THE REVOLT OF 1857

The Revolt of 1857

Reasons for the Nature of the Reasons for its Evaluation

Revolt Important Centres Revolt Falure

The fundamental principle of a state is a welfare state which was followed by the rulers from Maurayans to Mughals but ale e
beginning of British Rule in India, they adopted the policy of suppression and Exploitation in every aspect and this became ne
basic Cause of for the Revolt of 1857

REASONS FOR THE REVOLT -

Economc Reasons

Role of Daihousie Politlcal Reasons

Reasons
for the
Revolt

Reigious Reasons Societal Reasons

Immediate Cause
Annexation of Oudh
Greased Cartridges

1. Economic Reasons - With the beginning of British rule in India, the Company drained the last drop of blood of every
section bytheir economic exploitation which included craftsmen, Zamindars, Ruling class, farmers etc. The Company had
imposed heavy taxation with discriminatory tariff policy against indian products which led to the destruction of traditional
handicrafts and this became the basic reason for their pain and unrest for the people.
2. Political Reasons -The British in India, followed the Policy of Friendship cum Betrayal in which the story starts
from Mir Jafar and ends with Wajid Ali Shah, which annoyed the ruling section in India

3. Social Reasons -The Turks and Mughals in India respected the social sentiments of the non muslims in India but the
Company with its personal agendas interfered in the customs and traditions of India. Eg: Abolition of SatiSystem (1829)
and Widow Remarriage Act (1856) was considered as an unwanted interference of Christian powers in social traditions
of this country and this also hurted the sentiments of Orthodox and conservative people.
4. Religious Reasons - Religion is called 'opium' by Karl Marx, and was always respected by the ruling class of India.
irespective of the diversity of India. The muslim rulers of Medieval India followed the policy of religious tolerance in India
while Akbar was secular in nature which led to social harmony in India.

But the British Government gave backing to Christian Missionaries who humiliated Hindu and Muslim priests and the
Company harmed the interest of both the religious communities through their policies like Eg. Abolition ofthe Devadasi
system, imposing taxes on the lands of temples and mosques, and in many cases they snatched away the grants given to
the holy places. In this way they hurted the religious sentiments of the 2dominant religions i.e. Hindu's and Musilims.
5. Role of Dalhousie - He played an important role in provoking the Revolt of 1857 through his policy of Doctrine of
Lapse in which the main victims were Punjab and Awadh despite the assurance of non aggression towards the state, This
led to resentment in the people and the army as 75.000 soldiers were fromAwadh which gave a spark to the Revolt.
6. Immediate Cause- (Greased Cartridges) Enfield Rifles were introduced in the Army which Used Pig fat and Beef
fat for the lubrications of the Catridaes. This huted the religious sentiments of both the dominant grouDs in india anda
direct threat so the soldiers refused to fire the Rifle.

26 Modern History by Kumar Kartikeya

 CHAIN OF EVENTS -

Feb 1857 :19" Native Infantry at Berhampur refused to use the Enfield Rifle and started a mutiny
29th March 1857 : 34h Native Infantry at Barrackpore. The mutiny was led by Mangal Pandey who was later hanged for
this on 6th April

24th April 1857:90 men of the3rd Native Cavalry refused to used the Greased Cartridges
3rd May 1857: Awadh Regiment also refused to use them

9th May 1857:85 soldiers were dismissed and were given 10 years imprisonment
10th May 1857 : Soldiers released their imprisoned Comrades and killed the British offices stationed in the Jail, they gave
the slogan on 'Maro Firangi Ko'
This started a revolt especially in Meerut on 10th May.1857, where the the oficers of Meerut killed the british officers, crossed river
Yamuna, set the toll housed on fire and marched lowards Red fort and declared powerless Bahadur Shah Zafar -|l as proclaimed
Emperor of India.
IMPORTANT CENTRES OF THE REVOLT -

DELHI
Bahadur Shah Zafar
Bakht Khan
Fighting for :the Prestige of his Family
11 May 1857 - 20 September 1858
Suppressed by : John Nicholson

KANPUR
JHANSI Nana Sahib
Rani Laxmi Bai Tatya Tope (Ramchandra Pandurang)
Fighting for : Her Vatan (state) EPICENTRE Fighting for : Pension
4 June 1857 - 18 June 1858 MEERUT 4 June 1857 -6 December 1857
Suppressed by : Huge Rose 10th May Suppressed by :Collin Campbell
1857

ARRAHI JAGDISHPUR OUDH

Kunwar Singh Begum Hazrat Mahal
Amar Singh Fighting for : Interest of her son
Fighting for : Zamindari Rights (Birju Qadir)
August 1857 - December 1857 4 June 1857- 21 March 1858
Suppressed by :Wiliam Taylor and Suppressed by : Colin Campbell
Vincent Eyre

Other important Centres of the Revolt

Allahabad - by Liagat Ali
Bareilly - Khan Bahadur Khan (Ran to Nepal)
Faizabad - Maulvi Ahmadullah
Fatehpur - Azimullah Khan
Mathura - Devi Singh
Meerut - Kadam Singh

Note : Bahadur Shah Zafar -l was later captured from Humayun's Tomb and was deported to Rangoon where he died in 1862 and
this was the End of Mughals in lndia.

