Revolt of 1857, Causes, Leaders, Consequences, Reasons of Failure
GS I
Sub-Categories:
Modern History
Prelims: History of India
Mains: Indian Culture - Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and
Architecture from ancient to modern times.
The Revolt of 1857, also known as the "First War of
Independence," was the first significant attempt by Indians to end
British imperialism. It started on 10 May 1857, first in the form of sepoy
mutiny and later as a concerted effort by Indian rulers under the de jure
supervision of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. As the Revolt of
1857 posed a considerable threat to British power, it was proved as a watershed
movement for the British perspective towards India. They became more cautious
in their approach towards administration, the nature of the army, differential
treatment of the vast Indian communities, etc.
The Revolt of 1857 was mainly concentrated across the vast portions of
northern India, engulfing the peasantry and other civilian populations that
stood side-by-side with their leaders. Many prominent leaders of the Revolt and
common mass fought bravely with the British forces.
Revolt of 1857 Causes
There were several factors for the 1857 Revolt, although the British's
ruthless exploitation of the Indians was common in all. These factors were
already in the process of pressure build-up since the consolidation of Bengal
in 1764, first leading to the numerous minor rebellions and ultimately in the
Revolt of 1857. These factors are briefly described below:
Political Causes of Revolt of 1857
- Many princely
states were annexed by using the Doctrine of lapse, such
as Satara in 1848 and Jhansi in 1854 by Dalhousie. Awadh,
however, was annexed under an excuse that Nawab Wazid Ali Shah was
mismanaging the state.
- These annexations
created resentment among the deposed rulers as well as their subjects,
many of which were recruited as sepoys.
Economic Causes of 1857 Revolt
- Impact on
traditional industries: The British aimed to make India a consumer of
British goods, leading to the collapse of industries like textiles,
metalwork, glass, and paper. By 1813, Indian handicrafts lost domestic and
foreign markets, and British factories were captured and monopolised
through war and colonisation.
- Impact on
agriculture: The land revenue policies followed
by the Britishers led to the commercialisation of agriculture and made the
land a tradable commodity. It gave rise to new landlords, absentee
landlords and moneylenders that created resentment in older landlords. The
high burden of taxes, erstwhile cultivators being taken away from their
lands, etc., made the peasants desperate for a regime change.
Social Causes of Revolt of 1857
- Alien rule: Britishers never
mixed with the Indian people and treated even the upper-class
Indians with contempt.
- Interference in
religion: Religious leaders, such as Pandits and Maulvis,
have also lost all of their previous power and prestige.
Administrative Factors
- Discrimination in
the army: There was discrimination in salary, cost of
maintenance and the military ranks between Indian sepoys and their British
counterparts. They were also treated with humiliation and abuse, which
created discontent amongst Indian sepoys.
- Discrimination in
civil administration: Indians were deprived of higher
posts, which were primarily taken by the British.
Immediate Cause of Revolt of 1857
The atmosphere was so surcharged that even a small issue could lead to
revolution.
- Cartridges of the
new Enfield rifle, which had recently been introduced in the
army, had a greased paper cover whose end had to be bitten off before the
cartridge was loaded into the rifle.
- Pig and beef fat were used
to make the grease. The Hindu and Muslim soldiers
were so outraged by this that they began to suspect that the government
was actively attempting to undermine their religion. It was the immediate
root of the uprising.
Revolt of 1857 Events
- Barrackpore: On 29th
March 1857, Mangal Pandey, stationed at Barrackpore,
revolted against his British officers. He was hanged, which created anger
and resentment amongst the sepoys.
- Meerut: On 24th
April, ninety men of the Third Native Cavalry stationed
at Meerut refused to use the greased cartridges.
Eighty-five of them were dismissed and sentenced to ten years
imprisonment on 9th May.
- The rest of the
Indian sepoys reacted strongly to this, and the next day, on 10th
May, the entire Indian garrison revolted.
- March to Delhi: After
freeing their comrades and killing the British officers, they decided to
march on to Delhi.
- It was clear
that it was not merely an army mutiny, as people from surrounding areas began
to loot the military bazaars and attacked and burnt the
bungalows of the British as soon as they heard the shots fired by the
sepoys on their officers.
- Hindu-Muslim
unity: In Meerut and Delhi, the Hindu sepoys overwhelmingly declared
Bahadur Shah to be their Emperor. As a sign of respect for the Hindus'
religious beliefs, cow slaughter was banned wherever the sepoys
arrived.
- Spread of Revolt: In the next
month, the entire Bengal Army rose in revolt. The Whole
of North and North West India was up in arms against the British.
- Central India: Thousands
of Indore's soldiers joined the sepoy rebels in Indore. Gwalior's
troops went over to Tantya Tope and Rani of Jhansi.
- In East
Punjab, Mainpuri, Bulandshahr, Danapur, Mathura. Agra. Lucknow,
Allahabad, Banaras, Shahabad, Etwah, and Aligarh, wherever
there were Indian troops, they revolted.
- With the revolt
in the army, the police and local administration also
collapsed.
