The Revolt Of 1857 1u2122

INTRODUCTION British rule in India, which can be said to have come into being after the Battle of Plassey in 1757, was initially established in Bengal and then gradually spread to other regions. Being economically exploitative and destructive in the social fabric, it encountered resistance right from the beginning. There were innumerable peasant revolts which broke out in different parts of the country. Also, dissatisfaction among the Indian soldiers was prominent based on the grievances they had on economic, social and religious grounds. The Revolt of 1857 was the most severe outburst of anger and discontentment accumulated in the hearts of the various sections of the Indian society ever since the inception of the British rule. British historians called it a “Sepoy Mutiny” and the Indian historians called it “The First war of Independence”. Jawaharlal Nehru, in his book “Discovery of India” described it as the “Great revolt of 1857” and added that “it was much more than a military mutiny and it rapidly spread and assumed the character of a popular rebellion and a war of Indian Independence”.i In this project, I will be examining the various causes (economic, social and religious, political as well as military) of the Revolt of 1857. Then I will proceed to examine the various reasons for the failure of the Revolt (lack of planning, organization and leadership as well as Indian help to the British). And finally, I will conclude the project by providing an insight on the consequences of this Revolt (end of Company’s rule, changes in the British policy towards Indian states, end of Peshwanship and Mughal rule, reorganization of the Army, economic exploitation of India, rise of Nationalism as well as the Divide and Rule Policy).

CAUSES OF THE REVOLT OF 1857 i)

ECONOMIC CAUSES:

•

During the first 200 years (16th and 17th Centuries), the East

India Company confined its activities to trade and commerce and had no political intentions. The Company purchased textiles, indigo, spices, saltpeter and foodgrains from the Indian market in exchange for gold and other precious metals. In fact Indian goods became so popular in Britain that the British Government actually had to a law in 1720, forbidding the use of Indian textiles in Britain. However, this pattern of trade underwent a drastic change in the 18th Century. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, England

developed its

own textile industry and with that, dependence on Indian textiles came to an end. So, instead of purchasing finished textile goods from India, the British now purchased raw cotton and exported the same to England. India soon became a producer of raw materials, supplying raw cotton and jute to the factories of Britain. Cotton was processed into finished cloth and exported back to India. British traders made massive profit through this two way trade. Demand for Indian textiles having reduced, the local handloom industry incurred heavy losses and suffered badly. The poor Indian weavers could not compete with the machine made goods imported from England. Moreover, the Company used its political resources to buy the best quality cotton from the Indian markets, leaving no scope for the Indian weavers to produce good quality products. Gradually, the Indian handicraft and cottage industries died out. There was a major unemployment problem. Also, the little patronage that they received from the native Princes was gone because of the annexations of those

dominions. The trade and commerce of the country was monopolized by the by the East Indian Company. No efforts were made to improvise on the living conditions of the people. Cruel exploitation of the economic resources caused periodic famines which added to the misery of the people. Naturally, a kind of hatred and therefore, a rebel attitude towards the British developed. •

The British confiscated the lands and properties of many

landlords and Talukdars, especially those of Oudh. These very disgruntled landlords became leaders of the Revolt. •

The general discontentment grew rapidly and strongly among

the Indian soldiers. Most of the soldiers under the East India Company came from peasant families and so, their families were deeply affected by their impoverished state. Also, a lot of partiality was done against Indians like not giving them posts above Subehdars and salary being less than their English counterparts. •

Gradual disappearance of many states also deprived those

Indians who held civil and judicial posts in the states, of their jobs. Even religious preachers were divested of their livelihood with the extinction of native kingdoms. The people who were affected rose against the British.

ii)

SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CAUSES:

•

Indians had a lurking suspicion that they would be converted to

Christianity under the new regime. The fear was largely due to some of the activities of some Christian missionaries who openly ridiculed the customs and the traditions of both Hindus and Muslims. The English also established Chapels and Churches for propagating Christianity at the expense of the government. Even civil and military officers were asked to propagate the gospel. The religious sentiments of the people

were further hurt when a tax was imposed on property held by temples and mosques. •

The spread of English education, the construction of railways

and telegraph lines, legislation for the suppression of sati and the remarriage of the widows engendered a belief that the British were determined to convert the people to Christianity. The introduction of railways was resented on the ground that people of all castes would have to travel in the same compartments. They looked upon foreign innovations as something designed to break down the social order to which they were accustomed and which they considered sacred. •

The educated Indians were also denied high posts. The highest

office open to an Indian in Civil Services was that of a sadar or an Amin with an annual salary of Rs. 500 only. In the military service the highest office that an Indian could secure is that of a Subedar. This racial discrimination hurt Indian sentiments tremendously.

iii)

POLITICAL CAUSES:

•

Lord Dalhousie's policy of annexation caused an uproar among

the people of India. The last Peshwa, Baji Rao's adopted son Nana Sahib was deprived of the pension his father was receiving. Rani Laxmi Bai's adopted son was not given the throne after the death of his father. To make matters worse Lord Dalhousie announced in 1849 that Bahadur Shah Zafar will not be allowed to stay in the Red Fort anymore and they were compelled to move to a place near Qutab Minar. To further worsen the situation Lord Canning announced in 1856 that with the demise of Bahadur Shah Zafar, his successor will not be allowed to use the title "king". •

The annexation of Oudh without a reason led to a huge uprising.

