Chapter 1

The First War of Independence

1. Political Causes

i. Policy of Expansion

a) By Outright wars :
The Battle of Buxar (1764), established the British as the masters of Bengal,
Bihar and Odisha.
Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767-1799) Mysore State came under their control.
Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-1818)
Second Anglo-Sikh war (1849), Punjab was annexed.
b) Subsidiary Alliance
Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley.It was an agreement with the
Company and the Indian princely States by virtue of which these states lost
their sovereignty to the British.The Indian rulers agreed to Subsidiary Alliance-
Awadh, Nizam of Hydrabad, ruler of Mysore, Raja of Tanjore, Rajput rulers etc.
ers who agreed to the alliance;
 accepted British as the supreme power.

 Surrendered their foreign relations

 Accepted a British resident at their headquaters.

 Agreed not to employ any European in their service without consulting

the company.

 Agreed to maintain British troops at their own cost

tually lost their independence.
c) By using the Doctrine of Lapse
 Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of India, annexed many States
to the Company using the Doctrine of Lapse. According to this
doctrine, If an Indian ruler died without a male heir, his kingdom
would lapse and it would come under the Company’s territory in
India.
 The principle of Lapse was also applied to take away the titles and
pensions of the rulers of some states.
 States that became victims to the Doctrine of Lapse : Jhansi, Satara.
Sambalpur, Jaitpur, Udaipur and Nagpur.

d) On the pretext of alleged misrule

The Pretext of alleged misrule means poor governance and justification.
Awadh on the ground of alleged misrule.
Awadh on the pretext of "the good of the governed". But the people of
Awadh, on the contrary, got no good and had to face more hardships.

i. They had to pay higher land revenue and additional taxes on articles of
food, houses, ferries and justice.
 ii. The dissolution of the Nawab’s Army threw thousands of nobles, officials
and soldiers out of jobs

iii. The British confiscated the estates of the taluqdars and zamindars.
iv. The Company’s sepoys, of whom 75,000 were from Awadh, were the
worst affected.They had to pay higher taxes on the land their families
held in Awadh.
ii. Disrespect shown to Bahadur Shah
 Bahadur Shah Zafar, the Mughal ruler, was under the protection of the
Company and received a pension from the British. The name of the Mughal
King removed from the coins minted by the Company.

 In 1849, Lord Dalhousie announced that successors of Bahadur Shah Zafar

would not be permitted to use the Red Fort as their palace. They were
required to shift to a place near the Qutab Minar.

 In 1856, Lord Canning announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah, his
successors would not be allowed to use the imperial titles with their names
and would be known as mere princes.

 This decision of the British hurt the feelings of the Muslims. Consequently,
Zeenat Mahal, the wife of Bahadur Shah, began plotting against them.
iii. Treatment given to Nana Sahib and Jhansi Rani
 Nana Saheb was the adopted son of Baji Rao II, the last Peshwa. The British
refused to grant Nana Saheb the pension. Nana Saheb was forced to live at
Kanpur, far away from his family seat at Poona. This was widely resented in the
Maratha region. Nana Saheb travelled between Delhi and Lucknow to gather
support for the movement.

 When the ruler of Jhansi died, the widowed Rani was pensioned and their
adopted son, Anand Rao, was not recognised as a lawful successor to the
throne. Thus, Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi, who became the victim of the Doctrine of
Lapse, became a bitter enemy of the British. The other Indian rulers, who were
not adversely affected, became suspicious.
iv. Absentee Sovereignty of the British
Absentee Sovereignty of the British means that India was being ruled by the
British government from England, a distance of thousands of miles. The
earlier rulers like the Mughals, settled in India and the revenues they
collected from the Indians were spent in this country only. But in the case of
Britain, the Indians felt that they were being ruled from England and India's
wealth was being drained to England and not utilised for their welfare.

II. Socio-religious Causes

 British advocated many reforms such as abolition of Sati, female infanticide, child
marriage, widow remarriage and opening of Western education to girls. These
reforms were interpreted by Indians as interference in their religious and social
customs.

 Introduction of Railways and telegraph was viewed with fear and suspicion. There
were rumours that telegraph poles were erected to hang those who were against
the British rule. Introduction of western Education was viewed as an attack on Indian
 social and religious customs.

 Policy of racial discrimination practiced by British led to anger and resentment. The
British officers were rude and arrogant. The police and petty officials were corrupt.

 Activities of Christian missionaries became a catalyst to the revolt.

 The Religious Disabilities Act of 1850 changed the Hindu Law of Property. It allowed
a converted Hindu to inherit the property of their father.

 British imposed taxes on the lands belonging to temples and mosques. People
believed that the British had introduced these practices to defy their religion and
caste.
III. Economic Causes
 Agricultural India was made an economic colony to serve the interests of industrial
England.
 India was forced to export raw materials at cheaper rates to British and accept
readymade British goods at high price.
 Indian handmade goods were unable to compete with the machine-made British
goods.

 Drain of Wealth: The transfer of wealth from India to England, for which India did
not receive proportionate economic return. The drain included salaries, income and
savings of Englishmen, purchasing military goods, office establishment etc.

 Heavy duties on Indian silk and cotton textiles in Britain destroyed Indian industries.
The art of spinning and weaving became extinct.

 The peasants were discontent with the official land revenue policy. Increase in land
revenue forced many peasants into indebtedness.

