Background - The Revolt of 1857

We could subdue the mutiny of 1857, formidable as it was, because it spread through only a part of the army, because people did not actively sympathize with it, and because it was possible to find native Indian races who would fight on our side. But the moment a mutiny is but threatened, which shall be no mere mutiny, but the expression of a universal feeling of nationality, at that moment all hope is at an end, as all desire should be at an end, of our preserving our Empire -- Sir John Seeley (quoted by Tarling)

India, which encompassed the territory of the modern nations of Republic of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, has a rich history, decorated with the names of great rulers like Asoka and major dynasties like the Gupta and Maurya to name a few. Whereas, in the south Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas and Pandyas, reigned. Under the patronage of the rulers of these dynasties, India saw development in all fields from art, literature to science, astronomy and philosophy.

This richness, in terms of knowledge, art and culture and also wealth, attracted people from all over the world to India. The Aryans came from Central Europe and made India their home. The Persians followed by the Iranians and Parsis too immigrated to India.

Invasions were common to this region. Chengis Khan, the Mongolian, invaded and looted India many times. Alexander the Great also wished to conquer India but returned after the battle with Indian King Porus. He-en Tsang from China came to India in pursuit of knowledge and visited the ancient Indian universities of Nalanda and Takshila. Columbus set out on sail to India, but instead landed on the shores of America. Vasco da Gama from Portugal came to trade his country's goods in return for Indian species. Following Portugal came the French and established their colonies in India. And then stepped in the East India Company from Great Britain!

The East India Company

The British East India Company, which is also referred to as 'John Company,' was a joint-stock company. It received an English Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, favouring trade privileges in India. The Royal Charter effectively gave the newly created Honourable East India Company, a 21 year monopoly on all trade in the East Indies.

In 1617, the Company also received trade rights by the Mughal Emperor. About 100 years later, it was granted a royal dictate from the Emperor exempting the Company from the payment of custom duties in Bengal. This gave the Company a decided commercial advantage in the Indian trade.

On the other hand, East India Company's annual expenditure on political 'gifts' to men in power, back home, increased by folds. These 'gifts' won East India Company, permission to operate in overseas markets, even though the cheap imports of South Asian silk, cotton, and other products were hurting domestic business. By 1767, the Company was forced into an agreement that it should pay 400,000 pounds to the National Exchequer annually.

But with time, the Company's financial problems only grew bigger. By 1848, East India Company had to but expand British territories in South Asia massively to increase its revenue. Thus adoption of native Princes began, followed by process of annexation of more than a dozen independent Indian Kingdoms, which led to colonisation.

But then arose the need to consolidate and control these new holdings. So, a well-established army of South Asians, officered by British soldiers was formed. By 1857 this army dominated India, wiping off even the last traces of independent Indian states. And the East India Company exported tons of gold, silk, cotton and other precious materials back to England every year.

India then..

Conquering India did not happen with a drop of the hat. Colonisation was not out of the blue but was slow but a steady process.

Indians did not accept alien rule passively. Unchecked colonial extraction of agricultural and forest wealth of India had led to rural poverty and the masses being reduced to a state of deprivation. The period between 1763 and 1856 saw numerous uprisings by peasants, tribal communities and princely states. Indians opposed colonisation and confronted the British many times. Some were sustained, others sporadic and a few were isolated acts of revolutionary resistance.

But everytime Britishers came out stronger. And one of the biggest reasons was the consensus with the domestic rulers. Indians never stood united against the British. The native leaders were inept and corrupt and proved to be 'the place' to apply 'Divide and Rule' policy.

Colonisation of India

The most significant 'landmark' in Indian colonisation was a British military victory at Plassey in 1757. This victory provided East India Company political sovereignty in India. Warren Hastings became the first British Governor-General of India in 1773.

Ever since East India Company realised its military supremacy, it set on an expansion spree. The 19th Century saw a great deal of British expansion of territory on various grounds, including conflicts, consensus with native rulers and also when native leaders had no male heirs to take over the administration of their land. Taking advantage of the situation, the British appointed Governors to rule the Indians. This set up was partly justified by claims that Indians needed 'civilisation' and a reliable system of Justice, rule of law. The appointed Governors, however, asserted power.

The First War of Indian independence (1857)

British had little respite from fighting against Indians as they tried to strengthen their grip on India. However, they continued with their expansion in India until 1857, when everything from Afghanistan in the west to the jungles of Burma in the east, from the Himalayas in north, to the beaches of Sri Lanka in south were under British East India Company. The British, in the meanwhile also strengthened their army. In 1857 the total number of soldiers in India was 260,000 amongst which just around 14 per cent (34,000) were European soldiers.

