages remained in place until the loan was paid off. Thus according Narada, a man
quitting a religious institution The monarch sentences order to slavery, and therefore Apostate
will never be freed.
This system was popular in ancient Rome, when Christians were condemned to servitude and
occasionally put before the lions the hun.gry lions or other predatory creatures Of course, this
threat was plainly an effort to maintain control. males in their appropriate place Additional types
of slaves are also described by Narada. A debtor or one who embraced slavery, according to him
for his support, was immediately freed from slavery on debt repayment with interest and
surrender of the In addition to the right to sustenance, Narada recommends three further rights.
Enslavement mechanisms:
(1) One enslaved as a result of his relationship with a female slave
(2) Another servant of the female slave's master,enslaved for a certain amount of time, and
(3) "secured 'through wager' 

Slave trade in British India - how it came

Slavery started to be institutionalized as a highly rigorous and \important organization with the
foundation of British \rule in India under the East India Company in 1757.
its style and shape fully altered from those of the Muslim era. The plight of slaves considerably
deteriorated in this age. In India, slavery was introduced by warren Hastings during his period of
office as the governor-General of Bengal under the East India company. The status of slave in
the British administered India was dreadful and was not in any sway better from their Black
equivalents there in U.S A., and the West Indies. Slavery continued in India as a very hard and
harsh system along with other colonies of the British Empire and was outlawed pursuant to an
Act of Parliament approved in the year 1833 under the auspices of Wilberforce and Lords
Brougham and Grey.
it was Warren Hastings who invented a new method of generating profit by offering individuals
as enslaved people. During his stay of administration. it thrived as a highly profitable trade.
Dacoits and robbers, as per the statutes of the Company, were sentenced to death and each and
every member of their households. even their spouses and kids, was auctioned as a slave.
Hastings also encouraged batches of slave-traders to undertake on this commerce and helped and
condescended them in so many methods to maximize the slave population in the country,
Hoogly, Chandernagar, Khidirpur, Calcutta, Serampore & Chinsura had become the center of
slavery, where the slave-traders would 'frequently conduct their business with their English and
French consumers.
Slave hunters typically acquired their slaves from the towns of Bengal. They used to steal young
youngsters from their families and auction them as slaves. They were typically brought up in the
residences of the. Owners rather irresponsibly along with their domestic animals.
The slave merchants also kidnapped or forcibly captured passers-by, villages and destitute
individuals who could hardly have access to legal remedies. Moreover, it had been an era of
disarray typified by the absence of law and any well-regulated administration. Such slave traders,
far from being punished by any legislation, either Of the Nizam or of the East India Company,
were constantly fostered by them.

Succession of slaves

These prisoners were generally inherited by the successors of their owners as per the British
rule of succession. But in case when there was only one slave but many heirs, he was auctioned
during an auction sale, sand the revenue was evenly shared by the descendants. The slaves might
be delivered as tributes, leased or mortgaged.
Numerous Indians offered slaves to the top-ranking officials of the East India Company with
such an aim to gratifying them. Some slave-owners discovered it a highly lucrative source of
money to rent their captives to the owners of industries, mills and agricultural estates, where they
were obliged to work extremely hard as laborers. Their masters could receive significant
incentives for this. But in case a slave expired while serving as a contracted worker, the man who
hired him had to recompense his owner.
Hundreds of slaves were therefore released out in the neighboring areas of Calcutta as hired
labor. They had to work very hard during the day and their emoluments were enjoyed by their
masters who did not provide them \seven a single pie. the European settlers, particularly the
Company’s servants, spent money quite excessively, and thus they were naturally indebted. They
generally obtained debts from the rich money-lenders of the nation against their slaves, who
were considered as their moveable goods.
 Until and unless they cleaned out their obligations, their slaves were \sunder the possession of
their creditors. If a debtor died without clearing up the dues or he failed to pay back the amount
he borrowed, his slaves, together with his other possessions were sold off in an auction sale
through their lawyers.

