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In 1856, Lord Canning succeeded Lord Dalhousie as the Governor General of India. The reign of Dalhousie had been quite momentous for the Britishers as he had pursued a policy of territorial aggrandisement and extended the dominions of the empire. The reign of his successor witnessed a big conflagration-the Great Revolt of 1857. It was the cumulative result of the misrule and oppression of the East India Company over a span of hundred years. The Great Revolt was so meticulously planned that the Company rule would have totally collapsed but for the fact that the revolutionaries did not have the backing of all sections of the people. The upsurge was so widespread that some of the contemporary observers called it a “national revolt”.
The main reason for the revolt was the ruthless exploitation of the Indian people by the British. When the Battle of Plassey was won in 1757, the British successfully imposed their trade monopoly over the area under their control, eliminated competition from the India traders and forced the artisans to sell their products to them. The artisans were now paid so low that they could hardly survive. The legend has it that the weavers of Dhaka cut their thumbs to protest against such low payments by the East India Company for their superb work on muslin renowned for its fine texture.
Although the trade monopoly enriched the East India Company considerably, its main source of income was now derived from the land. After entrenching itself in Bengal, it spread its power in India through wars and treaties. To extract as much money as possible it devised new systems of land settlements-Permanent, Ryotwari and Mahalwari-each more oppressive than the other.
The East India Company did not spare even its former allies.
Impact on the sepoys
The revolt of 1857 originated with the mutiny of the Sepoys. As we have seen, the rapacious policies followed by the East India Company were impoverishing and ruining the peasantry. This must have affected the Sepoys also. Infact, most of them had joined the military service in order to supplement their fast declining agricultural income.
The proselytizing zeal of the missionaries and some of the British officials instilled fear in the minds of the people that their religion was in danger. At several places conversions to Christianity were reported to be made.
Over the years the upper caste sepoys had found their religious beliefs in conflict with their service conditions.
In addition there was professional discontent:
The atmosphere was so surcharged that even a small issue could lead to revolt.
Lack of unity among Indians
The modern educated Indians also did not support the revolt because, in their view, the revolt was backward-looking. This educated middle class was the product of the British system of education and they believed mistakenly that the British would lead the country towards modernization.
1.
Lucknow
Begum Hazrat Mahal, Birjis Qadir
2.
Kanpur
Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope
3.
Jhansi
Rani Laxmibai
4.
Bihar (Jagdishpur)
Kunwar Singh
5.
Allahabad
Maulvi Liyakat Ali
6.
Faizabad
Maulvi Ahmadullah
7.
Bareilly
Khan Bahadur Khan
8.
Mandsor
Firoz Khan
9.
Assam
Kandapareshwar Singh, Manirama Datta
10.
Orissa
Surendra Shahi, Ujjwal Shahi
11.
Kullu
Raja Pratap Singh
12.
Rajasthan
Jayadayal Singh
13.
Gorakpur
Gajadhar Singh
14.
Mathura
Devi Singh, Kadam Singh
Military superiority of the British
Another major factor for the defeat of the rebels was the British superiority in arms. The British imperialism, at the height of its power the world over and supported by most of the Indian princes and chiefs, proved militarily too strong for the rebels. While the rebels were lacking in discipline and a central command, the British continued to have a constant supply of disciplined soldiers, war materials and money from British. Sheer courage could not win against a powerful and determined enemy who planned its strategy skillfully. Because of poor discipline the rebels lost more men and material than the British in every encounter. Many sepoys, after seeing that the British had an upper hand, left for their villages.
These were the main factors responsible for the failure of the revolt.
Delhi
Recaptured on 20 Sept. 1857 by John Nicholson.
Recaptured on 6 December 1857 by Colin Campbell.
Recaptured on 21 March 1858 by Colin Campbell.
Recaptured by Hugh Rose
Arrah
William Taylor and Eyre suppressed the revolt.
Despite the fact that the revolt of 1857 failed, it gave a severe jolt to the British administration in India. The structure and policies of the re-established British rule were, in many respects, drastically changed.
Between the 1950s and 1960s historians focused much of their attention on whether the revolt was a sepoy mutiny, national struggle or a manifestation of feudal reaction. Let us sum up the essential arguments of this earlier debate.
1. “The crisis came: at first as a mere military mutiny, it speedily changed its character and became a national insurrection” — G.B. Malleson
2. “The decline and fall of empires are not affairs of greased cartridges. Such results are occasioned by adequate causes and by the accumulation of adequate causes” — Benjamin Disraeli
3. “It is a mutiny or is it a national revolt?” —Benjamin Disraeli
4. “The entire movement lacked a unified and forward looking programme to be implemented after the capture of power.” — Bipin Chandra
5. “It is in fact an anachronism to describe the mutiny as the first essay towards modern independence. It was rather, in its political aspect, the last effort of the old conservative India”. —Percival Spear
6." The so called first national war of Independence of 1857 is neither first ,nor National nor war of Independence"--- R.C .Mazumdar.
7. "Wholly unpatriotic and selfish sepoy mutiny with no native leadership and no popular support" — John Seeley
The Indian National Congress was not the first political association to be established in India. Various associations had been established earlier.
The rise of national consciousness in the nineteenth century was essentially the result of the British rule.
The term nation is more a cultural term and less a political term. It implies collectivenss of people having common religion, language, food, dresses and other aspect of culture. People living in far away are also part of the nation. Nationalism implies feeling of togetherness based on different traits of culture like language, religion, etc. When people begin to associate themselves with a country, the term nationalism assumes political colour. People even living in far flung areas associate themselves with a country and such country becomes nation. The feeling of belongingness with nation is called Nationalism.
There were many hurdles in the rise of National consciousness which slowed down the process of nationalism. These hurdles were like vastness of India, poor means of communication, lack of awareness or prevalence of traditional ideas or values among people or people were denied of progressive values, British Economic Policies and impoverishment of India.
By: Subhash Singh ProfileResourcesReport error
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