Revolt of 1857 :-
On 29 March 1857, young soldier Mangal Pandey was hanged at Berakhpur for attacking his officers or his officers.
A few days later, the tension in Meerut led to some soldiers refusing to conduct military drills with new cartridges.
The soldiers used to think that those cartridges were coated with the fat of cow and pig.
On 9 May 1857, 85 soldiers were fired from their jobs. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for not obeying the orders of his officers or officers or for this charge.
The rebellion began with the outbreak of rebellion in Meerut on May 10, 1857. After taking over the local administration, the soldiers along with the people of the surrounding villages marched to Delhi. They wanted the support of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah. The soldiers came to the Red Fort and demanded that the emperor should give them his blessings. Bahadur Shah had no option but to support him.
Rebellion in Meerut :-
On 10 May 1857, the soldiers stormed the Meerut jail and freed the soldiers lodged there. They attacked the British officers and killed them. On the afternoon of May 10, 1857, the soldiers revolted in the Meerut cantonment.
Revolt in Delhi :-
A group of soldiers arrived in the early hours of May 11, 1857, at the gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. It was the month of Ramadan that the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar Nawaz had woken up after reading and eating sahri (the meal before the sun rose on the day of fasting).
Some soldiers daringly got into the fort without following the court etiquette to enter the Red Fort. His demand was that the emperor should give him his blessings. Surrounded by soldiers, Bahadur Shah Zafar Nawaz had no other option but to obey him. In this way that rebellion acquired a Vedata because it could now be run in the name of the Mughal emperor.
The emperor had to accept this demand of the soldiers, he wrote a letter to the chiefs, institutions and rulers of the country and called for the formation of a federation of Indian states to fight the British.
As soon as the news spread that Delhi had been captured by the rebels and Bahadur Shah gave his support. The situation began to change rapidly, the level of rebellion intensified in the Ganges valley and some of the police in the west of Delhi.
With the involvement of the common people in the rebellion, the scope of the attacks spread. In big cities like Lucknow, Kanpur and Bareilly, the moneylenders and the rich also became the victims of the anger of the rebels. Most of the places were looted by the rich. were devastated. Its address is also known from Delhi Urdu newspaper.
Causes of 1857 Rebellion :-
1. commercial purpose
- revenue policy
- decline of handicrafts industry
- business policy
- Bharatip money issue
- Atrocities of landlords
Conclusion :- In this way the policy of the British destroyed the Indian farmers. According to RC Dutt, the condition of the farmers in the Ryotwari areas became like beggars. The craftsmen and artisans were made unemployed. The business of merchants was ruined. Zamindaria was abolished. The country's wealth started running out and thus widespread economic discontent led to a rebellion against the regime.
2 . political reasons
- Lord Dalhousie's Trans-Imperial Policy
- Merger of Awadh
- Inappropriate behavior with Nana Saheb and Laxmibai
- faulty administrative policy
- Insult of Emperor - Bahadur Shah's successors will have to leave the Red Fort and live in a small residence near Qutub Minar outside Delhi. This announcement was made by Lord Dalhousie in 1849 AD.
In this sequence, in 1856, Cannig announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah, the title of emperor would be snatched from the Mughals. This was a mischievous blow to the prestige of the Mughal dynasty.
Conclusion: - There was a widespread political reaction to the snatching of state pension and titles of Indian kings or nawabos. The policy of discrimination against Indians in the field of army and administration also gave rise to discontent and anger and prepared the ground for the revolution of 1857.
3. Social and religious reasons:
- Discontent among Christian missionaries
- end of sati system
- sea transit
- Encouragement of conversion
- Restriction on Adopted Son - First of all, the adoption should not be allowed and efforts should be made to avoid such a situation. In this way both Hindu Muslims got angry on the intervention of the British.
Conclusion: - By banning the practice of Sati, by encouraging religious conversion, by amending the rule of traditional succession, hurting the social, religious feelings of Indians, therefore the flame of rebellion against the British started burning in their mind and in bringing about the revolution of 1857. cooperated.
