Modern History Lecture No. 1

 

The Revolt of 1857:

Causes, Nature, Importance and Outcomes

The Revolt of 1857 (Also regarded as India's First War of Independece) was an extremely important event in Indian history. It was initiated by the sepoy of the company which arouses the accumulated grievances of the people against the Company’s administration and of their dislike for the foreign regime.

 

The Revolt of 1857 was a prolonged period of armed uprising as well as rebellions in Northern and Central India against British occupation of that part of the subcontinent. Small precursors of brewing discontent involving incidences of arson in cantonment areas began to manifest themselves in January. Later, a large-scale rebellion broke out in May and turned into what may be called a full-fledged war in the affected region. This war brought about the end of the British East India Company’s rule in India, and led to the direct rule by the British Government (British Raj) of much of the Indian Subcontinent for the next 90 years.

Causes of 1857 Revolt

The issue of greased cartridges and military grievances has been over-emphasized, as the factor for the Revolt of 1857. However, the recent research has proved that the cartridge was neither the only cause nor even the most important. In fact, the multiple causes i.e., social-religious-political- economic worked together to produce the rebellion.

1. Social and Religious Causes: The British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians. Abolition of Sati (1829), Hindu Widow Remarriage Act (1856). Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing. The Religious Disabilities Act of 1850 modified the traditional Hindu law. According to it, the change in religion would not debar a son from inheriting the property of his heathen father.

2. Economic Causes: British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency, commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry, adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800, de-industrialization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of economy.

3. Military Grievances: The extension of British dominion in India had adversely affected the service condition of the Sepoys. They were required to serve in area away from their homes without the payment of extra bhatta. An important cause of Military discontent was the General Service Enlistment Act, 1856, which made it compulsory for the sepoys to cross the seas, whenever required. The Post Office Act of 1854 withdrew the free postage facility for them.

4. Political Causes: The last major extension of the British Indian territory took place during the time of Dalhousie. Dalhousie announced in 1849, that the successor of Bahadur Shah II would have to leave the Red Fort. The annexation of Baghat and Udaipur were however, cancelled and they were restored to their ruling houses. When Dalhousie wanted to apply the Doctrine of Lapse to Karauli (Rajputana), he was overruled by the court of Directors.

Different leaders Associated with the Revolt of 1857

Barrackpore	Mangal Pandey
Delhi	Bahadur Shah II, General Bakht Khan
Delhi	Hakim Ahsanullah (Chief advisor to Bahadur Shah II)
Lucknow	Begum Hazrat Mahal, Birjis Qadir, Ahmadullah (advisor of the ex-Nawab of Awadh)
Kanpur	Nana Sahib, Rao Sahib (nephew of Nana), Tantia Tope, Azimullah Khan (advisor of Nana Sahib)
Jhansi	Rani Laxmibai
Bihar (Jagdishpur)	Kunwar Singh, Amar Singh
Allahabad and Banaras	Maulvi Liyakat Ali
Faizabad	Maulvi Ahmadullah (He declared the Revolt as Jihad against English)
Farrukhabad	Tufzal Hasan Khan
Bijnaur	Mohammad Khan
Muradabad	Abdul Ali Khan
Bareilly	Khan Bahadur Khan
Mandsor	Firoz Shah
Gwalior/Kanpur	Tantia Tope
Assam	Kandapareshwar Singh, Manirama Datta
Orissa	Surendra Shahi, Ujjwal Shahi
Kullu	Raja Pratap Singh
Rajasthan	Jaidayal Singh and Hardayal Singh
Gorakhpur	Gajadhar Singh
Mathura	Sevi Singh, Kadam Singh

 

