THE FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (1857-58)
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OBJECTIVES OF LEARNING
The pupil
- assesses the nature of the First War of Independence;
- analyses the political, economic, social, religious and military causes;
- enumerates the causes for the failure of the war;
- recognises the effects and
- understands the significance of the Queen's Proclamation.
INTRODUCTION
The Indian soldiers in the service of the English East India Company revolted against
their English military officers during 1857-58. English historians have written that the
revolt was just a mutiny. But Indian historians saw that it was the First War of Indian
Independence. It is also known as the Great Revolt of 1857. At that time Lord Canning was
the Governor-General of India.
The causes of the Great Revolt may be given under the following heads - political,
economic, social, religious and military.
1. POLITICAL CAUSES
Political causes had their origin in Dalhousie's policy of annexations, particularly the
application of the 'Doctrine of Lapse". His policy had created fear and uneasiness
throughout India. The annexation of Hindu
states like Satara and Nagpur were resented by the Hindus. The annexation of Oudh whose
ruler had been a friend and an ally of the English East India Company for about a century
was resented not only by the Muslims but also by the other rulers of India. The British
Government had ordered that on the death of the last Mughal Emperor,
his sucesssor was to give up his ancestral palace.
Again, certain unguarded remarks made by some high British officials created an
impression that the government had made up its mind to put an end to the existence of
Native States. Sir Charles Napier had stated thus: " Were I the Emperor of India for
twelve years... no Indian Prince should exist, the Nizam should be no more heard of,
Nepal should be ours." By stopping the pension to Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Baji
Rao II, the British made him their deadly enemy.
2. ECONOMIC CAUSES
The annexation of a Native State not only deposed a king, but also resulted in the growing
unemployment of his hundreds of officials. Bentinck's resumption of rent-free lands
brought a lot of money to the government
but reduced many land owners to poverty.During the five years before the outbreak of the
revolt, the Imam Commission in Bombay, appointed by Lord Dalhousie to investigate the
title deed of the landowners,
confiscated some 20,000 estates in the Deccan. In Oudh, the Nawab's capital was occupied
by the Chief Commissioner, his officials were dismissed and his army was disbanded.
60,000 professional soldiers
lost their livelihood. All these converted Oudh into "a hot bed of discontent and intrigue'.
The Zamindari system introduced by Lord Cornwallis, brought economic ruin to the
Indian peasants. As a result of the Industrial Revolution in England, industrial goods like
textiles were flooded in Indian markets. Indian industries perished. Several thousands of
Indian artisans lost their jobs.
3. SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CAUSES.
The conservative section of Indian population was alarmed by the rapid speed of
western culture in India.The abolition of "Sati" and female infanticide,was considered to
be an interference in the customs and traditions of the Hindus. The Hindu law of property
was changed to enable a Christian convert to receive his share of ancestral property, and
to encourage the Hindu to convert Christianity. Further, the statement of Mr.Mangles
made in the House of Commons aroused the fear among the people that the government
intended to convert everyone to Christianity. Mr.Mangles had said, "Providence has
entrusted the extensive empire of Hindustan to England, in order that the banner of Christ
should wave triumphant from one end of India to the other." Even the introduction of the
railways and telegraphs was regarded
as an attempt to westernise the Indians.
4.MILITARY CAUSES.
If the army had been loyal to the British as before, such an outbreak might not have
taken place. A feeling of discontent developed among the Indian sepoys for various reasons.
The highest pay given to an Indian sepoy as subedar was less than the minimum pay of a
raw European recruit. Generally, there was no promotion for Indian soldiers. The sepoys
were also insulted very badly. The feeling of discontent was intensified by Lord Canning's
General Services Enlistment Act (1856) ordering all recruits of the Bengal army to be
ready for service both within and outside India. The CrimeanWar, the Persian war and the
Chinese war had sorely taxed the resources of England. The proportion of the Indian
troops to the British troops was very high. The number of the native
soldiers was five times more than that of the British. Further, places of strategic
importance like Delhi and Allahabad were wholly held by the Indian soldiers. These factors
emboldened the sepoys to rise against the
British.
5. IMMEDIATE CAUSE.
The greased cartridges supplied for the new Enfield rifles was the immediate cause for
the mutiny. The cartridges had to be bitten off before insertion.TheBritish manufacturers
supplied fat of cows and pigs. Both the Hindus and the Muslims refused to use them as the
cow is sacred to the Hindus and the pig is detestable to the Muslims.At Barrackpore, near
Calcutta, Mangal Pandey, an Indian soldier,shot his officer dead. He was hanged to death
and the troops at Barrackpore were court-martialled and sentenced to imprisonment.