27 Modern History by Kumar Kartikeya

 NÁTURE OF THE REVOLT -
The revolt has been perceived differently bydifferent Nationalist and Colonial Historians
First War of Independence
VD.Savarkar

NATURE
Sepoy Mutiny 0F THE
National Revolt
Lawrence and Seely Benjemn Disraell
REVOLT

Hindu Muslim Conspiracy

Huntington

Opinions -
1. First War of Independence - by V. D. Savarkar
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was an indian revolutionary in the first phase of freedom struggle (established Abhinav
Bharat in 1904 later) called this revolt as the First war of Independence, but

First War War of Independence

There were continuous revolts against the company already Leaders of different areas were fighting for their own
which started from personal interest, as -

Sanyasi Revolt 1770's in Bengal -against the albedo Bahadur Shah Zafar Fighting for the Prestige of
steps imposed on pilgrim places his Family
Vellore Mutiny 1806 - against caste and religious Nana Sahib Fighting for Pension
symbols Begum Hazrat Mahal - Fighting for her son Birju
Revolt of 23rd regiment 1827 - who refused to go to Qadir's Interest
Burma as it was against the religion of Hindu's Kunwar Singh -Fighting for Zamindari Rights
Barrackpore Incident 1857 under Mangal Pandey RaniLaxmi Bai - Fighting for her Vatan
when they refused to use the Greased Cartridges
Thus they lacked a common agenda, also did not have
So this was not the First war against the British sentiment of unity and Nationalism, so it can't be a War of
Independence

was vey ce to VD Savallaw that t was

CLASS NOTES-
lst wan nor the wa o Jnclisemcene So ut Jeems he wamted to wse this
noiclet as a Catabyst to 9tigate te peosle for the Rndpie

2. National Revolt - by Benjamin Desraili (British Prime Minister, Conservative leader)

Desraili said -"A National revolt rooted in deep mistrust"

It's always important to have a constitutional or a legal ground for any action taken by the countries in the world
Eg:USA used the ground for weapons of mass destruction for the 1st Gulf War.
CLASS NOTES- nda was the acievemet o el who ws
sne lat loo yeas Ad Hhe lrown had to brouide luqal
Snatd. thiy dehiwemet rom te o'by lalliy
ysort Des Yaili wonted to sow to te ttet
Natnal otich
Smoias ae mot aymore
hecan e groet fr tra o omtn
Modern History by Kumárkartikeya
Croon by the ect
 Revolt pMovemeut Kesalutim

3. Hindu Muslim Conspiracy - by Huttington

morarchy to oemotr
As USA coined the term "Islamic Terrorism" with the motive to gain the sympathy of non muslims of the entire world in its
war against terrorism the muslim dominated areas of central and west Asia during the Gulf War
were
ÇLASS NOTES he euopem hutoris a tu some world
the
to
gan He Surt 9 caristiom amd Jus bopnlation

4. Sepoy Mutiny - by John Lawrence and Seely

Seely said- "wholly unpatriotic and selfish sepoy mutiny with no popular support"
Sepoy Mutiny -was the most accepted opinion as it was mentioned by Stenley (SoS), R.C. Majumdar, Jeevan lal, Durga
Das Bandyopadhyay (Contemporary Historian)
CLASS NOTES - The witiatwe o the Kewott was taken by the Sysoy's
Barack Jpore amd meerut bwt tthe momlt all
they Come forwar
tHe setlauy
provide
we Jo ed ay Stterig
Started as a but Late tuned
He souuty oo is the mass
mas wot with Hhe
to a cam be t m e l
t e s He wevott o l s
Thetore

Some other opinions -

RC Mazumdar -"Neither the first nor National nor a war of Independence"
SN Sen -"What began as a fight for religion, ended as a war for Independence"
TR Holms - "War between civilization and Barbarians"
Medley - "Black and White Struggle"
Ler Rees -"war of religion fanatics" - Hindu, Muslims against Christians
The general tendency of the colonial historias was to deny its patriotic and popular character, they highlighted it as disorganised,
disunited and selfish. They also do not accept the discontent and general grievance of India as a result of exploitative nature of the
british

