The revolt of 1857 causes ,The sepoy war in india causes

The revolt of 1857 causes

In 1857 British faced a serious challenge to their rule in India. This war is called war of Independence. There are many causes for this war which are:

Political Causes

Discontent generated by East India Company’s Conquests  The East India Company created a lot of discontent and disaffection among the dispossessed ruling families and their successors by her conquest A large number of dependents on the ruling families who lost their means of livelihood and other common people were disillusioned and disaffected with the alien rule. Lord Daihousie annexed the Punjab and added humiliation to the ruling family. Dalip Singh, the minor son of Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab, was deposed, and exiled to England. The properties of the Lahore Darbar were auctioned

Doctrine of Lapse

By applying the Doctrine of Lapse, Daihousie annexed the principalities of Satara, Jaipur, Sambhalpur, Bhagat, Udaipur, Jhansi, and Nagpur. These measures manifested the lack of sensitivity of the British towards the ancient right of adoption among the Hindus.
Lord Daihousie annexed the kingdom of Oudh in 1856 on the pretext of mismanagement. The dethronement of Wajid Au Shah sent a wave of resentment and anger of throughout the country. The state was exploited economically and the Nawabs were reduced to a position of complete dependency on the British. Thus the Nawabs, neglected the administration of the state, which was used as an excuse by Dalhousie to merge it with the British Empire.

Humiliation of the Mughals

Since 1803, the Mughal emperors had been living under the British protection and their claims to honour and precedence were recognized. However, there was a gradual change in the relationship between the Mughal emperor and the governors-general. Lord Amherst made it clear to the emperor, that his Kingship was nominal; it was merely out of courtesy that he was addressed as King. Moreover, the emperor was forced to give up residence in the Red Fort, and abandon his prerogative of naming his successor. The treatment meted out by Company to the Mughal emperor greatly alienated the Muslims who felt that the British wanted to humble their emperor. Thus, it was not surprising that the Muslims and the Hindus, felt resentful at the humiliation of the nominal Mughal emperors.

Suspension of Pension of Indian princes and rulers

The annual pension of Rani Jindan the Queen of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was reduced from 15,000 pounds to 1,200 pounds. The pension to Nana Sahib and of Lakshmi Bai, of Jhansi was suspended. The titular sovereignty of the Nawab of Carnatic and Tanjore was also abolished. This led them to oppose the British.

Administrative causes

Bitter Taste of the Rule of Law

The British introduced the Rule of Law, which implied the principle of equality in the eyes of the law irrespective of the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the weak and the strong. This was a new system which resented by the rich and strong. On the other hand, the poorer and the weaker sections did not get any benefit from the new system due to complicated procedure of the British administration.

Unpopular British Administration

 The English officials were not accessible to the people. Thus, the people could not place their grievances before them, as they did during the period of the Mughals. The people also disliked the new system of British administration which functioned as a machine and lacked personal touch. The English laws were quite strange and the common people could not understand them.

Exclusion of Indians from Administrative Posts

 The British were of the opinion that the Indians were not suitable for the higher posts in their administrative structure. They lacked faith in the sincerity of the Indians. Contempt for Indian and racial prejudice were other reasons why the Indians were denied higher positions in the administration. Thus, complete exclusion of Indians from all position of trust and power in the administration, and the manning of all higher offices both in the civil government and the military forces by the British brought forth discontent and a sense of humiliation among the people.

Economic causes

Ruin of the Mercantile Class

The British deliberately crippled Indian trade and commerce by imposing high tariff duties against Indian goods. On the other hand, they encouraged the import of British goods to India. As a result by the middle of the nineteenth century Indian exports of cotton and silk goods practically came to an end.

Destruction of Indian Manufacturers

 The British policy of promoting the import of cotton goods to India from England destructed all Indian manufacturers, in the cotton textile industry. When British goods flooded Indian market and threatened the outright destruction of Indian manufacturers, the East India Company’s government that ruled India did not take any step to prevent the tragedy. Several Englishmen were of the opinion that free trade and refusal to impose protective duties against machine-made goods of England ruined Indian manufacturers.

