THE GREAT REVOLT OF 1857
The great revolt of 1857 was a great upheaval, which some historians
call the First War of Independence. It is also known as the sepoy mutiny as
the uprising sprang up from the Indian sepoys or soldiers working under the
British officers. The Revolt started in Meerut and spread to other parts of the
country. Many peasants, artisans and common man joined the sepoys of the
Indian army. They made a sincere effort to end the foreign rule. The Revolt of
1857 was not a sudden occurrence. It was a culmination of accumulated
grievances of the Indian people against the British rule. It is aptly described
by Asoka Mehta thus: “The rebellion of 1857 was more than a mere sepoy
mutiny and was an eruption of the social volcano, wherein many pent up
forces found vent”. The scars of the rebellion remained deep and shining.
1. CAUSES OF THE REVOLT
The Revolt occurred during the Governor generalship of Lord Canning.
The important causes for the outbreak of the Revolt are given below.
a) Political Causes
The British policies of annexation and expansion created suspicion in
the minds of the Indians. Lord Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse and policy of
abolishing the titles of Indian rulers made them the enemies of the British.
It created a spirit of uneasiness and suspicion throughout India. Dalhousie
refused to recognize the adopted sons of the Rajas of Nagpur, Satara and
Jhansi. The state of Oudh was annexed even though its ruler was always
faithful to the British government. This annexation angered the soldiers of
the English East India Company, most of whom came from Oudh. The Indian
rulers never felt the same under British Imperialism. The British government
confiscated the estates of majority of the zamindars and they became the
enemies of the British. Even the most faithful and loyal among them could
not be sure of their future. The Indians did not like the judicial set up of the
British as it was time consuming and costly.
b) Economic Causes
The British rule disrupted the life of the Indians. India was drained of
its wealth. The introduction of machine made goods by the British destroyed
the indigenous industries. The common masses resented the condition.
The annexation of native states deposed the Indian ruler and hundreds
of people who worked under him lost employment. The resumption of rent
free estates by Bentinck in Bengal brought a lot of money to the government
but the landowners were reduced to poverty, since either they had lost their
land deeds or they got the land through ancestral property. When Oudh was
annexed by the British, The Zamindars were put to untold miseries. These
discontented landlords became the leaders of the Revolution. When a king
was deposed, the higher strata of court officials lost their high administrative
posts. All high posts were reserved for the English and the Indians were not
promoted or appointed to these posts. Such a policy was resented by the
Indians, especially those who were competent.
c) Social and Religious Causes
The Indians felt that their religion and society were in danger of being
destroyed by western influence. The introduction of railways, telegraph and
western education created suspicion in the minds of the people, who thought
that the British would convert them to Christianity. The abolition of the sati
and child marriage and encouraging widow remarriage also meant
interference in religious affairs. The Christian missionaries resorted to
wholesale conversion of the Indians. The Hindu law of property was changed
with a view to facilitate the conversion of the Hindus to Christianity.
d) Military Causes
The Indian soldiers had numerous grievances against the British. They
asked for better pay and good treatment by British officers. The general
Service Enlistment Act passed in 1856 at the time of Lord Canning created
bitterness among Indian soldiers. He ordered all recruits of the Bengal army
to be ready for service both inside and outside India. The Indian soldiers
were reluctant to go overseas since it was against their religion. There was
a large percentage of Indian soldiers in the army. This emboldened them to
rise in revolt. Moreover in order to make the sepoys look smarter, the sepoys
were ordered to trim their moustaches and beards. They were also ordered
to remove the caste marks on their forehead and to replace the turban with
leather hat. These were totally alien to the Indian soldiers. The Muslims felt
that to remove the beard was against their religion. The Sikhs never trim
their hair or beard. The replacement of turban with leather hat was
unacceptable to both the Muslims and the Hindus as they wondered on the
origin of leather.
e) Immediate Cause
The immediate cause of the Revolt
of 1857 was the introduction of greased
cartridges in the new Enfield Rifle. These
cartridges had to be bitten by the Sepoys
inorder to load them in the rifle. A rumour
spread that these cartridges were greased
with the fat of the cow and pig. To both
the Hindus and the Muslims the use of
this greased cartridge was something that
was against their religion. The sepoys got
infuriated and refused to use them as cow
was considered sacred by the Hindus and
the pig was detested by the Muslims. At
Barrackpore, near Calcutta, Mangal
Pandey, an Indian officer of 34th native
infantry shot his officer dead on March
29, 1857. He was hanged to death and the 34th infantry was disbanded.