REASONS FOR FAILURE OF THE REVOLT

1. Lack of Able leadership

2. Absence of sound strategy and plan
3. Lack of common Interest (britishers applied divide and rule and convinced the people, they parted away)
4. Emphasis on Traditional Mode of Warfare and politics
5. Several sections of the society did not participate in this revolt Eq. Educated Middle class, Industrialist social Reformers,
Employed youth, etc.
6. Lack of Territorial and social base as the Revolt was not Pan-India and was limited to Northern India only
7. Lack of resources as compared to the British
8. Crucial support of certain followers for the Indian public was not seen as they remained loyal to the British authorities. Eg:
Scindhiya's, Holkar's Nizam's actively supported the british

But then the Revolt of 1857 did not went completely in Vain

29 Modern History by Kumar Kartikeya

 EVALUATION OF THE REVOLT
1. It laid down the tradition of revolt_against the British Empire.
2. It became a catalyst for the next phase of the freedom struggle.
3 It was a turning Doint in history because
a. Doctrine of lapse was withdrawn after it
b End of Traditional leadership and beginning of Trained leadership

Certain sections of the society remained aloof from the revolt because they had faith Draclaais la tje Qnn tn Cesril.
in the British Constitution, and with the participation of Educated middle class and
Social reformers, the stream of modernization did not stop in India as they became
the leaders now. Eg: RRM Roy, Dada Bhai Naoroji itoría,

Queen Victoria's Proclamation - Important Highlights

This proclamation is also known as the November Declaration of the queen, its also
known as Magna Carta of India, under which the Queen declared that -
1 British government will not interfere in the social and reliaious affairs of the
indians (but they did in 1909, introduced Separate Electorate)
2 Indians will be given representation in both administration and leqal
processes (for the first time participatory democracy was declared)

3. Viceroy was the new head of India - Lord Canning (first Viceroy)

frm he
hawihg great egotatias
CLASS NOTES
to the Britil erowy Peoe wHh ton amdeploitatig
boit but t Seens
us su mantaied ewidt by

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT - 1858

End of Dual
Government

Act of 1858
(Provisions)

Responsible
ICS Commissioners Government

This Proved to be a Shock for

New Element the Nationalisis Frustrating Element

lead o freelom
Straggle
30 Modern History by Kumar Kartikeya
Provisions of the Act -

1. End of Dual Govornmont- Court of Directors and Board of Control

Background:With the beginning of the british rule in india, financos were their important resource, thus
In 1765- Company got tho 'Diwan' rights frorm Shah Alarn -Il and prornised a share to the crown
In 1767 - instoad of paying4 lakh Pounds per yoar to the crown,Company applied for a loan of 10 Lakh Pounds
as they wore ragingwars in India which depleted their rosourcos and led to the Financial Crisis.
In 1784 . Board of Control was formod to check the activities of the company

Thus from 1784 to 1857, there were two masters of India

1st Master- Court of Directors on behalf of the Company, and
2nd Master -Board of Controlon behalf of the Crown
By this act of 1858,this dualgovernment was abolished and ndia came under the single cammandof aSecretary of Stale
and his 15 mombor council
New Element : Tillnow india had seen monarchy, but for thefirst time it aot ademocratic head (not saying democracy), in
the form of SOS who was tho momber of British Parliament and was responsible to the British Parliament
Frustrating Eloment: SoS was tha master oLtha country and his Headquarters was in London and in this way the king
was absont from his own Kingdom.

2. ICS commissioners - The civil servants are the policy makers and they bothered about the interest of their
appointee. In the initial phase of appointment of civil servants was the monopoly of the court of directors so civil servants
bothered about the interest of the Company and this became a pain for the Board of Control.
To overcome the pain crown took 2 steps -
By the Charter act of 1833, crown declared talent as the basis of selection but monopoly was still in the hands
of the court of Directors
b 2nd step -By the Charter act of 1853 -exam started for the recruitment of civil servants, and in this way the door
was apen for everyone including the indians and after 1857 crown adopted the service with a new name Imperial
Civil Services (ICS)
Thus ICS commissioners were appointed to manage and regulate civil services
New Element : India got a new modern service in the form of ICS
Frustrating Element : The exam started in 1853 but the first Indian officer was appointed in the service after 11 years.
Satyendra Nath Tagore was was the first ICS who was appointed in June 1864

