THAKUR RAMNARAYAN COLLEGE OF LAW

RESEARCH PAPER

NAME: EKTA TRIPATHI

CLASS: FYBLS

DIVISION/ROLL NO.: B/48

SUBJECT: HISTORY

SUBMITTED TO: PROF. MOONAM KHARAT

TOPIC: THE REVOLT OF 1857

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 26/09/2022

 THE REVOLT OF 1857
ABSTRACT:
By 1857 with the expansion of British power its political hold on India also expanded and
coupled with economic exploitation and the introduction of administrative innovations deprived
the earlier rulers and figures of the authority of their powers, the secure self-contained village
setup was also disrupted, and the only class that profited was the newly western educated youth
which made up a fraction of one percent of the entire population. This caused various uprisings
and mutinies against British rule but the revolt of 1857 shook the British rule to its core. It was
the biggest uprising against the British so far, involving one-third of the Indian population.
Various historians have given it various names, some English writers have called it Sipoy mutiny
or Muslim revolt or the first war of independence, etc, but as in R.C. Majumdar’s words ‘even if
not a war for freedom it was like Julius Ceasar more powerful after death than while living’ i.e.
its national importance was indirect and posterior.

INTRODUCTION:
By the first half of the 19th century, the East India Company had brought significant portions of
India under its control, but still, it had two purposes or aims : (i) To sustain its conquests and (ii)
To exploit the trade. To fulfill these aims, there was no limit to the company’s betrayal and
avarice. Before 1857 A.D., many of the native domination was forcibly annexed to the British
Empire. The British Government was sucking the blood of both, the rulers and the people.
Everywhere the revolts were taking place against the British East India Company’s rule. It was
effortless to conquer the new territories but it was very difficult to keep those territories under
the control of the British East India Company. The East India Company's rule from 1757 to
1857 generated a lot of discontent among the different sections of the Indian people against the
British. The end of the Mughal rule gave a psychological blow to the Muslims many of whom
had enjoyed positions and patronage under the Mughal and other provincial Muslim rulers. The
commercial policy of the company brought ruin to the artisans and craftsman, while the
divergent land revenue policy adopted by the Company in different regions, especially the
permanent settlement in the North and the Ryotwari settlement in the south put the peasants on
the road of impoverishment and misery.

BACKGROUND:
To regard the rebellion merely as a sepoy mutiny is to underestimate the root causes leading to it.
British paramountcy—i.e., the belief in British dominance in Indian political, economic, and
cultural life—had been introduced in India in about 1820. The British increasingly used a variety
of tactics to usurp control of the Hindu princely states that were under what was called subsidiary
alliances with the British. Everywhere the old Indian aristocracy was being replaced by British
officials. One notable British technique was called the doctrine of lapse, first perpetrated by Lord
Dalhousie in the late 1840s. It involved the British prohibiting a Hindu ruler without a natural
heir from adopting a successor and, after the ruler died or abdicated, annexing his land. To those
problems may be added the growing discontent of the Brahmans, many of whom had been
dispossessed of their revenues or had lost lucrative positions. Another serious concern was the
increasing pace of Westernization, by which Hindu society was being affected by the
introduction of Western ideas. Missionaries were challenging the religious beliefs of the Hindus.
The humanitarian movement led to reforms that went deeper than the political superstructure.
During his tenure as governor-general of India (1848–56), Lord Dalhousie made efforts toward
emancipating women and introduced a bill to remove all legal obstacles to the remarriage of
Hindu widows. Converts to Christianity were to share with their Hindu relatives the property of
the family estate. There was a widespread belief that the British aimed at breaking down the
1
caste system. The introduction of Western methods of education was a direct challenge to
orthodoxy, both Hindu and Muslim.

The mutiny broke out in the Bengal army because it was only in the military sphere that Indians
were organized. The pretext for revolt was the introduction of the new Enfield rifle. To load it,
the sepoys had to bite off the ends of lubricated cartridges. A rumor spread among the sepoys
that the grease used to lubricate the cartridges was a mixture of pigs’ and cows’ lard; thus, to
have oral contact with it was an insult to both Muslims and Hindus. There is no conclusive
evidence that either of these materials was actually used on any of the cartridges in question.
However, the perception that the cartridges were tainted added to the larger suspicion that the
British were trying to undermine Indian traditional society. For their part, the British did not pay
enough attention to the growing level of sepoy discontent.

