14-Mark Questions

1. ‘The War of Independence achieved nothing.’ Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your
answer. [14]

Ans. The War of Independence in 1857 generated different results, and can be perceived as both a
failure and a success.

Firstly, after the War of Independence, the East India Company was abolished. Now the British
government would take full responsibility for all matters in India. The direct responsibility was in the
hands of the Governor-General, now called the viceroy. He had over 1000 members of the Indian Civil
Service (ICS) to help him administer the country. After the war, Bahadur Shah Zafar was put on trial and
sentenced to life imprisonment. He was sent to live out his last years in Burma. In January 1877, the
British queen, Victoria, was appointed Empress of India. The Indian royal family had formally been
replaced, and now the British had full power over Indians, who did not achieve independence from
British Rule. Consequently, this led to the 1857's War failure.

Furthermore, in addition to the decline of the Mughal Empire, the British realized that the main reason
that triggered the war was the lack of support for the Indian mutiny, which heard Indian sentiments, and
led to their revolt against the British. To counter this, the British decided to replace Indian soldiers with
Dutch and Europeans. This resulted in a heavy economic setback for the Indian economy and it led to let
us job opportunities for Indians. In the army, the British give low-paying and less honorable positions to
the Indians, as a way to rake revenge for their revolt. The Indians, especially, the Sepoys, we greatly
disheartened by this measure. This led to the failure of the 1857 War.

Additionally, the British considered that the Muslim community was largely to blame for the war and it
was to be many years before they once more began to trust Muslims. The Muslims objected to British
Education and their policies, which they considered un-Islamic. However, British funding from Muslim
schools and Muslim education went into decline. In contrast, the Hindus found favor with the British by
readily accepting their policies. The Muslim community suffered because of the war, consequently
leading to the war's failure.

In contrast to the failures, the war also had a successful impact on the subcontinent. It brought about
important changes in the policy and administration of the British government. Many of the lawful
policies of the British were abolished, to create peace with Indians. The exploitive East India Company
was put to an end and the unpopular doctrine of lapse which illegally and unlawfully took over Indian
lands, was abolished. This proved successful when the Indians were gradually getting stronger in political
fields this was a major success achieved after the war of 1857.

Secondly, the British issued a proclamation charter in Allahabad in 1858 ending the war, formally. In the
proclamation, the British recognized some of the grievances of the Indian people. The proclamation
highlighted that the British would not interfere in the religious beliefs of the people, would pay due
regard to ancient property rights and customs, and would avoid all treaty obligations. It further noted
that the British would agree to no further territorial acquisitions. This proclamation proved popular
among the Indians and benefited the status of Indians in the subcontinent. Thus, leading to the success
of the 1857 War.

In addition, new reforms and constitutional changes were introduced. A proper education system was
introduced, with the setting up of schools and Universities. Railway tracks were invented, which served
crucial in areas of trade and war effort, and are present to this day in the subcontinent too. Legislative
power to Bombay and Madras was restored. Similarly, new legislative councils were established in many
provinces such as Punjab and Bengal. Therefore, Indians were given some political say. In the Civil
Service Examinations, Indians were given opportunities to participate, and though the positions were
lower class, they could at least contribute minority to the government. Thus, it can be said that the 1857
War proved a major success in these areas of politics and administration.

In conclusion, in my opinion, the War of 1857, despite all the shortcomings, proved successful, due to
the birth of nationalism in Indians. The Muslims and Hindus started to feel a need for nationalist ideas
and their love for the subcontinent increased. This war was the first expression of India's urge for
freedom, and it was the same urge that was realized 90 years later at the time of the Independence of
Pakistan and India. Thus, it can be inferred that the 1857 War was successful.

2.’Religious factors were more important than any other in causing the War of Independence of 1857-
1858.’ Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans. The War of Independence of 1857-1858 occurred because of many reasons, all of them, which, in
one way or the other, contributed to the war effort.

Firstly, once British rule was established in India, Christian Missionaries came to India to convert the
local population, as well as to set up schools. The British supported the Christian missionaries who used
to force conversions from other religions to Christianity. In these schools, the missionaries taught
Chrisitanyt and expected local religions to be given up which was resented by Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs
alike. The Indian people felt as if they were being attacked because of their religion. This was the reason
due to which the 1857 War occurred.

Secondly, the British introduced a few laws which were against Hindu customs e.g. in 1795, the killing of
baby daughters was declared to be murdered, but the British found difficulty in enforcing this as it was a
tradition practiced in many parts of India. Sati, the ritual burning of Indian women on the funeral prayers
of their husbands, was also banned by the British. British banned Sati and female infanticide, because
they believe such customs were inhuman, cruel and inappropriate but Hindu emotions were attached
with it and they were annoyed when these customs were banned. They were also forced to abandon
purdha, which had been an Indian custom for centuries. Purdha was not only the social custom of all
Muslim women, but was also a part of their religion. Hence, such laws were considered by many,
especially the Hindus, to have caused suspicion that Indian religious traditions were being interfered
with the ultimate aim of conversion. Therefore, the Indians revolted in the 1857 War.

Thirdly, the British introduced a new 'greased cartridge' which was coated in both cow and big fat.
Because the soldiers had to chew or bite cartridges open to release the powder, it caused great
resentment since pig fat was forbidden to the Muslims, and the cow was a sacred animal in the eyes of
the Hindus. Thus, they considered this as an insult to their religion. This was the direct and the
immediate action of disobeying laws of the British.

