The First War of Indian Independence
Or
Revolt of 1857
Political Causes
Policy of expansion -The British tried to expand their political power in India by adopting four
ways;
✓ Outright wars.
✓ Subsidiary Alliance
✓ Doctrine of Lapse
✓ On the pretext of misrule
Subsidiary system was introduced by Lord Wellesly,
Under this system the Indian rulers-
➢ Accepted the British as the supreme power;
➢ Agreed to maintain British troops at their own cost; and
➢ Virtually lost their independence.
All the Indian States had either been annexed or had entered into alliances with the
company by 1856
The British had become the supreme power.
Doctrine of Lapse
❖ Doctrineof Lapse introduced by Lord Dalhousie declared that if
an Indian King died without an heir his Kingdom would come
under the Company’s Rule. The kings were not allowed to adopt
without the consent of the company. The states of Satara, Nagpur
,sambalpur,jaitpur,Jhansi etc were annexed using this Doctrine.
iII- treatment of Indian Kings & Princes
❖ Disrespect shown to Bahadur Shah the Mughal Emperor. Lord Dalhousie
announced that after his death his successors cannot continue to stay at the
Red Fort.
❖ In 1856, Lord Canning announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah, his
successors would not be allowed to use the Imperial titles.
❖ Nana Saheb the adopted son of the former Peshwa Baji Rao II was refused
pension by the British.
❖ Rani Laxmi Bai became a bitter enemy of the British because her adopted son
was not accepted as the rightful heir to the throne.
❖ The kingdom of Awadh ruled by Nawab Wazid Ali Shah was annexed by the
British on the pretext of Mis-Government or misrule or not managed well.
Consequences of the annexation of the Awadh
➢ It caused unemployment among nobles, officials and soldiers.
➢ The estates of the Zamindars were confiscated.
➢ It also affected the soldiers financial position.They had to pay higher taxes on the land
their families held in Awadh
Unpopular Administration of the British.
❖ The British officials were not easily approachable.
❖ Indian’s were excluded from all high offices.
❖ People found themselves out of place with the English laws and the English languages.
❖ The British officials had great contempt for the Indians.
TheVague and floating Rumours : The Indians believed that British rule cannot last
more than 100 years. The British came to power in 1757 and their rule would come to an
end in 1857.
Social and Religious Causes
➢ The activities of the Christian missionaries created fear among the
Indians that the British were trying to convert them to Christianity.
➢ Laws that interfered with the religion and Customs of the People:
✓ The act of 1850 changed the Hindu Law of Property. It enabled
the convert from Hinduism to inherit the property of his father.
✓ The widow Remarriage Act, (1856), the Sati Act and the abolition
of Female infanticide and the opening of Western education to
girls made the Indians fear that their religion was in danger.
✓ Religious sentiments of the Indians were hurt by taxing lands
belonging to temples and mosques.
4. Apprehensions about Modern Innovations
❑ The railways and telegraphs were looked down upon as means to break social order and
caste rules.
❑ People believed that telegraph poles were erected to hang people who were against the
British rule.
❑ The orthodox Indians were against the introduction of the railways because the higher
and lower castes were made to sit side by side.
❑ Policy of Racial Discrimination: The Englishmen in India could insult humiliate and even
kill the Indians at will.
❑ Fears regarding English Education
✓ Christian missionaries had established a number of schools in British India.
✓ Shifting of emphasis from oriental learning to Western education was not well
received by the people; especially the Pandits and the Maulvis. They saw in it an
attempt to discourage Islamic and Hindu studies.
✓ English education put the Maulvis and Pandits out of job. The teaching of Bible in
English schools also offended the Indians.
Economic Causes :[India's exploitation]
1. The Ruin of Trade and Handicrafts.
a) The popularity of Indian textiles alarmed the policy makers in England.
An act was passed which prohibited the use of Indian silks and calicoes in
England.
b) The British rulers deliberately crippled Indian arts and crafts. Heavy
duties were imposed on Indian silk and cotton textiles in Britain
destroyed Indian industries.
c) British goods were imported into India at a nominal duty. This policy
destroyed Indian industries.
d) The arts of spinning and weaving which for ages had given employment
to artisans became extinct.
❖ India was reduced to the level of an agricultural colony of the British .
❖ The export crops jute,indigo,opium were export crops from Bihar,Bengal
and Awadh which was managed by the British companies.
❖ The British also needed cotton and oilseeds for their industries. After
industrial revolution British made India as an agricultural colony.
❖ Inhuman treatment meted out to the Indigo-cultivators by the British.
The peasants were forced to cultivate Indigo and nothing else in the fields
chosen by the English planters.
❖ Unemployment caused by annexation of Oudh, destruction of Indian
handicraft industry and introduction of western education ,British
economic exploitation, drain of wealth, stagnation of agriculture and
exploitation of the poor peasants reduced the Indians to extreme poverty.
Military Causes :
❖ The Indian soldiers were unhappy because of their low salary and poor
prospects of promotion.
❖ An Indian soldier could not be promoted beyond the level of subedar. All the
high ranks in the army were reserved for the British army
❖ The troops were not properly distributed. The key places like Delhi and
Allahabad had no British armies.
❖ Social distance between British officers and Indian Soldiers. The officers
treated their soldiers like menial servants.
❖ The Indian sepoys outnumbered the British soldiers by a huge number. This
gave courage to Indian soldiers to take up arms against the English.
❖ The General Service Enlistment Act (1856) made it compulsory for Indian
sepoys in the East India company to serve overseas. This was against the
religious custom of the Bengal Brahmins for whom crossing the seas was a
taboo.
Immediate Cause :
➢ The introduction of Enfield Rifles- The cartridges to be used for the
Enfield Rifles were greased with the fat of cows and pigs.
➢ The cow was considered sacred by the Hindus and the pig was
considered unclean by the Muslims.
➢ The sepoys had to bite it off which went against their religious
sentiments.
Why is it called as the First War of Indian
Independence
❖ The movement had assumed the character of a national revolt.
❖ It was a mass movement which included all sections of the
society.
