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When People Rebel1857 and After

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Policies and the PeopleIn the previous chapters you looked at the policies ofthe East India Company and the effect they had ondifferent people. Kings, queens, peasants, landlords,tribals, soldiers were all affected in different ways. Youhave also seen how people resist policies and actionsthat harm their interests or go against their sentiments.

Nawabs lose their powerSince the mid-eighteenth century, nawabs and rajashad seen their power erode. They had gradually losttheir authority and honour. Residents had beenstationed in many courts, the freedom of the rulersreduced, their armed forces disbanded, and theirrevenues and territories taken away by stages.

Many ruling families tried to negotiate with theCompany to protect their interests. For example, RaniLakshmibai of Jhansi wanted the Company to recogniseher adopted son as the heir to the kingdom after thedeath of her husband. Nana Saheb, the adopted son of

Fig. 1 – Sepoys and peasantsgather forces for the revolt thatspread across the plains of northIndia in 1857

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Peshwa Baji Rao II, pleaded that he be given his father’spension when the latter died. However, the Company,confident of its superiority and military powers, turneddown these pleas.

Awadh was one of the last territories to be annexed.In 1801, a subsidiary alliance was imposed on Awadh,and in 1856 it was taken over. Governor-GeneralDalhousie declared that the territory was beingmisgoverned and British rule was needed to ensureproper administration.

The Company even began to plan how to bring theMughal dynasty to an end. The name of the Mughalking was removed from the coins minted by theCompany. In 1849, Governor-General Dalhousieannounced that after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar,the family of the king would be shifted out of the RedFort and given another place in Delhi to reside in. In1856, Governor-General Canning decided that BahadurShah Zafar would be the last Mughal king and afterhis death none of his descendants would be recognisedas kings – they would just be called princes.

The peasants and the sepoysIn the countryside peasants and zamindars resentedthe high taxes and the rigid methods of revenuecollection. Many failed to pay back their loans to themoneylenders and gradually lost the lands they hadtilled for generations.

The Indian sepoys in the employ of the Companyalso had reasons for discontent. They were unhappyabout their pay, allowances and conditions of service.Some of the new rules, moreover, violated their religioussensibilities and beliefs. Did you know that in thosedays many people in the country believed that if theycrossed the sea they would lose their religion and caste?So when in 1824 the sepoys were told to go to Burma bythe sea route to fight for the Company, they refused tofollow the order, though they agreed to go by the landroute. They were severely punished, and since the issuedid not die down, in 1856 the Company passed a newlaw which stated that every new person who took upemployment in the Company’s army had to agree toserve overseas if required.

Sepoys also reacted to what was happening in thecountryside. Many of them were peasants and hadfamilies living in the villages. So the anger of thepeasants quickly spread among the sepoys.

ActivityImagine you are a sepoyin the Company army,advising your nephewnot to take employmentin the army. What reasonswould you give?

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Responses to reformsThe British believed that Indian society had tobe reformed. Laws were passed to stop thepractice of sati and to encourage the remarriageof widows. English-language education wasactively promoted. After 1830, the Companyallowed Christian missionaries to functionfreely in its domain and even own land andproperty. In 1850, a new law was passed tomake conversion to Christianity easier. Thislaw allowed an Indian who had converted toChristianity to inherit the property of hisancestors. Many Indians began to feel that theBritish were destroying their religion, theirsocial customs and their traditional way of life.

There were of course other Indians whowanted to change existing social practices. Youwill read about these reformers and reformmovements in Chapter 7.

Through the Eyes of the PeopleTo get a glimpse of what people were thinkingthose days about British rule, study Sources 1 and 2.

The list of eighty-four rules

Given here are excerpts from the book Majha Pravaas, written by VishnubhattGodse, a Brahman from a village in Maharashtra. He and his uncle had set outto attend a yajna being organised in Mathura. Vishnubhatt writes that they metsome sepoys on the way who told them that they should not proceed on thejourney because a massive upheaval was going to break out in three days.The sepoys said:

the English were determined to wipe out the religions of the Hindus and theMuslims … they had made a list of eighty-four rules and announced thesein a gathering of all big kings and princes in Calcutta. They said that thekings refused to accept these rules and warned the English of direconsequences and massive upheaval if these are implemented … that thekings all returned to their capitals in great anger … all the big peoplebegan making plans. A date was fixed for the war of religion and the secretplan had been circulated from the cantonment in Meerut by letters sent todifferent cantonments.

Vishnubhatt Godse, Majha Pravaas, pp. 23-24.