The proposal of taking away the title from the Mughal emperor shocked the Muslims. The annexation of Jhansi, Satara and Nagpur

shocked the Hindus as they were predominantly Hindu states. The remaining Hindus and Muslims who were unaffected became insecure, lest they meet the same fate. •

The myth about the superiority of the British was shattered when

they were badly beaten in the first Afghan War. They were again humbled in 1855-56, when they had to face the rebellion of the Santhal tribe of Bengal and Bihar. This proved that the Indian army was quite powerful. •

There was a rumour floated around that with the end of the

Revolt of 1857 the British Raj would come to an end. This rumour emanated from the fact that the battle of Plassey in 1757 brought about British power and with 1857 a century would be completed which will mark the end of British rule.

iv) MILITARY CAUSES: The Sepoys of the Bengal Army belonged to the high castes of Oudh and the North-Western Province. Although the Sepoys had fought and won many wars for the Company with determined devotion in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances, they didn’t get a fair deal. The emoluments were very low in comparison with that of the British soldiers and their chances of promotion, negligible. The Bengal army lacked discipline. The Sepoys were unhappy as they were, most of the times, sent overseas to fight, which was not desirable at all as it meant loss of caste. The bitter feeling and anger reached its highest point with the emergence of the Enfield Rifles. The cartridges of these rifles were greased with cow and pig fats. The Sepoys had to remove the cartridge with their teeth before loading them into the rifles. Both the Hindus and Muslims were discontented as it was against their respective religions. The Sepoys were convinced that the introduction

of the greased cartridges was a deliberate attempt by the British to defile Hindu and Muslim religion. The 1857 Revolt began on 29th March 1857 when Mangal Pandey of the 34th infantry in Barrackpore became the first martyr. The mutiny spread rapidly in eastern and northern India. Dehri, Patna, Arrah, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Faizabad, Fatehpur, Jhansi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Etawah, Fategarh, Gwalior, Shahjahanpur, Agra, Bharatpur, Rohilkhand, Mathura, Agra, Hatras, Delhi, Meerut, Bareilly and Roorki – these emerged as storm-centres of the Revolt. On 11th May 1857 the sepoys of the Meerut regiment captured Delhi and proclaimed the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as their undisputed leader. As a matter of fact, despite their class contradictions the zamindars, the peasants and artisans ed hands with the sepoys to fight their common enemy – the English. According to one estimate one-fifth of the Indian population in 1857 directly or indirectly participated in the Revolt.

REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF THE REVOLT i) LACK OF PLANNING, ORGANISATION AND LEADERSHIP: The revolt was supposed to have started on May 31, 1857 as decided by Nana Sahib and his colleagues. But an incident at Meerut whereby the soldiers had to bite cartridges made of pig fat and cow fat added fuel to the fire leading to the revolt breaking out early. The leaders had made no plans. The movement had no leader on top to guide people and command obedience. Every movement requires some sort of discipline and a leader to guide and help. But since the Revolt unexpectedly broke out on May 10, 1857, there is nothing much the leaders could do.

ii)

INDIAN HELP TO THE BRITISH:

Unfortunately, some of the Indian prince's helped the British government at that point of time. The Sikh princes of Nabhya, Patiala and Kapurthala and the rulers of Hyderabad and Gwalior very openly helped the British suppress the war with men and money. Holka and Scindia remained loyal to the British. Their help at this point of time

riveted the shackles of British yoke over India for almost another century.

RESULTS OF THE REVOLT i) END OF COMPANY’S RULE: The British Parliament ed an "Act for the Better Government of India" in 1858, whereby the istration responsibility was ed into the hands of the British Queen and her Parliament. With this, the rule of the Company came to an end. The Board of Control was abolished and the Board of Directors had no power left. A secretary of State for India was to take the place of the President of the Board of Control. He was advised by a board of fifteen . The designation of the Governor-General was changed. While he remained Governor-General for the provinces under his rule, he came to be known as Viceroy while dealing with Nawabs, Rajas and native princes.

ii) CHANGE IN THE BRITISH POLICY TOWARDS INDIAN STATES: To appease native princes, the British declared that they would honour all treaties and the agreement entered into by the East India Company with the native rulers. Further, Doctrine of Lapse was abandoned and

the right to adoption recognized. The Indian princes were assured that their territories would never be annexed. Henceforth, the continual existence of Native States was guaranteed. However, there were clearly defined restrictions and limitations to them. The military prowess was greatly reduced.

iii) END OF PESHWANSHIP AND THE MUGHAL RULE: Nana Sahib escaped after the Revolt as he had actively taken part in it. He could not be traced after that. With his escape the Peshwaship came to an end. The title of Mughal emperor was also abolished as the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar who also took part in the Revolt died in 1862. Thus came the end of the glorious Mughal dynasty founded by Babur in 1526 in the first battle of Panipat.

