Social Studies

Assignment No. 01

Instructor: Samiya Shahzad

Student Details
Name Bilal Ahmad
Reg No. FA19-BCS-136
Section C
Date 9/22/2020
 Write about war of Independence 1857, its causes and
consequences, why Muslims and Hindus fought war of
independence against British?
Introduction:
The revolt of 1857 was the conscious beginning of the Independence struggle against the colonial
tyranny of the British. There are various names for the revolt of 1857 – India’s First War of
Independence, Sepoy Mutiny, etc.
The revolt began on May 10, 1857, at Meerut as a sepoy mutiny. It was initiated by sepoys in the
Bengal Presidency against the British officers.
This war of Independence marked the end of rule by the British East India Company. Post this,
India was directly ruled by the British government through representatives known as Governor-
General.

Causes:
 Economic causes:- 
Collapse of traditional handicraft industries, increasing pressure on agriculture and land,
high land revenue which was required to pay on a fixed date failing which lands were to be
auctioned off.
 Administrative causes: - 
Corruption in the administration especially among petty officials, lower law courts and
police.
 Political causes: - 
Policies of doctrine of lapse, subsidiary alliance and policy of Effective Control created
discontentment among people. Annexation of Awadhi proved that even the groveling
loyalty can't satisfy British greed for territories.
 Socio- Religious causes: -
Abolition of practices like sati, female infanticide, support to widow remarriage and female
education were seen by many as an interference in their culture by the outsider.
 Discontent among spays: - 
As per Lama Subramanian pay, pension and prospect were the main reason for discontent.
 Influence of outside events: - 
British fought first Afghan war, Crimean war, Punjab wars and in all these wars the
company had to incur huge losses. This had a great psychological repercussions.
 Rumors: - 
Rumors such as mixing of bone dust with Atta (flour) and introduction of Enfield rifle, the
cartridges of which were made up of the fat of beef and pig, acted as a sparking point for
the revolt.
Unity of Hindu-Muslim:
The Hindu-Muslim unity played an important role in the Revolt of 1857. The Hindu as well as the
Muslim soldiers had enrolled in the British army. They both had faced the common problem i.e.,
the greased cartridges. These cartridges were to be bitten before they were loaded into the rifles.
These cartridges were greased with the fat of cows and pigs, which hurt the religious feelings of
the Hindus and the Muslims, so they protested against them. Now the Hindu and the Muslim
soldiers had one common enemy i.e., the British. It brought both the Hindu and Muslim sepoys
together. So they declared Bahadur Shah as their leader and marched together from Meerut to
Delhi.
For a long time the Hindus and the Muslims were fed up with the attitudes of the English. After the
famine of 1837 the poor and the hungry people, the servants of the Company and the sepoys were
compelled to convert into Christianity. Laws were passed to suppress sati and infanticide which
affected the religious sentiments of the Hindus. At the same time the last Mughal ruler was
deprived of his title, and his wife and children were not given the pension which was promised by
the English which infuriated the Muslims.