Pressure on Land

The millions of ruined artisans and craftsmen, spinners, weavers, smelters, smiths and others from town and villages, had no alternative but to pursue agricultural activity that led to a pressure on land. India was transformed from being a country of agriculture in to an agricultural colony of British Empire.

Impoverishment of peasantry

Land being the chief source of income for Indians the East India company introduced various experiments and measures to extract the maximum share of agricultural produce. Various methods of revenue settlement led to the impoverishment and misery of the peasants. They were exploited by moneylenders, who usually confiscated their land for failure to repay their debt. English settlers monopolized plantation industries like indigo and tea. The inhuman treatment of the indigo cultivators by the European plantation owners was one of the darkest and most tragic episodes in the history of British rule in India. The economic policies of the British affected the interests of the Indian traders, the manufacturers, craftsmen and the peasants.

Socio-Religious causes

Social Exclusiveness

The British policy of social exclusiveness and arrogant manner towards the Indians created discontent among the Indians. The British forced every native to salute all Englishmen in the streets. If native was on horseback or in a carriage, he had to dismount and stand in a respectful position until the Englishman had passed him. This was an unwritten law through British India. The British could insult, injure, assault and even kill Indian subjects.

Social Legislation

Lord William Bentinck abolished the practice of sati in 1829, with the support of educated and enlightened Indians such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy Lord canning enacted the widow Remarriage Act, drafted by Lord Daihousie in 1856. These legislation were viewed by the orthodox sections in the society as interference by the British in their social and religious practice The two laws of 1832 and 1850, removing disabilities due to change of religion, particularly conferring the right of inheritance to change of religion, particularly conferring the right of inheritance to Christian converts, were quite unpopular among the Hindus.

Missionary Activities

 There was a strong movement grew in England to spread Christianity in India and convert its Hindus and Muslims subjects to that faith. By the Charter Act of 1813, Christian missionaries were permitted to enter the Company’s territories in India to propagate their religion and spread Western education. The Christian missionaries took every opportunity to expose the abuses in the Hindu as well as the Islamic religion. They denounced idolatry, ridiculed the Hindu gods and goddesses and criticized the philosophy and principals of Hinduism and Islam. The teaching of Christian doctrines was made compulsory in educational institutes run by the missionaries. Thus, the interference of the British authorities in social customs and practices through social legislation and the encouragement given by the government to Christian missionaries in their proselytizing activities created a sense of apprehension and hatred in the minds Indians.

Military causes

Service Conditions

The sepoys in the East India Company’s army had a number of grievances, which led to the Revolt of 1857. The sepoys of the Bengal army, were Brahmins and Rajputs had special grievances of their own. Among them were unsatisfactory conditions of service, encroachment upon their religious customs, and offences against their dignity and self-respect.
They had a strong sense of resentment, as their scale of salary was very low compared to their English counterparts. In the guise of enforcing discipline, the British authorities prohibited the Hindus and the Muslim sepoys displaying their religious marks. They were forbidden to wear vermilion mark on their forehead, or turban on their head. The Muslims sepoys were forced to shave off their beard. These restrictions wounded the religious sentiments of the sepoys.

Dental of Allowances

The British authorities used to withdraw the allowances after the conquest and annexation of a province and post the same troops in those very provinces on reduced salaries. These measures naturally demoralized the sepoys. In 1844 four Bengal regiments had refused to move to Sindh till extra allowance was sanctioned Mutinous spirit was also displayed in 1849 by the sepoys in various provinces.