Source 1

Fig. 2 – Sepoys exchange newsand rumours in the bazaars ofnorth India

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“There was soon excitement in every regiment”

Another account we have from those days are the memoirs of Subedar SitaramPande. Sitaram Pande was recruited in 1812 as a sepoy in the Bengal NativeArmy. He served the English for 48 years and retired in 1860. He helped theBritish to suppress the rebellion though his own son was a rebel and waskilled by the British in front of his eyes. On retirement he was persuaded byhis Commanding Officer, Norgate, to write his memoirs. He completed thewriting in 1861 in Awadhi and Norgate translated it into English and had itpublished under the title From Sepoy to Subedar.Here is an excerpt from what Sitaram Pande wrote:

It is my humble opinion that this seizing of Oudh filled the minds of theSepoys with distrust and led them to plot against the Government. Agentsof the Nawab of Oudh and also of the King of Delhi were sent all overIndia to discover the temper of the army. They worked upon the feelingsof sepoys, telling them how treacherously the foreigners had behavedtowards their king. They invented ten thousand lies and promises topersuade the soldiers to mutiny and turn against their masters, the English,with the object of restoring the Emperor of Delhi to the throne. Theymaintained that this was wholly within the army’s powers if the soldierswould only act together and do as they were advised.

Source 2

Fig. 3 – Rebel sepoys at Meerut attack officers, enter their homes and set fire to buildings

Source 2 contd.

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It chanced that about this time the Sarkar sentparties of men from each regiment to differentgarrisons for instructions in the use of the new rifle.These men performed the new drill for some timeuntil a report got about by some means or the other,that the cartridges used for these new rifles weregreased with the fat of cows and pigs. The men fromour regiment wrote to others in the regiment tellingthem about this, and there was soon excitement inevery regiment. Some men pointed out that in fortyyears’ service nothing had ever been done by theSarkar to insult their religion, but as I have alreadymentioned the sepoys’ minds had been inflamed bythe seizure of Oudh. Interested parties were quickto point out that the great aim of the English was toturn us all into Christians, and they had thereforeintroduced the cartridge in order to bring this about,since both Mahommedans and Hindus would bedefiled by using it.

The Colonel sahib was of the opinion that theexcitement, which even he could not fail to see, wouldpass off, as it had done before, and he recommendedme to go to my home.

Sitaram Pande, From Sepoy to Subedar, pp. 162-63.

A Mutiny Becomes a Popular RebellionThough struggles between rulers and the ruled are notunusual, sometimes such struggles become quitewidespread as a popular resistance so that the power ofthe state breaks down. A very large number of peoplebegin to believe that they have a common enemy andrise up against the enemy at the same time. For sucha situation to develop people have to organise,communicate, take initiative and display the confidenceto turn the situation around.

Such a situation developed in the northern parts ofIndia in 1857. After a hundred years of conquest andadministration, the English East India Company faceda massive rebellion that started in May 1857 andthreatened the Company’s very presence in India.Sepoys mutinied in several places beginning fromMeerut and a large number of people from differentsections of society rose up in rebellion. Some regard itas the biggest armed resistance to colonialism in thenineteenth century anywhere in the world.

1. What were theimportant concernsin the minds of thepeople according toSitaram and accordingto Vishnubhatt?

2. What role did theythink the rulers wereplaying? What role didthe sepoys seem toplay?

Activity�

Mutiny – When soldiersas a group disobey theirofficers in the army

Source 2 contd.

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From Meerut to DelhiOn 29 March 1857, a young soldier, Mangal Pandey, washanged to death for attacking his officers in Barrackpore.Some days later, some sepoys of the regiment at Meerutrefused to do the army drill using the new cartridges, whichwere suspected of being coated with the fat of cows andpigs. Eighty-five sepoys were dismissed from service andsentenced to ten years in jail for disobeying their officers.This happened on 9 May 1857.

The response of the other Indian soldiers in Meerut wasquite extraordinary. On 10 May, the soldiers marched to thejail in Meerut and released the imprisoned sepoys. Theyattacked and killed British officers. They captured guns andammunition and set fire to the buildings and properties of theBritish and declared war on the firangis. The soldiers weredetermined to bring an end to their rule in the country. Butwho would rule the land instead? The soldiers had an answerto this question – the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

The sepoys of Meerut rode all night of 10 May to reachDelhi in the early hours next morning. As news of theirarrival spread, the regiments stationed in Delhi also roseup in rebellion. Again british officers were killed, armsand ammunition seized, buildings set on fire. Triumphantsoldiers gathered around the walls of the Red Fort wherethe Badshah lived, demanding to meet him. The emperorwas not quite willing to challenge the mighty British powerbut the soldiers persisted. They forced their way into thepalace and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader.

Firangis – ForeignersThe term reflects anattitude of contempt.

Fig. 6 – The battle in thecavalry lines

On the evening of 3 July1857, over 3,000 rebels camefrom Bareilly, crossed theriver Jamuna, entered Delhi,and attacked the Britishcavalry posts. The battlecontinued all throughthe night.

