the revolt of 1857 m

7/26/2019 The Revolt of 1857 m

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The Revolt of 1857 —the First War of Independence!By the first half of the 19th century, the East India Company had brought major portions of India under its control. Advertisements:

One hundred years after the Battle of Plassey, anger against theunjust and oppressie British !oernment too" the form of areolt that shoo" the ery foundations of British rule in India.

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2hile British historians called it the #epoy 3utiny, Indian

historians named it the 4eolt of 1(% or the /irst 2ar of IndianIndependence. 5he 4eolt of 1(% had been preceded by a seriesof disturbances in different parts of the country from the lateeighteenth century on6ards.

5he #anyasi 4ebellion in 7orth Bengal and the Chunar rebellionin Bihar and Bengal bro"e out in the late eighteenth century.5here 6ere seeral peasant uprisings in the mid+ nineteenth

century, the most important of 6hich 6ere those by the 3oplahpeasants of the 3alabar and the /arai8i moement by 3uslimpeasants in Bengal.

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5he first half of the nineteenth century also 6itnessed a numberof tribal reolts. In this contet, mention may be made of therebellions of the Bhils of 3adhya Pradesh, the #anthals of Biharand the !onds and :honds of Orissa. ;o6eer, all these

disturbances 6ere locali8ed. lthough serious and, in somecases, long dra6n, these did not pose any serious threat to theeistence of the British Empire.The Revolt of 1857:5he first epression of organised resistance 6as the 4eolt of1(%. It began as a reolt of the sepoys of the Company<s army but eentually secured the participation of the masses. Itscauses lay deeply embedded in the grieances that all sections of

Indian society nurtured against the British rule.

Cases of the Revolt:olitical Cases:5he political causes of the reolt may be traced to the Britishpolicy of epansion through the 0octrine of =apse and directanneation. large number of Indian rulers and chiefs 6ere



dislodged, thus arousing fear in the minds of other rulingfamilies 6ho apprehended a similar fate.4ani =a"shmi Bai<s adopted son 6as not permitted to sit on thethrone of >hansi. #atara, 7agpur and >hansi 6ere anneed

under the 0octrine of =apse. >aitpur, #ambalpur and ?daipur 6ere also anneed. Other rulers feared that the anneation oftheir states 6as only a matter of time. 5he refusal to continuethe pension of 7ana #aheb, the adopted son of Baji 4ao II,created hostility among the ruling class.3oreoer, the sentiments of the people 6ere hurt 6hen it 6asdeclared that the descendants of the titular 3ughal Emperor,Bahadur #hah II, 6ould not be allo6ed to lie in the 4ed /ort.

5he anneation of 6adh by =ord 0alhousie on the pretet ofmaladministration left thousands of nobles, officials, retainersand soldiers jobless. 5his measure conerted 6adh, a loyalstate, into a hotbed of discontent and intrigue."ocial and Reli#ios Cases:

large section of the population 6as alarmed by the rapidspread of 2estern ciili8ation in India. n ct in 1(%& changedthe ;indu la6 of inheritance enabling a ;indu 6ho had

conerted into Christianity to inherit his ancestral properties.Besides, the missionaries 6ere allo6ed to ma"e conersions toChristianity all oer India. 5he people 6ere coninced that the!oernment 6as planning to conert Indians to Christianity.5he abolition of practices li"e sati and female infanticide, andthe legislation legali8ing 6ido6 remarriage, 6ere threats to theestablished social structure.Een the introduction of therail6ays and telegraph 6as ie6ed 6ith suspicion.