The General Service Enlistment Act

The Indian soldiers nursed grievances against the British as they were forced to go on expedition to Burma and Afghanistan, which violated their religious scruples.
To live among Muslims and to take food and water from them was disliked to their ancient customs. Besides, crossing the seas was prohibited by the religion as the one who crossed the forbidden seas was bound to lose his caste.
In order to prevent any kind of resistance from the sepoys against their deployment abroad, Lord Canning’s government passed the General Service Enlistment Act in 1856. By this act all future recruits to the Bengal army were required to give an undertaking that they would serve anywhere their services required.

Immediate Causes

These factors prepared a general ground for discontent and disaffection among different section of the Indian people0 which required a mere spark to explode into a conflagration. The greased cartridges provided this spark. In i86, the government decided to replace the old fashioned muskets by the Enfield rifles In order to load the Enfield rifle, the greased wrapping paper of the cartridge had to be bitten off by the soldier. In January 1857, a rumor began to spread in the Bengal regiments that the greased cartridges contained the fat of cows and pigs. The sepoys became convinced that the introduction of the greased cartridge was a deliberate attempt to defile their religion. The cow was sacred to the Hindus, and the pig was a taboo for the Muslims. The sepoys refused to use these cartridges. The authorities regarded this act of defiance of the sepoys as an act of insubordination. The action was taken against them.

First war of independence(Causes of the Indian Rebellion of 1857)

first war of independence

The First War of Indian Independence was a period of rebellions in northern and central India against British power in 1857–1858. The British usually refer to the rebellion of 1857 as the Indian Mutiny or the Sepoy Mutiny. It is widely acknowledged to be the first-ever united rebellion against colonial rule in India.

Mangal Pandey, a Sepoy in the colonial British army, was the spearhead of this revolt, which started when Indian soldiers rebelled against their British officers over violation of their religious sensibilities. The uprising grew into a wider rebellion to which the Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah, the nominal ruler of India, lent his nominal support. Other main leaders were Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and Tantia Tope. The British cruelly put down the uprising, slaughtering civilians indiscriminately. The result of the uprising was a feeling among the British that they had conquered India and were entitled to rule. The Mughal Emperor was banished and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom was declared sovereign. The British East India Company, which had represented the British Government in India and which acted as agent of the Mughals, was closed down and replaced by direct control from London through a Governor-General.

Prior to the revolt, some British officials in India saw Indians as equals and dreamed of a long-term partnership between Britain and India to the benefit of both. These officials had a sympathetic knowledge of Indian languages and culture. Afterwards, fewer officials saw value in anything Indian and many developed a sense of racial superiority, depicting India as a chaotic and dangerous place where the different communities, especially Muslim and Hindu, were only kept from butchering one another by Britain's exercise of power. The rebellion was widely perceived to have been a mainly Muslim uprising, although prominent Hindus also participated. However, Muslims especially would find themselves less favored following this incident, with a few exceptions.^[2] India's eventual partition into India and Pakistan, based on the "two nation" theory that her Hindus and Muslims represented two distinct nations whose people could not live together in peace, may be seen as another long-term result of the uprising.

In British memory, novels and films romanticize the event extolling the bravery of their soldiers, while in Indian memory rebels such as Rani Lakshmi Bai and Nana Sahib enjoy the status of a Joan of Arc or of a William Wallace, fighting injustice.

The Revolt of 1857:

The first expression of organised resistance was the Revolt of 1857. It began as a revolt of the sepoys of the Company’s army but eventually secured the participation of the masses. Its causes lay deeply embedded in the grievances that all sections of Indian society nurtured against the British rule.

Causes of the Revolt:

 

Political Causes:

The political causes of the revolt may be traced to the British policy of expansion through the Doctrine of Lapse and direct annexation. A large number of Indian rulers and chiefs were dislodged, thus arousing fear in the minds of other ruling families who apprehended a similar fate.

                                                                       Rani Lakshmi Bai’s adopted son was not permitted to sit on the throne of Jhansi. Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi were annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse. Jaitpur, Sambalpur and Udaipur were also annexed. Other rulers feared that the annexation of their states was only a matter of time. The refusal to continue the pension of Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Baji Rao II, created hostility among the ruling class.