Slave warehouses

A Slave Ware-house in Calcutta was a well-maintained home that looked like many others on the
outside. In these kind of ware rooms, slaves were kept in separate rows with their hands or feet
firmly bound in shackles. Buyers, the majority of which were British, Frenchman, Portuguese, or
Armenians, were given free rein to see and study the captives.
Human property had a high economic value, thus it was carefully nourished, cleansed, and cared
for so that it could be sold sleek, strong, and sparkling.
Before purchasing the slaves, the purchaser had the ability to inspect each and every limb of the
captives, which he accomplished.
Therefore, the auction began, and the slaves were generally sold to the highest bidder. Every
master would obtain registration documentation for every slave first from previous owner, which
included the slave's name, thumb imprint, other relevant information, as well as the prior owner's
signature. The municipal court levied a registration fee of Rs. 4.25 each time a slave was
transferred from one owner to the next. Some of these papers may still be found at the Calcutta
High Court and Writers' buildings' archive chambers.

Treatment of slaves

Aside from the aforementioned locations and slave warehouses, captives were traded at bazaars
and marketplaces across the urban areas, much like livestock. The Gholams and Bandis, as
slaves were called back then, were tethered to poles and exposed to the purchasers for inspection
and display. On his journey back to Calcutta via Banaras, a 54-year-old Zaminder purchased an
able-bodied Gholam for Rs. 25Jr from the Bhagalpur bazaar. On that day (January 11, 1810), he
claims to have witnessed roughly twenty to twenty-five Gholams and Bandis sold out in
Bhagalpur, Bihar.
The slaves' foreheads and chests were marked with very heated and scorching iron rods. Slaves
were tethered with thick shackles and herded like livestock to their prospective master's
residence. All of the house's hard work was done by these wretched slaves.
Their lords treated them with ruthlessness.
They were malnourished and mistreated. The slaves were given a very modest quantity of flour.
They had to labor tirelessly from early morning until late at night. And they cooked their supper
in the dark of night after a long day of labor.
They were cruelly tormented for even the minor faults or transgressions. Sri Hari Har Seth has
gathered a wealth of information through European travelers’ stories and official memoirs,
providing unique insights into slavery in India throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries, particularly in Calcutta. The English women thrashed their slaves severely for minor
infractions. They did not hesitate to use their own hands to lash their male slaves. They thrashed
them till their blood flowed clear and they were exhausted and fed up.
The Armenians were ruthless in their treatment of their slaves. They forced their slaves to labor
for the entire day and kept them in iron enclosures beside the stables, enslaving them with
trappings and cuffs. Their arms were free throughout the day, but their feet remained constrained
with large chains so that they could walk freely. The cruelties were not spared the woman slaves.
It is not uncommon to find examples of people who have been subjected to the most heinous
treatment. We learn this through the testimony of a Dutch woman who visited us. To create some
drawings of contemporary societal images portraying how women mistreated inhumanely and
barbarically for the tiniest of transgressions.
They were frequently flogged, lashed, and booted. She claims to have seen women slaves being
bound to stakes, their cloths being removed, and jars after jars of cold water being thrown upside
down in unending succession on their heads on a chilly December evening, and the unfortunate
animals, who were entirely nude, were ready to die from suffocation- This kind of punishment
carried on for fifteen to twenty minutes in front of all of the family members as well as other
captives in order to scare them.

British Attitude Toward Slavery

Slavery, as has been shown, was an old and widespread institution in India. This was prevalent
everywhere within the former Bengal Presidency, and in Assam, Arakan and the Delhi domains
likewise. It was no less frequent in the other Presidencies of Mumbai and Madras, and may be
recognized as arguably the greatest social scourge out of which British India endured during the
time of East India Company control. The wrong was an inherited one, given by the Hindu and
Muslim states to whereby the Company ascended, but it was one which was positively
acknowledged by the Company, being governed and enforced by its courts. ^ The removal of the
considerably fewer general ills of sati, thagi and infanticide were, and are, widely appreciated.
The protracted delays before slavery were tackled have been less recognized and final
eradication in 1843 has been accorded less recognition as a substantial amount of reform than it
merits.
Albeit the Company commonly understood slavery as a lawful establishment, one component of
the establishment, child trafficking, was deemed too notorious to permit for administrative
reasons. Abduction and exploiting children have already long been prevalent in India, but the
evil rose to new heights during Bengal famine of 1770 as well as the chaotic years that followed
(years when a limited availability of labor made serfs much more precious property).• Warren
Hastings noted in 1774, only two years after making enslavement a legal punishment for dacoity,
that "the process of attempting to steal children from their parents and trying to sell them..." In
two ways, he described how it grew. "The impact deduced from English people to each and
every person, whose birth, dialect, and even routine authorizes him to presume a proportion in its
advantages, and the disregard of the prudent safety measures formed by the primitive law of the
country (which necessitates that no servant be auctioned without a deed endorsed by the uzi,
symbolizing the children's domicile).

