QI] Explain 4 Political causes for the Revolt of 1857.

Ans] 1.POLICY OF EXPANSION

a) By outright wars such as Anglo Mysore Wars
Second Anglo Sikh War
Third Anglo Maratha War
b) By Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley.The Indian rulers:

- agreed to not wage wars

- agreed to not enter into alliance with any other power
- agreed to maintain British troops at their own cost
- accepted the British as their supreme power
- accepted a British Resident at their headquarters.
- virtually lost their independence.
c) By Doctrine of Lapse introduced by Lord Dalhousie
-Heirs adopted without the consent of the Company
-could inherit only the private property.
-The territory would come under British rule
-Victims were Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and states
like Satara,Nagpur & Jaitpur.
d) On the pretext of alleged misrule Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh
on the pretext of good of the governed.
People had to pay higher land revenue and taxes
and face many hardships
Thousands of nobles,officials and soldiers lost
their jobs.
2.DISRESPECT SHOWN TO BAHADUR SHAH(The last Mughal ruler)
*In 1849 Lord Dalhousie announced that the successors of Bahadur Shah Zafar
would not be permitted to use the Red Fort.They would have to shift to a place
near the Qutb Minar.
*In 1856 Lord Canning announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah his
successors would no longer be allowed to use imperial titles with their
names.They would be mere princes.
3.TREATMENT GIVEN TO NANA SAHEB AND LAXMIBAI
*The British refused to give Nana Saheb(adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao)
pension.
They forced him to live at Kanpur, away from his family seat at Poona
*Rani Laxmi bai became a bitter enemy of the British
as her adopted son was not accepted as heir to the throne.
4.ABSENTEE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE BRITISH
 *India was being ruled by the British government from England -a distance of
thousands of miles
*India’s wealth was being drained to England and not used for our welfare unlike the
Mughals who spent the revenue collected from India for India only.
QII] Explain 6 socio religious causes for the Revolt of 1857.
Ans]1. INTERFERENCE WITH SOCIAL CUSTOMS
*The British introduced social reforms like i)Abolition of Sati in 1829
ii)Introduction of Widow Remarriage Act
iii)Opening of Western Education to girls
*These reforms were aimed at improving conditions of Indians but were not
welcomed by the masses.
2. LAW OF PROPERTY
*The Religious Disabilities Act of 1850 changed the Hindu Law of Property
*It enabled a convert from Hinduism to other religions to inherit the property of his
father.
*The Hindus regarded this as an incentive to give up one’s religious faith.
3. APPREHENSIONS ABOUT MODERN INNOVATIONS
*People were suspicious about modern innovations like railways and telegraphs
*There were rumours that telegraph poles were erected to hang those who were
against British rule.
*Orthodox Indians noted that in railway compartments, the lower castes sat next to
higher castes.
*They believed that the British were defying their caste and religion.
4. TAXING RELIGIOUS PLACES
*When lands belonging to temples and mosques were taxed, the religious
sentiments of Indians were hurt.
*Such lands were earlier exempted from taxation.
*The families dependent on these lands felt the British were trying to undermine the
religions of India.
5. ACTIVITIES OF MISSIONARIES
*In the 18th century, the British showed a friendly attitude towards Indian religions
*They had no particular zeal for Christianity. The British acted as trustees of Hindu
temples.
*In the 19th century, this attitude changed.
*They interfered in the local religious and social customs
.*They denounced idol worship &dubbed local beliefs as ignorance.
6. FEARS REGARDING WESTERN EDUCATION
*Western Education was not received well by Pandits and Maulavis.
*They felt it discouraged traditional Islamic and Hindu studies.
 *People suspected it was done to encourage their children to become Christians.
QIII] Explain 6 Economic causes for the Revolt of 1857
