6. M. I THE GREAT REVOLT OF 1857

3. THE GREAT REVOLT OF 1857

- The biggest challenge to British authority came in 1857. the revolt of 1857 bagan with a mutiny of the Soldiers, The  1857 Revolt sowed the seeds of Indian Nationalism, which lay dormant in the subconscious of the Indain people.

-The revolt occured during the Governer Generalship Lord canning.

Causes of hte 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 dalhousies.s Docterine of Lapse posts were reserved only for the the English It created ill feeling against the English.

Economic cause.

-Under the British rule. the economic condition of the people had deteriorated the introduciotn of machine made goods by the British destroyed the  indigenous industries Hundreds of people lost thier emplyoment.

- 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 Indigeous industries, Hundreds of people lost thier employment.

-The new palnatation system introduced  in  1833 resulted in incalculable misery for the Indain peasants. This was the  result of permittig Engllishmen to acquire and Plantation in India. The hits were the peasants of the indigo plantaions in Bengal and Bihar.

Social and Religious causes

-The Introduction of railways, telegraphs and western eucation created suspicion in the minds of the people. who thought that the British would convert them to cheritianity.

-The christan missionaries  began to wholesale conversion of  the Indain's The Englishmen showed an arrogant attitude towards the Indains. 

-The English had begun to interfere in the religious affairs by abolishing sati and child marrige and eccouraging widow remarraige the Hindu law of property was changed with a view to facilititate the conversion of the Hindu to christianity.

Military causes

-The Indain sepoys had numerous grievances the  British Indain army nurshed a sense of strong resentment at thier low salarya and poor prospects of promotion 

Dissatifaction was with the order that abolished the foriegn allowence or batta when they server in the order that aboliished the forign  allowance or batt when they served in forigen territories.

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

-The General service Englishment Act passed in 1856 created bitterness among Indain soldiers as they were reluctant to go overseas, the sepoys were asked  to thier fore head and to replace the turban with leather hat The Hindus and the Muslims felt hat it was against their religion, The sikhs never trim hair or beard ,This hurt them deeply.

- The Vellore munity of  1806 a precursor to the 1857 Great Revolt, was the outcome of such tendencies on the part of the military authorities.

Immaediate cause

- The introduction of grased cartridges in the new Enfield Rifile. These catridges had to be bitten by the sepoys in oder to fit them in the New Rifiles These catridges were grased with the fat cow and pig.  The sepoys got and the pig was  detested by the Muslims Both the Hindus and the Muslims refused to use this greased cartridges.

Mian event of the revolt

-The first soldier to protest against the grased catridge was Mangal pandey the Brhamin sepoy. at barrackpore bengal. He refused to use cartriges and shot his officer dead on 29 March 1857 He was arrested and hunged to death.

-At meerut in May 1857 sepoys  of the 3 rd cavarly regiment were sentenced to long terms of Imprisonment for refusing to use the grased cat tridges.Therfore, i=on 10 may 1857 the sepys broke out in open rebellion shot thier  officers, relesed thier fellow sepi=oys and headed towards Delhi, genral hewitt, the officer commanding fell into the  officers comamnding at meeru was helpless to prevent the army's march

-The city of Delhi fell in to the hands of hte rebellious soldiers on 12 may 1857 then Bahadur shah -II the old Mughal Emperor was declared as Emperor of India.