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Name the British liberal who was associated with the Manchester School that was critical of the British rule in India.
Explanation
John Bright (1811–1889) was a prominent British Radical and Liberal statesman and a co-founder of the Manchester School of economics, alongside Richard Cobden. This school advocated for free trade, laissez-faire, and non-interventionism, often critiquing the aggressive and costly nature of British imperialism.
Bright was a fierce critic of the East India Company's administration in India. During the parliamentary debates of 1853 and 1858, he argued that the Company's rule was detrimental to both the Indian people and British interests. He proposed the decentralization of Indian governance into several independent presidencies to improve accountability. In contrast, J.S. Mill, though a liberal, was an official of the East India Company and defended its rule. Fitzjames Stephen was a legalist who supported authoritarian imperial rule, and Lord Ripon was a liberal Viceroy but not the primary figure associated with the Manchester School's specific critique.