- Effects of 1857
revolt: Wherever a revolt erupted, the government's treasury was taken
away, the magazine was ransacked, barracks and courthouses were set on
fire, and prison gates were thrown open.
- Telegraph lines
were severed, and horsemen carrying alerts to Delhi were stopped.
- Peasants and
dispossessed zamindars attacked the moneylenders and new zamindars who
had displaced them from the land.
- Destroyed the
government files and the accounting records of the moneylenders.
- Attacked
the British-established law courts, revenue offices, revenue
records and police stations.
Revolt of 1857 Leaders
The storm centres of the uprising were located in Arrah,
Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, and Lucknow. Even though they acknowledged Emperor
Bahadur Shah's suzerainty, all of these locations decided their own rulers
and continued to be independent.
|
Leaders |
Their contribution |
|
Bakht Khan at Delhi |
- Bahadur Shah served as the
leader of Delhi. However, the soldiers held true power. - On July 3rd,
1857, Bakht Khan, who had organised the soldiers' uprising
in Bareilly, arrived in Delhi and assumed real
power. - He assembled
a Court of soldiers made up of both Muslim and Hindu
rebels. |
|
Begum Hazrat Mahal
at Lucknow |
- Begum of Awadh
provided the leadership and proclaimed her son, Birjis Kadr, the
Nawab of Awadh. - But, Maulavi
Ahmadullah of Faizabad, who organised rebellions and fought the British,
was the most popular leader. |
|
Rani Lakshmi Bai at
Jhansi |
- She believed that
she had been robbed of her ruling rights in defiance of recognised Hindu
law and fought valiantly. - Led the rebels in
the region of Bundelkhand against the British. - Battle: East
India Company’s forces under Hugh Rose encircled the fort of
Jhansi.
|
|
Nana Saheb at Kanpur |
- Nana Saheb
was the leader of the Kanpur regiment. - He attacked the
British soldiers of the 53rd Native infantry at Kanpur with Tatya
Tope in June 1857.
- Nana Saheb
announced himself as the Peshwa or the ruler after expelling
the British from Kanpur. |
|
Kunwar Singh at
Bihar |
- He marched
hundreds of miles to reach Mirzapur, Banda, and the
area around Kanpur with a war band of Danapur sepoys and the
rebel Ramgarh state battalion. - He reached up
to Rewa state and returned to Banda and
then back to Arrah, where he engaged and defeated the British
troops. - He suffered severe
injuries and passed away on April 27, 1858, in his ancestral
home in the Jagdishpur village. |
|
Tatya Tope at Kanpur |
- Rebelled against
the British at Kanpur and later at Gwalior. - He’s known for his
fearsome guerilla tactics. - In 1857, he
captured Kanpur and established the authority of Nana Sahib there.
|
Reasons of Failure of the Revolt of 1857
- Lack of a Unified
Programme and Ideology: The rebellion swept off the British
system of government and administration in India, but they had no
forward-looking plan in mind. This made them rely on the outmoded
feudal system with Bahadur Shah at its head.
- This system had
lost its vitality and was unable to withstand the onslaught of the
British.
- Lack of Unity
among Indians: While the sepoys of the Bengal
army were revolting, some soldiers in Punjab and south
India fought on the side of the British to crush these rebellions.
- No accompanying
rebellions in most of eastern and southern India.
- The Sikhs did
not support the rebels because of the possibility of the revival of Mughal
authority.
- Besides this,
there were some elements of the peasantry that had profited from British
rule and supported the British during the revolt.
- Lack of Support
from the Educated Indians: They did not support the revolt because, in
their view, the revolt was backwards-looking, and they
mistakenly believed that the British would lead the country towards modernisation.
- Military
Superiority of the British: British imperialism, which was at the
height of its influence throughout the world and was backed by the
majority of Indian princes and chiefs, proved to be militarily superior to
the rebels.
- While the rebels
lacked discipline and central command.
Revolt of 1857 Consequences
- Changes in
Military Organisation: To prevent any further revolt by the Indian
soldiers:
- The number of European
soldiers was increased, and they were kept in key geographical
and military positions.
- The Indian
section of the army was now organised in accordance with the "divide
and rule" policy.
- To prevent
soldiers from developing nationalistic feelings, regiments
were formed based on caste, community, and region.
- Transfer of
Power: The power to govern India passed from the East India Company to
the British Crown through an Act of 1858.
- A Secretary
of State for India, aided by a Council, was now in charge
of India'sgovernance. Previously, the Company's
Directors wielded this authority.
- Divide and Rule: This policy
of "divide and rule" was also introduced in the
civilian population.
- Muslims were
severely punished, and discrimination was made against them in public
appointments and in other areas.
- A policy of
preferential treatment of Muslims was adopted towards
the end of the 19th century.
- These policies
created problems for the Indian freedom struggle and contributed to the
growth of communalism.
- New Policy
towards the Princely: The earlier policy of annexation was
now abandoned, and the rulers of these states were now authorised to adopt
heirs