NATURE OF THE REVOLT:

1 https://www.britannica.com/topic/caste-social-differentiation
There are two major views regarding the nature of the Revolt of 1857. British historians have
treated the great uprising of 1857 as a sepoy mutiny. On the other hand, the staunch patriotic and
nationalist Indian writers & historians regard the Revolt of 1857 as the First War of Indian
Independence. However, the truth lies somewhere in between. In his Discovery of India,
Jawaharlal Nehru maintains that the Revolt of 1857 was much more than a sepoy mutiny.
Though initially, it started as a mutiny of the Indian soldiers, the revolt spread rapidly and
assumed the nature of a mass rebellion. Jawaharlal Nehru maintains that the Revolt of 1857 was
a feudal uprising though there were some nationalistic elements in it. Moderate historians also
express similar opinions regarding the nature of the Revolt of 1857. There are some other views
that described the Revolt as a religious war or a racial struggle for supremacy between the whites
and the colored people a struggle between the oriental and occidental civilization, a Hindu-
Muslim conspiracy to overthrow the British rule; a conflict between feudalism and imperialism.

CAUSES OF REVOLT OF 1857:

The 1857 revolt was caused by a number of factors, both immediate and long-term. The
following are some of the most important causes of the revolt:

The Policy of Annexation

One of the main reasons for the outbreak of the revolt was the policy of annexation pursued by
the British. This policy led to the annexation of several native states, which made the people feel
that their rights were being usurped.

The Doctrine of Lapse

The Doctrine of Lapse was another major cause of the revolt. This doctrine allowed the British to
annex any native state whose ruler died without a male heir. This led to great unrest among the
people, as they felt that their rights were being snatched away.

Discrimination against Indians

The British policy of discrimination against Indians was another important factor that led to the
revolt. The British favored Europeans over Indians in all aspects of life, which led to a feeling of
resentment among the people.

The Economic Policies of the British

The economic policies of the British also contributed to the outbreak of the revolt. The tax
policies and other measures adopted by the British led to economic hardship for the people,
which made them resentful of British rule.

The Social Policies of the British

The social policies of the British also played a role in causing the revolt. The policy of
introducing western education and culture led to a feeling of alienation among the people.

Greased Cartilages

The introduction of greased cartridges was the immediate cause of the revolt. The cartridges used
in the new rifles had to be greased with tallow, which is a substance derived from animal fat.
This led to great resentment among the Hindu and Muslim soldiers, as they felt that this was
against their religious beliefs.

The rebellion was thus caused by a combination of factors, both immediate and long-term. It is
important to understand all of these factors if we want to get a clear picture of this historic event.

OUTBREAK OF REVOLT OF 1857:

In Barrackpur, On 29th March, the soldiers of the 34th Native Infantry refused to use the greased
cartridges, and a sepoy named Mangal Pandey broke the lines and fired at Lieutenant Baugh.
Mangal Pandey was arrested and executed. At Behrampur, which also had disobeyed the
authorities was disbanded. The First major outbreak that finally led to the Revolt of 1857
occurred at Meerut. Following the court martial of eighty-five sepoys of the Cavalry Regiment
for refusing to use the greased cartridges, on 10th May 1857, the sepoys broke out in open
rebellion, shot their officers, released their fellow sepoys, and marched towards Delhi. On 12th
May, the sepoys captured the city of Delhi and occupied the palace proclaiming Bahadur Shah II
as the emperor of India. Within a short period, the revolt spread to Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra,
Jhansi, Central India, Bihar, Orissa, and many other places. However, the Indian rulers remained
loyal to the British and rendered valuable service in the suppression of the revolt. The British
were defensive during the early part of the revolt. First of all, they made a sustained effort to
recapture Delhi from the sepoys. In September 1857, Delhi was recaptured by the British.
Emperor Bahadur Shah II was arrested and exiled to Mandalay, Burma, where he died a few
years later. Two of his sons and a grandson were shot dead. Thus, The British ended the Mughal
dynasty from the Indian scenario. The sepoys besieged the Residency at Lucnow. Sir Henry
Lawrence and some loyal sepoys lost their lives while defending the Residency. In March 1858,
British forces captured Lucknow with the help of the Gurkha Regiments. Nana sahib, the
adopted son of the ex-Peshwa Baji Rao II led the sepoys at Kanpur. Nana Sahib was joined by
Tantia Tope. After the recapture of Lucknow, General Campbell occupied Kanpur on 6th
December 1857 Tantia Tope joined Rani Lakshmi Bai the widow of Raja Gangadhar Rao fought
against the British. The British under Sir Hugh Rose occupied Jhansi. Rani Lakshmi Bal and
Tantia proceeded to Gwalior where the Indian soldiers joined them. The British recaptured
Gwalior in June 1858, and the Rani of Jhansi died fighting heroically. Tatya Tope was captured
and put to death a year later. In Rohilkand, the revolt began at Bareilly in May 1857. Where
Muhammad Hasan Khan, led a force of about 10,000. Rana Beni Madho Singh of Saharanpur
had a personal following of about 15,000 and Gajadar Singh of Gorakhpur commanded a force
of 51,000. All of them attacked the British position in their respective regions and rallied around
the Begum, Hazrat Mahal. Apart from these, there were also many minor revolts in Jehlum,
Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ropar, Ferozepur, and Agra. But by the beginning of 1858 most of these
revolts were systematically suppressed by the British. Some of the Indian rulers also cooperated
with the British in suppressing the revolt. The ministers of Gwalior, Hyderabad, and Nepal also
rendered their support to the British. Thus, the first major attempt on the part of the Indians to
overthrow the British power could not succeed.

