the great revolt of 1857_prepared by tushti desai

The Great Revolt of 1857

Tushti H. Desai (7th E1)

18/07/2011

The Great Revolt Of 1857

Introduction

• Age of Discovery!• Arrival of the British• Early Revolts• The FIRST WAR!!• Causes• Course of the Revolt• Reasons for Failure• Consequences of Revolt• In conclusion

Age of Discovery!(15th – 17th Century)

Portugal

Spain (Castille)

Travel Routes

• Vasco da Gama• Christopher Columbus

Arrival of the BritishThe East India Company arrives in India (1619)


Early Revolts

• Sepoy Mutiny, Vellore (1806)

• Barrackpore Mutiny (1824)


The FIRST WAR!!

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, in his famous book, “Discovery of India”, has written,

“The very fact that a country with such a great illustrious past should be ruled over by a handful of people from a distant Island is something that makes me wild.”

It was the inner feeling of the entire country.


Main Causes of Revolt• Political

– The Doctrine of Lapse1. Lord Dalhousie caused widespread resentment among the Indian rulers and their subjects by

aggressively expanding his state and annexing native Indian states.2. He annexed states of satara nagpur and jhansi by applying the doctrine of lapse.3. NANA SAHEB was denied a pension after his father's death. He was the son of Bajirao-II.4. Bahadur Shah's successor was denied the right to live at the red fort .5. He annexed Awadh, accusing the government of maladministration and shocking the nawab who

was a faithful ally and the people of India.6. The British did not obey the treaties sometimes and they were broken according to the need of

the British and the nawabs at that time could not trust any treaty at all.

• Economic & Administrative 1. The zamindari (land lord) system was introduced by the British and the peasants were exploited by them. They were often tortured or jailed when the peasants failed to pay the taxes.2. The landlords also were insecure and jagirs (lands) were confiscated when the taxes did not match the assigned goals. 3. The interests of India were not the first priority of the government. They came in India for economic profit, which was the main priority. The traditional industries collapsed under the pressure of industrialized fields. No measures were taken to improve the conditions of the peasants and the artisans. 4. The annexation of Indian states was followed by large scale unemployment and economic distress as a large number of court officials and other lost their means of earning. All the poets, artisans etc working under these rulers lost their jobs.


Main Causes of Revolt• Social & Religious

1. Social reforms by the Britishers were hated by the Indians who took it as a mark of British interference in the political affairs of India.2. The efforts of missionaries to convert people to Christianity also angered the Indians.3. The introduction of western education undermined the position of the traditional teachers and teaching methods in India.4. The introduction of railways, telegraphs and posts, though good for the society, gave birth to doubts and fear among the poorer and illiterate section of the society.5. The British judicial system introduced the principal of equality which undermined the presence of caste system in India.6. The British looked down upon Indians and followed a policy of racial discrimination and separated themselves as 'superiors' from the Indian society. Lord Wellesley described Indians as vulgar, ignorant, rude, familiar and stupid.

• Military1. The Sepoys had helped the British to establish their empire in India but were not awarded or

promoted at all. On the contrary, they were treated with contempt.2. There was a discrimination between the Indian and the British soldiers.3. An Indian soldier got much less salary as compared to a Western soldier.4. The senior British officers did not pay any respect to the Indian soldiers at all. 5. The act passed in 1856 that made it compulsory for all troops to serve overseas hurted the feelings

of the soldiers as hindus believed that overseas travel would lead to a loss of caste. 6. After Awadh's annexation, the army was disbanded and a lot of soldiers lost their livelihood which

led to general anger against the British. 7. The Indian soldiers were much more in numbers about 5 times as compared to the British soldiers.

This also encouraged the Sepoys to rise against the British.The Great Revolt Of 1857

Immediate Cause

Can

you

guess?


Mangal pandey


Course of the Revolt

• Meerut (April 1857)– No ‘Greased’ catridges– Prison

• Cawnpore (Kanpur)– Nana Saheb

• ‘Jhansi Rani’ Lakshmi Bai


Reasons for Failure(1) Lack of Unity & Cohesion• Many state rulers e.g. the Scindias, Holkars, Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab of Bhopal, Rajas

of Patiala, Nabha, Jind Jodhpur etc., big Zamindars and traders actively supported the British. The Sikh, Rajput and Gorkha Battalions remained loyal to the British to suppress the Revolt.

