Revolt of 1857

drishtiias.com/printpdf/revolt-of-1857

The Indian Mutiny of 1857-59 was a widespread but unsuccessful rebellion against the rule of
British East India Company in India which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the
British crown.

The Revolt
It was the first expression of organised resistance against the British East India
Company
It began as a revolt of the sepoys of the British East India Company’s army but
eventually secured the participation of the masses.
The revolt is known by several names: the Sepoy Mutiny (by the British Historians),
the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion (by the Indian Historians), the Revolt of
1857, the Indian Insurrection, and the First War of Independence (by
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar).

Causes of The Revolt

Political Cause

British policy of expansion: The political causes of the revolt were the British policy
of expansion through the Doctrine of Lapse and direct annexation.
A large number of Indian rulers and chiefs were dislodged, thus arousing fear in the
minds of other ruling families who apprehended a similar fate.
Rani Lakshmi Bai’s adopted son was not permitted to sit on the throne of
Jhansi.
Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi were annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse.
Jaitpur, Sambalpur and Udaipur were also annexed.
The annexation of Awadh by Lord Dalhousie on the pretext of maladministration
left thousands of nobles, officials, retainers and soldiers jobless. This measure
converted Awadh, a loyal state, into a hotbed of discontent and intrigue.

Doctrine of lapse:

1/6
 The notable British technique called the Doctrine of Lapse was first perpetrated by
Lord Dalhousie in the late 1840s.
It involved the British prohibiting a Hindu ruler without a natural heir from adopting a
successor and, after the ruler died or abdicated, annexing his land.
To those problems added the growing discontent of the Brahmans, many of whom had
been dispossessed of their revenues or had lost lucrative positions.

Social and Religious Cause

The rapidly spreading Western Civilisation in India was alarming concerns all
over the country.
An act in 1850 changed the Hindu law of inheritance enabling a Hindu who had
converted into Christianity to inherit his ancestral properties.
The people were convinced that the Government was planning to convert
Indians to Christianity.
The abolition of practices like sati and female infanticide, and the legislation
legalizing widow remarriage, were believed as threats to the established social
structure.
Introducing western methods of education was directly challenging the orthodoxy
for Hindus as well as Muslims
Even the introduction of the railways and telegraph was viewed with suspicion.

Economic Cause

In rural areas, peasants and zamindars were infuriated by the heavy taxes on land
and the stringent methods of revenue collection followed by the Company.
Many among these groups were unable to meet the heavy revenue demands and
repay their loans to money lenders, eventually losing the lands that they had held
for generations.
Large numbers of sepoys belonged to the peasantry class and had family ties in
villages, so the grievances of the peasants also affected them.
After the Industrial Revolution in England, there was an influx of British
manufactured goods into India, which ruined industries, particularly the textile
industry of India.
Indian handicraft industries had to compete with cheap machine- made goods
from Britain.

Military Causes

The Revolt of 1857 began as a sepoy mutiny:

Indian sepoys formed more than 87% of the British troops in India but were
considered inferior to British soldiers.
An Indian sepoy was paid less than a European sepoy of the same rank.

2/6
 They were required to serve in areas far away from their homes.
In 1856 Lord Canning issued the General Services Enlistment Act which required
that the sepoys must be ready to serve even in British land across the sea.

Lord Canning

Charles John Canning was the statesman and governor general of India during the
Indian Mutiny of 1857.
He became the first viceroy of India in 1858.
The important events during his tenure include:
The Mutiny of 1857, which he was able to suppress successfully
Passing of Indian Councils Act, 1861 which introduced portfolio system in
India
Withdrawal of “Doctrine of Lapse” which was one of the main reasons of
mutiny of 1858
Introduction of Code of Criminal Procedure
Enactment of Indian High Courts Act
Indian Penal Code (1858)

Immediate Cause

The Revolt of 1857 eventually broke out over the incident of greased cartridges.
A rumour spread that the cartridges of the new enfield rifles were greased with
the fat of cows and pigs.
Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paper on the cartridges.
Both Hindu and Muslim sepoys refused to use them.
Lord Canning tried to make amends for the error and the offending cartridges were
withdrawn but the damage had already been done. There was unrest in several places.
In March 1857, Mangal Pandey, a sepoy in Barrackpore, had refused to use the
cartridge and attacked his senior officers.
He was hanged to death on 8th April.
On 9th May, 85 soldiers in Meerut refused to use the new rifle and were sentenced
to ten years’ imprisonment.

