CHAMPS ACADEMY INDU SARAFF

Chapter – 05 History When People Rebel: 1857and After

• Policies and the People: The policies of the East India Company affected
different people like kings, queens, peasants, landlords, tribals and soldiers
in different ways.
Nawabs Lose their Power:
(i) Since the mid-eighteenth century. Nawabs and rajas had seen their
power erode. They lost their authority and honour.
(ii) In 1801, a subsidiary alliance was imposed on Awadh. The company
began to plan to bring an end to the Mughal dynasty.
The Peasants and the Sepoys:
i) In the countryside peasants and zamindars resented the high taxes and the
rigid methods of revenue collection.
ii) The Indian sepoys in the employement of the compa ny were unhappy
about their pay, allowances and conditions of service.
iii) Moreover, some new rules violated their religious sensibilities and beliefs.
Responses to Reforms:
(i) The British believed that Indian society had to be reformed.
(ii) Laws were passed to stop the practice of Sati and to encourage
the remarriage of windows.
• Through the Eyes of the People: The English were
determined to wipe out the religions of Hindu and the Muslims.
A Mutiny Becomes a Popular Rebellion:
(i) In May 1857, a massive rebellion started against the company’s very
presence in India.
(ii) Sepoys multinied in several places beginning from Meerut and a large
number of people from different sections of society rose up in rebellion.
From Meerut to Delhi:
(i) On 29March 1857, Mangal Pandey, a yound soldier was hanged to death
for attacking his officers in Barrackpore.
(ii) The response of the other Indian soldiers in Meerut was quite
extraordinary, they marched to the jail to Meerut and released the im prisoned
sepoys.
(iii) The sepoys rode all night of 10 May to reach Delhi.
(iv) The regiments stationed in Delhi also rose up in rebellion and many
British officers were killed, arms and ammunition seized, buildings set on fire.
(v) The soldiers forcibly met Bahadur Shah Zafar and proclaimed him as
their leader.
The Rebellion Spreads:
(i) After the British were routed from Delhi there was no
uprising for almost a week. Then a spurt of mutinies began.
(ii) Regiment after Regiment mutinied and took off to join other troops at
nodal points like Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow.
(iii) In this rebel Nana Saheb of Kanpur, Birjis Qadr of Lucknow and his
mother Begum Hazrat Mahal, Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi took as active
part in organizing the uprising against the British. Rani Avantibai Lodhi of
Ramgarh raised and led the army agains the British who had taken over the
administration of her state.
The company Fights Back:
(i) Unnerved by the scale of the upheaval, the company decided to repress
the revolt with all its might.
(ii) Delhi was recaptured from the rebel forces in September 1857.
(iii) The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried in court
and sentenced to life imprisonment. He along his wife was spent to prison in
Rangoon.
(iv) People continued to resist and battle the British. The British had to fight
for two years to suppress the massive forces of popular rebellion.
Aftermath:
(i) Some important changes were introduced by the British after they
regained control by the end of 1859. The British Parliament passed a new Act
1858and transferred the power of the East India Company to the British
crown in order to ensure a more responsible management of Indian affairs.
(ii) All ruling chiefs of the country were allowed to pass on their kingdoms to
their heirs, including the adopted sons.
Ch-5 When People Rebel (HIST)
Q 1 : What was the demand of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi that was refused by the
British?
Ans: Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi wanted the East India Company to recognise her adopted
son as the heir to the kingdom after the death of her husband. This demand was refused by
the British. Ultimately, the Company annexed the kingdom as per the Doctrine of Lapse.
Q 2: What did the British do to protect the interests of those who converted to
Christianity ?
Ans: In 1850, a new law was passed to make conversion to Christianity easier. This law
allowed an Indian who had converted to Christianity to inherit the property of his ancestors.

Q 3: What objections did the sepoys have to the new cartridges that they were asked to
use?
Ans: The new cartridges were suspected of being coated with the fat of cows and pigs. Both
Hindus and Muslim sepoys were offended by the introduction of these cartridges. Their
religious sentiments were affected, and this was the reason they refused to use the cartridges.
They felt that the British were trying to insult their religions.

Q4: How did the last Mughal emperor live the last years of his life?
Ans: After the death of Aurangzeb, Mughal emperors held only symbolic value. Bahadur
Shah Zafar was the last such Mughal emperor. During the 1857 revolt, the rebels needed
someone who would rule the land once the British were thrown out of the country. They
decided that this leader would have to be the Mughal emperor living in the Red Fort, in
Delhi. Though a reluctant leader at first, Bahadur Shah did play an important role in the
rebellion. Though Mughals had lost their earlier authority, a Mughal emperor’s word still
held importance for quite a number of smaller rulers and chieftains. Bahadur Shah sent
letters to all such chiefs and rulers, urging them to come forward and support the rebellion.
After the revolt was suppressed, Bahadur Shah was tried in court and sentenced to life
imprisonment. He and his wife were sent to prison in Rangoon in October 1858. He died in
the Rangoon jail in November 1862.