 Inhuman treatment of indigo cultivators- They were forced to cultivate only indigo, if
they planted anything else, their crops were destroyed, and their cattle were carried
off as punishment.
 Famines ravaged the country. There were 12 major and numerous minor famines
between 1765 and 1857. The British Government did nothing to lessen people’s
misery.
 The taluqdars and the landlords were deprived of their estates. According to the
provisions of the Inam Commission 20,000estates were confiscated when the
landlords failed to produce title-deeds.

IV. Military Causes

 The Indian soldiers were poorly paid, ill-fed, and badly housed.

 The British military officers forbade the sepoys from wearing caste or sectarian
marks, beards or tubans.

 As per the General Service Enlistment Act 1856, the Indian soldiers could be sent
overseas on duty. It was a taboo for Brahmins to cross the sea. The Act did not take
into account the sentiments of the Indian soldiers.
  All higher positions were reserved for the British. Indian soldiers could not rise
above the rank of a subedar. The Sepoys were required to serve in areas away from
their homes without extra payment and additional Bhatta.

 The Post Office Act of 1854 withdrew the privilage of free postage enjoyed by the
sepoys.

Consequences of the First War of Independence

I. End of the Company’s Rule

This was done by the Government of India Act, 1858.

 It transferred the power to govern India from the Company to the British Crown.
 The Company’s Board of Control and Court of Directors Abolished.
Secratary of State’ for India and made responsible for all matters related to the
governance of India. He was given a Council to advise him.
 Actual governance was to be carried by the Governor-General. The Governor-
General was given the title of ‘Viceroy’ (Personal representative of the Crown) Lord
Canning was appointed as the first Viceroy under this Act.

II. Queen Victoria Proclamation

Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1 November 1858 declared that thereafter India would
be governed by and in the name of the British Monarch through a Secretary of State.
The proclamation promised that Government of India would:

 Follow a policy of non-intervention in social and religious matters of Indians.

 Treat all subjects – Indians and Europeans- as equals

 Grant a general pardon to all those who had taken part in the War except those
who were found guilty of murder of British subjects.

 Do the best to advance the industries in India.

 Promote works of public utility to ensure the material as well as the moral
progress of the people.

III. End of Mughals and Peshwas

 With the death of Bahadur Shah II who was deported to Yangon, the Mughal
Dynasty came to an end.
 Nana Saheb, had fled to Nepal and the office of peshawa also came to an end.
Thus ended two of the most formidable foes of the British-Marathas and the
Mughals.

IV. Relations with Princely States

  The policy of annexation and the Doctrine of Lapse were abandoned.

 Some Indian princes remained loyal to the British were rewarded - their right to
adopt heirs would be respected and the integrity of their territories guaranteed
against future annexation.
 In 1876, Queen Victoria assumed the title ‘Empress of India’. Indian princes
willingly became junior partners or agents of the British Crown because they
were promised that they would continue as rulers of their States.

V. Changes in the Army

The Indian army was reorganised to prevent the reoccurrence of another uprising.

 The strength of European troops in India was increased.

The ratio of European to Indian troops was fixed at 1:2 and 2:5. So that the
number of Indian sepoys should not exceed twice that of the European troops.
 European troops were kept in key geographical and military positions. The
sophisticated weapons and ammunition were never placed under the charge of
British.

 Discrimination on the basis of caste, region and religion was practiced in the
recruitment to the army.

 Newspapers, journals and nationalist publications were prevented from reaching

the soldiers to keep the Indian army separated from the life of the rest of the
population.
VI. Other consequences:
 After 1858, the British continued their policy of ‘divide and rule’. They
encouraged hatred and ill-feeling among the Hindus and the Muslims so that
they could never challenge the British Empire in India.
 The British a created racial antagonism by making railway compartments, parks,
hotels, clubs etc reserved for ‘Europeans only’ and maintained a social distance
to preserve their authority over Indians.

 India’s foriegn policy was controlled by the interests of the British Govt.

 The uprising paved the way for the rise of the national movement.
The sacrifices made by Rani Lakshmi Bai, Nana Saheb, and Mangal Panday
served as a source of inspiration for the future freedom fighters.

Previous Years’ Questions Chapter 1

1. What was Nana Saheb’s grievance against the British ? [2]
2. What was the General Service Enlistment Act ? [2]
3. State any two political causes responsible for the First War of Independence. [2]
4. Mention two administrative changes that the British Government brought about
regarding the East India Company’s rule in India. [2]
5. What impact did the uprising of 1857 have on the Mughal Rule? [2]
6. Explain the Causes of the Great Revolt of 1857, with reference to the following (2015)
a. Any three Political Causes. [3]
b. Any three Military Causes. [3]
c. Any four Economic Causes. [4]
7. Numerous causes gave rise to the First War of Independence and its consequences led
to several changes in the British Government in India. In this context, answer the
following : (2018)
a. Explain any three political causes of the Revolt of 1857. [3]
b. Briefly explain the immediate cause of the Great Revolt. [3]
c. State any four changes in the administration of the British Government as a
consequence of the Revolt. [4]
8. By 1857, conditions were ripe for a mass uprising in the form of the Great Revolt of
1857. In this context, explain the following: (2020)
a. Any three Economic causes for the revolt of 1857. [3]
b. Any three Military causes. [3]
c. Any three Political causes of the revolt. [4]
9. The Revolt of 1857 was the beginning of the independence struggle against the colonial
rule of the British. With reference to the consequences of the Revolt, answer the
following: (2023)
a. Mention any three changes made in the administration with the end of the
Company’s Rule. [3]
b. State any three policies promised to Indians in Queen Victoria’s Proclamation.
[3]
c. Mention any four changes made in the army after the Revolt. [4]