The Revolt of 1857, commonly referred to as the “First War of Independence,” was the first notable attempt by Indians to challenge British dominion. On May 10, 1857, it began as a sepoy rebellion. Later, Indian rulers working under the de jure guidance of the final Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, mounted a concerted campaign. Given the serious threat the Revolt of 1857 offered to British authority, it turned out to be a turning point in British thinking regarding India. They started to act more circumspectly when it came to administration, the army’s composition, how the large Indian communities were treated, etc.
The farmers and other civilian groups who supported their leaders were taken up in the 1857 Revolt, which was primarily centred in large parts of northern India. Numerous well-known Revolt and common mass leaders bravely battled alongside the British army.
Revolt of 1857 Causes
The 1857 Rebellion was caused by a number of circumstances, but all of them shared the British government’s vicious mistreatment of the Indians. Since Bengal’s unification in 1764, these elements have been building pressure, which resulted in a series of small uprisings before the Revolt of 1857. Below is a brief description of these factors:
Political Causes of Revolt of 1857
- The Doctrine of Lapse was used to annexe a number of princely realms, including Satara in 1848 and Jhansi in 1854 by Dalhousie. On the other hand, Awadh was annexed with the justification that Nawab Wazid Ali Shah was mismanaging the state.
- The people of the overthrown monarchs, many of whom were enlisted as sepoys, became resentful of these annexations.
Economic Causes of 1857 Revolt
- Effect on conventional industries: Textile, metal, glass, and paper sectors all collapsed as a result of British efforts to get India to buy British goods. By 1813, British manufacturing had been taken over and monopolised through colonialism and war, while Indian handicrafts had lost both home and international markets.
- Impact on agriculture: The British government’s land revenue policy caused agriculture to become more commercialised and turn the land into a commodity that could be traded. Older landlords became resentful as a result of the development of moneylenders, absentee landlords, and new landlords. The peasants were yearning for a regime cetchange due to the heavy tax burden, the expropriation of former cultivators, .
Social Causes of Revolt of 1857
- Alien rule: British colonists never intermarried with Indians and showed disdain even for upper-class Indians.
- Religion-related interference: Pandits and Maulvis, among other religious leaders, have completely lost all of their prior authority and status.
Administrative Factors
- Discrimination in the army: Indian sepoys and their British equivalents faced differences in pay, upkeep costs, and military grades. Additionally, they endured abuse and humiliation, which infuriated the Indian sepoys.
- Discrimination in civil administration: higher positions were largely obtained by the British, depriving Indians of them.
Immediate Cause of Revolt of 1857
The atmosphere was so surcharged that even a small issue could lead to revolution.
- The greased paper cover on the new Enfield rifle cartridges, which the army had just started using, needed to be broken off before the cartridge could be put into the gun.
- The grease was made from beef and pig fat. This infuriated the Hindu and Muslim soldiers so much that they started to believe the government was deliberately trying to destroy their faith. It was the rebellion’s direct source.
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List of Important Days in History
Revolt of 1857 Events
- Barrackpore: On March 29, 1857, Mangal Pandey, who was based there, rose uprising against his British commanders. The sepoys became enraged and resentful after he was executed.
- Ninety soldiers from the Third Native Cavalry stationed at Meerut on April 24th refused to fire the greased cartridges. On May 9, 85 of them were found not guilty and given a ten-year prison sentence.
- This was met with significant opposition by the remaining Indian sepoys, and the following day, May 10, the entire Indian garrison rose up in rebellion.
- March to Delhi: They made the decision to march to Delhi after releasing their fellows and murdering the British commanders.
- It was obvious that this was more than just an army mutiny when, upon hearing the sepoys’ gunfire at their officers, locals attacked and set fire to the British bungalows and looted the military bazaars.
- Hindu-Muslim unity: Bahadur Shah was proclaimed the Emperor by the Hindu sepoys in Delhi and Meerut, by a large majority. No matter where the sepoys went, cow killing was outlawed as a show of respect for the religious beliefs of the Hindus.
- Spread of Revolt: The entire Bengal Army revolted during the course of the following month. North and North West India were united in their opposition to the British.
- Central India: In Indore, thousands of soldiers sided with the Sepoy insurgents. Tantya Tope and Rani of Jhansi received the troops of Gwalior.
- Mainpuri, Bulandshahr, Danapur, Mathura, East Punjab. Agra. Everywhere there were Indian forces, including Lucknow, Allahabad, Banaras, Shahabad, Etwah, and Aligarh, there was a mutiny.
- The army uprising led to the collapse of the local government and police force.
- The 1857 uprising had the following effects: jail gates were thrown open, the government’s treasury was carried away, the magazine was looted, and barracks and courthouses were set on fire.
- Horsemen carrying alerts to Delhi were stopped, and telegraph cables were broken.
