APARNA.P

Indian Rebellion of 1857

A 1912 map of 'Northern India The Revolt of 1857-59' showing

the centres of rebellion including the principal ones:

Meerut, Delhi, Cawnpore (Kanpur), Lucknow, Jhansi, and

Gwalior.

Date 10 May 1857 - 1859Location India (cf. 1857)

Result

Rebellion Suppressed,Final collapse of the Mughal Empire; end of Company rule in IndiaControl taken by the British Crown

Territorialchanges

British Indian Empire created out of former-East India Company territory, some land returned to native rulers, other land confiscated by the Crown.

The Revolt of 1857

We could subdue the mutiny of 1857, formidable as it was, because it spread through only a part of the army, because people did not actively sympathize with it, and because it was possible to find native Indian races who would fight on our side. But the moment a mutiny is but threatened, which shall be no mere mutiny, but the expression of a universal feeling of nationality, at that moment all hope is at an end, as all desire should be at an end, of our preserving our Empire -- Sir John Seeley (quoted by Tarling)

India's First War of Independence India's First War of Independence,

termed Sepoy Riots by the British was an attempt to unite India against the invading British and to restore power to the Mogul emperor Bahadur Shah. The resistance disintegrated primarily due to lack of leadership and unity on the part of Indians, as also to cruel suppression by the British Army. It was a remarkable event in Indian history and marked the end of the Mughal empire and sealed India's fate as a British colony for the next 100 years.

Causes for the Revolt

There were many causes that ultimately lead to this revolt. For the sake of convenience they can divided into the following categories.

1.Social and Religious Causes2.Political Causes3.Military Causes

A. Change in pattern of trade and commerce During the first two hundred years of its rule , the British East India Company confined its activities to trade and commerce. But in the 18th century the pattern of trade underwent a drastic change. With the onset of the the industrial revolution in England, many new industries came up and the dependance on Indian textiles came to an end. India became a raw material producing country and raw material which was purchased from India at very low costs was processed into finished goods in the factories in England and then exported back to India. British traders made enormous profits in this two way trade.

C. Disgruntled Zamindars and TaluqdarsThe estates of many landlords were taken over by the East India Company when the native provinces came under the company's dominion. The estates of 21,000 Taluqdars were confiscated when Oudh was annexed. The dispossesed landlords found themselves without a source on income, ashamed to beg,unable to work and thus condemned to penury.

B. Ruination of Artisans and Craftsmen

D. Disbanded soldiers were seething with anger and were determined to revenge.

E. Activities Of MissionariesThe Indians had a lurking suspicion in their minds that they would be converted to Christianity under the new regime. Churches and chaplains were established at Govt. expenses , even civil and military officers propogated the Christian gospel.

F. New LawsThe introduction of certain laws unsettled the mind of the Indians. Some of them were :Sati Ban ActWidow Remarriage ActThey even looked upon the reforming zeal of British officials with suspicion. They were against introduction of railways as all the castes would have to travel in the same compartment. They were shocked when a law was passed allowing Hindu converts to Christianity to inherit their ancestral property.

A. Lord Dalhousies Policy Of Annexation (Doctrine of Lapse)According to this policy the rulers of native princes could not install their adopted son on the throne. This was opposed to Nana Sahib - the adopted son of PeshwaBajiRao II as he was refused the pension his father had been getting. Rani LaxmiBai was also not allowed to install her adopted son on the throne. The house of the Mughals was humbled when it was announced that the successors of Bahadur Shah Zafar would not be allowed to use the title of King and would not be allowed to use the Historc Red Fort as thier palace and had to move to a place near the QutbMinar.C. Exposure of myth of British Invincibilty

The British had suffered very heavy losses in the 1st Afghan War , the rebellion of the Santhal tribes of Bihar and Orissa and the Crimean War. Moreover the people believed that the British rule had started after the battle of Plassey in 1757 and would end after the completion of a century

B. British disregard of treaties and pledges

D. Enfield RiflesThis was perhaps the immediate cause of the revolt. The British introduced new rifles which had cartridges greased with the fat of cows and pigs. The cover had to be plucked out by the teet before using. The Hindu and Muslim sepoys refused tot ouch these cartridges.