British Officials Associated with Revolt

General John Nicholson	Captured Delhi on 20th September, 1857 (Nicholson died soon due to a mortal wound received during the fighting).
Major Hudson	Killed Bahadur Shah's sons and grandsons in Delhi.
Sir Hugh Wheeler	Defence against Nana Sahib's forces till 26th June, 1857. British forces surrendered on 27th on the promised of safe conduct to Allahabad.
General Neil	Recaptured Banaras and Allahabad in June 1857. At Kanpur, he killed Indians as revenge against the killing of English by Nana Sahib's forces. Died at Lucknow while fighting against the rebels.
Sir Colin Campbell	Final recovery of Kanpur on 6th December, 1857. Final reoccupation of Lucknow on 21 st March, 1858. Recapture of Bareilly on 5th May, 1858.
Henry Lawrence	Chief Commissioner of Awadh. Who died during the seizure of British residency by rebels at Lucknow on 2nd July, 1857!
Major General Havelock	Defeated the rebels (Nana Sahib's force) on 17th July, 1857. Died at Lucknow in December 1857.
William Taylor and Eye	Suppressed the revolt at Arrah in August 1857.
Hugh Rose	Suppressed the revolt at Jhansi and recaptured Gwalior on 20th June, 1858. The whole of Central India and Bundelkhand was brought under British control by him.
Colonel Oncell	Captured Banaras.

 

 

Causes of Failure

1. Some of the local rulers like Scidia of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Raja of Jodhpur, the Nawab of Bhopal, the rulers of Patiala, Sindh and Kashmir and the Rana of Nepal provided active support to the British.

2. The military equipment of the rebels was inferior. Comparative lack of efficient leadership.

3. The modern intelligent Indians also didn't support the cause.

Impact of the Revolt

1. The revolt was mainly feudal in character carrying with it some nationalist elements.

2. The control of Indian administration was passed on to the British Crown by the Government of India Act, 1858.

3. The army was carefully reorganised to prevent the recurrence of such an event.

The Revolt of 1857 was an extremely important event in Indian history. It was mere a product of Sepoy but was accumulated grievances of the people against the Company’s administration and of their dislike for the foreign regime.

1857 Revolt/Evolution of Education of Press / Administration before 1857

The Revolt of 1857

1857 Revolt

• The revolt of 1857 was though a regional manifestation yet the causes and the events that instigated the revolt were surely having a Pan-Indian characteristic.
• The revolt of 1857 was the outburst of people’s feelings against, social, economic and political exploitation and hence people participated from almost every field, i.e. social, economical (represented by peasants) and political (deposed rulers) in the revolt.
• It was the first major attempt by the Indians to free themselves from the clutches of British Raj, but Anglo-Indian historians have greatly emphasized the importance of military grievances and the greased cartridges affair as the most potent causes which led to the uprising of 1857.
• The greased cartridges and the mutiny of soldiers was merely the match-stick which exploded the inflammable material which had gathered in heap on account of a variety of causes – political, social, religious and economic.
• Prior to this revolt also, the resentment of the Indians were expressed in both violent mutinies as well as peaceful protests.
• The mutiny at Vellore (1806), at Barrackpore (1824), at Ferozpur (1842), mutiny of the 7th Bengal cavalry, mutiny of 22nd N.I. in 1849, Revolt of the Santhals (1855-56), Kol uprising (1831-32) etc. were among the high degree of protests by the people that culminated in the revolt of 1857.

POLITICAL CAUSES

Conquest

• The East India Company created a lot of discontent and disaffection among the dispossessed ruling families and their successors by her conquest.
• A large number of dependents on the ruling families who lost their means of livelihood and other common people were disillusioned and disaffected with the alien rule.
• Lord Dalhousie annexed the Punjab and added humiliation to the ruling family. Dalip Singh, the minor son of Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab, was deposed, and exiled to England. The properties of the Lahore Darbar were auctioned.

Doctrine of Lapse

• By applying the Doctrine of Lapse, Dalhousie annexed the principalities of Satara, Jaipur, Sambhalpur, Bhagat, Udaipur, Jhansi, and Nagpur.
• Doctrine of Lapse manifested the lack of sensitivity of the British towards the ancient right of adoption among the Hindus.
• Lord Dalhousie annexed the kingdom of Oudh in 1856 on the pretext of mismanagement. The dethronement of Wajid Ali Shah sent a wave of resentment and anger of throughout the country.
• The kingdom of Oudh was exploited economically and the Nawabs were reduced to a position of complete dependency on the British. The Nawabs, negligence towards the administration of the state, was used as an excuse by Dalhousie to merge it with the British Empire.

