The Revolt Of 1857 (Part -I)

The East India Company had conquered large sections of India by the first half of the nineteenth century, but it still had two goals: maintaining its conquests and profit from commerce. There was no limit to the company’s treachery to achieve these goals. The mutiny of 1857 officially began the quest for independence from British colonial rule. On May 10, 1857, the revolt started as a sepoy mutiny at Meerut. During this war for freedom, the British East India Company lost power. The British government-controlled India directly through officials known as Governors-General. Lord Canning was the governor-general in 1857.

Background 

• To dismiss the revolt as a sepoy mutiny is to misunderstand its motivations. In 1820, India established British supremacy, or the belief in British rule over Indian political, economic, and cultural life. The British utilized several techniques to seize control of Hindu princely kingdoms that were part of subsidiary alliances with the British. The ancient Indian nobility was being supplanted by British bureaucrats everywhere. Lord Dalhousie pioneered the idea of lapse, an influential British method, in the late 1840s. The British forbade a Hindu monarch without a natural heir from picking a successor and annexed his kingdom when he died or surrendered. To these issues might be added the rising resentment of the Brahmans, many of whom had lost lucrative jobs or had their earnings taken away.
• Another primary source of worry was the rapid rate at which the entrance of Western ideas was influencing Hindu culture. Missionaries were challenging the Hindus’ religious beliefs. Reforms outside the political superstructure arose from the humanitarian movement. Lord Dalhousie fought to emancipate women and remove all legal restrictions on Hindu widow remarriage during his governor-generalship of India (1848–56). Converts to Christianity were expected to divide the family estate’s property with their Hindu kin. 
• There was a widespread perception that the British intended to demolish the caste system. The advent of Western teaching techniques was a direct challenge to Hindu and Muslim orthodoxy. The Bengal army erupted because Indians were solely organized in the military arena. Insurgency erupted in response to the introduction of the new Enfield rifle. The sepoys had to bite off the ends of lubricated cartridges to load it. The sepoys believed the grease used to lubricate the cartridges was a mixture of pig and cow fat and that consuming it was a disrespect to both Muslims and Hindus.
• There is no proof that these materials were employed on the cartridges in question. The impression that the cartridges were poisoned, on the other hand, led to the more significant assumption that the British were attempting to subvert Indian traditional culture. The British, for their part, did not pay enough attention to the rising degree of sepoy dissatisfaction. 

Nature And Character of Revolt

Historians have differing perspectives on the nature of the rebellion. The British saw it as a “Military Revolt” that lacked the leadership of any Indian leaders and the assistance of the people. On the other hand, that insurrection was seen as a National War of Independence by Indian patriots. The following are the significant points of view on the nature and character of the 1857 Revolt-
• Military Revolt
• Attempt for establishing the Mughal Power
• Aristocrat Reaction
• Peasant Reaction
• National Revolution
• racial struggle for supremacy between Black and White
• struggled between Oriental and Occidental Civilization and Culture
• National War of Independence

Only two of the views are famous:

1. Military Revolt: Many historians see the Revolt of 1857A.D. as a military revolt. Sir John Lawrence and Seelay saw it as a military uprising and nothing more than these. Other British historians, such as Kaye, Malleson, and Trevelyan Holmes, have characterized it as a “mutiny” restricted to the army that did not have the backing of the public. Many contemporary Indians, including Munshi Jiwan Lal, Moinuddin, Durgadas Bandyopadhyay, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, and others, had a similar opinion.

2. First War of Independence: The Revolt of 1857A.D. was referred to as the First War of Independence by most Indian historians and academicians. The rebellion has been dubbed a National Revolution by Dr. K.M. Panikkar. At the same time, Pandit Nehru and Jai Chand Vidyalankar declared the 1857 revolt to be the First War of Independence. Dr. S.N. Sen agrees that the 1857 rebellion was a war of independence. He believes that revolutionaries are mostly the effort of minorities with popular backing.

Causes Of the Revolt Of 1857

The revolt began as a military insurrection and looked to be the latest in a long line of mutinies, but its roots were deeply rooted in changing times. It received support from a variety of sources of dissent against British rule. Political, economic, military, and social factors all played a role in the uprising.