Ans] 1. EXPLOITATION OF ECONOMIC RESOURCES
*India was forced to provide raw materials like cotton ,silk tea, indigo & foodgrains
at cheaper rates to Britain .
* India was made to accept readymade British goods duty free
*Indian handmade goods were unable to compete with the cheaper machinemade
British goods.
*This ruined the Indian industry and deprived artisans of their income.
2. ECONOMIC DECLINE OF PEASANTS AND LANDED ARISTOCRACY
*The peasants bore the heavy burden of taxes to provide for the cost of
administration and wars of British expansion.
*Increase in revenue, pushed peasants into the hands of moneylenders.
**The landed aristocracy which included the taluqdars and landlords were driven to
poverty.
*According to the Inam Commission ,20,000 estates were confiscated when the
landlords failed to produce title deeds
3. DRAIN OF WEALTH
*The transfer of wealth from India to England for which India got no proportionate
economic returns, is called DRAIN OF WEALTH.
*This drain included the salaries
incomes
savings of Englishmen & unnecessary expenses on the
army.
*The British purchased raw materials for their industries in England from surplus
revenues of Bengal.
4. DECAY OF COTTAGE INDUSTRIES
*Heavy duties imposed on Indian silk and cotton destroyed Indian industries.
*British goods were imported at a nominal duty.
*The art of spinning and weaving became extinct.
*Artisans were left in misery with no patrons and buyers.
5. INHUMAN TREATMENT OF INDIGO CULTIVATORS
*The peasants had to work under inhuman conditions.
*They were forced to grow indigo only.
*If they planted anything else,their crops were destroyed & their cattle taken
away as punishment.
6. POVERTY AND FAMINES
*High taxes ,Drain of wealth ,economic exploitation reduced Indians to poverty
*Famines ravaged the country in the second half of the 19th century.
 *The British government did nothing to lessen people’s misery.
QIV] Explain 5 military causes for the Revolt of 1857.
Ans]1. GENERAL SERVICES ENLISTMENT ACT
* Indian soldiers could be sent overseas on duty.
* The Act did not take into account the sentiments of the Indian soldiers
* The Brahmin soldiers saw in this a danger to their castes.
* This led to a feeling of resentment among them.
2. ILLTREATMENT OF INDIAN SOLDIERS
* Indian soldiers had helped the East India Company to establish their empire.
* Though Indian soldiers were as efficient as their British counterparts they were
poorly paid,ill fed and badly housed.
* The British forbade the sepoys from wearing caste or sectarian mark
* The British showed disregard for the sentiment of the sepoys.
3. FAULTY DISTRIBUTION OF TROOPS
* Delhi and Allahabad had no British armies.
* England was engaged in the Crimean War, Chinese War etc
* Indian soldiers knew the British were in difficulty.
* Indian soldiers were determined to strike at the right time.
4. POOR PERFORMANCE OF BRITISH TROOPS
* The British army suffered major reverses in the Punjab Wars &Crimean War.
* The Santhal tribesmen armed with bows and arrows rose up against the British.
* The disasters suffered by the British broke the myth that the British were invincible.
* Indian soldiers realised that the British army could be defeated by a determined
Indian army.
5. BLEAK PROSPECTS OF PROMOTIONS AND NO ALLOWANCES
* The Indian soldiers could not rise above the rank of a Subedar.
* The future of Indian soldiers was bleak without chances of promotion.
*They were not given additional Bhatta for serving in areas far away from their
homes.
* The POST OFFICE ACT of 1854 withdrew the privilege of free postage.
QV] State the immediate cause of the First War of Independence.
* In 1856 ,the British decided to replace the BROWN BESS with the new ENFIELD
RIFLE.
* The loading process involved bringing the cartridge to the mouth & biting off the
greased cover.
* A rumour spread that the greased cartridge had the fat of cow & pig.
* As cow is sacred to Hindus and pig a taboo for Muslims, they refused to use it.
* The Hindu &Muslim soldiers staged an uprising when they were forced to do so as
they felt it was a deliberate attempt to defile their religion.