Humiliation of the Mughals

• Since 1803, the Mughal emperors had been living under the British protection. His claims to honour and precedence were recognized.
• The seal of Governors General bore the inscription humble servant.
• Amherst made it clear to the emperor, that his Kingship was nominal; it was merely out of courtesy that he was addressed as King.
• The emperor was forced to give up residence in the Red Fort, and abandon his prerogative of naming his successor.
• The treatment meted out by the governors-general to the Mughal emperor greatly alienated the Muslims who felt that the British wanted to humble their emperor.

Suspension of Pension

• The annual pension of Rani Jindan the Queen of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was reduced from 15,000 pounds to 1,200 pounds.
• The pension to Nana Sahib and of Lakshmi Bai, of Jhansi was suspended.
• The titular sovereignty of the Nawab of Carnatic and Tanjore was also abolished.

ADMINISTRATIVE AND ECONOMIC CAUSES

Rule of Law

• The British introduced the Rule of Law, which implied the principle of equality in the eyes of the law irrespective of the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the weak and the strong.
• The poorer and the weaker sections did not get any benefit from the new system due to complicated procedure of the British administration.

Unpopular British Administration

• The English officials were not accessible to the people. Thus, the people could not place their grievances before them, as they did during the period of the Mughals.
• The people also disliked the new system of British administration which functioned as a machine and lacked personal touch.
• The English laws were quite strange and the common people could not understand them.

Exclusion of lndians from Administrative Posts

• The British were of the opinion that the Indians were not suitable for the higher posts in their administrative structure. They lacked faith in the sincerity of the Indians.
• Contempt for Indian and racial prejudice were other reasons why the Indians were denied higher positions in the administration.
• Complete exclusion of Indians from all position of trust and power in the administration, and the manning of all higher offices both in the civil government and the military forces by the British brought forth discontent and a sense of humiliation among the people.

ECONOMIC CAUSES

Ruin of the Mercantile Class

• The British deliberately crippled Indian trade and commerce by imposing high tariff duties against Indian goods. On the other hand they encouraged the import of British goods to India. As a result by the middle of the nineteenth century Indian exports of cotton and silk goods practically came to an end.

Destruction of Indian Manufacturers

• The British policy of promoting the import of cotton goods to India from England destructed all Indian manufacturers, in the cotton textile industry.
• When British goods flooded Indian market and threatened the outright destruction of Indian manufacturers, the East India Company’s government that ruled India did not take any step to prevent the tragedy.
• Free trade and refusal to impose protective duties against machine-made goods of England ruined Indian manufacturers.

Pressure on Land

• The millions of ruined artisans and craftsmen, spinners, weavers, smelters, smiths and others from town and villages, had no alternative but to pursue agricultural activity that led to a pressure on land.
• India was transformed from being a country of agriculture into an agricultural colony of British Empire.
Impoverishment of peasantry
• Land being the chief source of income for Indians, the East India Company introduced various experiments and measures to extract the maximum share of agricultural produce.
• Various methods of revenue settlement led to the impoverishment and misery of the peasants.
• Peasants were exploited by moneylenders, who usually confiscated their land for failure to repay their debt.
• English settlers monopolized plantation industries like indigo and tea.
• The inhuman treatment of the indigo cultivators by the European plantation owners was one of the darkest and most tragic episodes in the history of British rule in India.
• The economic policies of the British affected the interests of the Indian traders, the manufacturers, craftsmen and the peasants.

SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CAUSES

Social Legislation

• Lord William Bentinck abolished the practice of Sati in 1829, with the support of educated and enlightened Indians such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
• Lord Canning enacted the Widow Remarriage Act, drafted by Lord Dalhousie in 1856.
• These legislation were viewed by the orthodox sections in the society as interference by the British in their social and religious practice
• The two laws of 1832 and 1850, removing disabilities due to change of religion, particularly conferring the right of inheritance to change of religion, particularly conferring the right of inheritance to Christian converts, were quite unpopular among the Hindus.