Q5: What could be the reasons for the confidence of the British rulers about their
position in India before May 1857?
Ans: Since the mid-eighteenth century, the power of the nawabs and rajas was on its decline.
The presence of British Residents in the courts further eroded their authority and curtailed
their freedom to administer their kingdoms. The various kingdoms were forced to disband
their armies and enter into a subsidiary alliance with the British.
The terms of the subsidiary alliance, and later, of the Doctrine of Lapse were such that the
East India Company slowly but surely took control over the kingdoms one by one. From
1757 to 1857, the Company successfully annexed various Indian states, virtually unopposed,
by using a variety of political, economic and diplomatic methods. It rarely had to use military
power. Another reason for the confidence of the British was the decline of the Mughal
dynasty. The Company, through various measures, ensured that the dynasty came to an end.
The name of the Mughal king was removed from the coins minted by the Company. It was
also decided upon that Bahadur Shah would be the last Mughal king and after his death, none
of his descendents would be recognised as kings. The fact that apart from the Company there
was no other dominant authority in the Indian subcontinent, and the belief that there was
absolutely no threat to its authority together contributed to its confidence about its position in
India before May 1857. This is the reason why the revolt and the threatening form it took
came as a shock to the British.

Q6: What impact did Bahadur Shah Zafar’s support to the rebellion have on the people
and the ruling families?
Ans: Though the rebels were determined to bring the East India Company’s rule in country
to an end, they were faced with the question as to who would rule the land once the space of
power fell vacant. The answer to this question lay in Red Fort, in Delhi. That was where the
aging Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar had been residing. After the death of
Aurangzeb, the Mughal dynasty had declined and many smaller power centres had begun
asserting their authority. Yet, the word of the Mughal king still held force for quite a number
of ruling families. Threatened by the expansion of the British rule, many of them felt that if
the Mughal emperor could rule again, they too would be able to rule their own territories
once more. When the rebel forces reached Red Fort, Bahadur Shah was reluctant at first to
take on the might of the British. However, he had to give in, and was thus proclaimed their
leader. Having this symbolic head inspired the rebels to fight the British with renewed
confidence, hope and courage. The emperor wrote letters to the various chiefs and rulers of
the country to come forward and organise a confederacy of Indian states to fight the British.
In consequence of this action, the rebellion spread. The leadership of the Mughal emperor
seemed to provide legitimacy to it. Regiment after regiment mutinied, and joined the rebel
troops at Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow. After them, the people of various Indian towns and
villages also rose up in rebellion and rallied around local leaders, zamindars and chiefs. This
not only strengthened the rebel forces, but also gave a national character to the rebellion.

Q 7: How did the British succeed in securing the submission of the rebel landowners of
Awadh?
Ans: During the revolt, the defeat of the British forces in a number of battles caused a
number of uprisings against the British in various Indian states. A widespread popular
rebellion developed in the region of Awadh in particular. The villages took to arms and the
landlords led them. After the defeat of the rebel forces, the British had a two-pronged
strategy to suppress the rebels and the rebellion. On the one hand, they tried and hanged a
number of rebel leaders who had challenged their authority and could do so again in the
future. On the other hand, they tried their best to win back the loyalty of the people. They
announced reward for loyal landowners. They were assured that they would be allowed to
continue to enjoy traditional rights over their lands. Those who had rebelled were told that if
they submitted to the British, and if they had not killed any white people, they would remain
safe and their rights and claims to land would not be denied.
Q 8: In what ways did the British change their policies as a result of the rebellion of
1857?
Ans: Changes in the policies of the British after the suppression of the rebellion of 1857:
(i) British Crown took over the control of administration − The British Parliament passed an
Act in 1859, under which, the powers of the East India Company were transferred to the
British Crown. The British government was now directly responsible for ruling India.
(ii) Provided a sense of security to the local rulers − The ruling chiefs of the country were
assured that their territories would never be annexed by the British. However, they had to
swear allegiance to the British crown. They also abolished the Doctrine of Lapse, thereby
allowing rulers to pass on their kingdoms to adopted sons.
(iii) Provided a sense of security to landowners − Policies were made to protect landlords and
zamindars, and give them security of rights over their lands.
(iv) Reorganised the army − The proportion of Indian soldiers in the army was reduced and
the number of European soldiers in the army was increased.
(v) Treated the Muslims with suspicion and hostility − Considering them to be responsible
for the rebellion in a big way, the British confiscated the land and property of Muslims on a
large scale.
(vi) Promised non-interference in the sphere of religion − The British assured the people of
India that their religious and social practises would be respected and not interfered with.