Factors responsible for unrest amongst Indians

It is not a single reason but a whole lot of issues that had led to unrest amongst the Indian masses. Political domination, attack on culture, hurting religious sentiments, deprivation and large scale violence brought Indians together to revolt against the colonial rulers.

Religion

India has always been a land of many religions. Indians followed the policy of religious freedom from times immemorial. But with advent of Britishers things did not remain the same. The British described Indians as barbarians, who lacked culture, and brought in missionaries from England. This caused great unease among the Indians. The Evangelical Christians had very little understanding of, or respect for, India's ancient faiths. The attitude of non-interference into religion, that once characterised British rule in the 18th century, was no more existing. Rampant conversions took place in India under the British rule. And with the passing of Act XXI of 1850, which enabled converts to inherit ancestral property, things just got worse

Expansion

The East India Company wanted to conquer the whole of India and exploit its natural resources. With the British army winning almost all battles against the Indians, their confidence only grew stronger and the British grew more greedy. But as the British colony expanded, the living conditions of Indians only worsened. The discontentment grew when Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh. When Awadh was annexed, thousands of soldiers and nobles lost employment and their living conditions deteriorated.

Dalhousie also introduced the 'Doctrine of Lapse,' under which the Princes were denied the long-cherished right of adoption. In this way, Dalhousie annexed the Maratha States of Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi and several minor principalities. On the death of the ex-Peshwa, Baji Rao II, the pension granted to him was abolished and the claims of his adopted son, Nana Sahib, were disregarded.

Administration

British administrative laws ruined both the peasants and landlords. Indian handicrafts completely collapsed and the craftsmen were impoverished. India was reduced to a market place for finished goods from England. Poverty increased and the discontent among the masses motivated the Indians to join the revolt in large numbers. Thus, the British drained India of her wealth and all her natural resources.

Beginning of First War of Independence

Religion, as ever, was utmost important to Indian masses. If the attempts to convert Hindus and Muslims into Christians was any less, then the British attempts to strengthen its army just blew the lid off.

The British introduced new Enfield rifle cartridges and gave it to the soldiers. These cartridges used by British-Indian Army was heavily greased with animal fat. Indian soldiers quickly learnt that the grease was a mixture of cow (sacred to Hindus) and pig (abhorrent to Muslims) fat.

Barrackpore was where it all began. On 29th March, 1857, Mangel Pandey, a young soldier of the 34th Native Infantry, shot at his sergeant major on the parade ground. When the British adjutant rode over, Pande shot the horse and severely wounded the officer with a sword. Mangal Pandey was later arrested and hanged. As a collective punishment the 34th Native Infantry was disbanded. Mangal Pande became a martyr and an icon representing the beginning of Indian War of Independence.

Meerut

Weeks after the Mangal Pandey incident, on 24th of April, 1857, some soldiers of the 3rd Light Cavalry in Meerut refused to obey orders to handle the new cartridges that were greased with animal fat. This led to their arrest, court-martial and a sentenced to ten years hard labor each. On 9th May, 1857, at a ceremony in the parade ground of Meerut, they were publicly humiliated, stripped of their uniform, shackled and sent to prison.

The following day i.e., on 10th May, 1857 when Britons prepared for church, Meerut exploded. The enraged Indian soldiers broke open the town jail and released their comrades. Indian soldiers entered into the cantonment and killed as many Britishers as possible.

Delhi

From Meerut, the brave Indian soldiers marched towards Delhi. Three regiments of native infantry were set in Delhi.

On the morning of 11th May, 1857, the soldiers from Meerut reached Delhi. They gathering below the walls of the Red Fort and called for last Moghul King Bahadur Shah. Captain Douglas, a British officer, from the high walls of the fort, ordered them to disperse. Soldiers, who were accompanied by a mob, burst into the palace, killed Douglas and asked Bahadur Shah to reclaim his throne.

Meanwhile, the 38th, 54th, and 74th regiments of infantry and native artillery under Bahkt Khan joined the rebel army at Delhi. The loss of Delhi was a crushing blow to the British.

It took British, nearly after two months, regrouped and set out to reclaim Delhi. At Badli-ke-Serai, five miles from Delhi, they met the main army of the Indian soldiers. British fought the Indian soldiers and won. In September 1857, under the command of Major Nicholson and with support of Sikh and Gurkha army, the British were able to reclaim Delhi, breaching the walls with heavy guns and after a bitter street-to-street fight.

Battle of Kanpur

Kanpur was an important junction where the Grand Trunk Road and the road from Jhansi to Lucknow crossed. And one of the leaders of the First War of Independence from this region was Nana Saheb of Bithur.