Missionary Activities

• There was a strong movement grew in England to spread Christianity in India and convert its Hindus and Muslims subjects to that faith.
• By the Charter Act of 1813, Christian missionaries were permitted to enter the Company’s territories in India to propagate their religion and spread Western education.
• The Christian missionaries took every opportunity to expose the abuses in the Hindu as well as the Islamic religion.
• They denounced idolatry, ridiculed the Hindu gods and goddesses and criticized the philosophy and principals of Hinduism and Islam.
• The teaching of Christian doctrines were made compulsory in educational institutes run by the missionaries.
• Thus, the interference of the British authorities in social customs and practices through social legislation and the encouragement given by the government to Christian missionaries in their proselytizing activities created a sense of apprehension and hatred in the minds of Indians.

MILITARY CAUSES

Service Conditions

• The sepoys of the Bengal army, were Brahmins and Rajputs had special grievances of their own. Among them were unsatisfactory conditions of service, encroachment upon their religious customs, and offences against their dignity and self-respect.
• They had a strong sense of resentment, as their scale of salary was very low compared to their English counterparts.
• In the guise of enforcing discipline, the British authorities prohibited the Hindus and the Muslim sepoys displaying their religious marks.
• The Hindu sepoys were forbidden to wear vermilion mark on their forehead, or turban on their head. The Muslims sepoys were forced to shave off their beard. These restrictions wounded the religious sentiments of the sepoys.

Withdraw of Allowances

• The British authorities used to withdraw the allowances after the conquest and annexation of a province and post the same troops in those very provinces on reduced salaries. These measures demoralized the sepoys.
• In 1844 four Bengal regiments refused to move to Sindh till extra allowance was sanctioned. Mutinous spirit was also displayed in 1849 by the sepoys in various provinces.

The General Service Enlistment Act

• The Hindu soldiers nursed grievances against the British as they were forced to go on expedition to Burma and Afghanistan, which violated their religious beliefs.
• To live among Muslims and to take food and water from them was disliked to their ancient customs.
• Besides, crossing the seas was prohibited by the religion as the one who crossed the forbidden seas was bound to lose his caste.
• In order to prevent any kind of resistance from the sepoys against their deployment abroad, Lord Canning’s government passed the General Service Enlistment Act in 1856.
• By this act all future recruits to the Bengal army were required to give an undertaking that they would serve anywhere their services required.

