1857 UPRISING

1857 UPRISING

CONTEXT

• A memorial-museum is being built by the Haryana government at Ambala to honour the martyrs of the 1857 uprising.
• The objective of constructing a war memorial in Ambala is to immortalise the bravery of those unsung heroes who never got credit for scripting the first revolt (against the British).
• It will also highlight Haryana’s contribution to the freedom struggle with a special emphasis on revolt incidents at Ambala.

MORE ABOUT THE 1857 REVOLT

CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REVOLT OF 1857

• Political Causes – In the late 1840s, Lord Dalhousie imposed the Doctrine of Lapse. Under this, no ruler was allowed to adopt any child & only the natural heir has the right to rule. The political cause was the extension of British policies like the Doctrine of Lapse. The state would be annexed if the ruler dies without any male heir and was under the East India Company.
• Economic Causes – The peasants & farmers were affected by the various British reforms and were forced to pay heavy taxes. So, the ones that were unable to pay the taxes or loans had to surrender their lands to the Britishers. Constantly Indians have to compete with the British industry machine manufactured goods with Indian handicraft goods.
• Military causes – The Indian sepoys were paid less than European sepoys. Indians were considered menial & European sepoys were given much importance in terms of salary, pension & promotion.
• Social Causes – East India company abolished Sati pratha, child marriage & encouraged widow remarriage, at that time it was considered as a threat to Indian traditions. Britishers wanted Hindus & the Muslim religion to be converted into Christianity.
• Immediate Cause for Revolt of 1857
  • With all the causes the immediate cause that infuriated soldiers was when the ‘Enfield’ rifle was introduced. Before this soldier had to carry gun powder & bullets along with their rifles. The process of using a gun was time-consuming, Britishers introduced the Enfield rifle gun & cartridge. The cartridge was in a cylindrical shape with a knot on top & filled with the perfect amount of gunpowder & bullet in the end. Soldiers just had to tear the cartridge & then be ready to use a rifle, this saved a lot of time. There was a rumour that aroused that the cartridge was greased with pig & cow fat. The pig is taboo in Muslims & the cow is sacred in the Hindu religion. Indian soldiers refused to use the cartridge & soldiers were also sentenced.

LEADERS OF REVOLT OF 1857

 FAILURE OF REVOLT OF 1857

The revolt was an extraordinary event in Indian history, the result of the revolt was unsuccessful due to some major drawbacks. Here are all the reasons for the failure of the revolt of 1857:

• One of the reasons for the failure of sepoy mutiny that there was no leader. The need of that moment was a leader that could lead & execute the plan.
• At some places, only sepoys were revolting & there was no support from the commoners. There was a lack of support from people in the revolt of 1857.
• Rulers of Indian states did not support the Indians & suppressed the revolt.
• There was no unity, the northern region was active in the revolt of 1857 while the southern states didn’t take any part.
• At that time the Indians involved in the revolt had limited resources in terms of financial aid, equipment & guns. On the other hand, Britishers didn’t face any issue like this.

AFTERMATH OF THE REVOLT OF 1857

• End of Company Rule: The revolt marked the end of the East India Company’s rule in India
• The direct rule of the British Crown: India came under the direct rule of the British Crown. This was announced by Lord Canning at a Durbar in Allahabad in a proclamation issued on November 1, 1858, in the name of the queen.
• Religious Tolerance: The British Crown promised religious tolerance and customs and traditions of India were given more attention.
• Administrative Change: The governor general’s office was replaced by that of the Viceroy.
• Military Reorganisation: The ratio of British officers to Indian soldiers increased but the armory remained in the hands of the English to end the dominance of the Bengal army.