WHAT WERE THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF TH£ WAR OF

INDEPENDENCE 1857·58?

sontents
0 11
) h E!r l(ey Questions addressed in this chapter
b eJp • me U11niediate and underf),;ng causes or the \,Var
reQ~ • The attitude of Bahadur Shah Z.afar

g 1._ • The course oi the \,Var, ..._ What were the long-term causes of the war?
I IE! .
as • Rea..,<0ns for failure ..._ What were the immediate causes of the war?
~f ~e • 1he short-term impact of lhe \-Var on Muslims
..._ W hy was independence not achieved?
E! 1..- .
• ond in the suv-<-vntinent
::: ehi Ill • 7ne British reaction: maior constitutionalI ..._ What were the immediate consequences of the war?
1

ec/uCi3tional and administrative reforms

·• as
:, '11 b , '."""!:::::-- - --========-- -=-=-=-~. . .
1a rny
~ :llth

··imeline
India British announce greased ca1iridoes Septem ber British regain Delhi and Lucknov;
1857 0

Januan· will be used

•
1858 Lakshmibai killed
Sepoys executed for refusing to use June
!\larch cartridges

.May Uprising in Meerut. RevolLspreads August War officially declared over

The Causes of the War

Introduction
In 1857, the British faced a serious challenge to their control of India. In that
year, there were a series of uprisings which are known by British historians as
• 'The Indian Mutiny' and by Indian historians as 'The War of Independence'. These
differing names for the same event show how history can be a matter of
interpretation.
For the British, the events of 1857 were a revolt against their authority which
had to be crushed in order to maintain control. To the Indians, it was a war to
throw off the shackles of foreign domination.
The reasons for the outbreak of the war in 1857 can be divided into four areas ,
though different sections of the popu lation were motivated by different factors.
What they all had in common, however, was resentn1ent of British rule. So to
fully understand th is topic, you will need to make sure you understand how the
British imposed their rule on the subcontinent (see pages 19-26) .

1. Political
As the British extended their control, the local leaders saw their authority decline.
Lo rd Dal ho usie 's use of the 'Doctrine of Lapse' was particularly unpopular.

27
 1
1 BS6 co1nvh1c d rn ny II 1di I I
• rs th t th
TI s iz u I f Ou 1~1 Hl i , r
wer simpfy ~ e Jy i nd gr I 1,er .
M I all En,p ro, w 1.. no h r caus of u r 8
1, . mis!r I in nt 01 111 u~ r 1 ,ft bu t w an im orla n
C fl tfl Emp, ror h~ ~ 1 tlle po It
10 1
wY I f, mlly r o t e Fo
less rv II no r oau, usie '~ deci ion 8 't ~~vw1
s s en as sign of disre c .
more o s ur Qulub c _

. . t there w lso r s ntmien a h lac

t IO er re ve I Ul oc J y' - · E r d
. d.1 ns in the c1 vi' service. A dded t . t 11s. ng JS r pJace
for n t,v I . 1 of the a 1rninistralion and a s he I n u
as t e ofiic1 I ,a11g1uage
education ou ld be given .

. r • I •n •
0

As British political control grew, s~ did h_e sp~ead of Brit' sh u r

aIrea dy seen· t,ow · the BriUsh
, co,ns1dered
. , 1t the ir du Y to, spread
·
It. 1
18.35 one E,ngUsh adm~n,strator talked of how a sing1e .J: Rea
cu u re . ,n , . , ·t t f I d
European libri ry was ~vorth thiri whole native I era ure o n
Many oft e British were more though fu l_than th is , ~-ut in .ge
treated the Indians as an inferior race . lnd1a ns and Bnt1sh did n
1

as socia( equals and fhe British soc ieties ~egarded the~se ves
of culture in a largely uncivHised wo rld . Th 1s arrogant attitude c p ed
1

1ntroduction of a new way of Hfe with its ra1ilways , road s and e egrap
1

unacceptabfe to 1 many l1ndians.

Many ~ndians feared ha Islam , Hinduism and Sikhism we re u er hrea
British rue. Thie British always denied this, but they were no belie ed. 1
probably not thie ,case. but it was true that Christian m issionaries came ta 1
to conv,ert th e locail popu la tion as welll as s et up schools. In -ese sc ols
1

m1issionaries taught Christianity and expected locals who worked for em

up their reUgion and follow the Christian teachings.