CAUSES OF FAILURE OF REBELLION:

In 1857, a major but abortive outbreak happened in India, the revolt of 1857, in opposition to the
administration of the British East India Company, which worked as an independent power on the
behalf of the British crown. The event was known by many names the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian
Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, and India’s First War Of Independence. It was
suppressed a year after it erupted. There had been many reasons that led to the collapse of this
powerful rebellion like there was no common leader, no unity, didn’t getting support from all
rulers and classes of India. Another one of the main reasons behind the collapse of the revolt was
that it was poorly organized.

CAUSES OF FAILURE

Lack Of Spirit of Nationalism

The rebellions of revolt lacked the spirit of nationalism. They supported the sepoys just only
because of hatred towards the ‘Firangi’ East India Company. Modern nationalism was yet
unknown in India. Patriotism meant the love of one’s small locality or region or at most one’s
state. All-India interests and the awareness were yet to come that bound all Indians together.

Lack of Unity

There was a lack of unity among rebels, while the sepoys of Bengal were revolting against the
East India Company whereas the soldiers of Punjab and Bombay supported the Company against
the sepoys. Sepoys and leaders like Tantia Tope battled for the Mughal rule while Sikhs of
Punjab did not want to go back under the Muslim ruler. Thus, such problems, however, turned
into a loss of team spirit withinside the ranks of rebels themselves.

Poorly Organized

The main rebellions Nana Saheb, Tantia Tope, Kunwar Singh, and Laxmibai were not good
military generals and no match to the British men of exceptional abilities like John Nicholson,
James Outram, Henry Havelock, etc who were experienced military commanders and planned
their strategies very handsomely. There was a lack of coordination on the Indian sides, even, the
sepoys who started the revolt were unorganized and behaved in an uncontrolled manner. Each
leader of the revolt fought in their own territory and lacked connections with others. The
Englishmen, who were alien to the subcontinent, were the master of the sea and got timely help
from Britain to crush the revolt.

No Common Goal

The revolt saw no common idea or goal behind it. After taking control of many regions leaders
and rebels had no forward-looking plan for India. Every rebellion joined it because of their own
interest, rulers joined because they were losing power in the region, Sepoy had their reason of
inferiority and wanted to revive to the glory of Mughals, civilians because of religious
interference, peasants wanted to remove zamindars and moneylenders, etc. This made it an easy
task for the Britishers to suppress the revolt.