1. Political Causes: Lord Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of Lapse in the late 1840s. This meant that no king was allowed to adopt a kid, and only the natural successor could govern. The spread of British policies such as the Doctrine of Lapse was the political reason. If the monarch died without a male successor and the East India Company controlled the state, the state would be annexed.

2. Economic Causes: The many British reforms hurt peasants and farmers, who were obliged to pay high taxes. Those who could not pay their taxes or debts were forced to cede their lands to the British. Indians are constantly competing with British industry with machine-made items with Indian handcrafted goods.

3. Military causes: Indian sepoys were paid less than their European counterparts. Indians were regarded as second-class citizens, while European sepoys received preferential treatment in pay, pension, and advancement.

4. Social Causes: Sati pratha, child marriage, and widow remarriage were outlawed by the East India Company, which was seen as a danger to Indian traditions. Hindus and Muslims were to be converted to Christianity by Britishers.

Of all the factors, the introduction of the ‘Enfield’ rifle enraged troops the most. Soldiers formerly had to carry gun powder and ammunition in addition to their guns. Because using a gun took time, the British created the Enfield rifle gun and ammunition. The cartridge had a cylindrical shape with a knot on top and was filled to the brim with just the correct quantity of gunpowder and bullet. Soldiers just had to rip the cartridge and then be ready to fire a rifle, which saved a significant amount of time. A rumor circulated that the cartridge was lubricated with pig and cow fat. Soldiers from India who refused to use the cartridge were condemned.

Outbreak Of the Revolt Of 1857

Barrackpur, India,  the 34th Native Infantrymen refused to use the greased cartridges on March 29, and a sepoy called Mangal Pandey breached the lines and shot at Lieutenant Baugh. Mangal Pandey was apprehended and put to death. Behrampur was also dissolved after disobeying the authorities. Meerut saw the first significant outburst that eventually led to the 1857 Revolt. On May 10, 1857, eighty-five sepoys of the Cavalry Regiment were court-martialed for refusing to use greased cartridges. The sepoys erupted in open rebellion, shooting their superiors and releasing their fellow sepoys, and marching towards Delhi. On May 12, the sepoys stormed Delhi and took the palace, establishing Bahadur Shah II as India’s ruler.

The insurrection quickly expanded to Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Jhansi, Central India, Bihar, Orissa, and several other cities. The Indian rulers, on the other hand, remained loyal to the British and were instrumental in putting down the rebellion. During the early stages of the insurrection, the British were on the defensive. To begin with, they made a concerted effort to retake Delhi from the sepoys. The British reclaimed Delhi in September 1857. Emperor Bahadur Shah II was detained and banished to Mandalay, Burma, where he died after a few years. Two of his sons and a grandchild were killed in the shooting. As a result, the British put an end to the Mughal monarchy in India.

The sepoys stormed the Residency in Lucknow. While defending the Residency, Sir Henry Lawrence and a few loyal sepoys were killed. With the support of the Gurkha Regiments, British soldiers took Lucknow in March 1858. At Kanpur, Nana Saheb, the adopted son of ex-Peshwa Baji Rao II, lead the sepoys. Tantia Tope accompanied Nana Saheb. Tantia Tope attended Rani Lakshmi Bai, the widow of Raja Gangadhar Rao, fighting the British when General Campbell recaptured Lucknow on December 6, 1857. Sir Hugh Rose led the British to Jhansi. Tantia and Rani Lakshmi Bai went to Gwalior, where they were joined by Indian troops. In June 1858, the British took Gwalior, and the Rani of Jhansi died bravely in battle.

Tatya Tope was apprehended and executed a year later. Nana Saheb escaped to Nepal, where he eventually died. The insurrection in Rohilkhand began in May 1857 at Bareilly. Muhammad Hasan Khan commanded an army of roughly 10,000 men. Gajadhar Singh of Gorakhpur led an army of 51,000 men, while Rana Beni Madho Singh of Saharanpur had a personal following of approximately 15,000 men. They all assaulted British positions in their separate territories and gathered around the Begum, Hazrat Mahal.