Punishment for disobeying

In Calcutta, there were whipping house installations near slave warehouses and municipal
magistrates* courts, where the judges transported numerous offenders and rogues for lashing as
well as slave women. The Portuguese, Armenians, and Muhammedans of the lowest stock ran
these establishments.
Authorities taxed 1 anna for each lash administered to servants and others for discipline. Slave
holders usually sent their slaves with something like a note instructing the flogging house
manager to deliver 15 to 20 lashes every time, as well as his dues in beforehand.
As a result, a big number of miserable animals with teary eyes flocked there to be beaten.
Prisoners were tethered to posts and whipped 15 to 20 times on the back sides and arms. Many
people were knocked out, and blood was gushing from their cuts. They returned to their master's
home with lengthy lines of cuts on their back sides and arms, and blood gushing from them.
The slaves couldn't flee because they were marked on various areas of there own body and
dressed in filthy clothes, and everyone who spotted them recognized them as slaves right
immediately and refused to offer him refuge. Furthermore, their owners filed indictments and
publicized the information in the media, and whomever was able to apprehend a fugitive slave
was paid handsomely by the master. If fugitive slaves were discovered, they were dealt with
harshly. They had been battered so badly that they were virtually half-dead. Their European
overlords malnourished, underfed, and mistreated the slaves. Throughout their sickness, they
were not seen by doctors. Numerous slaves would die as a result of the harsh torments they were
subjected to. There's been, however, no way out. Slave-masters in Europe were not prosecuted
for torturing and killing their captives.

Exploitation of slave girls

The exploitation of young and attractive slave girls as the kept ladies of English colonists in
India was a particularly heinous aspect of enslavement at the time. The number of Foreign
females at the time was rather tiny. The majority of the European residents comprised Company
executives. For different reasons, they were unable to marry in this nation. European women
disliked visiting this faraway continent, which they believed was filled with tigers, rhinos,
anacondas, and magicians. Additionally, maintaining European females was prohibitively costly
since they like to live an opulent lifestyle and spend excessively. As a result, most Europeans
residing in India could not afford to marry European women and keep them here. As a result, the
majority of the East India Company's European personnel were unmarried and hence lacking in
personal integrity. Corruption abounds in today's European society, which is attracted to
unethical practices. Honesty, morality, and chastity were all missing from today's European
culture. Adultery, immoral conduct, lechery, and other vices were popular commodities among
Europeans residing in India at the time. So, in this nation, the Euro peans sometimes used live
alongside female slaves.

Who were the Anglo Indians?

Anglo-Indians were born when a man and woman married and had children that appeared like
Europeans. They are raised alongside their dads' other household animals with much disdain.
The Europeans freely lived as husbands and wives with Indian female slaves, and they were
hardly embarrassed of it. They were quite delighted of it since they were guys of such low
morals that they would not see it as a shameful deed. Slave females from India were sometimes
wedded by them. As a consequence of the mixed marriages and covert sexual encounters
between Europeans and their female slaves, a significant class of deformed half-caste were born.
Anglo Indians are the name given to them.
They were hardly accepted as their offspring by the Europeans, and they were never returned to
their homelands after leaving the Company's service. They would sometimes leave them certain
assets for upkeep. They were well conscious that these beings were little more than illegitimate
offspring in the legal sense. Before departing for Europe, they wo n’t hesitate to sell their
illegitimate offspring as slaves. They were able to do so since their children were considered
slaves under British law as they were born to slave-mothers. This is when the so-called Anglo-
Indians first appeared on the scene.
This depraved half-caste, having Western surnames like Patrick, Harris, Robinson, De Mill,
Pinto, Perriera, Jones, and others, with English as their native language, are the slave progeny of
the initial hybrid marital relationship between Western slave masters and their female slaves.
Following the liberation of slaves by a Parliamentary act in 1833, these individuals of mixed
ancestry created their distinct class and were known as Anglo-Indians.
They gained favor with the Western ruling elite by mastering the skill of loathing and looking
down upon that Indians, who have been in many ways lesser to them. All across the nineteenth
and most of the twentieth century, until India's independence, they monopolized key positions in
the railroads, police, and post and telegraph agencies.
They mocked the Indians as niggars and blackies, and strove to live in their own ivory towers,
blissfully unaware of their origins.

