Revolt of 1857 Introduction
Revolt of 1857 - First War of
Independence Against British
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.
Revolt of 1857
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.
This
article provides all relevant information related to the 1857 revolt and its
causes and effects. Important Notes On Revolt 1857 For Class IX Sainik School
Entrance Exam.
Immediate Reason of Revolt of 1857
The
immediate factor was the introduction of the ‘Enfield’ rifle.
The
cartridge had to be bitten off before loading it into the gun.
Indian
sepoys believed that the cartridge was greased with either pig fat or made from
cow fat. This was against the Hindu and Muslim sentiments.
Thus
they were reluctant to use the ‘Enfield’ rifle.
This
was a flashpoint to enrage the soldiers against the British. As a result was
believed to be the immediate factor for the revolt of 1857.
Causes of Revolt of 1857 :
The 1857 revolt was initiated due to
various factors which are stated below:
Religious
& Social Causes –
Racism or racial discrimination was believed to be a major reason for the
revolt of 1857 wherein Indians were exploited and were kept away from mixing
with Europeans. The whites also started interfering in the religious and
cultural affairs of Indians and tortured them as well.
To
know more about the Social causes for revolt of 1857, refer to the linked
article.
Political
Causes – The British
expansion had led to the propagation of unjust policies that led to the loss of
power of the Nawabs and Zamindars residing at various places of India.
The
introduction of unfair policies like the policy of Trade and Commerce, the
policy of indirect subordination (subsidiary alliance), the policy of war and
annexation, the policy of direct subordination (doctrine of lapse), the policy
of misgovernance (through which Awadh was annexed) greatly hampered the
interests of the rulers of the native states, and they one by one became
victims of British expansionism.
Therefore,
those rulers, who lost their states to the British, were naturally against the
British and took sides against them during the revolt.
Economic Factors – There were various reforms in the
taxation and revenue system that affected the peasants heavily.
British
Government had imposed and introduced various administrative policies to expand
their territory.
Military Factors: Another major cause was the General
Enlistment Act of July 25 1856. Passed 10 months before the rebellion, the act
required that new recruits to the Bengal Army to accept a commitment for
general service.
Earlier
the enlisted men of the Bengal Army had been exempted from serving overseas as
they believed that such an act would be against their beliefs.
But
the Madras and Bombay regiments had no such inhibitions. Governor-General Lord
Dalhousie felt it unfair that the burden of deployment fell squarely on the
smaller presidency armies.
With
the signing of the act, sepoys of the Bengal Army felt that it would also
prevent their sons from following their footsteps while fearing the prospect of
serving overseas.
The major policies are listed below:
Permanent Settlement in Bengal
Mahalwari
settlement in Central India & Ryotwari settlement in southern India.
These
three settlements were highly exploitative, and in particular, the Permanent
settlement had created a devastating impact. Thus the peasants were greatly
encouraged to overthrow the British Government from India which led to their
active participation in the revolt of 1857.
Military Factors – The Indian soldiers faced a lot of
discrimination from the British officials with respect to their salaries,
pensions, and promotions. Indians were subjugated in the military while their
European counterparts faced no such discrimination. This led to discontent and
was a major military factor that resulted in the 1857 revolt.
Vellore Mutiny : -
The
Vellore Mutiny took place even before the revolt of 1857 (50 years before).
It
erupted on 10th July 1806 in Vellore, present-day Tamil Nadu, and lasted only
for a day, but it was brutal and it was the first major mutiny by the Indian
sepoys in the East India Company.
Impact of Revolt of 1857
The
revolt of 1857 shook the foundation of the British East India Company and
disclosed their inefficiency in handling the Indian administration. The major
impact was the introduction of the Government of India Act, 1858 which
abolished the rule of the British East India Company and marked the beginning
of the British Raj that bestowed powers in the hands of the British government
to rule India directly through representatives.
Causes of Failure of the Revolt of
1857
The
1857 revolt was eventually not successful in ousting the British from the
country because of several factors.
The
sepoys lacked one clear leader; there were several. They also did not have a
coherent plan by which the foreigners would be routed.
Indian
rulers who aided the revolt did not envision any plan for the country after the
British were defeated.
Majorly northern India was affected by
this revolt.
The three presidencies of Bengal,
Bombay and Madras remained mostly unaffected.
List of Important Leaders associated
with the Revolt of 1857
1.
Place Revolt of 1857 – Important Leaders
2.
Delhi Bahadur Shah II, General Bakht Khan
3.
Lucknow Begum Hazrat Mahal, Birjis Qadir, Ahmadullah
4.
Kanpur Nana Sahib, Rao Sahib, Tantia Tope,
Azimullah Khan
5.
Jhansi Rani Laxmibai
6.
Bihar Kunwar Singh, Amar Singh
7.
Rajasthan Jaidayal Singh and Hardayal Singh
8.
Farrukhabad Tufzal Hasan Khan
9.
Assam Kandapareshwar Singh, Maniram Dutta
Baruah
10. Orissa Surendra
Shahi, Ujjwal Shahi
Revolt of 1857
Related Links:
Frequently Asked Questions – Revolt of
1857
Q1Who coined the name Sepoy Mutiny?
In
India, the term First War of Independence was first popularized by Vinayak
Damodar Savarkar in his 1909 book The History of the War of Indian
Independence.
Q2 What was the immediate reason for
the revolt of 1857?
The
immediate factor was the introduction of the ‘Enfield’ rifle. It was said that
the cartridge of this rifle was wrapped in the fat of cow and pig. The
cartridge had to be bitten off before loading it into the gun. Thus the Hindu
and Muslim soldiers were reluctant to use the ‘Enfield’ rifle.
Q3 What are the causes of Revolt of
1857?
There
are many reasons that led to the revolt of 1857. Major reasons for the revolt
can be broadly classified into – Political, Social, Economic, Religious,
Military, etc. The causes have been discussed in this article under respective
sections.
Q4 What are the important points of
Revolt of 1857?
The
main impact of the 1857 revolt was the abolishment of the East India Company,
India was under the direct control of British authority, The Indian
administration was directly controlled by Queen Victoria. The second major
impact that the revolt of 1857 created was to develop unity & patriotism in
the nation.
Q5 What was the main objective of 1857
revolt?
The
major goal of the uprising was to prevent the assimilation of Indians into
Western and British culture. Indians felt that the British wanted to strip them
of their ethnic and religious identities. Another goal of the uprising was to
slow down the acquisition of Indian lands by the British East India Company.