(2) The rising was not widespread• The Revolt was limited to U.P., Delhi and West Bengal. It did not assume a national character.

(3) No common aim & ideals• The Hindus and the Muslims wanted to establish their separate empires. There was no unified

programme.

(4) Lack of Leadership• They were brave and patriotic but lacked leadership qualities.

(5) Lack of Modern Weapons and Techniques• The revolutionaries lacked resources (men and money), discipline and organization.

(6) An unplanned early start• An unplanned early start (Much before the scheduled date i.e. May) alerted the British rulers.

The revolt was crushed and failed miserably.The Great Revolt Of 1857

Consequences of Revolt

(1) Bye-bye to East India Company & Hi to British Crown and Viceroy (Queen Victoria and Lord Canning)

• The British Parliament passed an "Act for the Better Government of India" in 1858, whereby the administration responsibility was passed into the hands of the British Queen and her Parliament. With this, the rule of the Company came to an end. The Board of Control was abolished and the Board of Directors had no power left. A secretary of State for India was to take the place of the President of the Board of Control. He was advised by a board of fifteen members. The designation of the Governor-General was changed. While he remained Governor-General for the provinces under his rule, he came to be known as Viceroy while dealing with Nawabs, Rajas and native princes.

(2) Change in the British policy towards Indian States• To appease native princes, the British declared that they would honour all treaties and the

agreement entered into by the East India Company with the native rulers. Further, Doctrine of Lapse was abandoned and the right to adoption recognized. The Indian princes were assured that their territories would never be annexed. Henceforth, the continual existence of Native States was guaranteed. However, there were clearly defined restrictions and limitations to them. The military prowess was greatly reduced.



(3) END OF PESHWASHIP AND THE MUGHAL RULE• Nana Sahib escaped after the Revolt as he had actively taken part in it. He could not be

traced after that. With his escape the Peshwaship came to an end. The title of Mughal emperor was also abolished as the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar died in 1862 and he also took part in the Revolt. Thus came the end of the glorious Mughal dynasty founded by Babur in 1526 in the first battle of Panipat.

(4) REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY• The British soldiers realized that the numerical inferiority of the British Indian army was one of

the causes of the Revolt. The British soldiers were increased in number which means, the expenditure also increased. Artillery and other advanced means of warfare were in the care of British hands. In order to break down the unity of the Indian soldiers, they were divided and separated.

(5) ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION OF INDIA• Economic exploitation of the country was an inevitable situation after the Revolt. In words of

Majumdar, "the extinction of the East India Company's Rule brought in grave economic perils to India. India now became a dumping ground of British manufacturers and an almost inexhaustible field for investment of capital for it offered unlimited scope for commercial and industrial enterprises like railways, steamers, tea, and coffee plantations etc". The British henceforth started abusing political power for the enhancement of their commercial and economic interest. The Great Revolt Of 1857


(6) RISE OF NATIONALISM• The sacrifices of some great Indian rulers during the Revolt of 1857 aroused feelings of

Nationalism among men. Nana Sahib, Rani of Jhansi and Bahadur Shah became National heroes. People celebrated their heroism and their attempts to fight for freedom. The revolt became a symbol of challenge to the mighty British power in India. According to Tara Chand, "the memory of 1857 substantiated the later movement, infused courage into the hearts of the fighters furnished a historical basis for the grim struggle and gave it a moral stimulus - (its) memory distorted but hallowed with the sanctity, perhaps did more damage to the cause of the British rule in India than the revolt itself".

(7) POLICY OF DIVIDE AND RULE• During the Revolt of 1857 the Hindus and Muslims had unity and fought together for the

welfare of the country. The British government realized that the unity of the Hindus and Muslims was posing a serious threat and therefore the best thing would be to create a wall between the two communities. Thus, they adopted the "Divide and Rule" that completely destroyed the relationship. So much so that the unrest between the two communities has still not been resolved. As the Muslims had taken a prominent role in the Revolt, they were deprived of patronage in education, business and services and Hindus were given preferential treatment. At a later stage the Policy was reversed. The British used this disharmony to their advantage and widened the gulf between the two major communities. It was on this ground that India had to be partitioned on the event of her independence in 1947.


In Conclusion

• Q) Why knowing about this war is important for us?

• A) It was the mother of the freedom movement, which brought India its independence.


THANKS

Tushti H. Desai (7th - E1)

18/07/2011The Great Revolt Of 1857

the great revolt of 1857_prepared by tushti desai

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