JCS officers were policymakers and it was a challenge for the crown to appoint Indians into civil services in a situation
when they stil have the motive of supression and exploitation in india. Therefore by hook or crook they always controlled
the entry of indians in it, especially through their Backdoor Policy, under which
Exam centre was only in England
Latin wasa compulsory language
Horse riding was compulsory(SN Banerjee was kickedout because of this)
3. Beainning of Responsible Governnment - By the Act of 1858, Secretary of State was brought under the ambit
of Law as a case can be filed against him for his actions in India.
New Element : Itwas a great development as the headof the state came under the control of law, but
Frustrating Element : in 1858, 90% of the people were illiterate and India being a slave country, it was not for a possible
for the common man to ao against the highest authority in India
pr0motin to mew Contitutional devdo
GLASS NOTES- he at n l6ro gwehoek
met wi Jncla but il way a fur he tcluetel mdlle alans
becam et s ewidet by the eergerce 9 potétical
bengal
frem ti period th govt gave te oro me to briy toa a l
31 Modern History by Kumar Kartikeya
 INDIAN COUNCIL ACT - 1861

Birth of Legislature

Act of 1B61
(Pravsions)

Provision of Ordinance Portfolio System

New Element This shattered the dreams of the Frustrating Element

Natonalsts

Provisions of the Act -

1. Birth of Legislature - Judiciary and Executive already came

into existence during the time of the company and by the Charter act
of 1833, a law member was added to the governor general's Terre 2Yrn

executive council to frame the laws of the land, but leaislature as an

independent body came into existence by this act
TORAY
New Element : it was a revolutionary development as legislature is
the soul of any democracy
Frustrating Element : Indians were frustrated because of 2 reasons :
The legislature of 1861 was a court of a premodern king
b
There were no leaal provisions for the entrV of Indians in it although the supporters of the british raj were given a
place in it. Eg : Maharaja Digvijay Singh of Balrampur

2. Provision of Ordinance -
New Element: The provision of Ordinance was introduced by this act but as parliament is the check for ordinance, thus
the government cannot turn into an autocrat
Frustrating Element : During 1861, there was no control on the ordinance making power of the Viceroy.

3. Portfoliosystem -Under this setup various departments were allotted to individual ministers.
This was basically the proposal of Lord Canning, but

New Element : welfarism was adopted with administrative decentralisation

Frustrating Element : Not a single department was allotted to indians by this Act

CLASS NOTES T act 18B wa o toce or the midde closs ao

Thi becme a
Tumig
itated to bzomnot
nadlmali

32 Modern History by Kumar Kartikeya

 Treaty of Lahore (9th March 1846) - Important provisions :
a. Duleep Singh became the ruler of Puniab under the supervision of Rani Jindan.
b. Company imposed afine of Rs. 2.5 Crores on Punjab as a compensation. lomysay woulal
C. EIC took Hazra and Kashmir from Punjab.
d. EIC reduced the Sikh army to minimum strength (20,000)added meo
The Treaty of Lahore was followed by a supplementáry treaty of 11th March 1846 by which the company was to stay in Punjab l
December 1848 to consolidate the position of the Maharaja. des o
loyal Commam Dulep Sngl
But within 9 months,the çompanysmartly removedLal Singh. Teia Singh because they opposed selling kàshmir tß gulab singh in
SLakhs), Rani Jindan (was shifted to sheikhpura at a pension of Rs. 48,000/ year) from the regency of Duleep Singh by the
treaty of Bhairowal 1846. Thus, the company became the new auardian of Duleep Singh and ruled Punjab from behind.

F. THE STATE OF OUDH /AWADH

Awadh was a historic region of northern India, now constituting the north-eastern portion of Uttar Pradesh state.
The first capital of Oudh/Awadh was Ayodhya, later Faizabad.
It became part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, later the British in 1856 subjugated it as part of their Empire.

Nawabs of Awadh

Saadat Ali Khan 'Burhan-ul-Mulk' (1722-1739) : Founded Oudh in 1722. Later appointed as 'a governor' by Mughal
Emperor Muhammad Shah Rangila, played very important role in the imperial affairs during the Nadir Shah invasion. He
committed suicide for the sack of name and honour.

Safdarjung / Abdul Mansur (1739-1754) :He was son-in-law of Saadat Khan, appointed as Vazir ofthe Mughal Empire.
He took part in the Battle of Manpur against Ahmed Shah Abdali (1748).

Shuja-ud-daula (1 754-1775): son of Safdar Jung, ally of the Afghan Ahmed Shah Abdali, plaved an imoortant role in the
Battle of Buxar (1764). He later annexed Rohilkhand to Awadh in 1774 by defeating Rohillas with the help of British.

Asaf-ud-daula (1775-1797) : Son of Shuja ud Daula, He was popular for promoting Lucknow culture and buit important
monuments like Imambara and Rumi Darwaza. He signed the treaty of Faizabad (AD 1755) with the British.

Wajid Ali Shah (1847-1856): popularly known as Jaan-i-Alanm and Akhtarpiya, the last ruler of Awadh., captured and sent to
bengal, oudh was annexed by British Lord Dalhousie in 1856 on the basis of mis-governance.

86 Modern History by Kumar Kartikeya