The Revolt of 1857

The causes of the revolt of the 1857, like other prior uprisings, emerged from all aspects- socio- cultural, economic & political of daily existence of Indian Population cutting through all section & classes.

Military Revolt Before 1857:

There was rising discontent of the sepoys against the British rule due to following reasons:

1. discrimination in payment & promotion.
2. mistreatment of the sepoys by the British official.
3. refusal of the govt. to pay foreign services allowances.
4. religious objection of the high caste Hindu sepoys. 

Lord Canning's General Service Enlistment Act 1856 ordering all recruits to be ready for service both within India & outside India. 

 

The most important mutinies which broke out during the pre-1857 period of following: 

 

i.) The first mutiny of sepoys in Bengal in 1764.

{They became inflated with an idea of thier own importance, & they now manifested it by the demand of large donation & increase pay.

Major Munro, an officer of undaunted resolution, determined to subdue the spirit at all hazards.} 

ii.) The Vellore mutiny of 1806

{Sir John Craddock, the commander-in-chief of the Madras Army had issued orders prohibiting soldiers wearing religious marks on thier foreheads and also to trim their moustaches & shave off their breads.} 

iii.) The Paika Rebellion 1817 (Paika Bidroha in Odisha)/ The First war of Independence 

{The Paika rebellion had several social, economic & political reasons. The Paika were alienated by the British regime, who took over the hereditary rent-free lands granted to them after the conquest of Khudra.}

iv.) The Mutiny of the sepoys of the 47th Native Infantry unit in 1824.

{The sepoys at Barrackpore rose in revolt when they were asked to go to Burma because crossing the sea would means loss of caste.} 

v.) The revolt of the Grenadier Company in Assam in 1825. 

{On 14th October 1825 when the Grenadier Company in Assam refused to march after complaining abouth the weather. Once again the ring leaders were sentenced to death & the other discharged.}

vi.) The mutiny of an Indian regiment at Sholapur in 1838.

{Dissatisfaction about the terms of payments led to the discharge of a native regiment at Sholapur when it refused to turn out for parade on 24th Nov. 1838, Non-payments of Batta led to the Mutiny of Sepoys in Secundrabad, Hyderabad & maligaum in 1848; some of the regiments were disbanded & others pardoned.} 

vii.) The mutines of the 34th Native Infantry in 1844, the 22nd Native Infantry in 1849, the 66th Native Infantry in 1850, & the 37th Native Infantry in 1852. 

 

Causes behind the Revolt of 1857:

Economic: 

• destruction of traditional Indian economy.
• ruin of agriculture by draconian land reforms.
• annexation of princely states = no patronage for artisans = destruction of Indian handicraft.
• Loss of status for Zamindars = ashamed to wok = anger aginst British.

Political:

• Aggressive policies of subsidiary alliances, Doctrine of Lapse.
• Rampat corruption & exploitation especially at lower levels of administration (police, local courts etc) 

Army:

• restriction on wearing caste specific clothing & items, (eg,. Turban)
• forced to travel overseas, which was forbidden in Hindu tradition.
• Unequal pay for Indian sepoys + racial discrimination & subordination.
• Newly introduced Enfield rifles had beef fat coatings (trigger point) 

Socio-Religious:

• racial discrimination towarss native Indians (Theory of White Man`s Burden)
• religious propoagation by the Christian Missionaries.
• reform like abolition sati, widow- remarriage act, Women`s education were seen an interfernece in the traditional Indian Society. 
• taxation on Mosques, Temples etc. 

Other Influences:

• Crimean Wars 1854-56
• Punjab Wars 1845-49
• First Afghan Wars 1838-42

 

Storm Centers & Leaders of the Revolt:

• At Delhi, Bahadur Shah, but the real command lay with a court of soliders headed by General Bakht Khan who had led the revolt of Bareilly troops & brought them to Delhi.

• At Kanpur, the natural choice was Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the last Peshwa Baji Rao II. He was refused the family title & banished from Poona was living near Kanpur.
• Nana Saheb expelled the English from Kanpur, proclaimed himself the Peshwa, acknowledged Bahadur Shah as the emperor of India and declared himself to be his governo. Sir Hugh Wheeler, commanding the station, surrendered on June 27,1857.

 

• Begum Hazarat Mahal, took over the reigns at Lucknow where the rebellion broke out on June 4,1857. Her son Birjis Qadir, was proclaimed the Nawab & a regular administration was organised with important offices shared equally by Muslim & Hindus.  

Henry Lawrence, the British resident the European inhabitants and a few hundred loyal sepoys took shelter in the residency. 

• At Bareilly, Khan Bahadur a descendant of the former ruler of Rohilkhand, was placed in command. Not enthusiastic about the pension being granted by the British, he organised an army of 40,000 soldiers & offered stiff resistance to the British.

• In Bihar, the revolt was led by Kunwar Singh, the zamindar of Jagdishpur. An old man in his seventies, he nursed a grudge against the British who had deprived him of his estates.  

• Maulvi Ahmadullah of Faridabad was another outstanding leader of the revolt. He was a native of Madras & had moved to Faridabad in the north where he fought a stiff battle against the British troops. It broke out in Awadh in May 1857. 

 

• The most outstanding leader of the revolt was Rani LaxmiBai who assumed the leadership of the sepoys at Jhansi. Lord Dalhousie, the governor general, refused to allow her adopted son to succeed to the throne after her husband death Raja Gangadhar Rao died, and had annexed the state by the application of the infamous "Doctrine of Lapse". Driven out of Jhansi by British forces, she gave the battle cry - "main apni Jhansi nahi doongi".
• She was joined by Tantia Tope, a close associate of Nana Sahen, after the loss of Kanpur. Rani of Jhansi & Tantia Tope marched towards Gwallior where they were healied by the Indian Soldiers.

 

 

Suppression of the Revolt:

update coming soon......