officially in 1858
study Byte 11
and the Nineteenth Century
Eighteenth
India in the Late
Revolt of 1857 like any other rebellion did not happen Whic
The
political and socio-economic conditions of India or a
in aday. The
century paved way rebe
under the British in the late 18th and 1gth
for the outbreak of the revolt.
SocialScience-When People Rebel 1857 and After
Political Situation
As studied in the previous chapters, by the end of the 18th century, the power and authority Of
nawabs and rajas had diminished to a great extent in almost entire India. The British appointed
activities or the king.
Kesidents stationed in many royal courts kept a close watch on the
The policiesof annexation enraged the ndian rulers further against the Brinsn government
as before, to the
Tne English East India Company promised regular pension and same status
the other, Foe
Indian kings however, both benefits were mostly discontinued on one pretext or
the place of his fathex
example, the son of Baji Rao II. Nana Saheb was not allowed to take over
after his father's death.
the title of the
In 1849, Governor General Dalhousie announced that he had plans to abolish
Mughal Emperor after the death of Bahadur Shah II.
last Mughal
In 1856, Governor General Canning confirmed that Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the
King and after his death, the descendants would be recognised as princes and not kings.
NanaSaheb Bahadur Shah Zafar
Economic Situation
The British exploited the economic resources
of
revolution in Britain, Britain needed markets to India to their advantage, After the industrial
sell British goods. Thus, the Indian
were filled with British machine made
and Indian artisans. Indian goods. This was a great setback to Indian textile markets
traditional handicrafts and industries industry
not get any protection against the gradually ruined as they did
cheap foreign cloth. The raw materials
Britain. This led to the shortage of cotton,
as a raw material in India were taken away t0
industry could not run. Many people were without which Indian textile
for their livelihood. left jobless and as a result
turned towards agriculture
Under the British, India turned into
The British demanded high a colonial economy to
revenue serve the British capitalist
forced to borrow money from from poor farmers. As many were unable to interestS.
pay, they were
entered into avicious loan cycle moneylenders at high rate of interest.
Eventually
but if they were also unable and lost their land. The zamindars got the right the farmers
to pay the revenue, to tax collection
farmers were forced to growcash their zamindari rights were
crops
sufficient life of farmers and zamindars. which were in demand in Britain: taken away. AlSO)
this disturbed the self
76
Social Science - When People
Rebel 1857 and Atte
cdse or tailure to pay the stipulated amount thelands of the zamindar were taken away by
the government.
SocialCondition and the Life of People
The British consideredthemselves superior andthe Indians as inferior race.They discriminated
against the Indians and did not treat them equal, Indians were not allowed at many public
places such as railway compartments and parks. This racial arrogance of the British hurt the
Indian masses most and they began to regard the Englishmen as their worst enemies.
The British attempts to bring about social reforms in India like social legislations on the evils as
sati, infanticide, re-marriage of widows, etc. were considered an interference in the religious
matters of Indians. It was taken as a means to destroy Indian cultural traditions.
Theintroduction of English education, the propagation of the work of the Christian missionaries
and the changing of the Hindu law of property with aview to facilitate the
conversion of Hindus
toChristianity alarmed many orthodox Indians.
In 1824, when the sepoys were told to go to
Hindus believed that crossing the seawould meanBurma by the sea route, they refused as the
that
However, they agreed to go by land route; still the they would lose their religion and caste.
Companypasseda new law in 1856, making it sepoys were severely punished and the
if required. mandatory tor a sepoy to agree to serve
overseas
Study Byte 2
The Revolt of 1857
Think 0ver It!
The Indian soldiers were dissatisfied with the
British for many Do you think it is right to call
reasons as mentioned below. By the 1gth century, there was 8redt the
Revolt of 1857, aSepoy Mutinvy)
unrest in the sepoy segment of India. Why or why not?
irst, the Indian soldiers were ill-treated by high officers.
High military ranks were given to the British and the Indians sepoys always served under the
British.
The Indian sepoys were given low wages as compared to their British counterparts.
Therewas also disparity in numbers between the Indian and European military troops as the
latter numbered far less than the Indian sepoys.
The soldiers were prohibited from wearing caste and religious marks while serving. This
amountedto interference in the personal affairs of Indians by the British.
Indian Mutiny in 1857
Immediate Cause of the Revolt of 1857
The introduction of the new Enfield
the Revolt of 1857. These were rifle with greased cartridges was
the immediate cause of
the fat of cows and pigs. greased with something what was
believed to be made out of
When loading the rifle, the sepoy
before inserting the cartridge had to
objectionable to the Hindus and Muslims alike. bite off its top. This was
The Beginning
Asepoy, Mangal
Pandey on 29th March 1857,
revolt. killed senior officers on
parade and started the
Progress of the Revolt of 1857
On 6th May 1857, the
new cartridges were
issued to 90 Indian soldiers
of the Native Cavalry
80
Social Science - When
People Rebel 1857 and Afte
were
soldiers
These
85
teeth.
their
with and
stationed at Meerut. 85 soldiers refused to bite them c o m p a n i o n s
Court-martial and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. released
their
mutineers
On 10th May 1857, the revolt started at: Meerut. The the
rebels
Delhi. May,
after killing some of the British officers marched towards 1857
and on 12th
of
1857.
