war of Independence 1857 Flashcards
intro (not imp but for background info)
1857: in this year, there were a series of uprisings which are known by British historians as ‘Indian mutiny’ (military attempt against government) and by the Indian historians as ‘war of Independence 1857’.
For the British, the events of 1857 were a revolt against their authority which they had to crush in order to maintain control.
For Indians, it was a war to throw off the shacks of foreign domination
Reasons for outbreak of war can be divided into 4 areas though different sections of population were motivated by different factors, what they all had in common was resentment of British rule.
causes of the war
Political
Dalhousie’s doctrine of lapse was particularly unpopular. Seizure of Oudh in 1856 convinced many Indian leaders that the British were simply greedy landgrabbers
Mistreatment of the Mughal emperor was another cause of unrest. By 1857, the emperor had little power left, but still had a symbolic figure. Dalhousie’s decision to move the royal family from the red fort in Delhi to the more obscure Qutub Sahib was a sign of disrespect.
Resentment at lack of opportunity for native Indians in the civil service. Added to this, English replaced Persian as the official language and education also given in english.
Religious and social
Growth of British political control = spread of British culture
“ single shelf of a good european library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia” (eng administer, 1835)
The British treated Indians as an inferior race. British and Indians did not mix as social equals.
British societies regarded themselves as an oases of culture in a largely uncivilized world
This arrogant attitude coupled with an introduction of a new way of life w railways, telegraphs, and roads = unacceptable for many Indians
Many Indians feared that Islam, Hinduism and sikhism are under danger from British rule. The British always denied this but weren’t believed.
Christain missionaries came to India to convert the local people and set up schools. In these schools, missionaries taught christianity and expected the local people who worked for them to up their religion and follow christain teachings.
Economic
The British followed a practice of imposing high taxation to exploit India’s wealth
Peasants and small landowners in particular found it hard to pay these taxes and resentment grew
Some tax collectors were corrupt and kept some of the tax money to themselves
Along with high taxation, British kept salary of the sepoys low, causing even more resentment
Military
Most soldiers in EIC’s army = Indian
Sepoys and sowars almost exclusively Indian and officer class almost exclusively British
Regular rumors that Muslim, Hindu and Sikh soldiers would be forced to convert to christianity and might be sent to fight abroad.
This was unacceptable by the Hindus. Use of Indian troops in Afghanistan had proved unpopular as Hindu soldiers did not want to leave ‘mother India’.
“All the native army is dissatisfied with the government” (indian observer)
events of the war
Jan 1857: British introduced a new rifle with a paper cartridge covered in grease to keep the powder dry. Before the cartridge could be loaded, the end had to be bitten off. However it was rumored that the grease of the cartridge was made of both cow and pig fat. The sepoys were so angered by this they refused to use the weapon
March: sepoy named Mangal Pandey defied British soldiers and was executed. Real trouble began 2 months later
May: sepoys in Meerut refused to touch new cartridges = they were court-martialled and put into prison, however , their fellow sepoys broke into prison and freed them. Meerut was sacked, British officers and other Europeans put to death. Soldiers marched to Delhi and captured it. Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II = unifying symbol for the uprising, winning support of both Hindus and Muslims.
War spread quickly. British lost control of Delhi, Mathura, Kanpur, Jhansi and Allahabad. Lucknow was also taken and the British continued to exist throughout what is now called ‘uttar pradesh’.
In Cawnpore, Indian troops led by Nana Sahib rose up against the British and kept their forces for 3 weeks. After being promised a safe passage out of the city, the British surrendered. However, as the British were leaving the city, Nana Sahib’s forces turned on them and British forces including 300 women and children were massacred. When the British recaptured the city, they carried out even worse atrocities in revenge.
The British proved too powerful to be defeated by unco-ordinated uprisings in different areas. Sept 1857= Delhi regained, Bahadur Shah surrendered peacefully but his sons Mirza Mughal, Mirza Sultan and Mirza Abu Bakr were killed and their heads were presented to the emperor as a lesson. Lucknow was also regained in the same month.
After the fall of lucknow, the main centre of opposition was jhansi. The sepoys here were led by Lakshmibai, rani of Jhansi. She was assisted by Tatya Topee, an Indian general of great ability. June 1858: Lakshmibai (dressed as a man) killed in battle. Tatya Topee escaped but was later captured and executed.
1858: war declared at an end.
why did the war fail?
Lack of unity:
Though resentment of the British was a single cause to fight for, the Indians were not coordinated or united in what they hoped to achieve. There was o general plan, no attempt to work together and different groups fought for different reasons.
Most Indian princes didn’t want to see imperial power restored. There was no sense of national patriotism and India was too divided for that.