                                                                     Moreover, the sentiments of the people were hurt when it was declared that the descendants of the titular Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, would not be allowed to live in the Red Fort. The annexation of Awadh by Lord Dalhousie on the pretext of maladministration left thousands of nobles, officials, retainers and soldiers jobless. This measure converted Awadh, a loyal state, into a hotbed of discontent and intrigue.

Social and Religious Causes:

A large section of the population was alarmed by the rapid spread of Western civilization in India. An Act in 1850 changed the Hindu law of inheritance enabling a Hindu who had converted into Christianity to inherit his ancestral properties. Besides, the missionaries were allowed to make conversions to Christianity all over India. The people were convinced that the Government was planning to convert Indians to Christianity.

                                         The abolition of practices like sati and female infanticide, and the legislation legalizing widow remarriage, were threats to the established social structure.Even the introduction of the railways and telegraph was viewed with suspicion.

Economic Causes:

In rural areas, peasants and zamindars resented the heavy taxes on land and the stringent methods of revenue collection followed by the Company. Many among these groups were unable to meet the heavy revenue demands and repay their loans to money lenders, eventually losing the lands that they had held for generations. Large numbers of sepoys were drawn from the peasantry and had family ties in villages, so the grievances of the peasants also affected them.

 The economic exploitation by the British and the complete destruction of the traditional economic structure caused widespread resentment among all sections of the people. After the Industrial Revolution in England, there was an influx of British manufactured goods into India which ruined industries, particularly the textile industry, of India.

 Indian handicraft industries had to compete with cheap machine- made goods from Britain. India was transformed into a supplier of raw materials and a consumer of goods manufactured in Britain. All those people who previously depended on royal patronage for their livelihoods were rendered unemployed. So they bore a deep- seated grievance against the British.

Military Causes:

The Revolt of 1857 started as a sepoy mutiny. It was only later on that other elements of society joined the revolt.  Indian sepoys formed more than 87% of British troops in India. They were considered inferior to British soldiers. An Indian sepoy was paid less than a European sepoy of the same rank. Besides, an Indian sepoy could not rise to a rank higher than that of a Subedar

The extension of the British Empire in India had adversely affected the service conditions of Indian sepoys. They were required to serve in areas far away from their homes. In 1856 Lord Canning issued the General Services Enlistment Act which required that the sepoys must be ready to serve even in British land across the sea.

The ‘Bengal Army’ was recruited from high caste communities in Awadh. They were not prepared to cross the ocean (Kalapani) which was forbidden as per Hindu religious beliefs. They developed the suspicion that the Government was trying to convert Indians to Christianity.After the annexation of Awadh the Nawab’s army was disbanded. These soldiers lost their means of livelihood. They became bitter enemies of the British.

Immediate Cause:

The Revolt of 1857 eventually broke out over the incident of greased cartridges. A rumour spread that the cartridges of the new Enfield rifles were greased with the fat of cows and pigs. Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paper on the cartridges. Both Hindu and Muslim sepoys refused to use them. Canning tried to make amends for the error and the offending cartridges were withdrawn, but by then the damage had been done. There was unrest in several places.

In March 1857, Mangal Pandey, a sepoy in Barrackpore, had refused to use the cartridge and attacked his senior officers. He was hanged to death on 8th April. On 9th May, 85 soldiers in Meerut refused to use the new rifle and were sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.

Main events of the revolt:

Soon there was a rebellion in the Meerut Cantonment. The Meerut Mutiny (May 9, 1857) marked the beginning of the Revolt of 1857. The Indian sepoys in Meerut murdered their British officers and broke open the jail. On May 10, they marched to Delhi.

Capture of Delhi:

In Delhi the mutineers were joined by the Delhi sepoys and the city came under their control. Next day, on 11th May, the sepoys proclaimed the ageing Bahadur Shah Zafar the Emperor of Hindustan. But Bahadur Shah was old and he could not give able leadership to the sepoys. The occupation of Delhi was short-lived.