May Revolt
The revolutionaries from Meerut reached Delhi on 11th leader of the and
brought
the
of India and
Bareilly
proclaimed Bahadur Shah Il, the Emperor the revolt at
The real command was in the hands of Bahkt Khan who had led
Shah, led the
the troops to Delhi. of
Bahadur
Kanpur.
governor
and outside
In Kanpur Nana Saheb who declared himself the Peshwa General
Windham
defeated orders, she
revolt. Tantya Tope did most of the fighting. Rebels Against the
British
revolt.
In Lucknow Hazrat Mahal, the Begum of Awadh led the
Kadiras. the Nawab of Awadn. defeated at
ad proClaimed her youngson Brijis Even after being
mutiny. bravely
In Jhansi, Rani Laxmi Bai assumed the leadership of the Afghan guards. She
and
Jhansi, she captured Gwalior with the help of Tantya Tope
fought against the British till her last breath.
the Nawab and led the revolt in Barelliy.
Nnan Bahadur Khan proclaimed himself as Rajputana,
of the revolt were Benaras. Allahabad, Gwalior, Nasirabad in
Tne other centres killed the senior officers and other
Kota. At all these places the sepovs
mdore, Allgarh and
Europeans.
The revolutionaries released prisoners from jail, plundered the treasury and burnt land records
at many places.
The Revolt Comes to an End
The superior British forces soon suppressed the revolt on 20th September 1857.The British under
the leadership of John Nicholson arrested Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Bahadur Shah was deported to
Rangoon where he died in 1862.
Benaras, Bareilly and Gwalior were also recaptured by British
officers.
General Havelock defeated the rebels in Kanpur,
NanaSaheb was defeated but he
refused to surrender and escaped to
At Jhansi, Hugh Rose suppressed the Nepal.
revolt and Rani Laxmi
Bai died on the
battle field.
km
Nature andImportance of the Revolt
Historians have different views regarding the Revolt of 1857. It is called Sepoy Mutiny since
the initial thrust of the revolt came from therebellion of sepoys in Meerut. By calling it aSeccy
Mutiny, it is argued that the revolt was not related to the general people so much as the sepcy:
and they formed the bulk of the rebels.
Nationalists as V.D. Savarkar opine that the revolt was the First War of Independence.
authored a book named The Indian War of Independence' describing the Revolt of 1857.
Some historiansalso feelthat the revolt was a soldier-peasant struggle against feudal bondag:
tngiish historians like Sir John Lawrence, Sir James Outram, and P. E. Roberts said that this
revolt lacked popular support and only a few rulers took part in this.
Achievements of the Revolt together to fight
against
come
It aroused the feeling of patriotism and inspired the Indians to
the British. against a common
united
For the first time, Indians from different and regions,
different backgrounds
of unity
enemy. new bond
displayed a
revolt and
The Hindus and Muslims participated equally in the
against the British. Bakht Khan
Ahmadullah Shah
from Faizabad,
Many new leaders participated in the revolt like
from Bareilly and Kunwar Singh, from Bihar.
Causes of the Failure of the Revolt
not participate in the revolt.
many sections and regions did
Ine revolt was not widespread as revolutionaries. The peasant
class
obiective among the
and common their handicraft
The revolt lacked unity the artisans wanted to revive
fought against the oppression
of zamindars, while
industry.
poorly organised and there was no common plan of action.
The revolutionaries were government
of men, materials, and money while the British
terms
The rebels lacked resources in arms into India, to suppress the revolt.
of men, materials, and
poured immense supply
controlled by the
postal systems and other means of communication were
The telegraph and
revolutionaries could not plan well.
English. Thus, Indian
before the planned date, which was 31" May 1857. The result was
The revolt started much organise their
the whole plan remained unorganised, and the British got sufficient time to
that
forces and resources
to crush the revolt.
the British to suppress the
Cibh Raiput. and Gurkha battalions remained loyal and helped
revolt.
Consequences of the Revolt
Company was a failure
The widespread revolt proved that the East India
An Act was passed by the British Parliament in August 1858. This Act abolished the rule by the
British East India Company in India, through the Board of Directors.
The Queen's Proclamation was made in November 1858. It announced the policy of the British
government to be followedfrom then on, in India which assured the native rulers of the safety
of their territory, rights and honour if they cooperated with British.
The right of a ruler to adopt achild in the absence of a natural heir was accepted by the British.
It was also proclaimed that Indians wouldbe appointed to high posts if they were qualified.
The Indian Army was recognised.
" Anew agrarian policy was started to guarantee security of tenure and to fix rent for lands.
As the administration of India was now transferred to the British Crown, India was to be
administered by the Secretary of State and his fifteen-member council through the Viceroy.
The Governor General was now called the Viceroy and the representative of the Crown in India.
Lord Canning whowas the Governor General till now, became the first Viceroy of India.
The army was re-organised and the number of British soldiers was increased to prevent any
wars in future.
All the higher posts and key positions were filled up by the British.
To maintain supremacy in India, the British followed the policy of communal disharmony and
held Muslims responsible for the rebellion in a big way. Hence their land and
confiscated on large scale. property was
After the revolt, although the British did not follow the policy of territorial
but anew era of economic exploitation of India by the expansion in India,
British began.
