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Episode 02
First War of
Independence
1857
So Let's Begin !
First War of
Independence Majorly Policy of Expansion.
By Fighting wars.

1857 By Doctrine of Lapse - Introduced by Lord Dalhousie

which states that if any indian ruler died without
Political leaving a male natural heir, his kingdom will be then
Causes passed over to British Government.
Jhansi , Satara and Nagpur were annexed on the
basis of Doctrine of Lapse Only.
Annexation of Awadh by Lord Dalhousie on the
Pretext of Alleged Mismanagement.
Subsiduary Alliance was introduced by Lord Richard
Wellesly which says that the every indian ruler must
have to pay subsidy to british for the maintaince of
british army.
First War of
Independence Bahadur shah Zafar (Last Mughal) was disrespected
and was removed from his residence in Red fort. His

1857 name was also removed from the coins. Lord

Canning declared Bahadur Shah Zafar as the Last
Political Mughal Ruler.
Causes Nana Sahib (Adopted Son of Baji Rao II) was refused
pension by British.
First War of
Independence Intervening in the Religious customs by widow
remarriage act (1856) and abolition of Sati (1829).

1857 Racial Discrimination.

Hindus converted to Christian will be allowed to
Socio - Religious inherit the properties of Ancestor.
Causes Taxing religious Institution like Mandir and Mosques.
First War of
Independence Exploitation of Economic Resources.
No import duties were levied on Ready made British

1857 Goods
Heavy Export Duties were levied on Indian Goods
exported to Britain.
Economic Causes
Exploitation of Indian Peasantry.
Famines Became Recurrent in India.
Decline of Landed Aristocracy.
Drain of Raw Materials of India to Britain.
Salaries and Pension of Britishers from Indian
Revenue.
Decay of Cottage and Handicraft Industry.
First War of
Independence ill treatment of Indian Soldiers(They were humiliated)
No Indian Soldier can rise above the post of Subedar.

1857 General Service Enlistment Act 1856 (Sepoy had to

travel overseas whenever required). It was believed
Military Causes by Hindus that one can loose his religion and caste by
crossing the sea.
British Army was mainly composed by Indian
Soldiers.
Post Office Act 1854 - Soldiers were also required to
serve the areas which are situated far from their
home without extra payment (Bhatta).
Low Salaries of Indian Soldiers.
First War of
Independence Announcement of Enfield Rifles with Cartridges with
Greased paper cover.

1857 Rumours were their that greased paper was made of

beef and pork.
Immediate Causes Mangal Pandey urged to not to use Rifle and On 29
March 1857, he attacked his officer in Barrackpore.
First War of
Independence DELHI - Sepoys of Meerut and Local Soldiers killed
many soldiers of British and declared Bahadur Shah

1857 Zafar as Leader.

Awadh - Leader of Revolt was Begum Hazrat Mahal
Main Events and after city was recaptured, she fled to nepal.
KANPUR - Revolt was led by Nana Sahib in 1857 and
large number of British Men and Womens were killed
and later Nana Sahib was defeated in december and
then he fled to Nepal where he died.
First War of
Independence Jhansi - After Annexation of Jhansi on the Pretext of
Doctrine of Lapse , Rani Lakhsmi Bai Valiantly fought

1857 against Sir Huge rose and when it became impossible

for her to hold fort any longer , she escaped to Kalpi
Main Events with lighting speed and at Kalpi she was joined
Tantya Tope , the commander of Nana Sahib and
both marched to Gwalior where she was killed by
British Troops.
First War of
Independence Not Widespread in Nature [Western , Eastern ,
Southern sides of India remain Unaffected by it.]

1857 Britishers got the help from Rajputanas and Sindhias

to crush the revolt.
Limitations Many Zamindars and Taluqdars did not support the
1857 Revolt.
Many section of Educated Indians didn't support the
revolt as they thought that british will modernize
India.
First War of
Independence Military revolt as said by Many Historians.
Veer Savarkar Termed this revolt as "First war of

1857 Indian Independence."

Nature of Revolt.
 Thank you
for coming!
We'll Meetup again in the next episode !