- The moneylenders and the new zamindars who had driven the peasants and destitute zamindars from the land were attacked by the former.
- destroyed the moneylenders’ accounting documents and government files.
- attacked police stations, tax offices, law courts, and revenue records—all of which were founded by the British.
Revolt of 1857 Leaders
The places where the rebellion’s storm centres were situated were Arrah, Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, and Lucknow. Despite acknowledging the suzerainty of Emperor Bahadur Shah, each of these regions chose its own rulers and remained autonomous.
| Leaders | Their contribution |
| Bakht Khan at Delhi | – The head of Delhi was Bahadur Shah. But real power belonged to the warriors. – The actual power came to Delhi on July 3, 1857, when Bakht Khan, the man who had orchestrated the troops’ insurrection in Bareilly, arrived. – He gathered a group of rebel Muslims and Hindus into a Court of warriors. |
| Begum Hazrat Mahal at Lucknow | – The Nawab of Awadh was declared to be Birjis Kadr, the son of Begum of Awadh, who led the group. – But the most well-liked leader was Maulavi Ahmadullah of Faizabad, who led uprisings and opposed the British. |
| Rani Lakshmi Bai at Jhansi | – She battled bravely because she felt that acknowledged Hindu law had been disregarded in robbing her of her ruling rights. commanded the rebels in the Bundelkhand region against the British. – Battle: Hugh Rose’s men from the East India Company surrounded the Jhansi fort. After successfully attacking the British in Gwalior, Tatya Tope and Lakshmibai anointed Nana Sahib as the Peshwa. |
| Nana Saheb at Kanpur | – Nana Saheb was the regimental commander of Kanpur. – In June 1857, he and Tatya Tope attacked the British soldiers of the 53rd Native infantry in Kanpur.assault against General Sir Hugh Wheeler’s entrenchment of the British East India Company. – up exchange for a safe journey to Allahabad, Sir Hugh Wheeler turned himself up to Nana Saheb. After driving the British out of Kanpur, Nana Saheb proclaimed himself the Peshwa, or ruler. |
| Kunwar Singh at Bihar | – He marched hundreds of kilometres with a rebel Ramgarh state battalion and a war band of Danapur sepoys to reach Mirzapur, Banda, and the surrounding territory of Kanpur. – He made it as far as Rewa state before making his way back to Banda and then Arrah, where he faced down and routed the British forces. – On April 27, 1858, he passed dead in the village of Jagdishpur, in his ancestral house, after suffering serious injuries. |
| Tatya Tope at Kanpur | – Rebelled against the British in Gwalior and Kanpur. He is renowned for using terrifying guerilla warfare. He took control of Kanpur in 1857, establishing Nana Sahib’s rule there.However, he proceeded to Gwalior after the British forced him to retreat at the Second Battle of Kanpur. |
Reasons of Failure of the Revolt of 1857
- Absence of a Unified Program and Ideology: Although the uprising overthrew the British administration and governance structure in India, they did not have a long-term strategy in place. They were forced to rely on the antiquated feudal system, which was led by Bahadur Shah.
- This system had lost its vitality and was unable to withstand the onslaught of the British.
- Lack of Unity Among Indians: Some soldiers in Punjab and south India fought on the side of the British to put down rebellions by the sepoys of the Bengal army.
- Most of eastern and southern India has not seen any concomitant rebellions.
- The potential for the resurgence of Mughal rule prevented the Sikhs from endorsing the rebels.
- In addition, a portion of the peasantry benefited from British rule and backed the British during the uprising.
- Absence of Support among Educated Indians: They did not embrace the uprising because they thought it was retrograde and because they thought the British would bring about modernisation in their nation.
- British imperialism, which was supported by the majority of Indian kings and chiefs and was at the height of its power worldwide, was shown to be militarily stronger than the rebels.
- In contrast, the rebels lacked organisation and a central leader.
Revolt of 1857 Consequences
- Modifications to the Military Structure: In an effort to stop the Indian soldiers from revolting again,
- More European soldiers were raised and stationed in strategic military and geographic locations.
- The “divide and rule” doctrine now guided the organisation of the army’s Indian division.
- Regiments were created according to caste, community, and geography to stop troops from becoming patriotic.
- Transfer of Power: An Act of 1858 gave the British Crown control over India, taking it away from the East India Company.
- The government of India was now headed by a Secretary of State, with assistance from a Council. The Company’s Directors previously exercised this power.
- Divide and Rule: The civilian population was also subjected to this “divide and rule” approach.
- Muslims faced harsh penalties as well as prejudice in the workplace, official offices, and other spheres.
- Towards the close of the 1800s, a policy of special treatment for Muslims was implemented.
- These measures aided in the development of communalism and caused difficulties for the Indian independence movement.
- New Approach to the Princely: The annexation approach of the past was dropped, and the leaders of these states were now permitted to choose heirs.
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