$conomic Cases:In rural areas, peasants and 8amindars resented the heay taeson land and the stringent methods of reenue collectionfollo6ed by the Company. 3any among these groups 6ereunable to meet the heay reenue demands and repay theirloans to money lenders, eentually losing the lands that they



had held for generations. =arge numbers of sepoys 6ere dra6nfrom the peasantry and had family ties in illages, so thegrieances of the peasants also affected them.5he economic eploitation by the British and the complete

destruction of the traditional economic structure caused 6idespread resentment among all sections of the people. fterthe Industrial 4eolution in England, there 6as an influ ofBritish manufactured goods into India 6hich ruined industries,particularly the tetile industry, of India.Indian handicraft industries had to compete 6ith cheapmachine+ made goods from Britain. India 6as transformed intoa supplier of ra6 materials and a consumer of goods

manufactured in Britain. ll those people 6ho preiouslydepended on royal patronage for their lielihoods 6ererendered unemployed. #o they bore a deep+ seated grieanceagainst the British.%ilitar& Cases:

5he 4eolt of 1(% started as a sepoy mutiny. It 6as only lateron that other elements of society joined the reolt.

Indian sepoys formed more than (@ of British troops in India.

5hey 6ere considered inferior to British soldiers. n Indiansepoy 6as paid less than a European sepoy of the same ran".Besides, an Indian sepoy could not rise to a ran" higher thanthat of a #ubedar



5he etension of the British Empire in India had aderselyaffected the serice conditions of Indian sepoys. 5hey 6erereAuired to sere in areas far a6ay from their homes. In 1(%'=ord Canning issued the !eneral #erices Enlistment ct 6hich

reAuired that the sepoys must be ready to sere een in Britishland across the sea.5he Bengal rmy< 6as recruited from high caste communitiesin 6adh. 5hey 6ere not prepared to cross the ocean :alapaniD 6hich 6as forbidden as per ;indu religious beliefs. 5heydeeloped the suspicion that the !oernment 6as trying toconert Indians to Christianity.fter the anneation of 6adhthe 7a6ab<s army 6as disbanded. 5hese soldiers lost their

means of lielihood. 5hey became bitter enemies of the British.Immediate Case:

5he 4eolt of 1(% eentually bro"e out oer the incident ofgreased cartridges. rumour spread that the cartridges of thene6 Enfield rifles 6ere greased 6ith the fat of co6s and pigs.Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paperon the cartridges. Both ;indu and 3uslim sepoys refused to usethem. Canning tried to ma"e amends for the error and theoffending cartridges 6ere 6ithdra6n, but by then the damagehad been done. 5here 6as unrest in seeral places.



In 3arch 1(%, 3angal Pandey, a sepoy in Barrac"pore, hadrefused to use the cartridge and attac"ed his senior officers. ;e 6as hanged to death on (th pril. On 9th 3ay, (% soldiers in

3eerut refused to use the ne6 rifle and 6ere sentenced to ten years< imprisonment.%ain events of the revolt:#oon there 6as a rebellion in the 3eerut Cantonment. 5he3eerut 3utiny 3ay 9, 1(%D mar"ed the beginning of the4eolt of 1(%. 5he Indian sepoys in 3eerut murdered theirBritish officers and bro"e open the jail. On 3ay 1&, theymarched to 0elhi.

Captre of 'elhi:In 0elhi the mutineers 6ere joined by the 0elhi sepoys and thecity came under their control. 7et day, on 11th 3ay, the sepoysproclaimed the ageing Bahadur #hah afar the Emperor of;industan. But Bahadur #hah 6as old and he could not gieable leadership to the sepoys. 5he occupation of 0elhi 6asshort+lied.Fall of 'elhi:

5he British finally attac"ed 0elhi in #eptember. /or si daysthere 6as desperate fighting. But by #eptember 1(%, the Britishreoccupied 0elhi. 5housands of innocent people 6eremassacred and hundreds 6ere hanged. 5he old "ing 6ascaptured and later deported to 4angoon 6here he died in 1('*.