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The ageing emperor had to accept this demand. He wroteletters to all the chiefs and rulers of the country to comeforward and organise a confederacy of Indian states tofight the British. This single step taken by Bahadur Shahhad great implications.

The Mughal dynasty had ruled over a very large part ofthe country. Most smaller rulers and chieftains controlleddifferent territories on behalf of the Mughal ruler.Threatened by the expansion of British rule, many of themfelt that if the Mughal emperor could rule again, they toowould be able to rule their own territories once more, underMughal authority.

The British had not expected this to happen. Theythought the disturbance caused by the issue of thecartridges would die down. But Bahadur Shah Zafar’sdecision to bless the rebellion changed the entire situationdramatically. Often when people see an alternativepossibility they feel inspired and enthused. It gives themthe courage, hope and confidence to act.

The rebellion spreadsAfter the British were routed from Delhi, there was nouprising for almost a week. It took that much time fornews to travel. Then, a spurt of mutinies began.

Regiment after regiment mutinied and took off to joinother troops at nodal points like Delhi, Kanpur andLucknow. After them, the people of the towns and villagesalso rose up in rebellion and rallied around local leaders,zamindars and chiefs who were prepared to establish theirauthority and fight the British. Nana Saheb, the adoptedson of the late Peshwa Baji Rao who lived near Kanpur,gathered armed forces and expelled the British garrisonfrom the city. He proclaimed himself Peshwa. He declaredthat he was a governorunder Emperor BahadurShah Zafar. In Lucknow,Birjis Qadr, the son of thedeposed Nawab Wajid AliShah, was proclaimedthe new Nawab. He tooacknowledged the suzeraintyof Bahadur Shah Zafar. Hismother Begum HazratMahal took an active partin organising the uprisingagainst the British. InJhansi, Rani Lakshmibaijoined the rebel sepoys and

Fig. 5 – As the mutinyspread, British officers werekilled in the cantonments

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fought the British along with Tantia Tope, the general ofNana Saheb.

The British were greatly outnumbered by the rebel forces.They were defeated in a number of battles. This convincedthe people that the rule of the British had collapsed forgood and gave them the confidence to take the plunge andjoin the rebellion. A situation of widespread popular rebelliondeveloped in the region of Awadh in particular. On 6 August1857, we find a telegram sent by Lieutenant Colonel Tytlerto his Commander-in-Chief expressing the fear felt by theBritish: “Our men are cowed by the numbers opposed tothem and the endless fighting. Every village is held againstus, the zamindars have risen to oppose us.”

Many new leaders came up. For example, AhmadullahShah, a maulvi from Faizabad, prophesied that the rule ofthe British would come to an end soon. He caught theimagination of the people and raised a huge force ofsupporters. He came to Lucknow to fight the British. In Delhi,a large number of ghazis or religious warriors came togetherto wipe out the white people. Bakht Khan, a soldier fromBareilly, took charge of a large force of fighters who came toDelhi. He became a key military leader of the rebellion. InBihar, an old zamindar, Kunwar Singh, joined the rebel sepoysand battled with the British for many months. Leaders andfighters from across the land joined the fight.

The Company Fights BackUnnerved by the scale of the upheaval, the Companydecided to repress the revolt with all its might. It brought

Fig. 7 – British forcesattack the rebels who hadoccupied the Red Fort (onthe right ) and SalimgarhFort in Delhi (on the left )

Activity1. Why did the Mughal

emperor agree tosupport the rebels?

2. Write a paragraph onthe assessment hemay have made beforeaccepting the offer ofthe sepoys.

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reinforcements from England, passed new laws sothat the rebels could be convicted with ease, and thenmoved into the storm centres of the revolt. Delhi wasrecaptured from the rebel forces in September 1857.The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar was triedin court and sentenced to life imprisonment. His sonswere shot dead before his eyes. He and his wife BegumZinat Mahal were sent to prison in Rangoon in October1858. Bahadur Shah Zafar died in the Rangoon jail inNovember 1862.

The recapture of Delhi, however, did not mean that therebellion died down after that. People continued to resistand battle the British. The British had to fight for twoyears to suppress the massive forces of popular rebellion.

Lucknow was taken in March 1858. Rani Lakshmibaiwas defeated and killed in June 1858. Tantia Topeescaped to the jungles of central India and continuedto fight a guerrilla war with the support of many tribaland peasant leaders. He was captured, tried and killedin April 1859.

Just as victories against the British had earlierencouraged rebellion, the defeat of rebel forcesencouraged desertions. The British also tried their bestto win back the loyalty of the people. They announcedrewards for loyal landholders would be allowed tocontinue to enjoy traditional rights over their lands.Those who had rebelled were told that if they submittedto the British, and if they had not killed any white people,

ActivityMake a list of placeswhere the uprising tookplace in May, June andJuly 1857.