Movement for the emancipation of slaves

Governor-General Lord Cornwallis, much worried by the actions of the Portuguese and other
slave dealers, wrote to the Court of Directors in 1789, requesting that slavery and the slave trade
be mitigated or abolished in the Bengal Presidency. He was emotionally stirred by the repeated
reports of slave merchants' criminal operations from police authorities in different sections of the
nation. '*' He, too, realized that the best way to successfully reduce the business was to remove
the legal sanction of enslavement. "There are numerous barriers," he remarked, "in the path of
completely eradicating slavery in the Company's protectorates, given the sheer number of slaves
and the fact that the institution is authorized by both Islam and Hinduism laws." Cornwallis' first
actions were geared solely against the slave trade, not against enslavement itself.
An edict barring the exporting of residents of British India as slaves was officially recognized on
July 27, 1789.
To ensure the effectiveness of his plan, Cornwallis made it apparent that he would employ the
most draconian tactics available to combat slave trade, and he exercised all of his power over the
pilot service, British corporate houses in Calcutta, and people. He was not, however, willing to
seek for total eradication of slaves in British India. Slavery was an inextricably linked aspect of
the nation's social and economic structure, firmly rooted in history and practiced with the
blessing and cooperation of both Muslim and Hindu religious authorities. As a result, in 1798,
the Company adopted a statute requiring Hindu and Muslim slaves to be controlled according to
the tenets of Hindu and Muslim law, accordingly. '*' Despite the fact that this rule sought to
provide to the slave the protection offered by those laws, the owners' property rights over their
slaves were still recognized.

The English Anti-Slavery Society was renamed "The British & International Anti-Slavery
Association" with the addition of "The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. “Lublin,
Edinburgh, and London are among the company's locations. During this time, human rights
organizations performed a distinct role in mobilizing popular perception in India towards
enslavement.
Pamphlets and booklets were printed, seminars were given, and large demonstrations were
convened, all vehemently criticizing the East India Company's peculiar stance. a The British
India Association, founded in England in 1839, corroborated such assaults with accusations from
the British business class "For the betterment of their fellow-subjects, the residents of Hindustan
under British rule ".. The Society's mission was to eliminate all trade obstacles in India.

The inhumane tortures imposed on the slaves, as well as their sufferings, touched many a decent
Englishman, who was greatly moved by the sight of the captives' agony. They started to suspect
that the system was inherently degenerating and decaying as time went on. This is clear from
Leicester Stanhope's letter to the Duke of Gloucester on January 18, 1823, in which he requested
that his Royal Highness take prompt action to remove this inhumane institution from India. Mr.
Stanhope described the dreadful conditions of Indian slaves working as agricultural laborers in
the Karasamandal and Malabar districts in his letter. The slaves were exploited ruthlessly by
their cruel owners. To differentiate them from freemen, they had to wear filthy, ripped clothing
and have their hair shaved. They were usually chained together with iron fetters till the end of
their lives. Their plight was identical to that of the barbarian and Oriental captives sold in the
Delian slave markets. Jean Bodin (1596), a well-known French political philosopher, is credited
with becoming the first person to publicly condemn slavery. He was a well-known writer who
waged a ferocious campaign against the institution. Bodin spoke up for millions of unhappy
souls who were chained and trodden underfoot.
They were able to stomp away all of the resistance that stood in their way. They continued in the
same spirit, and their movement was a great success. Finally, under Lord Grey's premiership in
1833, slavery was totally abolished across the British Empire. Slave owners were given £
20,000,000 in compensation by Parliament, and they were now required to free their slaves. As a
result, a huge number of slaves were released from their enslavement and freed to live freely in
the world.
Abolition of slavery in British India

