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Appsc Group 1 2008 Prelims Paper English
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37
Lesson – 3
THE FIRST WAR OF INDIAN INDEPENDENCE(GREAT REVOLT OF 1857) —END OF EAST INDIA COMPANY’S RULE
Learning Objectives
1.Pupil gets an idea about the early revolts against the English rule.2.Pupil gains knowledge about the political, administrative, economic,social, religious and military causes for the outbreak of the Revolt of1857.3.Pupil understands the causes for the failure of the revolt and theresults of the revolt.4.Pupil recognises the significance of Queen Victoria’s Proclamation.
The period after the Battle of Plassey witnessed exploitation ofthe wealth and resources of India by the East India Company. TheBritish treated the Indians as conquered people. They introduced newpolitical, legal and economic institutions in India. They were completelydifferent from those prevailing during the 18
th
Century. Many peoplewere affected due to their political and economic policies. Theybecame unhappy. The grievances of the Princes, soldiers and thepeople added to the growing discontent. It resulted in mutinies andrevolts in some parts. But the great revolt of 1857 was the mostimportant one.Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, in his famous book,
“Discovery of India”,
has written, “the very fact that a country with such agreat illustrious past should be ruled over by a handful of peoplefrom a distant Island is something that makes me wild.” It wasthe inner feeling of the entire country.
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Early revolts against the British Rule – (1765 – 1856) :
There wasopposition, generally against the British, by the Hindu Sanyasins andMuslim Fakirs in the eastern parts of India. In South India,
Palayakkars
(Poligar) resisted the extension of the British authority intheir area. They rose against the British under the leadership of
Maruthu Brothers,
Veera Pandya Katta Bomman,
Pulithevan
and
Veluthambi.
They all were noted for the patriotism, courage, self-respect and sacrifice. The
Sepoy Mutiny
at
Vellore
in 1806manifested to the British that the Indians were not passive to accepteverything. The
Barrackpore mutiny
in 1824 was another importantrevolt against the British authority.
The First War of Indian Independence
or
The Great Revolt of 1857:
The Indian soldiers in the East India Company’s army rebelled againstthe British in 1857. The English historians have painted this revolt as amutiny of the sepoys. But the Indian historians describe it as the
First war of Indian Independence
.
It is also known as the
Great Revolt of 1857. Lord Canning
was the Governor-General of India at that time.The causes of the Great Revolt were many. They may be classified as
political, administrative, economic, social, religious, military
and
immediate causes.
Political Causes :
The annexation policy of British was one of themajor causes. The terms of the Subsidiary treaties signed by Wellesleywith different rulers were never honoured unless it suited the Britishinterests. The
Doctrine of Lapse
introduced by Dalhousie led to theoutright annexation of eight states. Nana Saheb lost his pension. Raniof Jhansi was not permitted to adopt a son. They turned against theBritish. They were the most able leaders of the revolt. The annexationof Oudh and deposition of its ruler
Wazid Ali Shah,
made Oudh themost prominent centre of the revolt. Bahadur Shah II, the MughalEmperor and his successors were humiliated by the British. They wereprohibited from using their ancestral palace, the Red Fort, in future.Besides, the Muslims were in general dissatisfied with the British. Theyfelt that they had lost their political power.
Administrative Causes :
The Indians disliked and distrusted theadministration of the British. For example, the replacement of Persianlanguage by English as the court language was not liked by thepeople. The judicial system of the British was costly, mechanical andinvolved much time. The poor could draw no advantage from it. The
39rich disliked it because they could be brought to trial even by appealsof the common men who had been subservient to them for centuries.The police system of the British was not effective by that time. Thepeople always felt insecure of their property, life and honour. The mostaffected part of British administration was the revenue system. Underthe British the peasants and the landlords suffered equally. Thepeasants had to pay heavy revenue taxes. The landlords were devoidof their special privileges. The British excluded the Indians from all highcivil and military jobs. So the educated Indians who expected to getgainful employment in the service of the company were disappointed.
Economic Causes :
The economic exploitation of the country, thehuge drain of wealth and the disappearance of the native industriesdislocated the economic life of the people in India. The British crippledIndian trade and manufacture. They imposed heavy protective dutiesin Britain while British goods were imported into India at a nominalduty. The machine made British goods flooded the Indian markets andruined Indian manufacture. With the disappearance of the oldaristocratic Zamindars and rulers, the Indian artisans and craftmen losttheir patronage. The Indian weavers and handicraftsmen were forcedto work according to the desires of the servants of the company. Theyin return received very little wages. Naturally they lost their interest. Itdestroyed the cotton textile industry of India which was the largest andmost beneficial industry. Thousands of people who held administrativeposts under the Indian rulers were deposed. Loss of employmentaffected others who were dependent on those employees for theirlivelihood. Lord Bentinck’s resumption of rent-free tenures reduced thelandowners to poverty. The out-break of seven famines in the first halfof the nineteenth century made the economic distress more acute.
Social Causes :
The British regarded the Indians as an inferior race.They exhibited racial arrogance. They showed contempt in theirdealing with the Indians. The Indians could not travel in first class traincompartments. They were kept away from all social gatherings. Theywere not allowed to mix up with the English men. The conservativesection of the Indians were alarmed by the rapid spread of Westernculture and English education in India. Measures like the suppressionof Sati and female infanticide, remarriage of widows and the right ofinheritance to Christian converts offended the Indian orthodoxsentiments.
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1857 Revolt
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