The Great Uprising of 1857

Grade 8
 INTRODUCTION
● After a hundred years of conquest and administration, the East
Indian Company faced a massive rebellion that started in May
1857 and threatened British rule in India.
● This rebellion is known by different names--- The Revolt of
1857, The Sepoy Mutiny and also The First War of
Independence.
● The revolt of 1857 was the result of the accumulated
grievances of the Indian people against the Company’s
administration.
MAJOR CAUSES OF REVOLT OF 1857

POLITICAL CAUSES

SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CAUSES

ECONOMIC CAUSES

MILITARY CAUSES

THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE

 POLITICAL CAUSES
1. Doctrine of Lapse: Lord Dalhousie introduced the Doctrine of Lapse
which enabled him to annex vast territories. According to this doctrine, if
a ruler of a dependant state died without leaving a natural heir, the state
would pass over to the British.
➔ The Doctrine did not recognize adopted children as rightful heirs.This
caused a feeling of insecurity,unease and resentment among the Hindu.
➔ Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi wanted the Company to recognize her
adopted son as the heir to the Kingdom after the death of her husband.
➔ Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II pleaded that he be
given his father’s pension when the latter died. But the Company had
turned down such requests.
2. The Company even began to plan how to bring the Mughal dynasty to an
end. The name of the Mughal King was removed from the coins minted by
the Company.

➔ In 1849, the Governor General Dalhousie announced that after the

death of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the family of the king would be shifted
out of the Red Fort.
➔ In 1856, Governor General Canning decided the Bahadur Shah Zafar
would be the last Mughal King and after his death none of his
descendants would be recognized as kings.
3. Lord Dalhousie had annexed Oudh to the British Empire on the
pretext of mismanagement. Most of the country was under British
Raj. Those states which were not directly under them had the
British ‘residents’ in their courts, so they dared not fight against the
Company.
 SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CAUSES
● The English introduced a number of changes in the customs like
abolition of Sati, forbidding child marriage,allowing widow
remarrige and banning girl child infanticide. The orthodox Hindu
regarded these innovations as an interference in their social set up.
● The Christian missionaries made criticiism of Hinduism and Islam.
They tried to convert Indians to Christianity by propaganda and by
offering them good jobs.
● The introduction of railway meant that the untouchables would
also in the same compartments as Brahmins. The orthodox section
considered it an attempt to defame their religion.
● The government made teachings Christianity in Government schools
and jails obligatory.
● A law of 1850 provided that a convert to Christianity, from any religion
would be entitled to inherit ancestral property.This was an indirect
encouragement to the people to embrace Christianity.
● The spread of western culture and English education was resented by
the orthodox section of society, as they thought it to be an affront to
their authority and influence.

All these measures produced resentment in the general public.

 ECONOMIC CAUSES
● Economic exploitation of India and her people became the most potent
cause of unrest. The English Company and her officials carried away
India’s wealth to England in several ways.
● By abolishing duties on British goods and imposing heavy duties on
Indian products,Indian industries and crafts were ruined by the British.
● They would buy the raw materials from farmers at cheap rates and
sent them to England. Cotton cloth from England flooded the markets
and local weavers were unable to compete with machine made cloth.
● India’s wealth was drained away to England by paying high salaries to
the Company’s officials, both in the civil and military administration.
Indian states were required to pay a heavy cost for maintaining the
Company’s forces and the Residents in their areas.
 MILITARY CAUSES
● The Indian soldiers were discriminated. They were considered inferior.
● The Indian soldiers could not hope to rise in the hierarchy of the army
as the avenues of promotion were closed to them.
● There was a great disparity between the salaries of Indian and
European soldiers. The extra allowance which was given to the Indian
soldiers during the war was withdrawn.
● Some of the new rules, moreover,violated their religious sensibilities
and beliefs. In 1824 the sepoys were told to go to Burma by the sea
route to fight for the Company,they refused to follow the order, though
they agreed to to go by thee land route. In 1856,the Company passed a
new law which stated that every new person who took up employment
in the Company’s army had to agree to serve overseas if required.
 THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE
● The Company introduced enfield rifle in the Indian Army. Greased
cartridges were to be used in this rifle. The soldiers had to bite the end
of the cartridge before using it.
● The cartridges were said to be greased with the fat of cows and pigs.
Both Hindu and Muslim soldiers resented the use of these cartridges.
They regarded it an attempt to pollute them and their religion.
● This feeling produced a spark to inflame the uprising of 1857. The use of
greased cartridges became the immediate cause of this national event.
 LEADERS AND SPREAD OF THE UPRISING