Centres of The Revolt

3/6
 The revolt spread over the entire area from the neighbourhood of Patna to the borders
of Rajasthan. The main centres of revolt in these regions namely Kanpur, Lucknow,
Bareilly, Jhansi, Gwalior and Arrah in Bihar.
Lucknow: it was the capital of Awadh. Begum Hazrat Mahal, one of the
begums of the ex-king of Awadh, took up the leadership of the revolt.
Kanpur: the revolt was led by Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Peshwa Baji
Rao II.
He joined the revolt primarily because he was deprived of his pension by the
British.
The victory was short- lived. Kanpur was recaptured by the British after
fresh reinforcements arrived.
The revolt was suppressed with terrible vengeance.
Nana Saheb escaped but his brilliant commander Tantia Tope continued
the struggle.
Tantia Tope was finally defeated, arrested and hanged.
Jhansi: the twenty-two-year-old Rani Lakshmi Bai led the rebels when the
British refused to accept the claim of her adopted son to the throne of Jhansi.
She fought gallantly against the British forces but was ultimately defeated
by the English.
Gwalior: After Rani Lakshmi Bai escaped, she was joined by Tantia Tope and
together they marched to Gwalior and captured it.
Fierce fighting followed where the Rani of Jhansi fought like a tigress but
died, fighting to the very end.
Gwalior was recaptured by the British.
Bihar: the revolt was led by Kunwar Singh who belonged to a royal house of
Jagdispur, Bihar.

Suppression and The Revolt

The Revolt of 1857 lasted for more than a year. It was suppressed by the middle of 1858.
On July 8, 1858, fourteen months after the outbreak at Meerut, peace was finally
proclaimed by Lord Canning.

Places of Revolt Indian Leaders British Officials who suppressed the

revolt

Delhi Bahadur Shah II John Nicholson

Lucknow Begum Hazrat Mahal Henry Lawrence

Kanpur Nana Saheb Sir Colin Campbell

Jhansi & Gwalior Lakshmi Bai & Tantia General Hugh Rose
Tope

4/6
Bareilly Khan Bahadur Khan Sir Colin Campbell

Allahabad and Maulvi Liyakat Ali Colonel Oncell

Banaras

Bihar Kunwar Singh William Taylor

Why did the Revolt Fail?

Limited uprising: although the revolt was fairly widespread, a large part of the
country remained unaffected by it.
The revolt was mainly confined to the Doab region. Sind, Rajputana, Kashmir,
most parts of Punjab.
The large princely states, Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir,
as well as the smaller ones of Rajputana, did not join the rebellion
The southern provinces did not take part in it.
No effective leadership: the rebels lacked an effective leader. Although Nana Saheb,
Tantia Tope and Rani Lakshmi Bai were brave leaders, they could not offer effective
leadership to the movement as a whole.
Limited resources: the rebels lacked resources in terms of men and money. The
English, on the other hand, received a steady supply of men, money and arms in India.
No participation of the middle class: The English educated middle class, the rich
merchants, traders and zamindars of Bengal helped the British to suppress the revolt.

Results of The Revolt

End of company rule: the great uprising of 1857 was an important landmark in the
history of modern India.
The revolt marked the end of the East India Company’s rule in India.
Direct rule of the British Crown: India now came under the direct rule of the
British Crown.
This was announced by Lord Canning at a Durbar in Allahabad in a
proclamation issued on 1 November 1858 in the name of the Queen.
The Indian administration was taken over by Queen Victoria, which, in effect,
meant the British Parliament.
The India office was created to handle the governance and the administration of
the country.
Religious tolerance: it was promised and due attention was paid to the customs and
traditions of India.

5/6
 Administrative change: the Governor General’s office was replaced by that of the
Viceroy.
The rights of Indian rulers were recognised.
The Doctrine of Lapse was abolished.
The right to adopt sons as legal heirs was accepted.
Military reorganisation: the ratio of British officers to Indian soldiers increased but
the armoury remained in the hands of the English. It was arranged to end the
dominance of the Bengal army.

Conclusion

The revolt of 1857 was an unprecedented event in the history of British rule in India. It
united, though in a limited way, many sections of Indian society for a common cause.Though
the revolt failed to achieve the desired goal, it sowed the seeds of Indian nationalism.

Books written on the Revolt of 1857

The Indian War of Independence by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

Rebellion, 1857: A Symposium by Puran Chand Joshi
The Indian Mutiny of 1857 by George Bruce Malleson
Great Mutiny by Christopher Hibbert
Religion and Ideology of the Rebels of 1857 by Iqbal Hussain
Excavation of Truth: Unsung Heroes of 1857 War of Independence by Khan
Mohammad Sadiq Khan

6/6