“War of Independence”
1857
Introduction
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company’s army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to present-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern Madhya Pradesh, and the Delhi region. The rebellion posed a considerable threat to Company power in that region and it was contained only with the fall of Gwalioron 20 June 1858.
The rebellion is also known as India’s First War of Independence, the Great Rebellion, the Indian Mutiny, the Revolt of 1857, the Uprising of 1857, the Sepoy Rebellion, and the Sepoy Mutiny. Other regions of Company-controlled India Bengal province, the Bombay Presidency, and the Madras Presidency remained largely calm. In Punjab, the Sikh princes backed the Company by providing both soldiers and support. The large princely states, Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir, as well as the smaller ones of Rajputana did not join the rebellion. In some regions, such as Oudh, the rebellion took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence.
Rebel leaders, such as the Rani of Jhansi, became folk heroes in the nationalist movement in India half a century later; however, they themselves “generated no coherent ideology” for a new order. The rebellion led to the dissolution of the East India Company in 1858, and forced the British to reorganize the army, the financial system, and the administration in India. India was thereafter directly governed by the Crown in the new British Raj.
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Causes of Revolt
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 did not occur as a result of one specific event; it was an accumulation of several events, over time, resulting in its eventual outbreak.
The sepoys were a combination of Hindu and Muslim soldiers. Just before the Rebellion there were over 200,000 Indians in the army compared to about 40,000 British. Most of the Indians were only recruited for low ranks and the higher ranks were only given to the foreigners. This created a lot of resentment in the army.
It has been suggested that after the annexation of Oudh by the East India Company in 1856 due to doctrine of lapse, many were disquieted both from losing their perquisites, as landed gentry. Others have stressed that by 1857, some Indian soldiers, reading the presence of missionaries as a sign of official intent, were convinced that the Company was masterminding mass conversions of Hindus and Muslims to Christianity.
A major cause of resentment that arose ten months prior to the outbreak of the Rising was the General Service Enlistment Act of 25 July 1856. As noted above, men of the Bengal Army had been exempted from overseas service. Specifically they were enlisted only for service in territories to which they could march.
The rebels consisted of three groups: the feudal nobility, rural landlords called taluqdars, and the peasants. The nobility, many of whom had lost titles and domains under the Doctrine of Lapse, which refused to recognize the adopted children of princes as legal heirs, felt that the Company had interfered with a traditional system of inheritance. With it the removal of Bahadur Shah Zafar from the throne of Delhi was also seen as a sign of disrespect.
Mangal Pandey and the Greased Cartridges
The final spark was provided by the ammunition for new Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle. These rifles had a tighter fit, and used paper cartridges that came pre-greased. To load the rifle, sepoys had to bite the cartridge open to release the powder. Now, the grease used on these cartridges included tallow , which if derived from pork would be offensive to Muslims, and if derived from beef would be offensive to Hindus.
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On 26 February 1857 the 19th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) regiment became concerned that new cartridges they had been issued were wrapped in paper greased with cow and pig fat, which had to be opened by mouth thus affecting their religious sensibilities.
On 29 March 1857 at the Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) parade ground, near Calcutta (now Kolkata), 29-year-old Mangal Pandey of the 34th BNI, angered by the recent actions by the East India Company, declared that he would rebel against his commanders. The company was infuriated. He was courtmartialled on 6 April. He was hanged on 8 April.
The Revolt Spreads
Sepoys in other regiments thought this as a very harsh punishment. The show of disgrace while disbanding contributed to the extent of the rebellion in view of some historians
During April, there was unrest and fires at Agra, Allahabad and Ambala. At Ambala in particular, which was a large military cantonment where several units had been collected for their annual musketry practice, it was clear to the British Generals that some sort of riot over the cartridges was imminent. Despite the objections of the civilian Governor-General’s staff, they agreed to postpone the musketry practice, and allow a new drill by which the soldiers tore the cartridges with their fingers rather than their teeth. However, they issued no general orders making this standard practice throughout the Bengal Army and, rather than remain at Ambala to defuse or overawe potential trouble, they then proceeded to Simla, the cool “hill station” where many high officials spent the summer.
Although there was no open revolt at Ambala, there was widespread arson during late April. Barrack buildings (especially those belonging to soldiers who had used the Enfield cartridges) and European officers’ bungalows were set on fire.
The revolt quickly spread across Meerut and Delhi. In Meerut, about 90 people were court-martialled when they refused to obey their general’s orders. The other sepoys were quick to react and the revolt spread across Delhi and Meerut. The War quickly spread across luck now, Jhansi, Aligarh and other states.