A. Ill-Treatment of Indian Soldiers in The East India CompanyB. Deprivation of foreign service allowance (Bhatta)

C. General Services Enlistment ActAccording to this act the Indian soldiers in the EI Company had the obligation to serve wherever required. The extension of British frontiers involved their presence in strange, different lands. They dreaded sea voyage and considered it against their customs

Events Of The Revolt Feb 1857

Feb 19, 1857 - Chupatties, little cakes which are the common food of the people, were sent from town to town as a signal of revolt , and on February 19,1857, the first troops mutinied. This was only the beginning; the message of the chupatties spread further and further, but ...General Hearsey, the commander of the Bengal division, instantly took what steps he could to prove to the sepoys that the government had no intention of making them break their caste, but it was too late. Chupatties, little cakes which are the common food of the people, were sent from town to town as a signal of revolt , and on February 19,1857, the first troops mutinied. This was only the beginning; the message of the chupatties spread further and further, but even now the ...

  Mar 1857

Mar 29, 1857 - The revolt was sparked off on March 29, 1857. • MangalPandey, a Brahmin Sepoy , fired at the AdjucantSurgeant Bath. • The 3rd cavalry regiment at Meerut refused to touch the greased cartridges and broke out in open rebellion. Apr 1857

Apr 5, 1857 - After the death of MangalPandey on April 5, 1857, the revolt spread all over the nation. During the days of the revolt, Kunwar was already 80 years of age. But deep within, he was as energetic as a lion. The thirst for liberation of the country seemed to ...After the death of Mangal Pandey on April 5, 1857, the revolt spread all over the nation. During the days of the revolt, Kunwar was already 80 years of age. But deep within, he was as energetic as a lion. The thirst for liberation of the country seemed to rejuvenate his ageing. body. Under his instructions, there was revolt in the cantonment of Danapur. He urged a gang of rebels to attack Agra and in no time, he looted the treasury and established kingship over the Agra ...

 May 1857

May 1857 - Fixed date for revolt May 1857. 13. Bahadur Shah (the Mughal emperor) was exiled to Rangoon and died there Prince Feroz Shah excaped in the Jungles of Sironj. 14 . Lord Canning was the Governor General of India at the time of Mutiny. Jun 1857

Jun 1857 - 71. 1857. Cawnpore, India. This place garrisoned by native troops who broke into revolt June, 1857. An adopted son of Nana Sahib, a leader of the revolt, offered to assist the English, but treacherously turned against them, and notwithstanding a treaty that ...71. 1857. Cawnpore, India. This place garrisoned by native troops who broke into revolt June, 1857. An adopted son of Nana Sahib, a leader of the revolt, offered to assist the English, but treacherously turned against them, and notwithstanding a treaty that Europeans should be sent down the Ganges in safety on surrender of their treasury and war material, massacred great numbers, without regard to age or sex.

Jul 1857

Jul 1857 - Fig. 7. The Angel of Resurrection statue stands in the middle of the memorial well monument in Kanpur and commemorates those who were killed in the Sepoyrevolt in July 1857. being erected by the Government. We passed the earthworks thrown up by Havelock when ...Fig. 7. The Angel of Resurrection statue stands in the middle of the memorial well monument in Kanpur and commemorates those who were killed in the Sepoy revolt in July 1857. being erected by the Government. We passed the earthworks thrown up by Havelock when he retook the city, and in which he was for a time besieged. Then we returned to the eating house, had our dinner, and drove to the old intrenchment of General Wheeler where the church is being built. The ceremony was ...

 Aug 1857

Aug 9, 1857 - When Sir Hope Grant, on whose personal staff at Aldershot I had the honour of serving for two and a half years, allowed me to read the private journals which he had kept during the Indian Revolt of 1857-8-9, I felt at once that others besides myself would ...When Sir Hope Grant, on whose personal staff at Aldershot I had the honour of serving for two and a half years, allowed me to read the private journals which he had kept during the Indian Revolt of 1857-8-9, I felt at once that others besides myself would gladly peruse a narrative of which so much was new, so much interesting, and wherein all was derived from a source indisputably authentic. The military literature relating to this period is, on the whole, scanty in quantity ...

Sep 1857

Sep 1857 - General Jorge Cordova succeeded him, but had not been long in office when a new revolt in September 1857, originating with the garrison of Oruro, spread over the land, and compelled him to quit the country. His place was taken by Dr Jos6 Maria Linares, the ...General Jorge Cordova succeeded him, but had not been long in office when a new revolt in September 1857, originating with the garrison of Oruro, spread over the land, and compelled him to quit the country. His place was taken by Dr Jos6 Maria Linares, the originator of the revolution, who, taking into his own hands all the powers of government, and acting with the greatest severity, caused himself to be proclaimed dictator in March 185S.