The Anti-Slavery Campaign' campaign in Britain had an impact in India as well. Some British
officials in India were clearly inspired by the fresh concepts that were circulating in Britain.
They attempted to eradicate enslavement in their own capacities, and they battled valiantly,
albeit initially unsuccessful, for abolition.
The missionaries were one organization in India who constantly expressed strong disdain of
enslavement and protested against that They not only used the journals to protest in India, but
several of them also supplied the tools that reformers used to make their argument at home.
However, although playing a critical role in bringing firsthand knowledge about Indian
enslavement to the British people and supplying material for the abolitionists battle in
Parliament, these missionaries had only a little effect in India. Improvement was inevitably
delayed since there was no bigger protest movement than the missionary at action to resist the
govt's unwillingness to intervene with Indian culture.
More resolute effort towards enslavement in India necessitated the participation of a strong
external force. The truly noble humanitarian campaign, which began in 1831 and ceased in the
abolishment of slavery in the British colonies in 1833*, supplied this. 1833 was also the year
when the Company's charter was due for replacement, and Charles Grant, Chairman of the Board
of Control, used the ability to contact for the blatant abolishment of slavery in India 
The Government of India Act of 1833 mandated that the Governor-General in Council take into
account the required steps to mitigate enslavement and eventually abolish it, and safe, and that
the documentation of rules and regulations for the reason be conducted as quickly as possible.
Despite the British government' obfuscatory and half-hearted actions in India, activists of the
English Anti-Slavery Campaign were not willing to let things go. They established a well-
organized and methodical campaign in Britain for the abolishment of slavery in India, constantly
asking concerns in both Houses of Parliament against the Indian govt's enslavement policies.
Finally, in the year 1833, slavery was abolished.
During Lord Grey's government, the British Empire was totally dismantled. Slave owners were
given £ 20,000,000 in compensation by Parliament, and they were now required to free their
slaves. As a result, a great number of slaves were released from their enslavement and freed to
live freely in the rest of the globe.
Slavery was abolished in British India, as well. Slave owners were required to release their
slaves in installments. The Governor-General of India at the time was Lord Wiliam Cavendish
Bentinck, the youngest son of the Duke of Portland, a previous Prime Minister of England (1777
and 1802). His name is linked to a number of significant reforms in India relating to social,
economic, and political issues.
According to an act of Parliament passed in 1833, that noble Lord ordered the freedom of all
slaves in British India. Slave owners in Europe were compensated, and they were obligated to
liberate their slaves.
Following the passing of the 1833 Act of Parliament, the British Government deserves great
credit for adopting extremely well-organized and serious actions to eradicate slavery from every
portion of British-administered India. In Hindustan, a comprehensive and well-organized process
for the liberation of slaves commenced in 1843, and enslavement gradually faded out from
nation around 1857, when railroad construction provided an outlet for labor.

Slavery was therefore eradicated in Hindustan in thirty brief lines by depriving it of any legal
validity. All other efforts to perpetuate a recognized slavery were brushed away, even if the
supposedly more revolutionary and beneficial options were denied. Furthermore, the result was
accomplished without the government being burdened with a large reparation bill.
A total of twenty million pounds had been given in reparations to slaveholders in the Indies;
however, the Indian proprietors of an estimated eight and a half million slaves had received
nothing.
They hardly raised an objection to the elimination of their property rights. Slaves were able to
free themselves quietly, and the formation of new chains was avoided.

Thousands of slaves were freed from Hindustan, but slavery lingered in the nation in different
ways. It was very inconvenient for British tea and indigo growers, as well as other
manufacturers, to manage their farms and businesses lacking slaves.
As a result, they devised a new strategy to keep this organization alive, although in a different
shape. Impoverished farmers, villagers, as well as other individuals were forced to work in their
crops.
Despite the fact that they were not technically slaves, their living conditions were no different
than those of slaves. They also were subjected to whips, blows, and other cruel torments by their
Western owners, just like slavery.
Women laborers were openly utilized as consorts by European plantation owners. The ambiance
of these farms was no different than that of prisons.
Indian Slavery Act, 1843

The Indian Slavery Statute of 1843, also known as Act V of 1843, was an act enacted in British
India under the East India Company's administration that made numerous commercial activities
related with slavery illegal.