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Bahadur Shah Zafar & Rani of Jhansi
The news of the events at Delhi spread rapidly, provoking uprisings among sepoys and disturbances in many districts. In many cases, it was the behavior of British military and civilian authorities themselves which precipitated disorder.
Bahadur Shah Zafar was proclaimed the Emperor of the whole of India. Most contemporary and modern accounts suggest that he was coerced by the sepoys and his courtiers to sign the proclamation against his will. In spite of the significant loss of power that the Mughal dynasty had suffered in the preceding centuries, their name still carried great prestige across northern India. The civilians, nobility and other dignitaries took the oath of allegiance to the Emperor. The British, who had long ceased to take the authority of the Mughal Emperor seriously, were astonished at how the ordinary people responded to Zafar’s call for war. The Emperor issued coins in his name, one of the oldest ways of asserting Imperial status, and his name was added to the acceptance by Muslims that he is their King. This proclamation, however, turned the Sikhs of Punjab away from the rebellion, as they did not want to return to Islamic rule, having fought many wars against the Mughal rulers. The province of Bengal was largely quiet throughout the entire period.
Jhansi was a Maratha-ruled princely state in Bundelkhand. When the Raja of Jhansi died without a biological male heir in 1853, it was annexed to the British Raj by the Governor-General of India under the doctrine of lapse. His widow, Rani Lakshmi Bai, protested against the denial of rights of their adopted son. When war broke out, Jhansi quickly became a centre of the rebellion. A small group of Company officials and their families took refuge in Jhansi’s fort, and the Rani negotiated their evacuation. After being driven from Jhansi and Kalpi, on 1 June 1858 Rani Lakshmi Bai and a group of Maratha rebels captured the fortress city of Gwalior from the Scindia rulers, who were British allies. This might have reinvigorated the rebellion but the Central India Field Force very quickly advanced against the city. The Rani died on 17 June, the second day of the Battle of Gwalior probably killed by a carbine shot.
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The War Fails
From the end of 1857, the British had begun to gain ground again. Lucknow was retaken in March 1858. On 8 July 1858, a peace treaty was signed and the rebellion ended. The last rebels were defeated in Gwalior on 20 June 1858. By 1859, rebel leaders Bakht Khan and Nana Sahib had either been slain or had fled. As well as hanging mutineers, the British had some “blown from cannon” (an old Mughal punishment adopted many years before in India).
Sentenced rebels were tied over the mouths of cannons and blown to pieces when the gun was fired.
The authorities in British colonies with an Indian population, sepoy or civilian, took measures to secure themselves against copycat uprisings. Security was boosted especially in locations with an Indian convict population. According to Victorianist Patrick Brantlinger, no event raised national hysteria in Britain to a higher pitch, and no event in the 19th century took a greater hold on the British imagination, so much so that “Victorian writing about the Mutiny expresses in concentrated form the racist ideology that Edward Said calls Orientalism”. Others note that this was just one of a number of colonial rebellions which had a cumulative effect on British public opinion. However, the British quietly but assuringly took control of the mutiny. Bahadur Shah Zafar was taken prisoner and all of his sons were killed. The Arms Act and The Press Act also gave them more control over the general uprising.
Why did the War Fail?
Disunity amongst the Indians:
The general uprising was not co-ordinated. Although there were uniting leaders like Bahadur Shah and Rani of Jhansi but the rebels were not at all united. The reason for war was the same but the Hindus were fighting for their own rights and Muslims for their own. Some Hindu princes did not want to put back Mughals on the throne, so they helped the British to regain their strength, which is why the ruler of Kashmir sent 2000 troops to help the British. Also the rulers of Punjab also did not help the rebellion because they thought that helping them might restore the Mughal power back. Only the Muslims showed full enthusiasm. Their rule had actually been overtaken by the British and this increased their resentment against the British.
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British Strengths:
Due to industrial revolution in Britain, they had better weaponry than any other kingdom in the world. The British soldiers were more organized and trained than the Indians. They were also more experienced than the rebels. They easily took control of the revolt and faced the problems with steadfastness .
Aftereffects of War
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major turning point in the history of modern India. It led to significant change in how India was to be controlled by the British. Under the Government of India Act 1858, the Company was deprived of its involvement in ruling India, with its territory being transferred to the direct authority of the British government. Crown Rule was introduced and Queen Victoria was announced as the new Empress of India. The British stopped the policy of seizing land from the princes, decreed religious tolerance, and began to admit Indians into the civil service. However, they also increased the number of British soldiers in relation to native Indian ones, and only allowed British soldiers to handle artillery. Bahadur Shah was exiled to Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar), where he died in 1862.