2. MAIN EVENTS OF THE REVOLT
Though this first sign of unrest appeared early in 1857 at Barrackpore
and Berhampore in Bengal, that was quickly suppressed and the rebels were
punished. As was the practice in those days, all the British officers left the
plains and went to hill stations on leave till the end of hot summer. The
ratio of English soldiers to Indians was one to eight thousand. On April 23,
the commanding officer asked the sepoys in Meerut to load the rifles with
catridges. The sepoys refused and were all court martialled and imprisoned.
But the sepoys broke out in to open revolt at Meerut. They broke open the
prison and released their imprisoned comrades. Then they galloped to Delhi
and brought it under their control. The Revolt then spread to Lucknow,
Bareilly, Cawnpore, Agra, Jhansi, Banares, Central India, Bundelkhand and
other places.
Delhi
Though there was a king (Bahadur Shah II) at Delhi, he had no kingdom.
When the Mutineers reached Delhi on the morning of May 11, they attacked
the fort gates. Bahadur Shah II did not
have the courage to confront this unruly
crowd. Moreover his guards also joined
the rebels. Unlike Meerut, Delhi had no
European troops. After killing a large
number of Europeans, they occupied
Delhi. Bahadur Shah II, the old Mughal
Emperor was placed on the throne of
Delhi. After that the army just kept on
looting in an unruly manner. This gave
some breathing space to the English. The
English troops under John Nicholson,
came from Punjab and stormed the
Kashmir gate and entered Delhi. For six
days there was intensive street fighting
and finally entered the palace and
captured Bahadur Shah II. Two of his
sons and one grandson were shot dead
before his eyes. He was charged of rebellion and sent to Rangoon, where he
died at the ripe age of 87.
Cawnpore (Kanpur)
At Cawnpore the mutiny was led by NanaSahib or Dundu Panth as he
was called. He was the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II. Nana saheb was
helped by Tantia Tope, a gallant leader. Azimullah another loyal official of
Nana Sahib also contributed to the success of the Indians over the British.
The English Commander surrendered after a futile resistance. Though Nana
Sahib assured of a safe passage for the Englishmen to reach Allahabad, the
sepoys opened fire on the English troops and killed them. Nana Sahib
imprisoned 150 British women and children. But when it was learnt that an
English contingent was coming towards the city, these women and children
were murdered. Colonel Havelock and Colonel O’ Neill entered the city and
defeated the rebels. In the end Nana Sahib was defeated by the British. He
refused to surrender but escaped to Nepal, where he died after a few years.
By the middle of November 1857, Cawnpore was brought under control.
Lucknow
Begum Hazarat Mahal of Oudh led the Revolt at Lucknow. She declared her son Birjis Kadr as the Nawab of Oudh. The mutineers besieged the Residency. Maulavi Amanullah of the Faizabad was another great leader of this region. Sir Henry Lawrence was killed during the course of the siege of the residency. Later General Outram and Havelock forced their way in to the residency and with extra help from other troops Lucknow fell in the hands of the English in March 1858
and a large number of inhabitants
were mercilessly massacred.
Central India
The Mutiny in Central India centered round Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi
and Tantia Tope. She encouraged even women to fight against the British.
Sir Hugh Rose advanced from Bombay and besieged Jhansi. Tantia Tope
came with a force to help her. Jhansi Rani managed to escape and joined
with Tantia Tope and marched to Gwalior. When the British attacked it she
fought back gallantly till she died. Tantia Tope escaped but was given up by the
prince with whom he took shelter. He was captured and put to death.
