Revolt Of 1857

The revolt of 1857 was a powerful unprecedented resistance against the East India Company's rule in India leading to beginning of the British Crown’s direct rule. In 1857 there were many armed revolts which led to almost end of British Rule in areas of North and Central India. Full administration was restored only in the spring of 1858. The revolt witnessed violence on both sides. It started as a Mutiny of the Sepoys, later there were other civil uprisings joined by an aggrieved rural society of north India as well.

East India Company had big goals of expansion and securing its trade. It needed a big army for this task. So it recruited soldiers from high castes mainly Rajputs. These communities had strict caste rules and these were respected by the British initially so that the British could win the soldiers’ loyalty. But things began to change after the end of Warren Hasting’s rule and a more formal military uniform culture began being followed. Caste privileges were ended abd financial allowances reduced which led to large discontentment. These incidents prepared the backdrop for the revolt of 1857.

There was widespread discontent among the people against the British due to arbitrary annexation of the Princley States, economic policies adversely affecting traditional industries and agriculture, social maltreatment by British rulers, discriminatory practices in administration and the military, and the controversial General Enlistment Act of 1856. All this came to the surface when greased cartridges were introduced which were rumoured to have religion violating components.

There are various causes of the Revolt of 1857, primarily the ruthless behaviour of the Bristishers towards their Indian subjects.

1. POLITICAL CAUSES: The Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie forced the Princely States to be annexed by the British. Satara was annexed in 1848 and Jhansi was annexed in 1854. These two were among the first states to be annexed by Lord Dalhousie. Then Awadh was annexed on false claims that Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was mismanaging the state.
2. ECONOMIC CAUSES:
   1. Role of Traditional Industries: The British Government wanted to make India the consumer of the British goods, the Britishers purchased raw materials from India and sold the finished products in India which led to a decline of industries such as the textile, metalwork, glass and paper industries. The handicraft industry totally collapsed by the year 1813 and foreign markets of South Asian Silk, Cotton, etc came into existence.
   2. Agricultural Impact: The various land revenue policies initiated by the Britishers were very harsh and resulted in the commercialisation of agriculture. These policies gave birth to new landlords, absentee landlordism, the hereditary lands were taken away from their owners. These actions aroused feelings of revolt in the peasants.
3. SOCIAL CAUSES: The British Rulers treated all the Indians with suspicion and disrespect and even Pandits and Maulvis lost their power and status.
4. ADMINISTRATIVE CAUSES: There was rampant discrimination against Indians in job seeking in the administration and even in the army they were abused and humiliated.
5. MILITARY CAUSES: The enactment of the General Enlistment Act of July 1856 mandated that the new recruits who joined the Bengal Army had to accept commitment for general service. Now, these recruits had to travel overseas also which was against their religious beliefs.
6. History of Rebellions: Prior to 1857, there were several local rebellions and uprisings against British rule.
   1. Peasant revolts: Occurred against land revenue policies and exploitation, like the Santhal rebellion (1855) and the Kol uprising (1832).
   2. Tribal revolts: Aimed to resist encroachment on traditional lands and resources, like the Munda rebellion (1830s) and the Bhil uprising (1857).
   3. Religious uprisings: Protested against perceived interference in religious practices, like the Wahabi movement (1820s) and the Faraizi movement (1830s).
7. IMMEDIATE CAUSE: It was rumoured that the new Enfield rifle’s cartridges were greased with cow and pig fat. Because they had to be bitten by mouth before loading, soldiers became deeply suspicious that the British wanted to destroy their religion and conver them. This angered the sepoys leading to the revolt.

1. Barrackpore: On 29th March in Barrackpore Mangal Pandey, a sepoy revolted against the British Officers and fired at a European officer. Pandey was later arrested and hanged. The hanging of Mangal Pandey created a sense of anger and dissatisfaction amongst the Indian Sepoys.
2. Meerut: The Indian Sepoys stationed in Meerut refused to use the greased cartridges. Some were dismissed and punished and the rest revolted and marched to Delhi on 10th May.
3. Spread of the Revolt: The revolt spread over parts of Punjab, Allahabad, Agra, Lucknow, Banaras, Delhi, Etwah, Aligarh amongst others. With the spread, there was a collapse of the local administration.
4. Religious Unity: In parts of Meerut and Delhi, Muslims out of respect towards Hindus banned cow slaughter when the Sepoys arrived which showed the unity of Hindus and Muslims.