Fall of Delhi:

The British finally attacked Delhi in September. For six days there was desperate fighting. But by September 1857, the British reoccupied Delhi. Thousands of innocent people were massacred and hundreds were hanged. The old king was captured and later deported to Rangoon where he died in 1862. His sons were shot dead. Thus ended the imperial dynasty of the Mughals.

Centres of the revolt:

The revolt spread over the entire area from the neighbourhood of Patna to the borders of Rajasthan. There were six main centres of revolt in these regions namely Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Jhansi, Gwalior and Arrah in Bihar.

Lucknow:

Lucknow was the capital of Awadh. There the mutinous sepoys were joined by the disbanded soldiers from the old Awadh army. Begum Hazrat Mahal, one of the begums of the ex-king of Awadh, took up the leadership of the revolt. Finally the British forces captured Lucknow. The queen escaped to Nepal.

Kanpur:

In Kanpur the revolt was led by Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II. He joined the revolt primarily because he was deprived of his pension by the British. He captured Kanpur and proclaimed himself the Peshwa. The victory was short- lived.

Kanpur was recaptured by the British after fresh reinforcements arrived. The revolt was suppressed with terrible vengeance. The rebels were either hanged or blown to pieces by canons. Nana Saheb escaped. But his brilliant commander Tantia Tope continued the struggle. Tantia Tope was finally defeated, arrested and hanged.

Jhansi:

In Jhansi, the twenty-two-year-old Rani Lakshmi Bai led the rebels when the British refused to accept the claim of her adopted son to the throne of Jhansi. She fought gallantly against the British forces. But she was ultimately defeated by the English.

Rani Lakshmi Bai escaped. Later on, the Rani was joined by Tantia Tope and together they marched to Gwalior and captured it. Sindhia, a loyal ally of the British, was driven out. Fierce fighting followed. The Rani of Jhansi fought like a tigress. She died, fighting to the very end. Gwalior was recaptured by the British.

Bihar:

In Bihar the revolt was led by Kunwar Singh.

 Suppression of the Revolt:

The Revolt of 1857 lasted for more than a year. It was suppressed by the middle of 1858. On July 8, 1858, fourteen months after the outbreak at Meerut, peace was finally proclaimed by Canning.

 Failure of Great Indian Revolt of 1857 and Its Causes

There were many causes which led to the collapse of this mighty rebellion. Here we list some of them to you.  

Lack of a Unified Programme and Ideology

The rebellion swept off the British system of government and administration in India. But the rebels did not know what to create in its place! They had no forward-looking plan in mind. This made them rely on the outmoded feudal system with Bahadur Shah at its head. The other prominent leaders of rebellion like , Nana sahib, Begum of Awadh.

Lack of Unity Among Indians

As mentioned above, no broad based unity among the Indian people could emerge. While sepoys of the Bengal army were revolting, some soldiers in Panjab and south India fought on the side of the British to crush these rebellions. Similarly, there were no accompanying rebellions in most of eastern and southern India. The Sikhs also did not support the rebels. All these groups had their reasons to do so. The possibility of the revival of Mughal authority created a fear among the Sikhs who had faced so much oppression at the hands of the Mughals. Similarly, the Rajput chieftains in Rajasthan and Nizam in Hyderabad were so much harassed by the Marathas that they dreaded the revival of Maratha power. Besides this, there were some element of the peasantry that had profited from the British rule. They supported the British during the revolt. The Zamindars of Bengal Presidency were the creation of the British; and had all the reasons to support them. The same applied to the big merchant of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras who did not go over to the rebels but supported the British.

Lack of support from the Educated Indians

The modern educated Indians also did not support the revolt because, in their view, the revolt was backward-looking. This educated middle class 14 was the product of the British system of education and they believed mistakenly that the British would lead the country towards modernisation.

