Military Causes
The Revolt initially was a military mutiny and the sepoys provided the initial spark. The British did not give consideration to the social customs of the upper caste sepoys who were made to live with lower caste sepoys in the same rooms and were made to cross the seas against their wishes. Propagation of Christianity in the barracks angered the sepoys as the missionaries used to ridicule Hinduism and Islam which was also resented. Service conditions were bad and they were paid a lower salary then a junior British soldier, discriminated racially in matters of promotion and privileges and were not given “Bhatta” (foreign service allowance). The sepoys were made to serve in any part of the British empire in India, even against their wishes.
The dissatisfaction of the sepoys had in fact a long history. A sepoy mutiny had broken out in Bengal as early as 1764. Thereafter, revolts broke out at Vellore in 1806, in 1824, the 47th Regiment was disbanded and in 1844, seven battalions revolted on the question of salaries and bhatta. Similarly, the sepoys in Afghanistan were on the verge of revolt during the Afghan War. All these revolts by the sepoys were brutally crushed.
The Revolt of 1857 was the culmination of popular discontent with British policies and imperialist exploitation. But it was not a sudden event as the discontent had been accumulating for a long time. Revolts against British authority ever since its establishment in India in 1757 have been breaking out regularly. The important rebellions are discussed later in the chapter.
The Immediate Cause
By 1857, the material for a mass upheaval was ready, only a spark was needed to set it afire. The episode of the greased cartridges provided this spark for the sepoys and their mutiny provided the general populace with the occasion to revolt.
The new Enfield rifle had been introduced in the army. Its cartridges had a greased paper cover whose end had to be bitten off before the cartridge was loaded into the rifle. The grease was in some instances composed of beef and pig fat. The sepoys, both Hindus and Muslims, were enraged. Many of them believed that the Government was deliberately trying to destroy their religion. The time to rebel had come.
The Revolt began at Meerut, on 10th May 1857 and then spread rapidly across Northern India. It soon embraced a vast area from Punjab in the North and the Narmada in the South to Bihar in the East and Rajputana in the West.
Even before the outbreak at Meerut, Mangal Pande had become a martyr at Barrackpore. Mangal Pande, a young soldier, was hanged on 29 March 1857 for revolting single-handed and attacking his superior officers on the issue of the greased cartridge. At Meerut, on 24 April 90 men of the 3rd Native Cavalry refused to accept the greased cartridges and so 85 of them were dismissed and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. This sparked off a general mutiny among the Indian soldiers stationed at Meerut and on 10 May, they released their imprisoned comrades, killed their officers, and the revolt had begun. They set off for Delhi and when they reached Delhi, the local infantry joined them, killed their European officers, and seized the city. The rebellious soldiers now proclaimed the aged and powerless Bahadur Shah the Emperor of India. Delhi was soon to become the centre of the Revolt and Bahadur Shah its symbol. Though Bahadur Shah was the symbol, the real power lay in the hands of the Mughal general, Bhakt Khan who had revolted at Bareilly and brought the troops to Delhi.
The entire Bengal Army soon rose in revolt which spread quickly to Avadh, Rohikhand, Bundelkhand, Central India and large parts of Bihar and they shook off British authority. But many of the rulers remained loyal to the British.
After the sepoys had destroyed British authority, the common people rose up in arms often fighting with whatever came to their hand. It is the wide participation in the Revolt by the peasantry and the artisans which gave it the character of a popular revolt, especially in the areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Here the peasants and zamindars gave free expression to their grievances by attacking the money-lenders and new zamindars who had displaced them from the land. They destroyed the money-lenders account books and records of debts. They also attacked the British established law courts, revenue offices and thanas.
Though very popular, the revolt was ruthlessly suppressed. Though the rebels had the upper hand for the first few months, the British were able to call in for reinforcements and recaptured one centre after another. Suppression was brutal – leaders were hanged or killed, civilians massacred and villages burnt.