However, apart from religious reasons they were also other reasons for the 1857 War. The British
imposed a system of education that promoted Western values on people who resented this
interference. In this system, English was the medium of education and religious education was removed.
In addition, the replacement of Persian and Sanskrit by English as the official language in 1832 deeply
upset both the Muslims and the Hindus. This had the potential to threaten their languages. Moreover
English being the official language of the administration further dropped opportunities for the Native
Indians in the government jobs and Civil Service which created hostility between the rulers and the
ruled. Therefore, the Indians revolted against the British in the 1857 War.

Apart from that, in 1852 the Doctrine of Lapse was introduced. According to the law, any local kingdom
not having a direct male heir, was taken over by the British. Soon, many states e.g. Satara, Nagpur and
Jhansi, soon fell into the British hands. This was an unpopular law and caused great unrest among the
Nawabs, rulers and people, especially when it was used just as an excuse to take land and expand British
control. Consequently, the 1857 War was initiated.

Furthermore, the British ensured the exploitation of India's wealth to the fullest. They imposed high
taxation, and although the rich landlords, the poor peasants were forced to pay our side their financial
limit. The British also imposed high taxes on Indian goods which were imported to Britain to protect the
textile industry in England, which caused great resentment. Therefore, the 1857 War had occurred.

Lastly, the Indians had little role in running their own country. In 1833, the Charter Acts said that the
Indians could be part of the Civil Services administering India but in practice there was little change. The
Indian service employed many administrators. They were chosen by open public explanation, but those
exams will be taken in England, in English. So in reality, India was governed by an able. but an entirely
British group of officials, which increased the resentment in India's against the British government. This
caused the Indians to be politically weak as compared to the British. Consequently, the Indians revolted
against the British in the 1857 War.

In a nutshell, I agree that religious policies were the most important reason for the 1857 War. Since
religion was connected to Indian sentiments, the unlawful policies of the British angered many local
people. Thus, religious policies served as the root cause for the rebellion of 1857.

3. Was the absence of leadership the main reason why the war of independence failed to meet its aim
in 1857? Explain. [14]

Ans. There were many factors which led to the ultimate failure of the 1857 War.

Firstly, there was a serious lack of leadership amongst the Indian mutiny. As a result people fought in
different areas and didn't have a common pathway to follow. In the absence of a proper leader, there
was no decisive strategy whereas the British had proper strategies. This made it easy for them to defeat
an unorganized mob having no leader to follow as an example. This ultimately led to the failure of the
1857 War.
Secondly, there was lack of unity amongst Indians. There was little or no attempt to work unitedly and
fight as one nation. Due to cultural and religious diversities, people hesitated from trusting each other,
which limited the quality of trust and compassion amongst them. The Hindus had personal reasons for
the war, whereas the Muslims wanted to restore the Mughal Empire, but as they were in the minority,
they didn't have a very strong impact. Consequently this added up to the reasons which led to the
failure of the 1857 War.

Thirdly, the Indians had no common aim for the war. The Muslims wanted to restore the Mughal
Empire, but the Hindus weren't ready to accept Muslim dominance once again. As a result, they had no
general plan and no attempt to work together. This led to haphazard fights taking place in distant areas,
which made it easy for the British to deal with them individually. Hence, leading to the failure of the
1857 War.

Apart from this, most of the Indian Princely states favored and assisted the British i.e. ther were British
loyal Indians. For example, Punjab was invaded by Bengali troops in the past, hence when they rebelled,
Punjab supported the British. Some of the Indian princes were only interested in restoring their own
feudal powers. Sometimes their powers actually depended on the support of the British. This explains
why the ruler of Kashmir sent 2000 troops to help the British win the war, since his position was closely
tied to the continuation of British rule. This led to low morale of the mutiny as their spirit got
degenerated. Consequently, leading to the failure of the 1857 War.

Furthermore, the Indian mutiny lacked supplies and armaments. As a result, there was no proper army
as soldiers were divided among themselves due to internal clashes. Soon, the army got exhausted of
funds and resources, due to which they began looting from the local people. This lost them the trust and
support of the public, consequently leading to the failure of the war.

Moreover, the Indians weren't fully prepared to attain and run a separate homeland. It was because the
Indians had no value for Independence, as people fought for personal ambitions and desires rather than
for Independence. At the time, Indians lacked a proper sense of patriotism, as very few of them were
fully aware of the cause for which they were fighting. Therefore, due to such an inexperienced attitude,
the 1857 War failed.

Lastly, British strength highly outnumbered the Indian strength. As a result of the Industrial Revolution,
the British had modernized weapons and skillful soldiers, while the Indians lacked proper arms.
Although there were a number of serious uprisings against the British, but being uncoordinated and
militarily weak, it was only a matter of time before the highly efficient British military machine restored
order. Hence, leading to the failure of the 1857 War.

In my opinion, I agree that an absence of leadership was the mean reason due to which the 1857 war
failed. Because there was no formal leadership over the uprisings, the army was not united and
equipped with resources, there was no aim for the War and British could easily defeat small uprisings
without a leader. Hence, an absence of leadership was the root cause for the 1857 War.