How did the British Raj come into existence? A) Indian merchants convinced the British government to invade India. B) Britain borrowed money to purchase land in India. C) Britain annexed a large part of India for its empire. D) Indian rulers and politicians agreed to let Britain trade in India.

C) Britain annexed a large part of India for its empire.

The British Raj did not come into existence through any single event but was the result of a long process of British involvement in India that began with trade and ended with political dominance and colonial rule. Initially, in the early 1600s, the British East India Company, a private British trading corporation, was granted permission by Mughal authorities to establish trading outposts in India. Over time, as the Mughal Empire weakened, the company began to assume administrative functions and eventually military control over various regions. The pivotal moment came after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known as the Sepoy Mutiny), after which the British Crown took direct control of India from the East India Company, establishing the British Raj in 1858, which lasted until Indian independence in 1947.