REVOLT OF 1857 – FIRST WAR OF INDIAN INDEPENDENCE

Far-sighted Englishmen, notably Sir Henry Lawrence had given warning of the coming storm, the British Government was completely taken by surprise at the outbreak of the Great Revolt in May 1857.

CAUSES OF REVOLT:

1. The Revolt was due to many causes of these the most important undoubtedly was the discontent of the sepoys of the Bengal army.

A sepoy became a non-commissioned officer after twenty years of service and a commissioned officer at the age of about fifty-five. The highest post that he could reach was that of Subedar-Major or Risaldar-Major. Such unfavorable terms of service found neither evoke loyalty nor produce any sense of discipline in the sepoy army.

Sir Henry Lawrence had the foresight to strike a note of warning against this system. “The question is only whether justice is to be gracefully conceded or violently seized.”

2. CASTE PREJUDICES:

       The high caste Brahmanas and Rajput’s of Avadh, North-Western provinces and Bihar (present Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) who were recruited in large numbers to the Bengal army, were very particular in observing their caste rules and regulations. Even while camping they would have their own separate cooking pots and lotas. When, during the Sikh Wars, Sir Harry Smith lost his baggage and the three regiments under his command lost their lotas and cooking pots, the sepoys preferred to remain hungry for twenty-four hours rather than partake of the meals prepared by men of castes.

3. SERVICE RULES:

In 1824, the 47th Regiment refused to serve in Burma and was disbanded. Again, the 38th Regiment refused to serve in Burma in 1852. The sepoys particularly objected the passing in 1856 of the General Service Enlistment Act by which every recruit had to serve wherever required and not in India alone. They also resented the government order which stopped the practice of sepoys being invalidated after fifteen years’ service.

According to the new rule, a sepoy was not permitted to retire on invalid pension but was retained with the colours and employed on ordinary cantonment duty. The sepoy had thus to serve in the army for a longer period and, if necessary, outside India. These two fundamental changes in the rules of recruitment created sharp discontent.

4. FAULTY DISPOSITION OF TROOPS:

                      British historians have expressed the view that one of the causes of the Great Revolt of 1857 was the disparity in numbers between European and Indian troops (2,33,000) Indian and 45,322 British soldiers and the faulty distribution of troops.

They have pointed out that Delhi and Allahabad were held by sepoys and except for some British troops at Danapur, there were no British soldiers between Allahabad and Calcutta. It is true that the disparity in numbers and the faulty deployment of troops facilitated the spread of the Revolt, but then this could hardly be regarded as one of its causes. The main impulse for the revolt sprang from the growing momentum of discontent.

5. DALHOUSIE’S ANNEXATIONS:

   More than anything else, it was the annexation policy of Lord Dalhousie which created widespread resentment. One by one the petty states as well as powerful independent kingdoms were swept away and absorbed into the British empire in India the Punjab and Lower Burma by the right of conquest; Avadh on the plea of maladministration; and Jhansi, Satara, Nagpur etc., by the Doctrine of Lapse.

Dalhousie refused to grant to Nana Sahib, the adopted son of the Peswa, the pension of rupees 8 lakes on the death of Peswa Baji Rao. Perhaps Dalhousie aimed at the political unification of the country. Nevertheless, the pace of conquests and annexations was so rapid that it created uneasiness in the minds of Indians.

6. ECONOMIC FACTORS:

             Landowners were antagonized by Lord Bentinck’s resumption of rent-free tenures; due to this measure, the landlords who had lost their title-deeds were deprived of their estates. The proceedings of the Inam Commission at Bombay (setup to enquire into rent-free tenures) resulted in the confiscation of 20,000 estates. A further blow came from the strict enquiry made by Coverly Jackson, the Chief Commissioner of Avadh, into the titles of the Taluqdars, the hereditary revenue collectors of Avadh.

7. GREAZED CARTRIDGES: In this critical state of affairs, a rumour ran through the sepoy army that the cartridges served out to the Bengal Regiments had been greased with the fat of cows, the sacred animal of the Hindus, and the lard of pigs, regarded as unclean by the Muslims. There is evidence that a disastrous blunder had really been made in this regard. The blunder was quickly remedied, but it was already too late. The Hindus and Muslims alike were convinced that it was a deliberate attempt of the British Government to hurt their religious feelings.

THE SEPOY MUTINY

        On May 10, 1857, three native regiments mutinied at Meerut (the largest military station in Northern India) and marched to Delhi where more sepoys joined them. They proclaimed Bahadur Shah, the titular king of Delhi, as the emperor of India. Once more the Mughal flag fluttered on the ramparts of the Red Fort.

A rallying centre and a traditional name were thus given to the Revolt, which now spread like wildfire through Avadh, the north-Western provinces, and Bihar. Beginning as a revolt of the army the movement soon developed into a war to rid the country of its foreign rulers.