•· ODO

We_ have _alre_ady seen how the British merchants mad e s bstantia proi
What led to the mutiny? !heir tradin~ in goo~s such as textiles. The British also fol io ed a pra ti i . ·-=T.
Cartridge Gun imposing high taxation to ensure that they exploi ted India's e· Ith to e
Peasants and small landowners, in particular found it diffic It to p y h incr a
axes and resentment grew. It was also true that some tax co lector ere
· ····· Paper case
~nd kept s~me of the tax money for themselves. At the s e time a
····· ····· Powder
,~posing high taxes on India, the British were also keeping the ala
(infantry) low, causing more resentment.
•

As you will read on page 2g the r

cartr;dges· H ·h- ' evo,lt started ov r ,h ~ r
. owever, t ere were more d - .
~~~ amongst members of the armed fo . eep seated re .
Explain how ,each of the Company's army were Indian Th rces. Most of the ld1 I
fo!lowi ng fa tors helped to exclusively Indian but the .off e s pays and . owar (c Ir.
bnng about opposition to . . • icer cl ss w h o t cl i i I r
British rule by 185 7. T~1s caused great resentment. Th r .
A. Pofiticaf Hindu and Sikh soldiers would b f e w re I o r gul r ru 11our , t , I 11.
B. Religious and Social might be sent to fight abroad ~- ~reed to c nvert to Chri ti nit nd .h I
C. Economic of Indian troops in Afghanista~ ~a,~c al was uo ccept. ble to th Hin u . 1:hB_
D. Military
not want to leave 'Mother India' It so proved unpopul r Hind old1 f;
1857 said, 'a// the native army i~
,
di:S:~i
n~ wo~der th t one India observf
fled with the government .

28
? Sriti~~ - - - - - - - - - - ,

• In January 1857, the British announced that they were 1ntroduc1ng

a new rifle with a paper cartridge covered in grease to keep tne
powder dry Before the cartridge could be loaded, the end had to
be bitten off. However 1t was rumoured that the grease on the
cartridge was made from lhe fal of both cows and pigs. Tr e
sepoys were so angered by this that they refused to use the nevi
cartridges
• In March. a sepoy named Mangat Pandey defied his British o~cers
and was executed. But the real trouble began two months later
• In May sepoys in Meerut refused lo touch the new cartridges. They
were court-martialled and put in prison, but their fellow-so d1ers
V\e ha b roke inlo the prison and freed them rv'leerut v,as sacked and
5t.J PericL--------:-----:---::::-----:-:-:---:-_J British officers and other Europeans were put to death Then the
'Jf a go,_ Fig. J.J: Reasons/or the Ha,· of Independence soldiers marched to Delhi and captured 1t. The Mughal Emperor.
Bahadur Shah II became the un1fy1ng symbol for tne uprising.
r Arao,1 - -- - , 7 - - - -- -------,
N winning the support of both Muslim and Hindu
ie 8riti1
?ra ly 111' ·· ~lccrut ••·. + • The war spread quickly and the British lost control of Matnura
Kanpur, Jhansi and Allahabad as well as Deln1. LucKnow was a so
al oas,
Delhi •
•Bul.tncl~h r taken and British rule ceased to ex,st throt.gno1..t what 1s not,
V,ith ti • • B,.rc,I
,.\lij?.trh •
called Uttar Pradesh.
1P"l, w , • In Cawnpore. Indian troops led by Nara Sahib rose up against
F.t1chaarh
\..<>r.t
\Ltinpuri Luci;slO\, \
the British and kept their forces trapped for over three weeks After
. being promised safe passage out of the city the Br1t1sh
·eat fro • io...inpur \_
... surrendered. However as they left the city Nana Sah b's forces
K.11p i ·
d . t w, jh.&n,i • AJl.th.,b .. d \ turned on them and the British force, plus 300 women and children
i to Inc , ,·· ..._...... . . .
were massacred. When the British recaptured the city they carried
..... .... .
00 s, U out even worse atrocities in revenge.
--··.. ' 1
TI to gh • However, the British proved to be too powerfu to be aefeated oy
.
.. ..... ... ........ .............. .
. an uncoordinated uprising across many areas. ln Seo,ember 1857
..... Cl 200 Delhi was regained . Bahadur Shah II surrendered peacefully but
km his sons Mirza Mughal , Mirza Sultan and Mirza Abu Bakar were
>fits frGL . - - - - - - - - -- - - ---' brutally murdered. Their heads were then presented to he
actice Fig. 3.1: The main centres ofuprising Emperor as a lesson . Lucknow was also regained b) the s~ t•sh
1 the fl against the British in /85 - in September 1857.
i\Creas • After the fall of Lucknow, the main centre of opposition was Jhans, Yere the
re com sepoys were led by Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi. She was assistec b)'
1ey we Tatya Topee, an Indian general of great ability. But in June 1858, the British
,f sepo killed Lakshmibai (dressed as a man) in battle. Although Tatya Topee escaped .
~oir do Skills Book he was later captured and executed .
pages 9-1 0 Following the defeat of Lakshmibai , the British eliminated pockets of opposition
and the war was officially declared at an end in August 1858.