Much of the strength of the Revolt of 1857 lay in Hindu-Muslim unity. Among the soldiers and the people as well as among the leaders there was complete cooperation between Hindus and Muslims. All the rebels recognised Bahadur Shah, a Muslim, as their Emperor. The Hindu and Muslim rebels and sepoys respected each other’s sentiments. For example, wherever the Revolt was successful, orders were immediately issued banning cow slaughter out of respect for Hindu sentiments. Moreover, Hindus and Muslims were equally well represented at all levels of leadership.
The storm-centres of the Revolt of 1857 were at Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Jhansi and Arrah in Bihar.
Emperor Bahadur Shah was perhaps the weakest link in the chain of the leadership of the Revolt. He was not firm even in his support of the revolt. His weak personality and old age and his lack of qualities of leadership created political weakness at the nerve centre of the Revolt and did incalculable damage to it.
At Kanpur, the Revolt was led by Nana Sahib, the adopted son of Baji Rao II, the last Peshwa. Nana Sahib expelled the English from Kanpur and proclaimed himself the Peshwa. The chief burden of fighting on behalf of Nana Sahib fell on the shoulders of Tantia Tope, one of his most loyal servants. who won immortal fame by his patriotism, determined fighting, and skilful guerrilla operations. Azimullah Khan was another loyal servant of Nana Sahib who was an expert in political propaganda.
The revolt at Lucknow was led by the Begum of Avadh who had proclaimed her young son, Birjis Kadr, as the Nawab of Avadh. Helped by the sepoys at Lucknow, and by the zamindars and peasants of Avadh, the Begum organised a revolt against the British.
One of the great leaders of the Revolt and perhaps one of the greatest heroines of Indian history was Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. The young Rani joined the rebels when the British refused to acknowledge her right to adopt an heir to the Jhansi gaddi and annexed her state. The brave Rani died fighting on 17 June 1858, clad in a dress of a soldier and mounted on a charger. Sir Hugh Rose, the general who led the attack on Jhansi described her as “the only man among the rebels.”
Kunwar Singh, a ruined and discontented zamindar of Jagdishpur near Arrah, was the chief organiser of the Revolt in Bihar. Though nearly 80 years old, he was an outstanding military leader and strategist of the Revolt. He fought the British in Bihar, and, later joining hands with Nana Sahib’s forces, he also campaigned in Avadh and Central India. He sustained a fatal wound in the fighting and died on 27 April 1858 at Jagdishpur.
Maulavi Ahmadullah of Faizabad was another outstanding leader of the revolt. When the general Revolt broke out in May, he emerged as one of its acknowledged leaders in Avadh. After the defeat at Lucknow, he led the rebellion in Rohikhand.
Failure Of Revolt
The revolt was poorly organized as there was no planning and the rebels mainly acted on instinct. It was restricted in scope as there was virtually no impact south of Narmada; even in the north, Punjab, Rajasthan and Sind remained quiet. There was no unity of purpose as their objective was merely to drive out the British and did not have any plan for the governance of the country. Leadership was poor as the rebels exhibited a lot of courage but were poor leaders, inexperienced in the art of warfare, while the British had veterans like Sir Hugh Rose. G ral Havelock, General Campbell etc. There were tremendous resources at the command of the British – Railways, Telegraph etc.
Consequences Of The Revolt
- Power was transferred to the Crown om the Company on November 1st 1858 and fundamental changes were introduced in administration – the office of the Viceroy, as the representative of Crown, was created and his office was combined with that of the Governor-General;
- a Department of Indian Affairs was set up in London with a Cabinet Minister as its head and assisted by an India Council; the Indian High Court Act, Indian Civil Service Act, Indian Police Act introduced drastic changes in administration in 1861. The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized to prevent further mutinies;
- the Indian to European troop ratio was raised from 3:1 to 2:1; recruitment was now made from the Sikhs, Rajputs and Gorkhas as they remained loyal to the British during the Revolt. The Indian Council Act, 1861 started the association of Indians in legislative matters in a small way but those appointed were the lackeys of the British. British policy towards native states changed as they were now treated as parts of the British Empire;
- non-interference in internal affairs was promised to ensure their support for the emerging anti-British struggle.