Script

Good morning, dear Teacher, and fellow students. We are team 2 and we are going to be
presenting on the Great Uprising of 1857.

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the
British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British
Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the
company’s army in the garrison town of Meerut, 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Delhi. It then
erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and
central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion
posed a military threat to British power in that region and was contained only with the rebels’
defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858.

On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though
they did not declare the hostilities formally ended until 8 July 1859.

There were many types of causes for the uprising-

 Economic

 Socio-religious

 Military

 Immediate

 Political

Economic causes:

 Heavy taxes due to the land revenue systems, such as the Permanent and Ryotwari
settlements, increased the misery of peasants.

 Peasants were forced to grow crops such as indigo, which suited the needs of the British
economy.

 British strategy of buying cheap raw materials from India and selling British manufactured
goods at low rates damaged the Indian economy.

 Annexation of Indian states led to the confiscation of zamindari rights and caused the
zamindars to lead the rebels.

Socio-religious causes

 Indians disliked being treated as inferior people and excluded from high administrative posts
by the British.

 Sections in Indian society objected to the prominence given to Western education at the
cost of traditional learning.

 Many Indians were alarmed by the increasing activities of Christian missionaries in India.

 Social reforms such as the abolition of sati and widow remarriage were seen as the British’s
interference with Indian values and customs.
Military causes

 In 1856, the company passed an act known as the General Service Enlistment Act.
According to this act, every

recruit had to serve overseas if ordered. It had heard the religious sentiments of the sepoys.
The Indian sepoys were paid much less than the British soldiers.

 Harsh treatment of the sepoys by the British officers created discontentment.  Many
Indians in those days believed that they would lose their caste and religion if they crossed the
sea.

Immediate causes

 The situation worsened with the introduction of Enfield rifles in the army. The greased
cartridges for these rifles had to be bitten off before being inserted into the rifle.

 Rumours had spread in the sepoy camps that the grease contained fat from pigs and cows.
Hindu and Muslim sepoys therefore objected to using them.

 When the British severely punished and imprisoned sepoys for refusal to use the cartridges,
the sepoys were enraged.

Political causes

 The unjust territorial annexations carried out by Lord Dalhousie through the policy of
Doctrine of Lapse created anger and resentment toward the British.

 Annexation of Awadh, despite in adherence to the Subsidiary alliance, increased the

 Denial of the right to inherit Mughal property by Bahadur Shah’s successors or to use
imperial titles was a source of concern.

 Rulers mistrusted the British as they were quick to break treaties.

The revolt

 The sepoys at the Meerut cantonment were angered at the humiliating treatment of their
fellow comrades. They rose in revolt, attacked the jail and freed the sepoys. Many of the
sepoys marched to Delhi, where they were joined by the sepoys of the local army. The revolt
spread throughout Delhi.

 The rebel forces proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar as the leader of the revolt and celebrated
the revival of the Mughal Empire. The British reinforcements soon arrived from Punjab, and
Delhi was recaptured. Hundreds of Indians were killed, and many were hanged without trials.
Bahadur Shah was taken prisoner, tried and exiled to Rangoon in Burma.

 The news of the events at Delhi spread rapidly provoking unique uprisings among sepoys in
many districts including the northwestern province central India and Bihar. In many cases it
was the behaviour of the British military and civilian authorities that accelerated discontent
among Indians.
Awadh

(small roleplay about Soldiers besieging house)

 After Delhi, a rebellion erupted in Awadh, which had been annexed by Lord Dalhousie.

- The rebel forces besieged the residence of the British commissioner Sir Henry Lawrence.

- With arrival of British reinforcements, the rebels were defeated. and Lucknow was recovered
by the British.

Kanpur

(small roleplay about Nana Sahib’s fight)

 In Kanpur, Sepoys rebelled and besieged the British entrenchment. The leader of the Kanpur
revolt was Nana

Sahib, the adopted son of Baji Rao II.

 His victory was short lived as the British soon recaptured Kanpur and Nana Sahib escaped.
His general Tantia Tope continued the struggle.

Jhansi

(Small play about lakshmibai fighting british)

 Jhansi was a princely state in South-western Uttar Pradesh. It was annexed by the British
1853. When news of the revolt reached Rani Lakshmibai, the Queen of Jhansi, she quickly
organized her troops. She was also supported by the rebels in the Bundelkhand region. By
1858, the East India company’s forces had begun their counteroffensive in Bundelkhand.
Following a fierce battle at the fort of Jhansi, Lakshmibai refused to surrender and managed to
escape.

 Along with Tantia Tope, Lakshmi Bai then mounted a successful assault on the city-fortress
of Gwalior. The treasury and the arsenal of the fort were seized. After taking Gwalior, Lakshmi
by marched east to confront a British counterattack. She fought a fierce battle but was killed
in the combat.

 Such resolute defiance of the British made the Rani of Jhansi a symbol of bravery and
courage and in source of inspiration for the future freedom fighters of India.

Causes of failure of the revolt

 The revolt lacked coordination, and the rebels had no common plan of action.

 The rebels lacked centralized leadership. There was no one to give proper direction to the
revolt. The leaders were more interested in their personal territorial gains as they didn’t yet
have the idea of a nation state.

 The rebel forces lacked suitable weapons. The outdated Indian arms were no match for the
modern British weaponry. Moreover, the Indian rebels also lacked financial resources.

Effects of the revolt

 The Proclamation stated that the duties drawn within the Indian states would be honoured.
Queen Victoria promised to look after the welfare of the Indian people.

 The Queen’s Proclamation abolished the Doctrine of Lapse. Rates of adoption were granted
to the Indian rulers, and annexed territories were returned to the princes.

 A new office of the Secretary of State was created.

The powers of the Governor General were also increased, and the office of the Viceroy was
created in its place. The first Viceroy of India was Lord Canning.