~reast
,conte
1st Ind Why did the war fail?
: a1rno The attempt to overthrow the British and expel them from India was unsuccessful.
1 Why was the issue of The British were to impose severe measures on the Indians for their 'disloyalty'.
SritiS
·~reased cartridges so
Why did the war fail?
Musfir 1rr p11rtant 111 18577

~at th1 l. l.. ack of unity

rhe tJ! 2 WhJ, .... ere the main
e\ent!> 01 che war 1 Although resentment of the British was a single cause to f ight for, the Indians
liers
erver
d
--- were not coordinated or united in what they hoped to achieve. There was no
general plan and no attempt to work together. In different places, different groups
fought for different reasons. Although the Mughal Emperor was something of a

29
 . . s didn't really want to see imperial P0Wer
figurehead, most Indian pnncee of national patriotism India was too d
Nor was there any real s~n~
f8 eling For examp e.
such a
• The Punja~ a
·
nd
nd
. had been conquered by troops from a
s,~~h ommand of British officers. So when
Central India u ehr : ~ish it Is not surprising that the Punjab.,,,_
th:.•
rebelled aga inst l e r ' ~,..
d · supporting them.
intereste in . es were Interested only In restoring their
• some of the Indian pn~c owers actually depended on the support Ci
th
powers. Somellmes e ul~r or Kashmir sent 2000 troops to help the
This expla,~s why. t~e r was closely tied to the continuation of Britt..&.
the war. Hts pos,1ion "llllll

1 I uniting force in the war was Islam. The Mugha,

Perhaps the on Yd rbeaMuslims and they were keen to see Bahadur Shah
had been create Y , h · ·t · th
Th f t that Muslims were 1n t e minor, Y 1n e country 11111
~is power~., Me al?m rulers and kings that were being replaced by the
11 was main Y us I h th
· hy they were more prepared t an any o er group to
may also exp Iain w · t the Muslim 1--.::
the British. However, an y degree of unity amongs s a_,. 111111
minantly . d d Si'khs who were not prepared to fight to restore power to the
H1n us an · h th B ·r h
Mughal Empire. These reasons may well exp!aM,n w,. YR e It~' rs camel)
the War of Independence as predominantly a us rm evo .

2. British Strengths
Perhaps the major reason for the failure of the lndia_ns w~s that the British
too strong. Britain was one of the most powerful .nations. rn th~ world at this
and its troops were experienced in warfare and hrghly trained rn modem
of fighting . They also had a good reputation for discipline on the
The only hope the Indians had to defeat the British was that there should
general uprising across most of India and for the Indian troops to act
it was, the British kept control in more than three quarters of their PQ!;ses
They were skilled diplomats and they knew that most of the Indian rulers
fighting to restore their own rights, not to establish a united India. So they
it easy to play the various groups off against each other. Although there
number of serious uprisings against the British, but being uncoordinated It was
a matter of time before the highly efficient British military machine restored

The Effects of the War

'fhc Proclamation of 1858
The failure of the war confinned the Blitish as
The Bntish ,aid thcv
•
\\'Ould: of_l~dia. It had been intended to loosen the )di
I. Not 1n1crlerc Jn the religious belief.\ of the people. ~nt,sh control, but instead it tightened it The
issued a proclamation at Allahabad in 1858
2. ilay due regard to ancient property right!. and custon,~. the war to an end.
.l J\ bide hy all treaty obl 1gat ion~
In th e_proclamation the British recognised
th
4. A.grce 1
0 '10 funhcr 1erri1onal acquisition. e grr~va~ces of the Indian people but, In
th
ey pa,d lrttle attention to their promises. The
5. l iuaran1ce he 1gh1 to appointn1en1s in public ser\ icc.
rea~t,on to the war was to carry out brullll
against the Indians, as was seen at Cawnpore.

30

li)W ) ~
!!!\.·Aiat \..'ciS me effect of
\ var on the Muslim
oommunity in India?
ou think that the
~ tment of the
Jims by the British
185 7 \,\'cl5 justified?
British llulc
After t~~ War of Independence, the Easl India Company was abohshf.:d . fJov,
te British government would take full responsibility for all matter~ ,n lnrJ,a
mem~e:. of the British Cabinet , the Secretary of State for India. via~ g, 1<;:r
respons 1b1hty for the government of the country.
However, the direct responsibility was in lhe hands of the Go,ernor-General
now _called the Viceroy. He had over one thousand members of the lnd,an c, 1(
~erv,ce (ICS) lo h~lp him administer the country. These ranged from h1ghl/ pa,d
Judges lo lowly p~1d junior administrators. Despite the proclamation of 1858. DJ
1870 o nly one Indian had become an officer in the ICS. As for the Indian princes
those who had shown themselves to be loyal were allowed to remain on ttie:1r
