QUICK GLANCE- FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, 1857

Causes of the revolt of 1857 

These are broadly categorized into four parts:

1. Political causes:  

    Company's Territorial Expansion/ Policy of Annexation

      A. Subsidiary Alliance:

B. Doctrine of lapse

• Introduced by Lord Dalhousie.
• Stated that the heirs adopted without the approval of the Compay would only inherit the private property of the owner and the territories would be seized by the Company.
• Examples - Jhansi, Satara, Nagpur, Sambalpur etc seized in this manner.
• This doctrine caused widespread discontentment among Indian rulers.

     B. Disrespect to Bahadur Shah Zafar

• Bahadur Shah was the last Mughal ruler of India.
• In 1849, Lord Dalhousie announced that Shah's successor will no longer be permitted to reside at the Red Fort and will have to move to a place near Qutub Minar. It was also declared the successors would be deprived of the right to be called Emperor and would be regarded as mere princes.
• This decision hurt the sentiments of Muslims.

   

 C. Treatment meted out to Nana Saheb

• Nana Saheb was the adopted son the last Peshwa - Bajirao II.
• The British refused to grant Nana Saheb the pension they were paying to Baji Rao II
• Nana Saheb had inherited enormous wealth which he utilized in sending emissaries to different parts of the country to gather support for a revolt movement.
• In general, Nana Saheb was annoyed.

     D. On the pretext of misrule/mismanagement

• In 1856, Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh under the pretext of alleged misrule.
• The Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah was removed from the throne.
• This threw many thousands of nobles, officials, and soldiers out of their job.
• This caused resentment among the people of Awadh, which played a major role in the uprising of 1857.

    E. Unpopular Administration 

• The Indians could not approach the British
• The British could humiliate Indians
• Indians found themselves out of place with English Laws and English Language
• British officers looked upon Indians as inferior and excluded them from high ranks.

    F. Floating Rumours

• A rumor was spread that there's a change in power every hundred years.
• British came to power in 1757; Indians, in 1857, felt that the British rule had come to an end and they ought to be ousted.
• With this belief, the Indians rose in revolt against the British.

2. Socio-Religious cause:

A. SOCIAL CAUSES

1. Interference with social customs

• Reforms like the abolition of Sati was introduced by Lord William Bentick in 1829.
• Widow Remarriage Act was passed and western education was opened to girls. This move was not welcomed by the Indians.
• These social reforms were aimed at improving the conditions of Indian society.
• However, while introducing such reforms the feelings of people were not taken into consideration.

2. Railways and Telegraph

• The introduction of modern innovations such as railways and telegraphs were misunderstood by the people.
• There were rumors that the telegraph poles were erected to hang anti - British people.
• The orthodox Indians noted that in the railway compartments, the high and low castes were made to sit side by side.
• The Indians believed that the British had introduced such reforms to defy their caste and relgion.

3. The policy of racial discrimination.

• British officers were rude towards Indians and believed that they could kill them at their own will.
• Indians were not given high posts in British offices.
• Such acts of unjust discrimination alienated the British from Indian masses.

B. RELIGIOUS CAUSES

1. Fears regarding conversions to Christianity

• The activities of the Christian missionaries created a sense of alarm among Hindus and Muslims.
• The teaching of Christian doctrines was made compulsory in the missionary and government schools.
• Bible was introduced in jails, idol worship was criticized and officials openly preached Christian doctrines. The police force was also used for conversion.
• A feeling of panic rose among Indians who believed they would all be converted to Christianity.

2. Fears regarding Western Education

• The shifting of emphasis from oriental learning to Western education was not received well by the Pundits and the Maulvis.
• People started suspecting that the aim of Western education was not to promote literature and Sciences but to encourage their children to become Christians.

3. Law of property and taxing religious places

• The Hindu Law of Property(1850) enabled a convert from Hinduism to other religions to inherit the property of his father.
• The Hindus regarded this as an incentive to give up one's religious faiths.
• Bathing in holy places, entry into temples and mosques was taxed, causing discontentment. 

3. Economic Causes

1. India reduced to an agro-colony of the British

• The manufacturers in England required other raw materials also such as cotton and oilseeds for their industries so they tried to keep India mainly an agro-colony.
• India was forced to export, at cheaper rates raw materials like - 1) cotton and silk which were urgently needed in British factories, 2) plantation crops and grains which were in short supply in England.
• India was made to accept ready made British goods either duty-free or at nominal duty rates.

2. Ruin of trade and handicrafts

• An Act was passed in 1720 in England which prohibited the use of Indian silks and calicoes in England.
• Heavy duties on Indian silk and cotton textiles in Britain - 70 to 80 percent respectivelydestroyed such industries.
• By the 1850s cotton and silk, export had practically ceased especially in Dhaka, Murshidabad, and Surat.

3. Impoverishment of cultivators

• Permanent Settlement of 1793 made landlords the absolute owners of their estates giving them the power to eject the cultivators for nonpayment of dues.
• Indigo trade was highly profitable to British but the conditions for the concerned peasants were inhumane.
• The farmers were forced to cultivate only cash crops and not food crops.
• If the farmers planted anything else their crops were burnt and their cattle was confiscated as a part of their punishment.