AFTERMATH OF REVOLT OF 1857:

The immediate result of the mutiny was a general housecleaning of the Indian administration.
The East India Company was abolished in favor of the direct rule of India by the British
government. In concrete terms, this did not mean much, but it introduced a more personal note
into the government and removed the unimaginative commercialism that had lingered in the
Court of Directors. The financial crisis caused by the mutiny led to a reorganization of the Indian
administration’s finances on a modern basis. The Indian army was also extensively reorganized.
Another significant result of the mutiny was the beginning of the policy of consultation with
Indians. The Legislative Council of 1853 contained only Europeans and had arrogantly behaved
as if it were a full-fledged parliament. It was widely felt that a lack of communication with
Indian opinion had helped to precipitate the crisis. Accordingly, the new council of 1861 was
given an Indian-nominated element. The educational and public works programs (roads,
railways, telegraphs, and irrigation) continued with little interruption; in fact, some were
stimulated by the thought of their value for the transport of troops in a crisis. But insensitive
British-imposed social measures that affected Hindu society came to an abrupt end.
Finally, there was the effect of the mutiny on the people of India themselves. Traditional society
had made its protest against the incoming alien influences, and it had failed. The princes and
other natural leaders had either held aloof from the mutiny or had proved, for the most part,
incompetent. From this time all serious hope of a revival of the past or an exclusion of the West
diminished. The traditional structure of Indian society began to break down and was eventually
superseded by a Westernized class system, from which emerged a strong middle class with a
heightened sense of Indian nationalism.

SIGNIFICANCE OF REVOLT OF 1857:

The significance of the mutiny of 1857 can be summarized in below heads:
It exposed the East India Company
According to Sir Lepel Griffin had there been no Mutiny in 1857, the various types of defects
and irregularities, that existed in the administrative machinery and policies and programs of the
East India Company would not have come to light before the World. The Great rebellion
immediately invited the attention of the British Government in London and the various glaring
defects and shortcomings in the administration were removed. It was the Revolt of 1857 that
brought to the military defects of the East India Company, which were at once eradicated. Thus,
for the British, the Revolt of 1857 was an important incident.

British made some efforts to win over Indians

After the abolition of the East India Company, the administration of India was taken over
directly by the Crown-in-Parliament. The people of India were assured of the freedom of
religion, equal protection of the law, equality of opportunities in government services, and of
ancient Indian rites, customs, and usages. At the same time, the Indian princes were assured of
maintenance of their treaties and engagements of territorial integrity of their states and of their
rights, dignity and honor. It was in this way that the British Government made attempts to win
over the confidence of the people of India for years to come.

Influenced India’s National Struggle

The Revolt of 1857 influenced the history of India’s struggle for freedom in another way also. It
could not deny that the sepoys who rose in revolt had genuine grievances. They were certainly
justified in their struggle for their rights. However, in the trial of strength, the primitive
weaponry of the Indians was no match for the more modernized weapons used by the British.
The accounts of the atrocities convinced the Indian intellectuals about the futility of violence
being applied in the struggle for freedom. The new elite, emerging from the intellectual ferment
of the early nineteenth century, created a middle class that despised violence and showed a
preference for orderly progress.
Even during the Revolt of 1857, it became evident that the educated Indians had no faith in
armed rebellion, and the failure of the revolt confirmed this conviction. When the leadership of
India’s struggle for freedom passed on to the middle class, the lesson of the Revolt of 1857
influenced their strategy to a very large extent.

CONCLUSION:
The revolt was actually a product of the character and policies of colonial rule, the peoples’
accumulated resentments against the administration of society, and their aversion to the foreign
regime. However, the revolt was suppressed by the British, but the revolt of 1857 played an
important role in uniting the Indian people and giving them an awareness of belonging to one
country. The 1857 revolt was caused by a number of factors, chief among them the increasing
power of the British East India Company and the resentment it bred in Indian subjects. The
company’s monopoly on trade, its exemption from taxation, and its ever-growing landholdings
created great inequality and injustice. In addition, British policies such as the Doctrine of Lapse
and the Vernacular Press Act further angered Indians. Students studying this period should be
aware of all these causes to gain a complete understanding of one of India’s most significant
uprisings.

REFERENCES:
BOOK:
● MODERN INDIAN HISTORY BY V D MAHAJAN
LINKS:
● https://mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/FYBA-History-Paper-I-History-of-Modern-
India-Revised-Syllabus-2018-19.pdf
● https://www.gktoday.in/topic/nature-of-the-revolt-of-1857-analysis/#:~:text=According
%20to%20Seeley%2C%20the%20Revolt,annexation%2C%20also%20joi
● https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/causes-of-failure-of-the-revolt-of-1857/
● https://www.britannica.com/event/Indian-Mutiny/Aftermath
● https://www.gktoday.in/topic/significance-of-the-mutiny-of-1857