1. Bakht Khan, came from Bareily and became the actual leader in Delhi since Bahadur Shah was old and merely a figurehead.
2. Begum Hazrat Mahal proclaimed her son Birjis Kadr as the Nawab. Begum herself provided the leadership, but the main leader for the revolts and uprisings was Maulvi Ahmadullah of Faizabad.
3. Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi was the most popular leader who led the rebels in Bundelkhand against the British. Along with Tantia Tope, Rani Lakshmi Bai assaulted the Britishers in Gwalior and declared Nana Sahib as the Peshwa. Hugh Rose led the British Company forces against Rani Lakshmi Bai in Jhansi.
4. Nana Sahib was the real leader of Kanpur and with the help of Tantia Tope attacked the Britishers led by General Sir Hugh Wheeler.
5. Kunwar Singh was the leader in Bihar, he defeated the British troops in Rewa but suffered injuries and died on 27th April 1858.

Historians have often debated on the nature of the revolt and whether it was a military mutiny or a nation wide revolt. There is growing consensus gradually emerging that the revolt of 1857 was not a nationalist movement in the modern sense of the term.

• V.D. Savarkar was the first Historian who called this Revolt or the War of Independence. R.C Majumdar, had the opinion that the Revolt of 1857 was not the first revolt, nor was it a national uprising, nor a war of Independence.
• British Historians Reese and Outram perceived that the revolt was a ‘War against Christianity’ and ‘A Muslim Conspiracy’, respectively.
• C.A. Bayly saw in the rebellion expression of "patriotic revolts"
• Thomas Metcalfe believed that while it was more than just a revolt, it was also not a full independence movement. The revolt can’t be called "national" because the it had mass participation only in North India. Many regions and communities were loyal to the British during this time as they were receiving benefits of the rule like the Bengali middle classes and the Punjabi princes who feared a return of the Mughal Empire.

• British Crown Rule: Government of India Act of 1858 was passed which brought India under direct rule of the British Government. This Act also made provisions for a Secretary who would be directly responsible to the Crown.
• Queen’s Proclamation, 1858: The proclamation aimed to soothe anxieties after the rebellion by promising respect for Indian traditions and institutions. Racial equality was professed Indians were declared eligible for government positions based on merit.
• Revamped Governance: A council named India Council was established which would comprise 15 members (9 would be Indian) for a period of 10 years presided by the Secretary of State while the Central Administration was in the hands of the Governor- General.
• Reconstruction of the Indian Army: The revolt created a sense of fear resulting in reduction of Indian soldiers from 2,38,000 in 1857 to 1,40,000 in 1863 and increased British soldiers from 45,000 to 65,000.
• Divide and Rule Policy: To avoid unity, Muslims were made to fight against Hindus, higher classes were made to fight with the lower classes which led to a division of the Indians.
• Policy towards Princely States changed: Doctrine of lapse and subsidiary alliance was now over and the rulers of the Princely States could authorise their heir.
• Reforms in the Education Sector: Universities were established in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Madras and Bombay. Emphasis was given to humanities and liberal arts rather than scientific and technical sectors.
• Development in the Infrastructure Sector: After the revolt, the Britishers started investing in transport and communication to improve their administration. Telegraph and postal systems were also introduced to promote trade

The revolt of 1857 was not successful due to many reasons:

1. There was no clear leadership and no proper plan of execution.
2. The Eastern and Southern region remained aloof.
3. The Sikhs did not support the revolt because of their enmity with the Mughals.
4. The Zamindars and the educated classes did not support the revolt because of their loyalty towards the Britishers.
5. Rebels lacked central command and discipline.

The Revolt of 1857 changed the course of British rule in India by bringing direct rule of the British Crown. Even though the revolt was not successful, there emerged many leaders such as Mangal Pandey, Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, etc.

The consequences of the Revolt were change in structure of the army and governance, end of Princley States annexation policy and a committment to Indians for a better rule by the Queen’s Proclamation. As it turns out, these were empty promises since the oppressive rule of the British continued for another hundred years with large scale oppression, famines and drain of wealth from India.

Indians sought to reform themselves (Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, and Dayananda Saraswat) and nationalist literature emerged. Dadabhai Naoroji and Bal Gangadhar Tilak began articulating the demands for self-government and by the end of the 19th Century, the Indian National Congress (1885) was formed to challenge the government.