● On 29th March 1857, Mangal Pande, a Brahmin sepoy at Barrackpore,

refused to use the greased cartridge. When he was forced to do so, he
flew up in the rage and killed two English soldiers.
● He was arrested and later on summarily tried and executed. The
execution of Mangal Pande sparked off revolts in Meerut, Delhi, Kanpur,
Jhansi, Lucknow, Banaras, Awadh, Bareilly, Gwalior and other places in
northern and central India.
 MEERUT
● After the incident of hanging of Mangal Pandey, sepoys of the regiment
of Meerut refused to do the army drill using the new cartridges.
● Eighty-five sepoys were dismissed from service and sentenced to ten
years in jail for disobeying their officers.
● The soldiers marched to the jail in Meerut and released the imprisoned
sepoys. They attacked and killed British officers. They captured guns
and ammunition and set fire to the buildings and properties of the
british and declared war on the firangis.
● The soldiers were determined to bring an end to their rule in the country.
 DELHI
● After setting fire to the bungalows of English officials, the Meerut sepoys
marched towards Delhi. The local soldiers joined them.
● The Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar,became the rallying point of
all those who were ready to end the British rule in India.
● Even an unrest prevailed in the religious circles to overthrow the British
rule from India.
● But Lord Sir John Nicholson became successful in suppressing this
rising with the help of the Sikh rulers of Punjab and was able to
recapture Delhi.
● In this war, Bahadur Shah was imprisoned and sent to Rangoon Jail,
where he died in 1862. A number of Indians were murdered under the
rule of General Neil.
 KANPUR
● At Kanpur, Nana Sahib, who was denied his pension by the British,
declared himself as a Peshwa and led the rising.
● His sepoys killed several British men and women mercilessly and
expelled the British troops from Kanpur.
● Being a great patriot and skilful in guerilla warfare, his commander,
Tantia Tope, won the glory. But the English troops under General
Havelock took the revenge of it and murdered a number of Indians.
● Nana Sahib ran away to Nepal and escaped being imprisoned by the
English.
 LUCKNOW
● Begum Hazrat Mahal of Oudh, who was the regent of her son, led the
rising at Lucknow with the help of the disbanded soldiers of Oudh.
● She besieged Sir Henry Lawerence and other officials in the Residency.
She shot dead Sir Henry Lawerence. Although General Havelock came
to help the English troops, but he failed in his mission.
● General Neil was also murdered in this rising. At last Sir Collin Campbell
became successful in defeating the rebels and in recapturing Lucknow.
● The Begum fled to Nepal and escaped being caught by the English.
 CENTRAL INDIA
● Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi led the rising in Central India. She was a
brave patriotic woman.
● The valiant General Tantia Tope also joined her. Although she fought
very fearlessly, courageously and bravely,yet she was defeated by the
English forces due to the traitors in her own camp.
● She ran away to Kalpi; the English General Sir Hugh Rose, followed both
Rani of Jhansi and Tantia Tope.
● From Kalpi, she went to Gwalior and seized it from Scindia, who was the
great supporter of the British rule in India.
● Rani Lakshmi Bai died fighting in the battlefield and Tantia Tope was
captured and sentenced to death.
With the death of Rani Lakshmi Bai and Tantia Tope, the Rising of 1857 ended.
 THE RISING OF 1857 UNPRECEDENTED
The Rising of 1857 A.D. was unprecedented. It was so due to the following
reasons:

● The rising was faster in its extent than earlier revolts which took place
between 1765 and 1857 against the English.
● The people of all castes and religions took part in this rising.
● All the people, whether they were peasants or landlords, princes or
paupers, educated or uneducated, were affected by the Rising of 1857.
● The foundation of the Company was shaken by this rising.
● According to some historians, it was the first rising against the British
rule,which was carried on with a planning.
 CONSEQUENCES OF THE RISING
The British had regained control of the country by the end of 1859,but they
could not carry on ruling the land with the same policies any more.

1. The British Parliament passed a new Act in 1858 known as Government

of India Act 1858 and transferred the powers of the East India
Company to the British Crown in order to ensure a more responsible
management of Indian affairs.
➔ The Board of Control was abolished and the Board of Directors had no
powers left.
➔ A member of the British Cabinet was appointed Secretary of State for
India and made responsible for all matters related to governance.
➔ The Governor-General of India was given the title of Viceroy, that is, a
personal representative of the Crown.
2. All ruling chiefs of the country were assured that their territory would
never be annexed in future.

➔ They were allowed to pass on their kingdoms to their heirs, including

adopted sons.
➔ However, they made to acknowledge the British Queen as their
Sovereign Paramount. Thus, the Indian rulers were to hold their
kingdoms as subordinates of the British Crown.

3. It was decided that the proportion of Indian soldiers in the army would be
reduced and the number of European soldiers would be increased.

➔ It was also decided that instead of recruiting soldiers from Oudh, Bihar,
Central India and South India, more soldiers would be recruited from
among the Gurkhas, Sikhs and Pathans.
4. The land and property of Muslims was confisticated on a large scale and
they were treated with suspicion and hostility. The British believed that
they were responsible for the rebellion in a big way.

5. The British decided to respect the customary religious and social

practices of the people in India.

6. Policies were made to protect landlords and zamindars and give them
security of rights over their lands.