THE BEGINNING AND SPREAD OF THE MUTINY AND REVOLT

• Above mentioned factors prepared a general ground for discontent and disaffection among different section of the Indian people, which required a mere spark to explode into a conflagration.
• The greased cartridges provided this spark.
• In 1856, the government decided to replace the old fashioned muskets by the Enfield rifles. In order to load the Enfield rifle, the greased wrapping paper of the cartridge had to be bitten off by the soldier.
• In January 1857, a rumor began to spread in the Bengal regiments that the greased cartridges contained the fat of cows and pigs.
• The sepoys became convinced that the introduction of the greased cartridge was a deliberate attempt to defile their religion.
• The cow was sacred to the Hindus, and the pig was a taboo for the Muslims.
• On March 29, 1857, the Indian soldiers at Barrackpore refused to use the greased cartridges and one sepoy, Mangal Pandey, attacked and killed a British officer.
• At Meerut, in May 1857, the sepoys of the 3rd cavalry regiment at Meerut also refused to use the greased cartridges and broke out in open rebellion on 10th May and shot their officer and headed towards Delhi.
• General Hewitt, was then the commanding officer at Meerut.
• On 12 May 1857, the rebels seized Delhi and overcame Lieutenant Willoughby, the incharge of the magazine at Delhi.
• Bahadur Shah-II was proclaimed the Emperor of India.
• Very soon the rebellion spread throughout Northern and Central India at Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Bareilly, Banaras, Jhansi, parts of Bihar and other places.
• Unfortunately, a majority of Indian rulers remained loyal to the British and the educated Indians and merchants class kept themselves aloof from the rebels.
• India, south of the Narmada remained undisturbed.
• At Lucknow, Henry Lawrence, the British resident, was ousted and killed.
• Kanpur was lost to the British on 5th June 1857 and Nana Sahib was proclaimed the Peshwa.
• General Huge Wheeler surrendered on June 27.
• Rani Lakshmi Bai, the widow of late Gangadhar Rao, was proclaimed the ruler of the state after the troops at Jhansi mutinied in June 1857.
• In Bihar a local zamindar, Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur revolted.
CENTERS OF THE REVOLT
• Delhi: A rebellion was led by Bakht Khan. In September 1857, Delhi was recaptured by the English in which John Nicholson, the commander was wounded and later died. The emperor was arrested and his two sons and grandsons were publicly shot by Lieutenant Hudson himself.
• Kanpur: Nana Saheb was the leader at Kanpur. General Huge Wheeler surrendered on June 27. Nana Saheb was joined by Tantia Tope. Sir Campbell occupied Kanpur on December 6th. Tantia Tope escaped and joined Rani of Jhansi.
• Lucknow: Rebellion here was led by Begum Hazrat Mahal and Ahmaddullah. Henry Lawrence and other Europeans at the British residency were killed by the rebels. The early attempts of Havelock and Outram to recover Lucknow met with no success. It was finally rescued by Colin Campbell in March 1858.
• Jhansi: Rani Lakshmi Bai led the revolt who was defeated by Huge Rose and she fled to Gwalior and captured it. She was supported by Tantia Tope. Gwalior was recaptured by the English in June 1858 and the Rani of Jhansi died on 17th June. Tantia Tope escaped southward. In April, one of the Sindhia’s feudatory captured him and handed to the English who hanged him.
• Bareilly: Khan Bahadur Khan proclaimed himself the Nawab Nazim of Bareilly, however, the rebellion was crushed by Colin Campbell in May 1858 and Bareilly was recaptured.
• Arah: Kunwar Singh and his brother Amar Singh led the rebellion. They were defeated by William Taylor and Vincent Ayar. Kunwar Singh was killed on 8th May, 1858.
• Faizabad: Maulavi Ahmeddullah led the rebellion but was defeated by the English.
• Allahabad & Banaras: The rebellion at Banaras and adjoining areas was mercilessly suppressed by Colonel Neill who put to death all rebels suspected and even disorderly boys.
CAUSES OF FAILURE OF THE REVOLT
• The revolt of 1857 was poorly organized, restricted in its scope and there was lack of unity among the rebel leaders. There was no impact of the rebellion in the South. Even in North India, Rajasthan, the Punjab, Sind, Sindhia’s dominion of Gwalior, etc. remained quite.
• The leaders of the rebellion did not have any common ideals and were ‘wrapped up’ in their own individual grievances. The only common bond of unit among them was their anti-British sympathies.
• The resources of the British Empire were far superior to those of the rebels who were poorly organized and lacked resources.
• The Indian princes such as the Schindhia, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Gaekwad of Vadodara and the Princes of Rajasthan remained loyal to the British.
• Educated Indians were repelled by the rebels due to their appeals to superstitions and their opposition to progressive social measures and were mistaken to take Britishers as their helpers in accomplishing the task of modernization.

IMPACT OF THE REVOLT

• The control of Indian administration was transferred from the East India Company to the crown by the Government of India Act, 1858.
• It ended the era of annexation and expansion and the Queen’s proclamation declared against any desire for “extension of territorial possessions” and promised to respect the rights of dignity and honour of native princes as their own.
• The Act of 1858 ended the dualism in the control of Indian affairs and made the crown directly responsible for management of Indian affairs. Following this, fundamental changes in the administrative set up were made in the executive, legislative and judicial administration of India by passing the Indian Councils Act of 1861, the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Service Act of 1861.
• The British policies towards Indian States changed radically and the states were now treated as the bulwark of the empire against future contingencies.
• The Indian army was thoroughly reorganized and the number of European troops in India was increased. All the superior posts in the armed forces were reserved for the Europeans.
• The policy of associating Indian members with legislative matters and administration was started. A humble beginning in this direction was made by the Indian Councils Act of 1861.
• The revolt left a legacy of racial bitterness. The entire Indian people were dubbed as unworthy of trust and subjected to insults, humiliations and contemptuous treatment.
• The era of territorial expansion gave place to the era of economic exploitation in a more subtle way. The policy of ‘divide and rule’ between Hindus and Muslims was started.
• The attitude of the British towards social reforms contrary to what it was before 1857. They now sided with orthodox opinion and stopped encouraging social reformers.