SPREAD AND SUPPRESSION OF REVOLT
The first sign of unrest appeared early in 1857 at Barrackpore and Berhampore in
Bengal. That was quickly suppressed and the rebels were punished. But the sepoys broke
out in open revolt at Meerut in May 1857,
broke open the prison and released their imprisoned comrades.Then they galloped to Delhi
and brought it under their control. The Revolt then spread to Lucknow,
Bareilly,Cawnpore, Agra, Jhansi,Benares,Central India,
Bundelkhand and to other places. The sikh leaders in the Punjab, Nizam of Hyderabad
and Scindia remained
quiet. The Afghans, Sikhs and Gurkhas were loyal to the British. The Madras and the
Bombay Regiments did not join the revolt.
The important leaders of the mutiny were Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Tantia Topi,
Nana Saheb and Kunwar Singh. The mutiny chiefly centered aroung three cities -
Cawnpore, Delhi and Lucknow. When the revolt broke out at Cawnpore, Nana Saheb
who was living there in comfort, joined the rebels and declared himself to be the Peshwa.
The English,t here, surrendered to the rebel forces. The English men,women and children
were mercilessly massacred. Nana Saheb was finally defeated by Sir Colin Campbell and
he fled to Nepal, where he died after a few years. By the middle of November 1857,
Cawnpore was brought under control.
Sir Archdale Wilson, Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who
freed Delhi from the rebels. The Kashmir Gate was blown up in September and the city
and the palace were captured after desparate fighting. The city was sacked by the British
soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly. Bahadur Shah II, the powerless
Mughal Emperor in Delhi was tried for treason and exiled to Rangoon,where he died at the
age of eighty-seven. With his death,ended the once mighty Mughal dynasty. His sons
surrendered to Lt. Hodson,a fierce cavalry officer.But they were cruelly shot down on the
pretext that they were guilty of the murder of the English men, women and children.
The recapture of Delhi and imprisonment of Bahadur Shah broke the back of the mutiny.
Lucknow was another centre of rebellion. The Chief Commissioner, Sir Henry Lawerence
and Colonel Neil were killed. Begum Hazarat Mahal, the wife of Nawab of Oudh had also
joined the rebels. Finally Lucknow was recaptured by Sir Colin Campbell in March,1858
with the help of a powerful Gurkha contingent under Jang Bahadur.
In Central India, the great rising was led by Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi and Tantia Topi,
who came from Cawnpore. Both fought very bravely. The Rani fought very bravely till she
was killed in the battle in June 1858. Tantia Topi escaped, but was captured and put to
death.
Thus ended the episode of the Great Revolt. Lord Canning proclaimed peace throughout
India. Though there was much demand for vengeance from the English, Canning was
prudent enough to disregard it , and arranged for the proper trial and punishment of only
those who were really guilty.
CAUSE FOR THE FAILURE OF THE REVOLT
Various causes led to the failure of the Revolt of 1857. There was no unity of purpose
among the rebels. The sepoys of Bengal wanted to revive the ancient glories of the Mughals
while Nana Saheb and Tantia Topi tried to re-establish the Maratha power. Rani Lakshmi
Bai fought to regain her lost State. Secondly, this rising was not widespread. It was
localised to North and Central India. Even in the north, the Punjab, Sind and Rajputana
remained quiet. The British managed to get the loyalty of the Madras and Bombay
regiments and the Sikhs, Afghans and Gurkhas. The Gurkhas actually
helped the British in suppressing the mutiny.
The lack of resources both in men and money made the rebels give up the struggle on
many occasions. The telegraphic system and postal communication helped the British to
speed up their operation. Indian leaders lacked organisation and planning. The rebel
leaders were no match to the British Generals. Lakshmi Bai, Tantia Topi and Nana Saheb
were courageous but were not good generals. Finally the English mastery of the sea
enabled them to get timely help from England.
RESULTS OF THE REVOLT
Though the Great Revolt failed to achieve its aim, it certainly produced far reaching
results. It put an end to the Company's rule in India. Administration of India was directly
taken over by the British Crown. By a special Act, both the Board of Control and the
Board of Directors were abolished and the office of the Secretary of State for India was
created with an Indian Council of 15 members to assist the Governor-General and Viceroy
of India.
The Indian army was thoroughly reorganised. The policy of ruthless conquests in India
was given up and the Indian princes were given the assurance that their States would not
be annexed. The right of adoption was also given to them. Full religious freedom was
guaranteed to Indians. Indians were also given the assurance that high posts would be
given to them without any discrimination.
THE QUEEN'S PROCLAMATION, 1858
The Queen's Proclamation is described as the "Magna Carta" of the people. It confirmed
the earlier treaties of the East India Company with the Indian Princes; promised to pay
due regard to the ancient rites and customs of India and granted general pardon to all
offenders except those who had directly taken part in the murder of the British subjects.