The statute specifies that the selling of any individual as a slave is prohibited, and that anybody
who buys or sells slaves would indeed be charged with a crime underneath the Indian Penal
Code. Some East India Company officials were against the ordinance, citing Hindu and Muslim
conventions and claiming that it would be perceived as a disruption of existing social systems.
The Act was passed when Christian lawmakers who'd already spearheaded triumphant slavery
abolition efforts in the West Indies won1. Historians disagree as to whether the Legislation was
successful in excluding class and slavery.
The working conditions of tea plantation employees in Tamil Nadu and Assam have been
paralleled to those of African and West Indian sugar farm laborers. Notwithstanding the Act, tea
plantation workers became bonded laborer’s due to a lack of options.
The reputation of the slave trade lives on: enslavement formed the British Empire and the
countries of the Americas. Perhaps that heinous business is partly to blame for Africa's never-
ending crises. Africans bought guns to capture adversaries, who were then sold to acquire more
guns. Slave raids became increasingly common with the advent of weapons, and more African
countries were dragged into the trade. Africa's growth was harmed as community relations
deteriorated further and potential nation-building paths were interrupted.
Slavery ended in both the Bengal Presidency and India as a result of the humanistic beliefs and
powerful anti slavery emotions prevalent in Britain. Raja Ram mohan, Prince Dvaraka Hath
Tagore, and Maharaja Sir Radhakarta Deva, among other Great social activists, never spoke a
syllable condemning enslavement in their nation. The missionaries in India, via their publications
and magazines, expressed objections against slavery from period to period, and advocated its
eradication. They were, however, largely disregarded by the government, which saw them as
troublemakers and regarded them with mistrust. Enslavement in India was abolished thanks to
the lengthy, laborious, and prolonged struggle of British humanitarians, particularly the Quakers.

1
Anon, Constitution of india: Legislative Department: Ministry of law and justice: Goi. Legislative Department |
Ministry of Law and Justice | GoI. Available at: https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india [Accessed January 28,
2022].
Conclusions

Before the institution of slavery was abolished in 1807, Britain was the world's largest slave
trader. The horrible Haiti Slave Revolt (1791-1804), as well as the initiatives of educated people
and evangelical Christians, may not only have been the driving forces towards abolition.
Following the second Anglo-Maratha War in 1805, the British gained control of India. This
resulted in a more profitable cash cow while removing the stigma. The Empire could argue that
Indigenous farmers and laborers were not subjected to institutionalized chattel slavery. British
India had a relatively little influence on the slave trade after liberation.
I believe that Indians cannot be blamed for the sheer terror and brutality of enslavement in
subsequent Indian history, such as during the Muslim and British periods, since the
establishment was run by colonial masters at the period, and the indigenous people of the land,
such as the oppressed black population, were nothing more than defenseless and silent viewers.
Enslavement was not an issue for the Indians, thus they were unconcerned about it. My people
have an intrinsic need for religion, and their strong religious beliefs have kept them from
trafficking in human flesh or perpetrating such heinous crimes.
Several countries will soon join India on the route of justice — the route of humanity's
deliverance — the pathway of res cuing thousands of persecuted minorities and tying them in a
bond of fraternity. And finally, singing the melody of the individual soul's magnificence will be
our sole goal.

Biblopgraphy
Books
1) Chattopadhyay, A.K. & Mukherjee, R.K., 1960. Slavery in India, Calcutta: Nagarjun
Pr.
2) Slavery In the Bengal Presidency Under East India Company Rule, 1772 - 18U3* Amal Kumar
Chattopadhya

Journals/websites
1) Hansard Parliamentary Papers 125 (1828), 128 (1834), 697 (1837), 238 (1841), 525
(1843), 14 (1844), London, House of Commons
2) Slavery from the Perspective of a Legal Scholar https://blog.ipleaders.in/slavery-legal-
prospect/