THE REVOLT OF 1857

A TEAM PROJECT
ADITI KUMAR
AISHWARYA MALL
ELEEN MALHOTRA
SADHIKA DUTTA
TANVI BHATNAGAR
VASUDHA MATHUR

PROJECT SYNOPSIS BY VASUDHA MATHUR

Choosing the Project Topic

We were to do a school project for our History class on Indian History. As usual, there was hectic activity
around forming the group and the topic and I, like others kept juggling what comes before what. I was
quite sure that I did not want to cover the eventual outcome of India's independence, or the icons of
Indias independence struggle -Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and many others. I and like-minded
classmates converged on this principle and began to discuss defining moments, battles, events that
eventually led up to Independent India. Many passionate discussions took place on wide ranging topics
from very specific to broad based and we concluded - the Mutiny -1857 AD was a pivotal point in India's
Independence history. The passionate discussions for the topic choice somehow acted as a filter to
creating the project team and we ended up with six members.
Methodology
The methodology adopted for executing the project was a standard one with project submission
deadline being the central theme. I took on the task to conceptualize the project and break up it up to
meaningful task for all the members. Although the initial debates we had within the team could have
been adequate, I decided to increase my understanding of the project topic more. The more and more I
read, the more I got sucked into it, there were many inspiring stories in there. The internet is always a
powerful tool to come up with a broad list of references. However, I soon discovered that there were
innumerable references, documentaries etc. one could draw upon I started off by meeting my
grandparents, from whom I had heard stories of India's independence struggles, specially my maternal
grandparents who had to move from now Pakistan to India. We interviewed a couple of my team
members grandparents as well. These meetings were fantastic as I explored many angles we could
cover in the project and of courses the references would be a consequence. We short listed Indian and
British authors so as to get a perspective of both sides, documentaries specially made by BBC, movies
such as Mangal Pandey, a biopic on the principal initiator of the Mutiny, Lagaan, an interesting movie
on the pent up anger among the local farmer population against the tax collection practices of the East
India Company.
Key observations
Though the project is still ongoing, the key observations till this state of project completion are:
The outcome of the Mutiny In 1857 can be summarized as:
1) The British were able to successfully suppress the mutiny.
2) The Mutiny ended the rule of India by East India Company
3) The British Government bought India under its direct rule.
4) The Mughal Empire lead by Bahadur shah Zafar also ended with the mutiny

However, the Mutiny laid a strong foundation for the struggle for India's independence. In some ways
this can be compared to the Boston Tea Party, which led to the American Revolution.
1) Probably for the first time a large part of India which was a set of fragmented kingdoms came
together for a common cause.
2) Hindu - Muslims usually at war with each other joined hands to fight the British.
3) The mutiny showed Indians that, if they organized themselves well, they could take on the British
Empire.
4) The mutiny created many heroes Rani Jhansi, Tatya Tope, Mangal Pandey, who inspired the country
used to being led by Emperors and Kings,
We are currently analyzing and documenting the impact of the mutiny on society with emphasis on
women and children, the economy and politics.
Acknowledgments
A special thanks to our History Teacher, Ms. Padma Srinivasan, who has not only been guiding the team,
but has also taken us on multiple tours of old Delhi and given a new meaning to the monuments of
Delhi and a taste of the food of the Mughal empire during these tours.
References
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/indiancampaigns/mutiny/mutiny.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/indian_rebellion_01.shtml
http://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/the-revolt-of-1857-in-india-indian-history/660
http://www.foil.org/history/1857.html
Letters written during the siege of Delhi, by Hervey Harris Greathed and Elisa F. Greathed.
History of the Siege of Delhi, Officer who served there, 1861.
The Mutinies and the People or Statements of Native Fidelity Exhibited during the Outbreak of 1857-58 ,
A Hindu ,1859.
The Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Class XII Themes in Indian history CBSE, pages 287,289,292,295,310