4. Military reasons:
- integral part of Indian society
- humiliation of soldiers
- right at strategic sites
- British soldiers' defeat
- Policy of Discrimination - British rule did not believe in work, equal pay and equal rules.
5. IMPORTANT REASON :- IMPORTANT
This was the period when the new Enfield rifle was first being used, whose cartridges were greased. At the time of using these cartridges, the soldiers had to load the reaper with their teeth.
In January 1857, this information (of cartridges) had reached from the Bengal Army. A Khalasi working in the Dum Dum artillery had told a Brahmin soldier that the fat used in the cartridge was that of a pig and a cow. Angered by this information, both Hindus and Muslims refused to use these cartridges.
First , the Bengal Army contingent at Barrackpore, 22 KM away from Calcutta , refused, after that the soldiers of Berhampur, 180 KM away from Calcutta , refused to use these cartridges. The belief behind these cartridges was that the British wanted to convert this religion of both Hindus and Muslims to Christianity.
Methods of communication during rebellion:-
Evidence of communication between soldiers of different regiments has been found before and during the rebellion. His messengers moved from station to station. The sepoys or historians have said, there were panchayats and these were made up of native officers drawn from each regiment.
Some decisions were taken collectively by these panchayats. The sepoys shared a common lifestyle and many of them came from the same caste, so they rebelled by sitting together.
Leaders and followers:-
When the feet of the British were uprooted in Delhi, there was no rebellion for almost a week.
One by one the soldiers in each regiment revolted. They set out to support other units at key points like Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow.
Nana Saheb, the adopted son of late Peshwa Bajirao, who lived near Kanpur, declared that he was the governor under Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Birjis Kendra, the son of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who was removed from the throne of Lucknow, was declared the new Nawab. The Birjis center also accepted Bahadur Shah Zafar as its emperor. His mother Begum Hazrat Mahal took an active part in promoting the rebellion against the British.
Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi also joined the rebel soldiers and together with Nana Saheb's general Tatya Tope, gave a heavy challenge to the British.
The number of British in front of the rebel units was very less. On 6 August 1857, Lieutenant Colonel Tyler sent a telegram to his Commander-in-Chief. In which he expressed the fear of the English and said that our people are tired of the number of opponents and the constant fighting. Every village is against us. Zamindars are also standing against us. During this time many leaders came forward.
For example, Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah of Faizabad predicted that the British rule would end soon. Sepoy Bakht Khan of Bareilly marched towards Delhi with a large contingent of boys and he proved to be a key figure in this revolt.
Rumors and Predictions :-
The soldiers coming from Meerut to Delhi had told Bahadur Shah about those cartridges. On which the fat of cow and pig was coated.
The soldiers were pointing towards the cartridges of the Enfield rifle that had been given to them recently. The British explained to the soldiers that it was not so, but these rumors went on spreading like wildfire in the cantonments of North India.
Captain Wright, the Commander of the Rifle Instruction (Depot), wrote in his report that a low caste Khalasi working in the Shastragar at Dum Dum asked a Brahmin soldier to drink water in the third week of January 1857. You refused to drink water from the pot, that touching the lower caste would make the return impure.
According to the report, to this Khallasi replied that your caste is going to be corrupt soon because now you will have to pull the kartushos with the fat of cow and pig. It is difficult to say about the credibility of this report. But there is no doubt that once this rumor started spreading, it could not be ended despite all the assurances of the British officers and it created a deep anger among the soldiers.
Other rumours:
Those spreading rumors said that in order to achieve this purpose, the British got the powder of cow and pig bones mixed in the flour available in the market, and the common people refused to even touch the flour.
Note: - The symbol of the revolution of 1857 was lotus flower and chapati.
Note :- As Governor General, Hadring attempted to modernize the equipment. The Enfield rifles he started using used smooth cartridges. Against whom the soldiers had revolted.
Note :- During the Revolt of 1857, the British General was Cannig.
