1857 revolt

 The biggest challenge to British authority came in 1857. The revolt of 1857 began with a mutiny of the soldiers. The 1857 Revolt sowed the seeds of Indian nationalism, which lay dormant in the subconscious of the Indian people.

The revolt occurred during the Governor Generalship of Lord Canning.

Causes of the Revolt of 1857

Political Causes

> The British policies of annexation and expansion created suspicion in the minds of the Indians. Lord Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance and Lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse made the Indian rulers as the dead enemies of the English.

> The discontent and disaffection manifested by Indian.

 All high posts were reserved only for the English. It created ill feeling against the English.

Economic Causes

 Under the British rule, the economic condition of the people had deteriorated.

The introduction of machine made goods by the British destroyed the indigenous industries. Hundreds of people lost their employment.

The new plantation system introduced in 1833 resulted in incalculable misery for the Indian peasants. This was the result of permitting Englishmen to acquire land plantations in India. The hard hits were the peasants on the indigo plantations in Bengal and Bihar.

Social and Religious Causes

The introduction of railways, telegraphs and western education created suspicion in the minds of the people, who thought that the British would convert them to Christianity.

The Christian missionaries began to affect the wholesale conversion of the Indians. The Englishmen showed an arrogant attitude towards the Indians.

The English had begun to interfere in the religious affairs by abolishing sati and child marriage and encouraging widow remarriage. The Hindu law of property was changed with a view to facilitate the conversion of the Hindus to Christianity.

Military Causes

The Indian Sepoys had numerous grievances against the British. The Indian sepoys in the British Indian army nursed a sense of strong resentment at their low salary and poor prospects of promotion. Dissatisfaction was with the order that abolished the foreign allowance or batta when they served in foreign territories.

 The British military officers at times showed least respect to the social values and religious sentiments of Indian sepoys in the army.

► The General Service Enlistment Act passed in 1856 created great bitterness among Indian soldiers as they were reluctant to go overseas. The sepoys were asked to trim their moustaches and beards. They were also ordered to remove their caste marks on their forehead and to replace the turban with leather hat. The Hindus and the Muslims felt that it was against their religion. The Sikhs never trim their hair or beard. This hurt them deeply.

> The Vellore mutiny of 1806, a precursor to the 1857 Great Revolt, was the outcome of such tendencies on the part of the military authorities. Immediate Cause

The introduction of greased cartridges in the new Enfield Rifle. These cartridges had to be bitten by the sepoys in order to fit them in the New Rifles. These cartridges were greased with the fat of the cow and pig. The sepoys got infuriated and refused to use them as cow was considered sacred by the Hindus and the pig was detested by the Muslims. Both the Hindus and the Muslims refused to use this greased cartridges.

Main events of the Revolt

The first soldier to protest against the greased cartridge was Mangal Pandey, the Brahmin Sepoy, at Barrackpore in Bengal. He refused to use the cartridges and shot his officer dead on 29 March 1857. He was arrested and hanged to death.

-At Meerut in May 1857, 85 sepoys of the 3rd Cavalry regiment were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for refusing to use the greased catridges. Therefore, on 10 May 1857 the sepoys broke out in open rebellion, shot their officers, released their fellow sepoys and headed towards Delhi. General Hewitt, the officer commanding at Meerut was helpless to prevent the army's march. The city of Delhi fell into the hands of the rebellious soldiers on 12 May, 1857. Then Bahadur Shah-II, the old Mughal Emperor was declared as Emperor of India.

Causes for the failure of the revolt of 1857

► Different sections of society such as moneylenders, merchants and modern educated Indians were actually against the Revolt. The lack of interest shown by the intellectuals in the movement was a serious setback.

➤ South India remained calm.

➤ The lack of resources both in men and money proved very disastrous to the

freedom fighters. The telegraphic network and postal systems helped the British

in communications. The railways could transport the soldiers quickly.

➤ A great part of the English army including the Sikh, Rajput and the Gurkha

battalions remained faithful to the British Government.

➤ The British troops were led by good Generals. But the Indian Generals were no match for them. The British had mastery over the seas and so they could get men and materials from England into India.

► There was no great war or world war like situation in the world against England This made Britishers calm and relaxed who made efficient and effective policy to suppress the revolt.

Results of the Revolt of 1857

> The revolt of 1857 put an end to the rule of the English East India Company.

➤ Queen Victoria's Proclamation was issued on November 1, 1858.

> The Board of Control and the Court of

Queen's Proclamation of 1858

A Royal Durbar was held at Allahabad on November 1 ^ prime prime 1858 where Queen's Proclamation was declared. It was read at the Durbar by Lord Canning who was the last Governor General and the first Viceroy of India.

Directors were abolished and the office of the Secretary of the State for India and Indian Council was created. The Governor General of India now came to be called as Viceroy of India.

➤ The Indian army was thoroughly reorganised.

► Complete religious freedom was guaranteed to the Indian people.

Indigo Revolt (1859-60)

➤ The peasants were forced to grow indigo in their lands unwillingly by the European factory owners. The anger exploded in Govindpur village of Nadia district (Bengal) under Digambar Biswas and Vishnu Biswas.

➤ Others who played important role were Harish Chandra Mukherjee (editor of the Newspaper Hindu Patriot), Dinbandhu Mitra (writer of play, Neel Darpan) and Michael Madhusudan Datta (eminent Bengali poet-cum-play writer, who translated Neel Darpan into English).

➤ The Government appointed an Indigo Commission in 1860 and removed some of the abuse of Indigo cultivation.