;is sons 6ere shot dead. 5hus ended the imperial dynasty of the3ughals.Centres of the revolt:5he reolt spread oer the entire area from the neighbourhood

of Patna to the borders of 4ajasthan. 5here 6ere si maincentres of reolt in these regions namely :anpur, =uc"no6,Bareilly, >hansi, !6alior and rrah in Bihar.(c)no*:

=uc"no6 6as the capital of 6adh. 5here the mutinous sepoys 6ere joined by the disbanded soldiers from the old 6adharmy. Begum ;a8rat 3ahal, one of the begums of the e+"ing of 6adh, too" up the leadership of the reolt. /inally the British

forces captured =uc"no6. 5he Aueen escaped to 7epal.

+anpr:In :anpur the reolt 6as led by 7ana #aheb, the adopted son ofPesh6a Baji 4ao II. ;e joined the reolt primarily because he 6as depried of his pension by the British. ;e captured :anpurand proclaimed himself the Pesh6a. 5he ictory 6as short+lied.:anpur 6as recaptured by the British after fresh reinforcementsarried. 5he reolt 6as suppressed 6ith terrible engeance. 5herebels 6ere either hanged or blo6n to pieces by canons. 7ana#aheb escaped. But his brilliant commander 5antia 5opecontinued the struggle. 5antia 5ope 6as finally defeated,arrested and hanged.,hansi:

In >hansi, the t6enty+t6o+year+old 4ani =a"shmi Bai led therebels 6hen the British refused to accept the claim of her



adopted son to the throne of >hansi. #he fought gallantly againstthe British forces. But she 6as ultimately defeated by theEnglish.4ani =a"shmi Bai escaped. =ater on, the 4ani 6as joined by

5antia 5ope and together they marched to !6alior and capturedit. #indhia, a loyal ally of the British, 6as drien out. /iercefighting follo6ed. 5he 4ani of >hansi fought li"e a tigress. #hedied, fighting to the ery end. !6alior 6as recaptured by theBritish.



-ihar:In Bihar the reolt 6as led by :un6ar #ingh."ppression of the Revolt:

5he 4eolt of 1(% lasted for more than a year. It 6assuppressed by the middle of 1(%(. On >uly (, 1(%(, fourteen

months after the outbrea" at 3eerut, peace 6as finallyproclaimed by Canning.Cases of the failre of the revolt:(imited .prisin#: lthough the reolt 6as fairly 6idespread, a large part of thecountry remained unaffected by it. 5he reolt 6as mainlyconfined to the 0oab region. #ind, 4ajputana, :ashmir, mostparts of Punjab. 5he southern proinces did not ta"e part in it.

It failed to hae the character of an all+India struggle.Importantrulers li"e #indhia, ;ol"ar, 4ana of >odhpur and others did notsupport the rebels./o $ffective (eaders:5he rebels lac"ed an effectie leader. 7ana #aheb, 5antia 5opeand 4ani =a"shmi Bai 6ere brae leaders, no doubt, but theycould not offer effectie leadership to the moement as a 6hole.(imited Resorces:

5he rebels lac"ed resources in terms of men and money. 5heEnglish, on the other hand, receied a steady supply of men,money and arms in India./o articipation of the %iddle Class:



5he English educated middle class, the rich merchants, tradersand 8amindars of Bengal helped the British to suppress thereolt.Reslts of the revolt:

5he great uprising of 1(% 6as an important landmar" in thehistory of modern India. 5he reolt mar"ed the end of the EastIndia Company<s rule in India. India no6 came under the directrule of the British Cro6n. 5his 6as announced by =ord Canningat a 0urbar in llahabad in aproclamation issued on 17oember 1(%( in the name of the Fueen. 5hus, Indianadministration 6as ta"en oer by Fueen Gictoria, 6hich, ineffect, meant the British Parliament. 5he !oernor !eneral<s

office 6as replaced by that of the Giceroy.

5he 0octrine of =apse 6as abolished. 5he right to adopt sons aslegal heirs 6as accepted. 5he 4eolt of 1(% paed the 6ay forthe future struggle for freedom in India.

the revolt of 1857 m

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