4. Annexation of Rent-free lands and Other estates.

• In 1852 an Inam Commission was appointed to inquire into the title deeds of the owners of large estates.
• Many Zamindars were unable to produce their title deeds on account of the passage of time.
• But the Government did not respond to such pleas and confiscated some 2000 estates creating a huge wave of discontentment among the people especially of Awadh.

5. Loss of livelihood/Big famines

• Millions of artisans and craftsmen lost their jobs and had no source of income.
• Pandits and Maulvis were in danger of losing their jobs too due to the introduction of western education.
• Famines ravaged the country in the second half of the 19th century. 
• The British Government could have at least lessened the misery of the affected people but it did nothing.

4.MILITARY CAUSES

1. Ill-treatment of Indian soldiers

• Indian soldiers helped British East India Company to establish its Empire in India. They were as capable as their British counterparts.
• Still, they were ill-fed and badly houses. They were forbidden fro adorning any cast or sectarian marks, beard or turbans.
• The sentiments of the Indian sepoys were disregarded.

2. General Service Enlistment Act

• The General Service Enlistment Act (1856) made it possible for the soldiers of Bengal Army to be ready for service everywhere- inside or outside India.
• This act made it possible for a Brahmin to be sent overseas for duty which was considered a taboo.
• This created immediate alarm in the minds of the personnel of the Army and the Brahmins saw this as a threat to their caste.

3. Low salary and poor prospects of promotion

• All the high ranks in the army were reserved for the British only. The native sepoys could not rise above the rank of Risaldar or Subedar.
• The maximum pay of a Subedar was less than the minimum pay of a raw English recruit.
• This naturally affected the sepoys' morale.

4. Faulty distribution of troops

• Key places like Delhi and Allahabad had no British armies.
• Further, at this point, England was engaged in several other battles like Persian, Chinese, Afghan, and Crimean War respectively.
• The Indian soldiers realized that the British army was in difficulty and so they were determined to strike as there was a very suitable opportunity.

5. Disproportionate distribution of the Indian and British troops

• The Company's troop consisted of 4 times as many Indian soldiers as compared to British soldiers.
• Lord Dalhousie took up efforts to appoint more British soldiers in the army.
• However, he failed to achieve what he intended which gave courage tp Indian soldiers to take up arms against the Britishers.

6. Introduction of Enfield Rifle(immediate cause)

• The immediate cause for the war of Independence was the introduction of Enfield Rifles in place of the old Brown Bess Guns.
• The cartridges to be used for the Enfield Rifles were greased with the fat of cows and pigs.
• The cow is sacred to Hindus and the pig is a taboo to the Muslims.
• Both Muslim and Hindu soldiers refused to use these cartridges and staged an uprising when they were forced to use them.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR

1. End of company's rule

• The war ended East India Company's rule in India and consequently the Better Government Act was passed in 1858 it brought about the following changes in the administrative setup -

1. The Act of 1858 transferred the Government of India from the Company to the Crown.
2. Company's Board of Control and the Court of Directors were abolished and all their power was transferred to a cabinet minister known as Secretary Of State for India.
3. The Secretary of the Stae was to be assisted by the Indian Council consisting of 15 members.
4. Appointments to the Civil Service were to be made by open competition under rules made by the Secretary of State in council.
5. The Governer-General received the additional title of Viceroy.

2. Queen Victoria's proclamation

1. Queen Victoria in her proclamation(1858) promised not to interfere with the religious beliefs of the people in India.
2. She also promised equal treatment to all her subjects, Indians, and Europeans. All appointments would be strictly on the basis of education, ability, and integrity.
3. An official pardon would be granted to all those who took part in the war except such persons who were guilty of the murder of British subjects.
4.  The material and Moral advancement of the people would be the Government's main concern.

3. Policy towards the Indian princes and chiefs

• Queen Victoria declared in 1858 that the British Government would not annex the Indian states
• All the treaties that the Princes had made with the British would be honored and kept. Their rights of adoption and successors were realized too.

• Nana Saheb had fled to jungles of Nepal after taking an active participation in the War. 
• So the office of the Peshwa also came to an end.
• In the same way- with the death of Bahadur Shah II, the Mughal Dynasty came to an end.

4. Policy of divide and rule

• The Government employed the use of Divide and Rule policy after 1858.
• It turned princes against the people, province against province, people against people and above all Hindus against Muslims.
• In the War, the Muslims and Hindus had displayed a great unity in their revolt so the British were skeptical of their growing nearness.
• So it cleverly used Government services to create a split between the two religions.
• The British also encouraged hatred and ill-feeling among the Hindus and the Muslims so that they could never challenge the British Empire again.

5. Economic exploitation of India

• The number of Englishmen in India, both private individuals and members of services, increased
• India was turned into a typical colonial economy, exporting raw material and importing finished goods.
• There was a rapid rise in the indebtedness of the peasants under the British Rule.
• The British invested their surplus capital in India, in railways, plantations, coal mines, jute mills, shipping, etc

6. Reorganization of the Army

• The proportion of the British to Indian soldiers were increased.
• Artillery and other effective weapons of warfare were reserved for the Brtish troops in India.
• All key positions in the army were exclusively reserved for the British.
• Indian soldiers belonging to different castes and creeds were mixed up in a manner that no sentiment of unity could arise among them.