Kunwant Singh, an 80 year old land lord of Jagadispur led the revolt at
Arrah in Bihar. He fought bravely till his death in 1858 and then his brother
Amarsingh took the lead, but this revolt collapsed soon.
3. CAUSES FOR THE FAILURE OF THE REVOLT
Various causes led to the failure of the Revolt of 1857. There was
disunity among the Indians. The ideal of nationalism was not spread among
the Indian masses. The mutiny was localized. There were many parts of
India which were not affected by it at all. Particularly, the territory south of
Narmada was undisturbed. Sind and Rajputana were quiet. Gurkhas of Nepal
rendered timely help to the British in fighting. The British managed to get
the loyalty of Madras and Bombay Regiments. The Sikhs, the Afghans and
the Gurkhas supported the British. There was lack of resources in men and money. There was lack of leadership among them. The rebels worked without any common plan. They
were short of modern weapons and ammunition. The army was neither
organized nor disciplined. There were either too many leaders or none. The
educated Indians also did not support the Revolt. There was no common
aim except the hatred of the English. Once they captured a place, they did
not know what else to do and spent their time in looting. The Indian
Revolutionaries lacked careful planning, while the English men were well
disciplined. The British were led by great men like Sir. John Lawrence,
Outram, Havelock and Nicholson. Indian leaders like Bahadur Shah II, Nana
Sahib, Tantia Tope, and Lakshmi Bai were no match for them.
So the freedom fighters could not continue the struggle for long. The
telegraphic network and postal system helped the British in communication.
The Railways could transport the soldiers quickly. The British had mastery
over the seas, and so they could pour men and materials into India.
The Revolt broke out much earlier than the appointed day, that is, May
31, 1857. The Indians were not fully prepared by then.
4. RESULTS OF THE REVOLT
The great Revolt, though it failed to achieve its aim, produced far
reaching results. The Revolt sounded the death knell of the East India Company. The
administration of India was taken over by the British Crown. Queen
Victoria’s Proclamation was issued in November 1858. The Board of Control
and the Board of Directors were abolished and the office of the Secretary of
State for India and India Council were created. The Governor General of
India was designated as Viceroy of India.It endorsed the treaties made by the Company with the Indian Princes,promised to respect their rights, dignity and honour. The loyalty of the Rajput,
Maratha, and Sikh chiefs and of the Nizam was recognized. An attempt
was made to reward them. The Proclamation assured that in future the British
government would not annex the Indian states. They were given the right of
adoption. The Indian army was reorganized. The European forces were increased.
More officers were appointed. Military positions and strategic points were
transferred to European troops. All the key positions were kept in the hands
of Englishmen. No Indian could be employed at Army Headquarters.
It created bitterness between the English and the Indians. Englishmen
looked with suspicion on the Indians.
5. QUEEN’S PROCLAMATION OF 1858
A Royal Durbar was held at Allahabad in November 1, 1858.
A proclamation was issued by Queen Victoria. It was read at the Durbar
by Lord Canning, who was the last Governor General and the first
Viceroy of India. The important features of the Queen’s Proclamation were
the following.
i) The Act laid down that henceforth India shall be governed by and in
the name of the Queen.
ii) It abolished the Board of Control and the Court of Directors. The post
of a Secretary of State was created. He was to be assisted by a Council
of India which was to consist of fifteen members.
iii) The Doctrine of Lapse was cancelled and the British stopped the policy
of annexation.
iv) A general amnesty (pardon) was granted to the rebels except those who
were directly involved in killing the British subjects.
vi) The office of the Governor General was changed to that of Viceroy of
India.
Various views were expressed regarding the nature of the Mutiny.
Although the British historians did not give much importance to the Mutiny,
the Indian historians called it India’s First War of Independence. So it
occupies a unique place in history. Definitely it laid the foundation for the
freedom movement in India.
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