HANSRAJ MODEL

SCHOOL
CH 11
FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
MODULE 2
Socio and religious causes

 The social reforms by the British were considered an interference in the customs
and traditions of the Hindus. Many Indians opposed the introduction of western
education and the conversion of Indians to Christianity.
 The Hindu law of property was changed to enable a Christian convert to receive
his share of ancestral property.
 The spread of railways created further fear among the poor and illiterate sections
of the society that they would lose their caste.
 Indians were not allowed to travel in first class compartments. The conservative
Indians were alarmed by the spread of western culture and English education in
India. Moreover, the British looked down upon Indians and followed a policy of
racial discrimination. They considered themselves as superiors.
 They advocated a judicial system based on the principle of equality but in actual
practice it was biased.
Military causes

 The sepoys had helped the British to establish their empire in India but
instead of receiving awards or promotions, they were humiliated by the
British.
 There was discrimination between the Indian and the British soldiers. The
highest pay given to an Indian sepoy as subedar was less than the minimum
pay of a European recruit.
 The act of 1856, made it compulsory for new Indian recruit to serve
overseas. It hurt the feelings of the soldiers as Hindus believed that overseas
travel would lead to the loss of caste.
Immediate causes

 The cartridges of the new Enfield rifle had a greased paper cover which had
to be bitten off before the cartridge was loaded into the rifle.
 It was such that the grease composed of beef and pig fat. Both the Hindus and
Muslims refused to use them as the cow is sacred to the Hindus and the pig is
detestable to the Muslims.
 On March 29 1857 at barrackpore near Calcutta mangal pandey a young
indiansepoy from Bengal regiment refused to use the grease cartridge and
shot down his sergeant. He was arrested, tried and executed. When this news
spread, many sepoys started the revolt.
Course of the revolt
 The sepoys broke out into an open revolt at Meerut in April 1857. They refused to
touch the greased cartridges. They were court martialed and sentenced to 10
years imprisonment. The regiments in Meerut revolted on May 10, 1857. They
broke open the prison and released the imprisoned soldiers. They marched to
Delhi on May 11 and rebelled under bahadur shah Zafar II.
 The revolt then spread to other places. It was led by nana sahib in Kanpur with his
general tantya tope and by begum hazrat mahal in awadh. Rani Lakshmi bai of
Jhansi led the revolt in central India and fought valiantly.
 The revolt also spread to bareily, Agra, Benares and other places.
 The Sikh leaders in Punjab, nizam of Hyderabad and scindia of Gwalior did not
join the revolt . The madras and Bombay regiments also did not join the revolt.
The afghans and gurkhas remained loyal to the British.
 The revolt was started by the sepoys but the participation of the peasants and the
artisans gave the revolt its real strength. It reflected the Hindu Muslim unity.
Although the revolt was a great strength but it was effectively suppressed by the
britishers.
Suppression of the revolt

 British military officers freed Delhi, the epicenter of the revolt, from the rebels.
The kashmere gate was blown up. Hundreds of people were massacred.
 Bahadur shah jafar II the Mughal emperor was tried for a treason and exiled to
Rangoon. His sons were cruelly shot down as they were held guilty of the murder
of English men, women and children.
 The control of Delhi and imprisonment of bahadur shah Zafar by the British broke
the backbone of the mutiny.
 Lucknow was recaptured in 1858.
 Rani Lakshmi bai was killed in the battle and tantya tope was captured and
hanged to death.
 Thus, ended the episode of the historic revolt also called the first war of
independence.
Causes of the failure of the revolt

 The uprising had been planned for months, but it broke out before the appointed date. It did not go
according to the plan as the revolutionaries failed to spread it beyond central India and Delhi. If the
plan had gone as per the schedule, the revolt would have broken out in many parts of India
simultaneously and it would have been very difficult for lord canning, the governor general at that
time, to control the revolt.
 There was no unity among the rebels. The ideas of nationalism had not developed. There was no
common ideology amongst the rebels. The sepoys of Bengal wanted to revive the glory of the
Mughals while nana sahib and tantya tope tried to reestablish the Maratha power and rani Lakshmi
bai fought for her lost kingdom.
 The rising was not widespread. It was limited to north and central India. In the north, the Sikhs, the
nizams, and the scindia were unaffected by the revolt and the gurkhas not only remained loyal to
the Britishers, but helped the British in suppressing the mutiny.
 The rebels could not match the sophisticated and modern weapon and the disciplined army of the
British. Moreover an organized communication system and military strategies led to British victory.
 The leadership of the revolt was neither strong nor gave direction to the rebels. The Indian rulers
fought to liberate their own territories and did not think about the freedom of the whole country.
Moreover, the company officials got timely help from the government of Britain
Results of the revolt

 The rule of the east India Company ended with queen proclamation of November 1, 1858. She
assumed the title of the empress of India.
 The British crown took over the administration of India.
 A secretary of state was appointed by the British parliament to look after the governance of
India with the help of a council.
 The governor general was given the title of viceroy – the representative of British crown.
 The British reorganized the army to prevent any future revolts. The policy of ruthless
conquests and annexations of Indian territories was given up.
 The Indian princess were given the assurance that their states would not be annexed and
were granted the right of adoption.
 Full religious freedom was guaranteed to the Indians. They were also given the assurance that
high posts would be given to then without any discrimination.
 By the end of 1859, British authority in India was fully reestablished. But the revolt proved to
be the first great struggle for freedom. It became a source of inspiration for the later
freedom struggle and its heroes become household names in the country.
QUEEN VICTORIA
THANK YOU