War of Independence 1857

 A struggle of independence by
Indians against Foreigners.

Though this struggled failed but it had great

significance in the history of India, both politically
and culturally.
It marked
i. A transition of Systems (from old to new )
ii. A transition of culture and civilization, educational
systems and philosophies of life.
 Causes of War of Independence

1.Political Causes
2.Military and immediate cause
3.Religious Causes
4.Economic causes
  Political Causes
1) Literary attack on the Muslim’s Civic life and
Political philosophies
(The Muslims were deprived of government of India, so the British
tried their best to wipe out all the traces of Islam and Muslims
from India)
i. The English, through a organized literary mechanism started
to malign the history, culture and religion of the Muslims.

ii.They produced such books in which the Muslims were shown and
portrayed as uncultured, brutal, wild and uncivilized.
 2) Attitude towards Mughal Emperor
The British knew very well that they could not establish their
power in India unless and until the Mughal Emperor in Power.
So they humiliated, degraded and dislodged him.
i.Instigation of Princely states rulers against the Emperor
(Nawab of Avadh– declared himself the king– took the title of shah)
This was to humiliate the Mughal King and reduce his suzerainty and
sovereignty (Later on he [Wajid Ali Shah] was killed and his state
was confiscated)

ii.Stopped formal salutations in writing letters to Emperor

(In 1827 British gave up the old style of writing letters to the Mughal
Emperor, The new strategy was to accept the superiority of Mughal
King but all references to his suzerainty or to the vassalage or
allegiance of the East India Company to the Mughal King were
excluded)
iii. Stopped sending gifts to Mughal Emperor on special
occasions like Eids, Birthdays, Nouroz etc
Charles Metcalfe (the GG of EIC) even did not like the idea to give formal
respect to the Mughal Emperor

iv.Vacation of Red Fort by Mughal princes after the death of

Emperor
Though the Muslims were weak and their Emperor was confined to the four walls
of Red Fort. Lord Dalhousie issued a decree stating that after the death of
Bahadur Shah Zafar, his heirs and princes would have to vacate the Red Fort
and they would not be allowed to use the tile of Emperor for themselves.
(This decree further wounded the pride and prestige of the Mughals and
Muslims. The enraged Muslims went to war of independence to save the pride
and glory of past)
 3) Annexation of Princely States
 India was divided into a number of princely state (More than 550). These
states were politically and administratively controlled by the princes– who
were the sovereigns/ Kings of those states.

 The British officials in India wanted to politically control India single

handedly. So Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of East India Company
in India from January 1848 to February 1856 carried on this plan on massive
scale. He did not tolerate the existence of any state that could pose threat to
the activities and interests of Company. So,

 He annexed some important princely states which are;

Jhodpur, Jeetpur, Sambalpur, Sitara, Jhansi, Karnatic, Tanjore and Avadh.
Punjab was annexed in 1949 and Sindh in 1943.

1)Humiliation of noble families like Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.

The Company Resident officer, James Outram, went to the court of Nawab
and asked him to sign the document. The words on the letter were that “ I
willingly hand over the charge of the state to the English”. The Nawab
refused.
The English offered large sum of bribes and threatened him of dire consequences.
But Nawab was defiant. Fighting occurred. The English forces entered the palace,
ransacked it and humiliated the ladies residing there. Eventually, after much
bloodshed the state was forcibly annexed.

Resultantly, after the annexation of states, following problems and events

occurred

i.Employment increases as both administration and political structure of the

princely states collapsed

ii.Poverty Increases many folds

iii.Properties and lands were either confiscated or auctioned. [ in 1853, 21000 out
of 35000 properties ]

