Revolt of 1857 in India – Sepoy Mutiny

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Major Causes of Revolt of 1857

Economic Causes

• Colonial policies destroyed the traditional economy of  Indian society.
• High land revenue disabled peasantry class.
• Money-lenders and traders emerged as the new landlords.
• Heavy Taxation on artisans and handicrafts.
• Annexation of Indian states by the Company cut off their major source of patronage.
• Discriminatory tariff policy against Indian made products.
• Free Trade and refusal to impose protective duties against machine-made goods from Britain simply killed Indian manufacture.
• Ruin of Indian industry increased the pressure on agriculture and land.
• Zamindars, lost their lands and status in villages.
• In Awadh, storm centre of the revolt of 1857, 21,000 taluqdars suddenly found themselves without a source of income.

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Political Causes

• British expansionist policies, most of Raja’s, Nawab’s and zamindar’s, were either dispossessed or became subsidiary to the British.
• Subsidiary alliance and Doctrine of Lapse policy hampered the interests of the rulers of the native states.
• They one by one became victims of British expansionism.
• British abolished many rulers title and pensions.

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Administrative Causes

• Huge corruption in the Company’s administration, especially among the police, officials and lower law courts, was a major cause.
• Indian judges were not allowed to try criminal cases of Europeans.
• So discrimination was at all levels.

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Socio-Religious Causes

• Racial discrimination and superiority complex characterized British attitude towards the native Indian population.
• British attempts at socio-religious reform such as abolition of sati, support to widow-remarriage and women’s education were not acceptable to conservative sections.
• Government’s decision to tax mosque and temple lands and making laws such as the Religious Disabilities Act, 1856.
• Activities of Christian missionaries.

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Influence of Outside Events

• Revolt of 1857 coincided with certain outside events in which British suffered serious losses – 1st Afghan War, Punjab Wars and the Crimean Wars (1853-56).
• British were seen to be not so strong and it was felt that they could be defeated.

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Discontent Among Sepoys

• Conflict between conditions of service and religious beliefs of sepoys
• Restrictions on wearing caste and sectarian marks.
• 1856, Lord Canning passed General Service Enlistment Act.
• As per the Act recruits of Bengal Army have to give an undertaking to serve anywhere required by the government.
• Hindu of the time, crossing the seas meant loss of caste.
• Foreign service allowance (bhatta) when serving in Sindh or in Punjab was stopped.
• Annexation of Awadh, home of many of the sepoys, further inflamed their feelings.
• Indian sepoy was made to feel a subordinate.
• They was discriminated against racially and in matters of promotion and privileges.
• Sepoy, in fact, was a ‘peasant in uniform’, so torchers over peasants make them more unhappy.

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Beginning & Spread of the Revolt

Immediate Cause

• Reports about mixing of bone dust in atta (flour) and introduction of Enfield rifle influece the sentiment of sepoyes.
• Greased wrapping paper of the cartridge of the new rifle had to be bitten off before loading and grease was reportedly made of beef and pig fat.

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Beginning of Sepoy Mutiny

• Mutiny started by Mangal Pandey, 34th Native Infantry on 29th March, 1857 at Barrackpur.
• Ninety men of 3rd Native Cavalry at Meerut, refused to accept greased cartridges.
• Eighty-five of them were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
• Sepoy mutiny began at Meerut, on 10th May, 1857.
• On May 10, they released their imprisoned comrades, killed their officers and unfurled the banner of revolt.
• Then, gathering force rapidly, soon embraced a vast area from the Punjab in north and Narmada in south, Bihar in east and Rajputana in the west.

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Choice of Bahadur Shah as Symbolic Head

• Long reign of Mughal dynasty had become traditional symbol of India’s political unity.
• So, Delhi was soon to become centre of Great Revolt and Bahadur Shah, its symbol.
• Aged and powerless Bahadur Shah Zafar was proclaimed the Emperor of India.
• Outlook of rebels was not influenced by religious identity.
• They took British as the common enemy.
• Entire Bengal Army soon rose in revolt which spread quickly.
• Awadh, Rohilkhand, Doab, Bundelkhand, central India, large parts of Bihar and East Punjab shook off British authority.

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Civilians Join

• Sepoy mutiny was accompanied by a rebellion of civil population particularly in north-western provinces and Awadh.
• Peasants and petty zamindars took advantage of revolt to destroy money-lenders’ account books and debt records.