Revolt in Awadh :-
Lord Dalhousie has described the kingdom of Awadh as a cherry that will one day end up in our mouths. Lord Dalhousie started the Subsidiary Alliance in Awadh in 1801. Gradually, the British developed more interest in the state of Awadh.
The role of Oudh as a producer of cotton and indigo and also as a major market for Upper India was seen by the British. ,
By 1850, all the major territories like Maratha land, Doab, Karnataka, Punjab and Bengal were conquered. The annexation of Oudh in 1856 completed the territorial destruction that had begun a century earlier with the annexation of Bengal.
Dalhousie displaced Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and exiled to Calcutta on the grounds that Awadh was being misrepresented.
The British government wrongly believes that Nawab Wajid Ali was an unpopular ruler. On the contrary, he was widely loved and people grieved for the loss of the Nawab.
The removal of the Nawab led to the dissolution of the courts and the decline of the culture. Musicians, dancers, poets, cooks, retainers and administrative officials all lose their livelihood.
Imagination of Unity:
In the declarations issued by the rebels in 1857 AD, all sections of the society were called upon without distinction of caste and religion. A declaration issued in the name of Bahadur Shah appealed to the public to join this fight, citing both Mohammed and Mahavir.
The interesting thing is that in spite of the efforts made by the British to create a gulf between Hindus and Muslims, no such difference was visible during the British rule in December 1857 to turn the Hindus of Bareilly, located in western Uttar Pradesh, against the Muslims. Spent Rs 50,000 for it. His attempt was unsuccessful.
In many places, the rebellion against the British took the gross of attack against all the forces which were considered to be the supporters of the British or the oppressors of the people.
At times the rebels deliberately insulted the elite of the city. In the villages they burnt the books of moneylenders and ransacked their houses. This shows that they want to eliminate the high and low.
Repression by the British :-
To reunite North India, the British passed a series of laws. The whole of North India was placed under martial law, military officers and ordinary Britons were given the power to punish Indians suspected of rebellion.
The British government brought reinforcements from Britain and arranged a dual strategy to capture Delhi. Delhi was captured only at the end of September.
The British government in Oudh faced very stiff resistance and they had to use military power on a large scale.
In Awadh, he tried to break the unity between the zamindars and the peasants, so that they could give their land back to the zamindars. The rebellious landlords were driven out and Loyal was rewarded.
Description of rebellion through art and literature :-
There are very few records on the rebel approach. Most of the narrations of the Revolt of 1857 circa 1857 were obtained from official accounts.
British officials apparently left their version in diaries, letters, autobiographies and official histories and reports.
The rebellion stories published in British newspapers and magazines detailed the violence of the rebels and these stories stirred public sentiment and provoked demands for retaliation and revenge.
Paintings, etchings, posters, cartoons, market prints produced by the British and Indians also serve as important records of the rebellion.
Many paintings were made by British painters to offer various illustrations for various events during the rebellion. These images provoked a range of different emotions and reactions.
Paintings such as the 'Relief of Lucknow' painted by Thomas Jones Barker in 1859 commemorate the British heroes who rescued the English and suppressed the rebels.
The prestige of English women and Britain :-
Newspaper reports shape the sentiments and attitudes of events particularly those affected by incidents of violence against women and children. There were public demands for revenge and vengeance in Britain.
The British government asked women to protect the honor of innocent women and ensure the safety of helpless children.
Artists expressed these feelings through their visual representations of trauma and suffering.
In Memoriam, painted by Joseph Noel Paton in 1859, depicts the worrisome moment in which women and children are surrounded by helpless and innocent individuals, seemingly awaiting inevitable humiliation, violence and death. . The painting enhances the imagination and tries to incite anger and fury. These paintings depict the rebels as violent and brutal.
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History – Themes
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Science – Contemporary World Politics |
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– Politics
in India since Independence |
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Geography – Indian
People and Economy |
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– Fundamental of Human Geography |
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Chapter 1: - Population: Distribution, Density, Growth
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Chapter 12: - Geographical Perspective on Selected
Issues and Problems |
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