iv.The former soldiers of princely state took active part in war independence. Even
before this war, the sepoys even mutinied in the Bengal regiments.
 4) Doctrine of Lapse
(According to this doctrine, the adopted son of a King/ Princely State head
would not become a king or prince of that state. The state and all its property
would automatically become part and parcel of East India Company. In short,
the heir-apparent would not be recognized and he would not succeed his
parents)
i.Rani of Jhansi (She had an adopted son)
ii.Nana Sahib– real name was Dhondu Pant(He was the adopted
son of Last Marahatta Leader– Baji Rao. Baji Rao died in 1851,
and his adopted son was not recognized as the legitimate son.
The pension was withdrawn which amounted 8 lac rupees) Even
Nana Sahib was told that the company would seize the Jagir of
Bathur.
Hindu religion allow the adaptation of a son, and that son would
succeed his adopters. So, this decree enraged Hindus as well
who participated in the war of independence to take the
revenge.
  Military and Immediate Cause
The English masters of Indian soldiers often issued and forced such
decrees that hurts their religious sentiments, economic interests
and self esteem. Some of them are as under;
i. Ban on the use of religious symbols
like Beards, Safa and Tilak during parade
ii. Overseas War-fronts
Overseas journey had been considered as a sin and loss of caste in
Hinduism. But the East India Company forced their soldiers to fight
for them overseas.
iii. Teaching of Christianity in Barracks
The army barracks and cantonments were considered as the ideal
places for the preaching of Christianity to the Indian soldiers. The
Company officials thought that its their official duty to ‘save the
souls of Indians from the clutches of Satan’ by converting the faith
of soldiers from Indian faiths to Christianity. For this purpose, they
in spare times used to give religious sermons in the barracks to the
soldiers and also distributed religious tracts among Indian soldiers
 iv. Low Salaries and small Budgets for Indian
Soldiers
The salaries paid to the Indian soldiers were less in comparison their
English masters. Those low could hardly bare their expenses.
The salary of a Calvary-man was Rs. 27 per month
While that of infantry man it was only Rs. 7.
Similarly, the budget that was allocated for the maintenance of a
regular army had also disparities. Out of the total budget, only
58% were spent on the 84% Indian soldiers and the rest 42%
were consumed by 16%. The 16% were English, who were all in
the officers rank.
v. No Promotion and Rewards
There was neither promotion nor rewards for the gallantry and
sacrifices of Indian Soldiers from the Company but only pre-
mature retirement.
i. If the Indian soldiers showed high levels of gallantry in a war
and risked his life. Even then he could not think of higher ranks.
ii. The Indian Soldiers could never think of a good salary or some
equivalent to that of an English officer of low rank in any case.
 Immediate Cause
This is most important among the cause of the war of
Independence. Because it blew the whistle for the war.
The British East India Company introduced a new rifle in 1856.
The cartridges were having greased shells. So, in order to
fire, the soldiers had to bite the upper part of the cartridge
and then to fill the rifle to fire. It is said that the grease of
cartridge was made from the fat of pig and cow.
Pig is ‘haram/ prohibited’ for Muslims and Cow is holy for
Hindus. It is considered a direct attack on the religion and
faiths of both Hindus and Muslims. Eventually, Indian
soldiers refused to use the new rifles. The English forced
them but Indians mutinied in early 1857. This mutiny
spread through the length and breadth in the twinkle of eye
throughout India.

According to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan ‘the cartridges issue

denoted the whole magazine.’
  Religious Causes
The British East India Company came to India for the purpose of commerce
and trade. But gradually her ambitions and motives changed. They
not only wanted to grasp the political power but also tried her best to
promote Christianity and proselytize the faith of Indians. For this the
Company started attacks on Indian’s faiths and took following
measures to attract them towards Christianity .
i. Company Duty to Promote Christianity in India
In 1857, Chairman– Board of Directors of the Company stated in
the House of Commons that God has bestowed upon us the
Empire of India. Now its our official duty to make triumphant
the flag of Christianity all over India. Same wishes were
expressed by one the Company Commanders that they
wanted to ‘ save the souls of non-Christians from the clutches
of Satan.’
ii. Patronage of Christian Missionaries
The Christian were allowed to enter India and to propagate
Christianity inside India under official tutelage. These
missionaries not only propagate but also criticized the local
Indian faiths. One among the missionaries, named Dr. Pfander
came to India in 1854. He wrote a book titled ‘Mizan ul Haq.’ In
 iii. Houses of Company Officials
The Company officials used to invite their subordinates into their
houses to listen to the sermons of Christian missionaries
and often those missionaries were escorted and
accompanied by the policemen. It was aimed to promote
and propagate Christianity among the Indians.
iv. Natural Calamities
The Company had constructed orphanages , in which orphans
were admitted. So in instances of natural calamities like
flood, earthquake and famine, the Indian children’s who lost
their parents and houses were admitted in those
orphanages. The officials in those orphanages tried to
convert those children inti Christianity. Such incidents were
observed and witnessed in the orphanages of Sikandra
during the famine of 1837. Even British officials used
schools, colleges and hospitals for conversion purposes.
v. Inheritance Law
The British passed a law in 1850, that changed of religion would
have no impact on the law of inheritance. This law was in
direct conflict with the religions of India. Because, according
 vi. Abolition of Sati and Remarriage
According to Hinduism, the widows could not remarry and would have to
burn herself into ashes with her departed husband on ‘Ashram.’
But the British East India Company passed a law that states that widows
would be allowed to perform Sati and they are entitled to remarriage.
This law was again in conflict with Hindu faith.
vii.Building of Churches
According to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the Indian money was spent on the
building of churches. And those churches played their role in the
propagation of Christianity.

Other then these causes, cartridges issue, ban on

religious in military services, derogatory literature and
doctrine of lapse were also religious in nature as well.
These all not only hurt the sentiments only one section
of the Indians but injured the feelings and interests of
everyone either class or creed.
  Economic Causes
i. Change of Status
1. English become bosses
2. Drainage of Indian wealth to England

ii. Illegal business by the Company Officials.

iii. Destruction of local and native industries

1. Indian silk
2. Less export of Indian produced goods like Indian cloths and
carpets
3. Heavy taxes on locally produced items.
iv. Stamp Act
The British East India Company introduced it in India to control and
monopolize the Indian products and produced. Salt tax is one
among the others like those Tea.
Through this act, Indians had to make business in a legal way by
paying certain amount to the Company.
This act also make problems for Indians to get justice. Through this
act they to hire a lawyer for their cases.