On the death of the last Peshwa, Baji Rao-II, in 1851 the Company's Government stopped the annual pension and the title. Nana Saheb's appeal to the Court of Directors was not accepted. This made him hostile towards the British rulers. In 1857, Kanpur was garrisoned by four regiments of native infantry and a European battery of artillery and was commanded by General Sir Hugh Wheeler. After a fierce battle at Kanpur, General Sir Hugh Wheeler surrendered on June 27, 1857.

The English men, women and children who fell into the hands of Nana Sahib were assured of safe conduct to Allahabad. However, the inhuman treatment meted out to the Indians at Allahabad and Banaras made the crowd angry, who retaliated by murdering British men, women and children. Many innocent lives were lost at 'Massacre Ghat' and 'Bibi ka Ghar' in Kanpur.

However, in June 1857, the British defeated Nana Sahib. Though Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope recaptured Kanpur in November 1857, but they could not hold it for long as General Campbell reoccupied it on 6th December 1857. Nana Sahib escaped to Nepal and his whereabouts afterwards were unknown. Tantia Tope escaped and joined the Rani of Jhansi.

Jhansi and Gwalior

Rani Laxmibai was married to King Gangadhar Rao of Jhansi. Gangadhar Rao did not have any children and he adopted one of his relatives Damodar Rao as his heir. After Gangadhar Rao's death in 1853, the British refused to accept Damodar Rao as the legal heir of Jhansi and wanted to annex the kingdom into their rule. In 1857, at Jhansi, the Indian army rebelled and killed the British Army officers. Rani Laxmibai, the widow of the late Raja Gangadhar Rao, was proclaimed the ruler of the state.

However, in 1858, the British army once again marched towards Jhansi. Not willing to let the British takeover her kingdom, the Rani built an army to fight the British. The soldiers of Jhansi fought a brave war and the Rani led the forces in this battle. Sir Hugh Rose recaptured Jhansi on 3rd April, 1858. The English could not capture Rani of Jhansi as she escaped to Kalpi (near Gwalior) where Tantia Tope joined her. Both marched to Gwalior. Sir Hugh Rose also advanced towards Gwalior and captured it in June 1858. Rani Laxmi Bai died a brave death.

Rani Laxmibai (Rani Jhansi) became immortal in Indian history for her bravery and struggle against British rule. Tantia Tope escaped southward, but was betrayed by one of his friends, Man Singh, and was finally hanged in 1859.

Arrah Bihar

Kunwar Singh, the zamindar of Jagdishpur near Arrah, in the state of Bihar, was the chief organizer of the fight against British. He assumed command of the soldiers who had revolted at Danapur. Two days later he occupied Arrah. But Major Vincent Eyre relieved the town, defeated Kunwar Singh's force and destroyed Jagdishpur.

Kunwar Singh left his ancestral village and reached Lucknow in December 1857. In March 1858, he occupied Azamgarh. However, he lated retreated towards his home in Bihar. On 23 April, Kunwar Singh had a victory near Jagdishpur over the force led by Captain Le Grand, but the following day he died in his village. The mantle now fell on his brother Amar Singh who, despite heavy odds, continued the struggle and for a considerable time ran a parallel government in the district of Shahabad. In October 1859 Amar Singh joined the rebel leaders in the Nepal Terai.

Lucknow

At Lucknow, war against British was led by the Begum of Awadh, Hazrat Mehal, who proclaimed her young son, Nawab. Hazrat Begum felicitated her troops in person in Alambagh. Musabagh too was defended by a valiant band of revolutionaries under the leadership of the heroic Begum herself till March 1858. But when she left Lucknow for the north with her troops followed by Ahmad Shah, both the places fell upon Shahjehanpur. She tried to drive out the British from Rohilkhand but failed to capture Rohilkhand and marched on along with other revolutionary leaders towards Nepal, where she found asylum till her death.

Aftermath of First war of Independence

The 1857 rebellion, which began with the mutiny of Indian troops stationed near Delhi, had several chief results:
1.a year-long insurrection that changed attitudes, both British and Indian, towards British rule of India
2.dissolution of the British British East India Company
3.beginning of the British Raj, the period during which the U. K. directly ruled the Indian subcontinent
4.the end of the Mughal Empire after the British exiled Emperor Bahadur Shah to Burma

After the Indian soldiers finally surrendered on June 20, 1858, the British ended both the East India Company and the Mughal Empire. Deposed Emperor Bahadur Shah was sent to exile in Burma. The British Crown took over the administration of India. With the coming of the Raj, a British Governor General ruled India.

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