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Fig. 4 – The siege trainreaches Delhi

The British forces initiallyfound it difficult to breakthrough the heavy fortificationin Delhi. On 3 September1857 reinforcements arrived –a 7- mile-long siege traincomprising cartloads ofcanons and ammunition pulledby elephants.

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they would remain safe and their rights and claims toland would not be denied. Nevertheless, hundreds ofsepoys, rebels, nawabs and rajas were tried and hanged.

AftermathThe British had regained controlof the country by the end of 1859,but they could not carry on rulingthe land with the same policiesany more.

Given below are the importantchanges that were introduced bythe British.

1. The British Parliament passeda new Act in 1858 and transferredthe powers of the East India Companyto the British Crown in order toensure a more responsiblemanagement of Indian affairs. A

member of the British Cabinet was appointed Secretary ofState for India and made responsible for all matters relatedto the governance of India. He was given a council to advisehim, called the India Council. The Governor-General of Indiawas given the title of Viceroy, that is, a personalrepresentative of the Crown. Through these measures theBritish government accepted direct responsibility forruling India.

Fig. 8 – British troops blow upKashmere Gate to enter Delhi

Fig. 9 – British forces capture therebels near Kanpur

Notice the way the artist showsthe British soldiers valiantlyadvancing on the rebel forces.

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2. All ruling chiefs of the country were assured that theirterritory would never be annexed in future. They were allowed topass on their kingdoms to their heirs, including adopted sons.However, they were made to acknowledge the British Queen astheir Sovereign Paramount. Thus the Indian rulers were to holdtheir kingdoms as subordinates of the British Crown.

3. It was decided that the proportion of Indian soldiers in thearmy would be reduced and the number of European soldiers wouldbe increased. It was also decided that instead of recruiting soldiersfrom Awadh, Bihar, central India and south India, more soldierswould be recruited from among the Gurkhas, Sikhs and Pathans.

4. The land and property of Muslims was confiscated on a largescale and they were treated with suspicion and hostility. The Britishbelieved that they were responsible for the rebellion in a big way.

5. The British decided to respect the customary religious andsocial practices of the people in India.

6. Policies were made to protect landlords and zamindarsand give them security of rights over their lands.

Thus a new phase of history began after 1857.

Fig. 10 – Someimportant centres ofthe Revolt in NorthIndia

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Main centres of the Revolt

Other centres of the Revolt

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•

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ELSEWHERE

Let’s imagineImagine you are aBritish officer inAwadh during therebellion. What wouldyou do to keep yourplans of fighting therebels a top secret. Let’s recall

1. What was the demand of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansithat was refused by the British?

2. What did the British do to protect the interests ofthose who converted to Christianity?

3. What objections did the sepoys have to the newcartridges that they were asked to use?

4. How did the last Mughal emperor live the last yearsof his life?

For a Heavenly Kingdom of Great PeaceWhile the revolt was spreading in Indiain 1857, a massive popular uprisingwas raging in the southern parts ofChina. It had started in 1850 and couldbe suppressed only by the mid-1860s.Thousands of labouring, poor peoplewere led by Hong Xiuquan to fight forthe establishment of the HeavenlyKingdom of Great Peace. This was knownas the Taiping Rebellion.

Hong Xiuquan was a convert toChristianity and was against the traditionalreligions practised in China such asConfucianism and Buddhism. The rebels of

Taiping wanted to establish a kingdom where a form of Christianity was practised, where noone held any private property, where there was no difference between social classes and betweenmen and women, where consumption of opium, tobacco, alcohol, and activities like gambling,prostitution, slavery, were prohibited.

The British and French armed forces operating in China helped the emperor of the Qingdynasty to put down the Taiping Rebellion.

Fig. 11 – Taiping army meeting their leader

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Let’s discuss5. What could be the reasons for the confidence of

the British rulers about their position in India beforeMay 1857?

6. What impact did Bahadur Shah Zafar’s support tothe rebellion have on the people and the rulingfamilies?

7. How did the British succeed in securing thesubmission of the rebel landowners of Awadh?

8. In what ways did the British change their policiesas a result of the rebellion of 1857?

Let’s do9. Find out stories and songs remembered by people

in your area or your family about San Sattavan kiLadaai. What memories do people cherish aboutthe great uprising?

10. Find out more about Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi.In what ways would she have been an unusualwoman for her times?

Fig. 12 – Ruins of the Residencyin Lucknow

In June 1857, the rebel forcesbegan the siege of the Residency.A large number of British women,men and children had takenshelter in the buildings there.The rebels surrounded thecompound and bombarded thebuilding with shells. Hit by ashell, Henry Lawrence, the ChiefCommissioner of Awadh, died inone of the rooms that you see inthe picture. Notice how buildingscarry the marks of past events.

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