Welcome!Episode 02

First War ofIndependence1857

So Let's Begin !

PoliticalCauses

First War ofIndependence1857

Majorly Policy of Expansion.By Fighting wars.By Doctrine of Lapse - Introduced by Lord Dalhousiewhich states that if any indian ruler died withoutleaving a male natural heir, his kingdom will be thenpassed over to British Government.Jhansi , Satara and Nagpur were annexed on thebasis of Doctrine of Lapse Only.Annexation of Awadh by Lord Dalhousie on thePretext of Alleged Mismanagement.Subsiduary Alliance was introduced by Lord RichardWellesly which says that the every indian ruler musthave to pay subsidy to british for the maintaince ofbritish army.

PoliticalCauses

First War ofIndependence1857

Bahadur shah Zafar (Last Mughal) was disrespectedand was removed from his residence in Red fort. Hisname was also removed from the coins. LordCanning declared Bahadur Shah Zafar as the LastMughal Ruler.Nana Sahib (Adopted Son of Baji Rao II) was refusedpension by British.

Socio - ReligiousCauses

First War ofIndependence1857

Intervening in the Religious customs by widowremarriage act (1856) and abolition of Sati (1829).Racial Discrimination.Hindus converted to Christian will be allowed toinherit the properties of Ancestor.Taxing religious Institution like Mandir and Mosques.

Economic Causes

First War ofIndependence1857

Exploitation of Economic Resources.No import duties were levied on Ready made BritishGoodsHeavy Export Duties were levied on Indian Goodsexported to Britain.

Exploitation of Indian Peasantry.Famines Became Recurrent in India.Decline of Landed Aristocracy.Drain of Raw Materials of India to Britain.Salaries and Pension of Britishers from IndianRevenue.Decay of Cottage and Handicraft Industry.

Military Causes

First War ofIndependence1857

ill treatment of Indian Soldiers(They were humiliated)No Indian Soldier can rise above the post of Subedar.General Service Enlistment Act 1856 (Sepoy had totravel overseas whenever required). It was believedby Hindus that one can loose his religion and caste bycrossing the sea.British Army was mainly composed by IndianSoldiers.Post Office Act 1854 - Soldiers were also required toserve the areas which are situated far from theirhome without extra payment (Bhatta).Low Salaries of Indian Soldiers.

Immediate Causes

First War ofIndependence1857

Announcement of Enfield Rifles with Cartridges withGreased paper cover.Rumours were their that greased paper was made ofbeef and pork.Mangal Pandey urged to not to use Rifle and On 29March 1857, he attacked his officer in Barrackpore.

Main Events

First War ofIndependence1857

DELHI - Sepoys of Meerut and Local Soldiers killedmany soldiers of British and declared Bahadur ShahZafar as Leader.Awadh - Leader of Revolt was Begum Hazrat Mahaland after city was recaptured, she fled to nepal.KANPUR - Revolt was led by Nana Sahib in 1857 andlarge number of British Men and Womens were killedand later Nana Sahib was defeated in december andthen he fled to Nepal where he died.

Main Events

First War ofIndependence1857

Jhansi - After Annexation of Jhansi on the Pretext ofDoctrine of Lapse , Rani Lakhsmi Bai Valiantly foughtagainst Sir Huge rose and when it became impossiblefor her to hold fort any longer , she escaped to Kalpiwith lighting speed and at Kalpi she was joinedTantya Tope , the commander of Nana Sahib andboth marched to Gwalior where she was killed byBritish Troops.

Limitations

First War ofIndependence1857

Not Widespread in Nature [Western , Eastern ,Southern sides of India remain Unaffected by it.]Britishers got the help from Rajputanas and Sindhiasto crush the revolt.Many Zamindars and Taluqdars did not support the1857 Revolt.Many section of Educated Indians didn't support therevolt as they thought that british will modernizeIndia.

Nature of Revolt.

First War ofIndependence1857

Military revolt as said by Many Historians.Veer Savarkar Termed this revolt as "First war ofIndian Independence."

We'll Meetup again in the next episode !

Thank youfor coming!