th~o nes. Yet they had little or no real power and were obliged to folio·,, tre pol c1
la id down by the British government.
~ fte : the war, Bahadur Shah was put on trial and sentenced to #e
1mpnsonment. He was sent to live out his years in Burma. In January ~ 877
t he British Queen, Victoria , was appointed Empress of India The Indian roya
f amily had fo rmally been replaced .
fh e \Juslin1s
The British considered that the Muslim community was largely to blame for t.'ie
war and it was to be many years before they once more began to trust Muslims.
In the army the British began to recruit men mostly from groups such as Sikhs
Pa th ans and Gurkhas, who they thought were 'trustworthy'.
The Mu slims objected to British education and to the use of English, both of
wh ich they considered to be un-lslamic. But the British withdrew funding from
Muslim schools and M uslim education fell into decline.
It may well have been part of the British plan to keep the Muslims illiterate and
th us prevent them from gaining public office. As a well-known B ritish historian
of Ind ia wrote at the time:
There is scarcely a Government office in Calcutta in which a Muslim can hope
for any post above the rank of porter, messenger, filler of inkpots or mender
of posts.
In contrast, the Hindus soon found favour with the British by adapting themselves
to the new rule. They readily accepted British education and many of them
quickly learne d to speak English . Although , only minor posts were offered to
Indians, almost a ll of these went to Hindus educated in 'English type· of schools,
Thus the Muslim community suffered as a result of the War of Independence.
The Birth of Nationalist Ideas
After the War of Independence, the British took strong measures to ensure that
their control of India was unchallenged . The East India Company was abolished
and control of India now passed to Her Majesty's Government. In other words.
to the British government in London. In 1877, Queen Victoria was proclaimed
Empress of India in a magnificent ceremony in Delhi.
31
 • Brilish rule proved unpopular with many l~~ians. 1:hey were lar991y
f overning India. A member of the Bnt_,sh Cab1n~t, the secre
f~~7n~ia, was in charge of deciding the pohcy for l_n~1a, working With
ia itself the policy was adm1n1stered by the
man coun ell . 'n Ind , . , .
General (sometimes called 'the Viceroy), based_1n Calcutta. He
by an Executive coun_c il an? _the ev_e ryday business of th~ 'Brifish
ca rried out by the Indian C1v1I Service. In 1858, Queen ~1ctoria h
that ·our subjects of whatever race or creed be freely and impartially
to offices In our service'. However, by 1_870 there was o~ly one I
in the Indian Civil Service. So the Indian people had little say in
country was run. .. .
• In other areas also, the British made sure that India was run in a
1 \-\ hdt '\ ,tC'lll did the benefit themselves, Instead of putting the needs of the local Pos>ul
Brit '1 ,-et up 1,x go\,•rn1ng • After 1857, there were fewer op~ortuniti~s for lnd_ian soldiers in the
C' ,1ttcr tr,C' VV.1r ot
army, as the ratio of British to Indian soldiers was increased from 1
ncfence?
Recru itment from less 'trust worthy' areas, such as Oudh, was
think so n,an} • Viceroy Lord Lytton ended Import duties on British cotton goods en
,pro1r,:-d of
nrlia 111 the These duties had made British goods expensive and so the local
t l'ldr)'? sold easil y. With the duties ended, British cotton was cheaper a
manufacturers found it harder to sell their goods.

In 1907, Bhikhaiji Rustom Gama, a Parsi from Bombay, attended the I

Socialist Conference in Germany. There she made a fiery speech
India had suffered from the 'terrible tyrannies of British rule'.

" Thirty-five million pounds have been taken annually from India to England
return. As a consequence people in India have died at a rate of half a million
month."
1. What do ~ou think Bh ikhaiji Rustom Cama was trying to say?
2. Do yo_u t hink the f igures 35 million and half a million will be very accurate
Does 1t matter?

The lack of opportunities for Ind· I d .

in newspaper articles written . ,an~ e to wide-spread criticism of Iha
to pass the Vernacular Act ~~ ~e:ional l~nguages. The British re
7
newspapers. In th e same year th :· . ~hich placed strict controls Oft
impossible for most Indians to ' e ntish passed an Arms Act which
0
Indian uprising it would be le wnffwe~pons, to ensure that if there WM
' ss e ect1ve.
In this environment it is not surprising that nationalist Ideas began to
• In 1866, Rajinarayan Bose f nd
feeling . ou ed a society for the promotion d
• In 1867, the yearly Hindu Mel
• Political groups also bega t a w~s started in Bengal.
in 1870, the most signlfic~nto ~pr;~g up, such as Sarvajanlk S8bha
0
founded in 1885. a th ese was the Indian National

32
~ '
-,;~ ~
., I
I'
•

