British Attitude Towards 1857 Revolt

By: Priya.M.B

The 1857 revolt, also known as the 'Sepoy Mutiny' or the 'First War of Indian Independence,' was a severe setback to the British East India Company, which had established its rule over most parts of India. The Britishers were surprised by the extent of solidarity displayed by the Indian soldiers who revolted against the British officers. When the rebellion spread to other parts of India from Meerut, the Britishers struggled to form the fighting forces. However, they managed to get support from most of the princely states and aristocrat Indians. The rebellion offered stiff resistance to the British forces. However, for various reasons, the 1857 revolt lasted only for a year.

The last of the rebellions surrendered at Gwalior in June 1858. The Britishers were able to overcome the mutiny because they could still find native Indians who fought on their side. Despite the nationalist and religious feelings that sparked the mutiny, the Britishers succeeded in containing its spread beyond controllable limits. Many British tabloids published about the atrocities of the rebels against women and children. Therefore, the Britishers ensured that the majority of the aristocratic Indians did not sympathize with the rebels.

After the 1857 revolt, the British Crown dissolved the British East India Company and issued a proclamation to directly rule British India. Thus was born the British Raj, which had a different attitude against the native Indians. The British Raj cleverly planned every decision as it was aware of the extent of solidarity among Indians. The British community distanced itself from the native Indians by living in cantonments far from the abodes of native Indians.

Immediately after overcoming the revolt, the British Raj confiscated the properties of the people who participated in the rebellion. The Raj also looted the Moghul treasury after exiling the last Moghul ruler, Bahadur Shah. The Raj then went to the extent of banning all cultural and religious activities. Law and order situation was its primary focus as during the revolt, many British families had become the soft target. One important milestone with regard to law and order was the enactment of the Indian Penal Code in the year 1861, which is still in vogue in India.

The British Raj continued the economic atrocities against India, by closing down most of the Industries, exporting the raw materials to Briton and then importing the finished goods from Briton into India. This contributed to large scale inflation resulting in mass poverty. During 1857 - 1907, India faced many famines and the inflation worsened the situation. Millions of native Indians were wiped out by a series of natural calamities during the last few decades of 19th century.

During the famines, the British officers even forced the malnourished natives to involve in public works. The native rulers who ruled their respective princely states shied away from their responsibilities to undertake developmental activities. Most of them were influenced by western culture and wedded western ladies enjoying life by spending the left-overs in their treasuries. Development of their states was the last thing on their minds. This led to large scale poverty among the masses in India.

During the 1880s, there were quite a few native Indians who studied in Briton and had become liberal in their thinking. Some of the native Indians even entered the Indian Civil Services. During this time, the British Raj too was slowly liberalising their rule by allowing native Indians to participate in the government. The Indian Councils Act of 1892 was one of the reformative laws that allowed Indians to participate in governmental affairs. However, the Congress leaders were not satisfied with the reforms and demanded more opportunities for native Indians. At this time, the number of native Indians who dedicated their lives for freedom struggle movement was growing at an alarming rate.>