Punjab and Sindh were conquered by troops from Bengal and central India under the command of British officers. When those troops rebelled against the British, Punjab wasn’t interested in supporting them
Some Indian princes were only interested in restoring their feudal powers. Sometimes their powers depended on the support of the British. The ruler of Kashmir had sent 2000 troops to help the British win the war as his position was closely tied to continuation of British rule.
The only real uniting force in the war was Islam. The Mughal empire had been created by the Muslims and they were keen to see Bahadur Shah regain his powers. Muslims were in minority in the country and it was mainly Muslim rulers and kings that were being replaced by the British, which is why the Muslims were more prepared than any other group to oppose the British. However, any degree of unity among the Muslims alarmed the Hindus and Sikhs, who were not ready to fight to restore power to the Muslim Mughal empire. Due to this, the British came to call the War of Independence as predominantly a ‘Muslim revolt’
British strengths
Major reason for the failure of war was that the British were too strong
The British were one of the most powerful nations of the world at this time. Its troops were experienced in warfare and highly trained in modern methods of fighting
They had good reputation for fighting on the battlefield
Only hope Indians had to defeat British was that there should be a general uprising across most of India and Indian troops should act together
British kept control of 3 quarters of their possessions. They were skilled diplomats and knew that the Indian rulers were fighting to restore their own rights, not to establish a united India
They played various groups off against each other
Unco-ordinated = matter of time before British restored order.
effects of the war
Failure of war confirmed British as masters of India
War had been intended to loosen yoke of British control but instead, it tightened in
British issued a proclamation at Allahabad in 1858, ending the war
British reaction to the war was to carry out brutal reprises against the Indians (as seen in cawnpore)
Proclamation of 1858:
British said they would
Not interfere in religious beliefs of people
Pay due regard to ancient property rights and customs
Abide by all treaty obligations
Agree to no further territorial acquisition
Guarantee the right to appointments in public service
British rule after war
After the war, EIC was abolished. British govt would take full responsibility for all matters in India.
A member of British cabinet, the secretary state for India, was given responsibility for the govt. Of the country
Direct responsibility was in the hands of the governor-general, now called viceroy.
had 1000+ members of Indian Civil service (ICS) to help administer the country
Despite proclamation of 1858, by 1870 only one Indian had become an officer in ICS
Indian princes who showed loyalty were allowed to remain on their thrones but had little to no real power and were obliged to follow the policy laid down by British govt.
After the war, Bahadur Shah was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was sent to live out his years in Burma
Jan 1877: British Queen, Victoria, appointed empress of India
The Indian royal family had been formally replaced.
Muslim treatment after war
British considered that the Muslims were largely to blame for the war and lost trust in the muslims
In the army, the British recruited men from groups such as Sikhs, Pathans and Gurkhas, who they thought were trustworthy
Muslims objected to British education and use of English as they considered it un-islamic, so the British withdrew fundings from Muslim schools thus Muslim education fell into decline. It may well have been a part of the plan of the British to keep Muslims illiterate and prevent them from gaining public office
On the other hand, Hindus found favor with the British by adapting themselves to the new rule. They accepted British education and many quickly learned how to speak english
Muslim community suffered as a result of war of Independence.
the birth of nationalist ideas
After the war, the British took strict measures to ensure their control of India was unchallenged. EIC was abolished and control of India was passed to her majesty’s government/British govt in London. 1877: Queen victoria proclaimed empress of India in magnificent ceremony in Delhi
British rule = unpopular bec Indians were largely excluded from governing India. 1858: Queen Victoria had asked that ‘our subjects of whatever race or creed be freely and impartially admitted to offices in our service’. However by 1870, there was only one Indian officer in ICS
British made sure that the country was run in a way that benefit them, instead of putting the local people’s needs first
After 1857, there were fewer opportunities for Indian soldiers in the British army as the ratio of British to Indian soldiers increased from 1:5 to 1:2. Recruitment (action of enlisting new people in armed forces) from less trustworthy areas i.e Oudh, was stopped.
Viceroy Lord Lytton had ended import duties on British cotton goods entering India. The duties had made British goods expensive so local cotton was sold easily but when these duties ended, British cotton was cheaper and manufacturers found it hard to sell their goods.
Bhikaji Rustom Cama, a parsi from bombay. In International socialist council in germany (1907) she stated “india has suffered from terrible tyrannies of British rule”
Lack of opportunities for Indians = widespread criticism of British in newspaper articles written in regional languages
Response of British: they passed Vernacular act of 1878 which placed strict control on these newspapers
Arms Act (same year): made it impossible for most Indians to own weapons so that of there were an uprising, it would be less effective
Nationalist ideas began to grow:
1866: Rajinarayan Bose founded society for promotion of national feeling
1867: yearly Hindu Mala was started in Bengal
Political groups began to spring up i.e Sarvajanik Sabha founded in 1870. Most significant = Indian national congress founded in 1885