~~~
I

y
'It

~
I

Look carefully at the picture of the Viceroy.

1- What impression do you get of t he Viceroy from this source?
2. Do you think t his drawing w as done by someone who supported the Brit ish rule or opposed it? Explain
your answer.
Give reasons f or your answer.

tion B Exam-style Questions ~----aaaaa======~----------..

What was the Doctrine of Lapse? {4)
Why did the British take tough measures against the Muslim community after the War of
Independence? {7)
Do you agree that the British defeated the Indians in the war because the Indians wen
not united? Give reasons for your answer. {14]

33
 SI R S YP. D AttMAll t<tlAN ANO 'TIii! CAUSIJS OP THE INDIAN lf*V«r,
1 I w ol, • /1,n ( ,,11·1,,,1 of l/11· J11rl/,11, /i,,vrJlf' In 1858, He
:---1, ~\ c'd,1\1l111,,H, I, 111111 ,' •ly '. 11111 11.id lo•,I /,1Jll1" '(JIJ',lri ,111,J ,,n 11ridc In the fl
1
\\ttl\t''•'•t'l 1 \1 111 '• Vt 11Y In,, , ' / tf t ~IJ
lr th, , 1111101 1,, ol t 11',/ 111 1 11,111 , 1i•,1 01,d t 1,,, 1s, 111,,h r,<,r1u ,, rJn '1 nau, d
I,,,
ll~d I~ 111' 111111) •,t 11>•,I Ill•, '111,, 111 clollHJ ',(). .JI·,() VIII r,t•',',t•d th,: rt: /t~n'Jr• ca,r,eci
t,) 111 n,'111• It w1 11 ,11 t1J1 1y ,,., ,1pl1111 1d IJ1•IIII 111 'Jr•pt1•rnbtr 1,J':,7, ~i,: .,,,mesle(j larte
1:
,u,nht'ti, ul ·~111·,ll111:, t1 1I Vl'll 110 111 1111 • <.lly tJlld lh<• ront1 1,<~atlr;n r1f nurnerou, fttat.tis
bt1 k,1h1i11q tu ~111-.11111•,. I It• I:; q11olr1d tl'J ·~,Jyl11<J:
'F,,r ,on>«' tinlc' J 1vrc·~r1t•,J 1~1111 ,ny r1rlol .-111c/1 /Jr•/!P.vc rnc, It made an old man al
rlf> /II\ /1.Jil ( Ill l lt'C1 w/11/ t.' '.

lit' ,vn ... p.11 ll( ul,11 ly dlstur bed by llie way that th~ British came to view the war
11
r-1u~l11n consph<1cy an,J that lhey should be pun ished for It. Syed Ahmad comJ>lawles
h t Hindus \ve, ~ gnlnlng reve ng e 011 Mu slims by Incriminating them in the eyes d
the British. No proo( was needed Lo establish gurlt. Being Muslim was enoug,a
'It 1s fron1 the voice of the people only that Government can learn whether
projects are likely lo be well received. The voice of the people alone can cheo
errors in the bud, and warn us of dangers before they burst upon and destroy ur
Indian representation would have another advan t age too. I t wo u l d preve
misunderstandings of the government's In tentions and help counter t he widely hefcl
belref that the government wanted to convert I ndians to Ch r ist ian it y - or, at the
very least, to threaten established customs and practices in India .

I t was from these misunderstandings that Syed Ahmad thought all causes of the w.
could be traced. He didn't believe that the war was a Musli m conspiracy and he didnt
see ft as
power of part of the deve
the Mughal lopment of I ndian nationa lism and a desire to restore the
Emperors.

34