iv) REORGANISATION OF THE ARMY: The British soldiers realized that the numerical inferiority of the British Indian army was one of the causes of the Revolt. The British soldiers were increased in number which means, the expenditure also increased. Artillery and other advanced means of warfare were in the care of British hands. In order to break down the unity of the Indian soldiers, they were divided and separated.

v) ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION OF INDIA: Economic exploitation of the country was an inevitable situation after the Revolt. India now became a dumping ground of British manufacturers and an almost inexhaustible field for investment of capital for it offered unlimited scope for commercial and industrial enterprises like railways, steamers, tea, and coffee plantations. The British henceforth started abusing political power for the enhancement of their commercial and economic interest.

vi) RISE OF NATIONALISM: The sacrifices of some great Indian rulers during the Revolt of 1857 aroused feelings of Nationalism among men. Nana Sahib, Rani of Jhansi and Bahadur Shah became National heroes. The revolt became a symbol of challenge to the mighty British power in India.

vii) POLICY OF DIVIDE AND RULE: During the Revolt of 1857 the Hindus and Muslims had unity and fought together for the welfare of the country. The British government realized that the unity of the Hindus and Muslims was posing a serious threat and therefore the best thing would be to create a wall between the two communities. Thus, they adopted the "Divide and Rule" that completely destroyed the relationship. So much so that the unrest between the two communities has still not been resolved. As the Muslims had taken a prominent role in the Revolt, they were deprived of patronage in education, business and services and Hindus were given preferential treatment. At a later stage the Policy was reversed. The British used this disharmony to their advantage and widened the gulf between the two major communities. It was on this ground that India had to be partitioned on the event of her independence in 1947.

CONCLUSION Though the revolt was started by the Indian soldiers in the service of the East India Company, it soon proliferated all over the country. Millions of peasants, artisans and soldiers fought heroically for over a year and sacrificed their life so that others might live. Hindus and Muslims kept their religious differences aside and fought together in order to free themselves from foreign subjugation. The British tried to dismiss this Revolt by merely calling it a "Sepoy Mutiny", but this Revolt clearly shows the suppressed hatred that the Indians had for the foreigners. The Revolt did not take place overnight. There were many economic causes : the British were exploiting the Indian economy and thus leaving many people jobless, helpless and homeless. Many social and religious causes: the British started imposing their religion on the Indians by building churches and by forcing people to convert to Christianity. Further more, the Doctrine of Lapse, whereby adopted children were refused recognition and deprived of pension, instigated the political causes of the Revolt. The British did not even spare the Indian soldiers. Rough treatment was meted out to the soldiers and they lived in squalor. The British left no stone unturned to create an eternal wall between Hindus and Muslims. The introduction of the greased cartridges took the situation to its highest point and thus in addition to economic, social and political causes there were military causes added to the Revolt of 1857. The Revolt of 1857 was clearly not a success but it is unfair to dismiss it as a mere mutiny. This was the first time when Indians got together to fight against an invincible power. The Revolt failed due to lack of

planning, organization and leadership. The unfortunate part however was that there were some Indians who helped the British suppress the Revolt. Had they cooperated, the Revolt might have been a success. Even though the Revolt was a failure, the consequences of the Revolt were very important in the Indian history. The Revolt brought the end of Company's rule, along with changes in the British policy towards Indian States. With the escape of Nana Sahib and the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar came the end of Peshwaship and the Mughal Rule. The end of the Revolt also led to the reorganization of the army and India was completely ruined from economic point of view. One of the most important outcomes of the Revolt was that it gave rise to Nationalism. Indian people became more aware of the heroes, who sacrificed their lives so that others might live. The Revolt however, scarred the relationship between Hindus and Muslims with the Divide and Rule Policy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. 2. 3..

Chandra, Bipan. Modern India. Delhi, 1976. Nehru, Jawaharlal. Discovery of India (1941). O.U.P.,1985. Mukherjee, Rudrangshu. Awadh in Revolt 1857-1858: A Study in

Popular Resistance. Delhi, 1984. 4..

Marx, Karl and F.Engels. The First Indian War of Independence,

1857-1859. Moscow, 1959. 5.

http://www.beta-theta.com/History/Revolt.html

6.

http://www.bengalweb.com/hist/calhis2.html

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A PROJECT FOR NATIONALISM AND COLONIALISM IN INDIA

THE REVOLT OF 1857 Compiled and edited by:

Arpita Bhuyan B.A. Hons.(Political Science) Year- I Section- A Roll no.- 371 1. Jawaharlal Nehru, Discovery of India (1946). O.U.P. (1985), Pg.323.

2. Industrial Revolution- Social and economic change resulting from the introduction of machines and the development of large scale production. This change came over in Britain in the second half of the 18th Century.

3. First Afghan War- It was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839-1842.

4. Doctrine Of Lapse- This was an annexation policy devised by Lord Dalhousie, who was the Governor General of India between 1848-1856.