Sepoy Mutiny – the revolt of 1857 Prelude of Indian Struggle For Independence

1. Sepoy Mutiny – the revolt of 1857Prelude of Indian Struggle For Independence By Athul Shibu VIII-B 3

2. The Revolt By a period of 100 years (1757-1857), the British established their rule in India. During these 100 years, there were several uprisings against the British in several regions of the country. The tension continued to simmer below the surface until it finally erupted out as the Revolt of 1857. The revolt of 1857 was a large scale rebellion against the British rule that swept across Northern and Central India as a series of wild uprisings.After battling for almost two years, the British managed to crush the Revolt. Historians now call it as The First War of Independence.

3. British leaders during the revolt Charles Canning was the governor-general of India during the time of the revolt. Lord Dalhousie was the Governor-General of India from 1848-1856. He introduced the system of Doctrine of Lapse, i.e., if a ruler of a subsidiary or protected state died without a natural heir, the state would be annexed by the British. He was one of the main causes behind the revolt.

4. Causes of the Revolt There are many causes for the Revolt. The idea of an uprising had been brewing among the people, but when it finally happened, it was not planned. There are many reasons for the revolt:- • Economic causes • Religious and Cultural causes • Military causes • Political cause • The Enfield Rifle Cartridges

5. Economic causes One of the most important causes of the Revolt was the economic policies followed by the British in India. The British used India as a source of raw materials for it’s own industries. In turn it flooded India with cheap goods machines made in Britain. This resulted in many Indian industries to suffer a steep decline and millions of artists became jobless. The land revenue policies followed by the British were another major cause of discontent. If the farmers could not pay the revenue, their land was taken away and given to the highest bidder, usually city based traders. They had no interest in the land and bought it as a means to get more money.

6. Religious and Cultural causes During the governor-generalship of Lord Bentinck, several social and educational reforms were introduced in India by the British. The British openly criticized some Hindu customs. Sati was banned. They also opened schools for girls as well as women. Even the introduction of English-medium schools by the Christian missionaries were seen as a ploy to convert Hindus and Muslims into Christians. The increasing population of the Christian missionaries made the Indians angry. This anger increased when the British started a new law which stated that the children could inherit their fathers properties even if they changed their faith.

7. Military Causes In the army, the Indians were not allowed to rise above the rank of sergeant - they were not allowed to become officers. According to the new law that was passed (General Service Enlistment act of 1856),the sepoys had to go abroad and fight, though the Hindus were prohibited to cross the seas. Also, the Sepoys who had fought in campaigns abroad and knew that they could fight as well as the British soldiers. This gave them courage to rise in revolt.

8. Political Causes The conquest of India by the British had dispossessed many Indian rulers of their territories. The British policies for annexing more states like the Doctrine of Lapse, Subsidiary alliances etc. caused resentment and insecurity among the Indian rulers. States like Satara, Jhansi and Nagpur were annexed by Doctrine of Lapse. Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II, was refused pension. Even the pension paid to the Mughal Emperors were reduced drastically. In many regions, the revolt was led by rulers who had lost their Kingdom. Once a state was annexed by the British, it’s army was disbanded and the soldiers lost their job and income. They became poor and this hatred spread among the common people.

9. The Enfield Rifle Cartridges The final spark was provided by the ammunition for new pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle. These Rifles had a tighter fit and used paper cartridges that came pre-greased. To load the rifle, Sepoys had to bite the cartridge open to release the powder. The grease used in the cartridges included tallow derived from beef which was offensive to the Hindus or lard derived from pork that was offensive to the Muslims. There had been rumors that the British sought to destroy the religion of the Indian people and forcing the native soldiers to break the sacred code.

10. Outbreak of the Revolt On 9th May 1857, in Meerut, a group of soldiers mutinied and walked out of their military barracks. They were dismissed and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for refusing to use the greased cartridges. On hearing of their imprisonment, other soldiers stationed at Meerut revolted. On 10th May, they released the imprisoned soldiers, killed their British officers and marched to Delhi. There, they proclaimed the old and ailing Mughal emporer Bahadur Shah Zafar, a British pensioner, as their leader and emporer of India.

11. Leadersof the revolt

12. Reasons for the Failure of the Revolt • Lack of Unity among the Indians: The revolt did not involve the entire region or all the sections of Indian society. Many of the Indian rulers and the big Zamindars, most of the educated and westernized Indians did not unite with the revolvers. • Lack of a National Leader: Though the revolt threw up several strong and independent leaders, there was no strong leader who could unite the various groups. The leaders were mainly princes who joined the revolt because of the threat posed by the British to their throne and not because of their nationalism nor of the concern about their subjects. • Lack of resources:The rebels could not match the modern weapons, arms and ammunitions used by the British. Though they were brave and fearless, they lacked organization and discipline.

13. Results of the Revolt • The rise of Nationalism: The greatest consequence of the revolt was the rise of a feeling of nationalism in India. • Reorganization of the British Empire in India: India was brought directly under the Crown and the British army was reorganized by replacing majority of sepoys who were Brahmins, rajputs and those from Awadh, Bihar and Central India with Gurkhas, Sikhs and Pathans. • Queen Victoria’s proclamation: In 1858, Queen Victoria issued proclamation granting unconditional pardon to all rebels except those who killed British people. Indian princes were assured that their ‘rights, dignity and honor’ would be respected. • Tenancy Acts: Several Tenancy Acts were introduced like one granting non-eviction rights to peasants who occupied a piece of land for more than 12 years. Also social developments projects like Irrigation, sanitation, communication and famine relief projects were introduced. Schools were also reopened.

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