Disunity among the Leaders

The main problem however, was lack of unity in the ranks of rebels themselves. Their leaders were suspicious and jealous of each other and often indulged in petty quarrels. The Begum of Awadh, for example, quarreled with Maulavi Ahmadullah, and the Mughal princes with the sepoy-generals. Azimullah, the political adviser of the Nana Saheb, asked him not to visit Delhi lest he be overshadowed by the Emperor Bahadur Shah. Thus. Selfishness and narrow perspective of the leaders sapped the strength of the revolt and prevented its consolidation.

Military Superiority of the British

Another major factor for the defeat of the rebels was the British superiority in arms. The British imperialism, at the height of its power the world over and supported by most of the Indian princes and chiefs, proved militarily too strong for the rebels. While the rebels were lacking in discipline and a central command, the British continued to have a constant supply of disciplined soldiers, war materials and money from British. Sheer courage supply of disciplined soldiers, war materials and money from British. Sheer courage could not win against a powerful and determined enemy who planned its strategy skillfully. Because of illdiscipline the rebels lost more men and material than the British in every encounter. Many sepoys, seeing that the British had an upper hand, left for their villages.

These were the main factors responsible for the failure of the revolt.

Results of the revolt:

Despite the fact that the revolt of 1857 failed, it gave a severe jolt to the British administration in India. The structure and policies of the reestablished British rule were, in many respects, drastically changed.

 Transfer of Power

The First major change was that the power to govern India passed from the East India Company to the British Crown through an Act of 1858. Now a Secretary of State for India aided by a Council was to be responsible for the governance of India. Earlier this authority was wielded by the Directors of the Company.

Changes in Military Organisation

The second drastic change was effected in the army. Steps were taken to prevent any further revolt by the Indian soldiers. Firstly, the number of European soldiers was increased and fixed at one European to two Indian soldiers in Bengal Army and two to five in Bombay and Madras armies. Moreover, the European troops were kept in key geographical and military positions. The crucial branches of the army like artillery were put exclusively in European hands. Secondly, the organization of the Indian section of the army was now based on the policy of divide and rule. Regiments were created on the basis of caste, community and region to prevent the development of any nationalistic feeling among the soldiers.

Divide and Rule

 This policy of “divide and rule” was also introduced in the civilian population, since the British thought that the revolt was a conspiracy hatched by the Muslims the latter were severely punished and 16 discriminations made against them in public appointment and in other areas. This policy was later reversed and a belated appeasement of Muslims began. A policy of preferential treatment of the Muslims was adopted towards the end of the 19th century. These policies created problems for Indian freedom struggle and contributed to the growth of communalism.

 New Policy towards the Princes

 Another important change was in the British policies towards the Princely states. The earlier policy of annexation neither was nor abandoned and the rulers of these states were now authorized to adopt heirs. This was done as a reward to those native rulers who had remained loyal to the British during the revolt. However, this authority of the Indian rulers over particular territories was completely subordinated to the authority of the British and they were converted into Board of Privileged dependents.

Search princes and landlords,

 Besides these changes, the British now turned to the most reactionary groups among the Indians, like the zamindars, princes and landlords, for strengthening their fortune in the country.

 VIEWS

1:- It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the so-called First National War of Independence of 1857 is neither First, nor National, nor war of Independence. R.C. Majumdar

  2:-The Mutiny became a Revolt and assumed a political character when the mutineers of Meerut placed themselves under the king of Delhi and a section of the landed aristocracy and civil population decided in his favour. What began as a fight for religion ended as a war of independence? S.N. Sen

 3:-… had a single leader of ability arisen among them (the rebels), we must have been lost beyond redemption. John Lawrence

 The revolt of 1857 was a struggle of the soldier-peasant democratic combine against foreign imperialism as well as indigenous landlordism. Marxist Interpretation

 4:-Here lay the woman who was the only man among the rebels. Hugh Rose

 (a tribute to the Rani of Jhansi from the man who defeated her) It was far more than a mutiny,.. Yet much less than a first war of independence. Stanley Wolpert