1857 Flashcards
Causes of the Revolt
Political causes:
Ignorance of EIC towards the interests and pleas of the kings and nawabs.
The subsidiary Alliance by Wellesley and the doctrine of lapse under Dalhousie.
The end of the Mughal lineage.
Subsidiary Alliance:
It is a treaty between the EIC and Indian rulers framed by Wellesley.
With this the Indian rulers had to let go of their armed forces, pay maintenance to British army, and were not to form an Alliance.
One official of the company was placed at the court of rulers who was called the resident.
Doctrine of lapse:
And annexation policy followed by Lord Dalhousie who ruled from 1848 to 1856.
According to it, any ruler, under this, if without a male heir, would be annexed by the company.
Any adopted son would only inherited his father’s personal property and assets.
Administrative causes
Uprisings such as Sanyasi Revolt in Bihar and Bengal from 1763 to 1800, also Fairazi in Faridpur, 1838.
Dissatisfaction of zamindars by the EIC due to the new revenue settlement policies.
Corruption of power at the lower levels.
The poor were abused at all levels.
Socio-Religious Causes
Abolition of sati, legalization of widow remarriage and western education of girls.
Christian missionary activities.
Public attacks on Hinduism and Islam.
Taxing religious lands or charitable institutions.
Enfield riffles issue.
Economic causes
Economic exploitation of the country by the British
The complete destruction of its traditional economic fabric impoverished the majority of pleasants, artisans and handicraftsmen along with traditional zamindars and chiefs
British policies destroyed local rulers and their quotes who are patrons of handicrafts and artisans
The British also favorite items which came from the west and tried to dump them in India
This was because they were cheaper and the Indian commodities could not compete with them
This led to pressure on agricultural land and discontent among rural areas which also affected the sepoys who came from these areas
Military causes
The Indian sepoys in the employee of the company also had reasons for discontent
They were unhappy about their pay, allowances and conditions of service
Some of these new rules also violated the religious sensibilities and beliefs
In 1824, the sepoys were ordered to go to Burma by the sea route to fight for the company. When they refused they were punished and later had to go by the land route
In 1856, Lord Canning’s Government Service Entitlement Act declared that every new position who took up employment in the company’s army had to agree to serve overseas if required
There was already discrimination in the army between British and Indian soldiers in payments and promotions
And the foreign allowance Bhatta paid to sepoys was withdrawn
Outside influences
Santhal uprising (1855-57)
First Afghan War (1838-42)
Punjab War (1845-49)
Crimean War (1854-56)
Lead people to believe that the British were not invincible.
Beginning and course of the revolt
On 8 April 1857, Mangal Pandey was hanged to death for attaking his officers in Barrackpore
Some days later, some the sepoys of the regiment at Meerut refused to do the army drill using the new cartridges which were suspected of being coated with the fat of cows and pigs
85 sepoys by dismissed from service and sentenced to 10 years in jail for disobeying their officers. This took place on 9th May 1857
The response of the Indian soldiers in Meerut was quite extra ordinary.
On 10th may 1857, the soldiers marched to the jail in Meerut and released the imprisoned sepoys after attacking and killing the British officers
They captured guns and ammunition and set fire to the buildings and properties of the British and declared War on the firangis
The soldiers were determined to bring an end to their rule in the country
The soldiers shows the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as the leader of the rebellion
And with this, it turned into a wide spread Revolt all over the country and not just in the military camps
Civilians begin to join the unrest particularly in the North Western parts and awadh
It comprised of pleasants, zamindars, religious leaders and civil servants
Delhi was captured back by the British on 20 September 1857. Bahadur Shah was taken prisoner and send to Rangoon in Myanmar, where he died in 1862.
Most of the leaders of the rebellion were defeated. Nana Saheb lost Kanpur and escaped to Nepal in 1859. Rani Lakshmi Bai died on battlefield in June 1858.
In the end by 1859, Revolt has been suppressed and the British had to bring more supplies and resources to re-establishe their governance
Centres of revolt + leaders
Delhi: Under General Bakht Khan in 11th May 1857
Lucknow: Under Begum Hazrat Mahal in 4th June 1857
Bihar: Under Kunwar Singh in August 1857
Kanpur: Under Nana Saheb and Tantia Tope in 4th June 1857
Bareilly: Under Khan Bahadur Khan in 4th June 1857
Faizabad or Ayodhya: Under Maulvi Ahmadullah in 4th June 1857
Jhansi: Under Rani Lakshmi Bai in 4th June 1857
Allahabad or Prayagraj: Under Liyakat Ali in 5th June 1857
Barout, UP: Under Shah Mal (Jat)
Weakness of revolt and failure
It was limited only to the northern States
Not all the classes joined the revolt and some Indian rulers even actively helped the British officials (for example, the Scindiad of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Raja of Jodhpur and other rulers of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Kashmir etc) + modern educated Indians also did not support The Revolt and were repelled by the rebels’ appeals to superstitions and their opposition to progressive social measures
The EIC head modernised weapons (Guns, Telegraph) by which they could easily tell about the movements of the rebels
Peasants and most Indians fought with swords, Spears and few had guns
Revolt was not well coordinated and was fought mostly independently without any strategy, while the British commanders had experienced man like the Lawrence brothers, John Nicholson, James Outram, etc
Revolt also did not have a forward looking outlook, an even if they had won they did not know what to do with it
These rebels came from different sections of the society and class and a feeling of unity or ideals of nationalism were missing
Impact of the revolt
Made the Britishers feel genuinely threatened.
Restored Hindu-Muslim unity.
Rise of modern nationalism.
The British parliament passed new act in 1858 to transfer EIC to the British crown for better management.
Member of British cabinet was appointed as secretary of state to India and had an advisory council called the India council.
Gov-Gen of India became Viceroy under the British crown.
All of this was announced at Darbar by Lord Canning in 1858, Allahabad during Queen’s Proclamation.
Indian annexed states were brought under a single British paramountcy.
Organized the army to prevent further rebellion.
Increased number of Europeans in army increased.
Views of historians on the nature of revolt
The revolt of 1857 is difficult to be seen as most of the documens related to the revolt by destroyed by rebels were burnt by the British officials
However, some considered the sepoy mutiny to be the first national struggle or the first war of independence as there was never a war in India lasting continuously for more than a year and simultaneously in all the regions which had for its objective the abasement and ejectment of the alien ruling power. It is difficult to find a parallel to this gigantic anti-foreign combine of all classes of people and of many provinces in India.
Some sceptics consider it to be mainly a military outbreak, which was taken advantage of by certain discontented Princess and landlords whose interests had been affected by the new political order.
Some critics however do not consider it as a national struggle as say that it is neither the first, nor National, nor a war of independence.