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Storm Centers & Leaders of Revolt

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revolt of 1857 in india causes leaders sepoy mutiny indian rebellion

Reason of Failure 

All India participation was Absent

• Limited territorial spread was one factor.
• Revolt of 1857 speeded over only Eastern Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

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All Classes did not Join

• Big zamindars acted as “break-waters to storm”.
• Even Awadh taluqdars backed off once promises of land restitution were made.
• Money-lenders and merchants were not part of revolt of 1857.
• Educated Indians viewed this revolt of 1857 as backward looking, supportive of the feudal order.
• Most Indian rulers refused to join, and often gave active help to the British.
• Sindhia of Gwalior, Holkar of Indore, Gulab Singh of Kashmir, rulers of Patiala, Raja of Jodhpur, Jung Bahadur of Nepal, Rulers of Rajputana and Sikh chieftains.

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Poor Arms and Equipment

• Indian soldiers were poorly equipped materially
• They fighting generally with swords and spears and very few guns and muskets

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Uncoordinated and Poorly Organised

• Revolt of 1857 was poorly organised with no coordination or central leadership
• Indian rebel leaders were no match to their British opponents in generalship

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No Unified Ideology

• Mutineers lacked a clear understanding of colonial rule
• They had no forward looking programme or political perspective or a societal alternative
• Different places leaders were fighting for different cause

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revolt of 1857 in india causes leaders sepoy mutiny indian rebellion

Hindu-Muslim Unity Factor

• During the entire revolt, there was complete cooperation between Hindus and Muslims at all levels – people, soldiers, leaders
• According to Maulana Azad, two facts stand out clearly in the midst of the  tangled story of the Rising of 1857.
  • The remarkable sense of unity among Hindus and Muslims of India in this period.
  • The deep loyalty which the people felt for the Mughal Crown.
• Thus, the events of 1857 demonstrated that the people and politics of India were not basically communal or sectarian before 1858.

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Nature of the Revolt of 1857

• ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ to some British historians—“a wholly unpatriotic and selfish Sepoy Mutiny with no native leadership and no popular support”, said Sir John Seeley.
• A “planned war of national independence”, by V.D. Savarkar in his book, The Indian War of Independence, 1857. Savarkar called the revolt of 1857 the first war of Indian independence.
• Dr S.N. Sen in his Eighteen Fifty- Seven considers the revolt as having begun as a fight for religion but ending as a war of independence
• Dr R.C. Majumdar, however, considers it as neither the first, nor national, nor a war of independence as large parts of the country remained unaffected
• According to some Marxist historians, the 1857 revolt was “the struggle of the soldier-peasant democratic combine against foreign as well as feudal bondage”.
• Jawaharlal Nehru considered the Revolt of 1857 as essentially a feudal uprising though there were some nationalistic elements in it (Discovery of India).
• M.N. Roy felt the Revolt was a last ditch stand of feudalism against commercial capitalism.
• It had seeds of nationalism and anti-imperialism but the concept of common nationality and nationhood was not inherent to the revolt of 1857

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Consequences & Effects

Political Effects

• It led to far reaching changes in the system of administration and the policies of  British government.
• 2nd Aug, 1858, British Parliament passed an Act for the Better Government of India.
• The Act declared Queen Victoria as the sovereign of British India.
• This is known as queen’s proclamation.
• Queen’s proclamation was read out by Lord Canning at a durbar held on 1st Nov, 1858 at Allahabad.
• The proclamation put an end to the rule of East India Company.
• Board of Control was abolished.
• A new ministry was created known as ‘India House’, headed by the Secretary of State for India who was a minister of cabinet rank.
• Governor-General became more pronounced and his profile was now counted as the Viceroy representative of the Queen.
• Policy of annexation and expansion of British empire in India ended.

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Economic Effects

• Revolt also brought massive economic destruction.
• The public debt of the country rose by about 98 million sterling.
• British now started economic expansion and exploitation in India.

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Military Effects

• Army Amalgamation Scheme, 1861 moved Company’s European troops to services of the Crown.
• Number of european troops was increased and all artillery units were placed in European hands.
• The different classes of sepoys were mixed.

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Administrative Effects

• Proclamation also promised equal and impartial protection under law to all Indians and equal opportunities in government services
• Indian Civil Service Act of 1861 was passed, which was to give an impression that under Queen all were equal.
• Policies were made to protect landlords and zamindars and give them security of rights over their lands.
• The complete structure of the Indian government was remodeled and based on the notion of a master race – justifying the philosophy of the ‘Whiteman’s burden’.

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Social Effects

• British followed the policy of communal disharmony.
• They take policy of non-interference in traditional structure of Indian society and use it against the educated middle class.

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Significance of the Revolt

• It brought out in the open grievances of people and the sepoys, which were seen to be genuine.
• Revolt of 1857 did establish local traditions of resistance to British rule.
• It of helped in the course of the national struggle for freedom.

revolt of 1857 in india causes leaders sepoy mutiny indian rebellion