 Oct 1857

Oct 7, 1857 - TWO SERMONS, preached on the Day of Humiliation on account of the INDIAN REVOLT, Wednesday, October 7, 1857, in the Parish Church of Taunton Saint Mart Magdalene ; by Robert Ernest Wallis, Curate. Published by request. Dec 1857

Dec 17, 1857 - The War of Reform broke out on December 17, 1857, with none other at the head of the revolt than President Comonfort himself. The conservatives, under the leadership of Don FelixZuloaga, had won over the chief executive by the notorious plan of Tacubaya...The War of Reform broke out on December 17, 1857, with none other at the head of the revolt than President Comonfort himself. The conservatives, under the leadership of Don Felix Zuloaga, had won over the chief executive by the notorious plan of Tacubaya, which called for a restoration of Church prerogatives, and the maintenance of Comonfort in power. Comonfort's treason, together with the wealth that backed the coup of Tacubaya and the careful propaganda that had preceded ...

Events Of The Revolt Violence

The violence started on May 10, 1857 in Meerut, when Pandey, a soldier in the Army shot his commander for forcing the Indian troops to use the controversial rifles. Indians constituted 96% of the 300,000 British Army and the violence against British quickly spread (Hence the name Sepoy Mutiny). The local chiefs encouraged scattered revolts in hopes of regaining their lost privileges.

Siege of Delhi

Bahadur Shah II, pensioned descendant of the Mugal dynasty, was popularly acclaimed emperor. On June 8 a British relief force defeated an army of mutineers at Badli Sari and took up a position on the famous ridge, overlooking the city of Delhi. Nominally the besieging force, they were themselves besieged by the mutineers, who made a daring attempt to intercept their train. The arrival of more British reinforcements finally led to the defeat of the mutineers by John Nicholson, commander of the relief force. After six days of street fighting, Delhi was recaptured. This action was the turning point in the campaign and is known as Siege of Delhi. Bahadur Shah was captured and was exiled to Burma.

MangalPandey

Baha Bahadur Shah II

British Take Control In spite of the loyalty of the Sikh troops, conquered only eight years before, and of the Gurkhas, the British commander, Sir

Colin Campbell, had a difficult task. In addition to quelling the disturbance, he also had to protect the Ganges Valley and all of Hindustan against possible attacks from central India, to the south. Forces were dispatched from Madras and Bombay. However, the revolt had quickly spread to Kanpur and Lucknow. Kanpur, on the Ganges 250 miles southeast of Delhi, surrendered to the mutineers on June 28, 1857, and was the scene of a massacre before it was recaptured by the British on July 16. Lucknow, 45 miles to the northeast, had been immediately besieged by the mutineers and was relieved by Henry Havelock's troops on September 25, five days after the final reoccupation of Delhi, the other chief center of the mutiny. However, Havelock's forces, even when joined by those of James Outram, were not strong enough to disarm and remove the enemy garrison, and they had to be relieved on November 16 by troops under Colin Campbell. The civilians of Lucknow were evacuated, but not until the siege of Mar. 9-16, 1858, had enough British troops massed to defeat the rebel army.

The final stage of the mutiny took place in central India, which was aroused by a roving band of rebels under the Maratha General Tatya Tope. After his capture and execution in April 1859, the leaderless mutineers were soon pacified.

Why It Failed?

* Native Indian states, influenced by the example of powerful Hyderabad, did not join the rebels

* Sikh soldiers of the Punjab area remained loyal to the British throughout. The Sikhs were a strong, well trained army, who the British had conquered using Indian soldiers.

* The aging Bahadur Shah was neither a brave general, nor an astute leader of the people

Epilogue

In England, the mutiny proved the last straw on the heavy load of criticism and opposition which the East India Company had carried for some time. In August 1858, by the Act for the Better Government of India, its political authority was entrusted to a secretary of state. In August 1858 the British crown assumed control of India from the East India Company and in 1877 Queen Victoria was crowned empress of India. The mutiny played a pivotal role in Anglo-Indian history. The British afterward became cautious and defensive about their empire, while many Indians remained bitter and would never trust their rulers again. It was not until the emergence of Indian National Congress and Mahatma Gandhi that Indians re-gathered their momentum for home rule

Gallery

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, one of the principal leaders of the Great Uprising of 1857, who earlier had lost her kingdom as a result of Lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founder of the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College, later the Aligarh Muslim University, wrote one of the early critiques, The Causes of the Indian Mutiny, in 1859.

Gallery

Charles Canning, the Governor-General of India during the rebellion.

Bahadur Shah Zafar the last Mughal Emperor, crowned Emperor of India, by the Indian troops, he was deposed by

the British, and died in exile in Burma

Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856, who devised the Doctrine of Lapse.