Revolt of 1857 – Causes Introduction The Revolt of 1857, commonly called as the Sepoy Revolt, was the first organised revolt against British rule in India It was the culmination of the manifold grievances that Indians had against the !ast India "ompany#s rule It was to a great e$tent a popular revolt led %y e$iled princes and displaced landlords The The revolt was largely confined to &orth and "entral India The revolt failed due to various reasons, including lac' of organised planning on the part of the re%els and superior strength of the British The transfer of the Indian administration from the !nglish !ast India "ompany to British "rown was the important result of the Revolt The revolt has %een hailed as the watershed or the (great divide# in the colonial history of British India Causes The revolt of 1857 was the most dramatic instance of traditional India#s struggle against foreign rule )owever, it was not a sudden occurrence The revolt did not happen overnight It was the culmination of a century long tradition of fierce popular resistance to British domination
*ue to the nature of early historiography of the revolt, which was written %y officials turned historians, it was %elieved to %e a (mere mutiny# of the sepoys in Bengal and +eerut, which was later oined %y the civil populace )owever, an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single caused for the out%rea' of the revolt Economic Causes British economic policy was the primary reason for the Revolt It destroyed the traditional economic fa%ric of country It impoverished the vast mass of peasants, artisans and handicraftsmen The land revenue policies li'e the -ermanent Settlement e$or%itantly raised the land revenue demand It led to the replacement of traditional .amindars %y a new class of .amindars The new .amindars, mostly merchants, were merely interested in raising more money than improving agriculture The mercantilist policies followed also destroyed India#s e$ternal trade
The British utilised their political power in India for the advancement of British trade and industrial development They adopted several policies that resulted in the destruction of the cottage and handicraft industries /n act was passed in 170 %y the British government which prohi%ited the use of Indian sil' in !ngland The British imposed heavy import duties on the Indian te$tile the Indian rulers and aristocrats were great patrons of te$tile and cotton industry )owever, )owever, the British e$pansion led to the displacement of these rulers and aristocrats /rtisans and handicraftsmen were affected %y import of cheap machine made clothes from !ngland Political Causes *alhousie had a maor share in the out%rea' of the Revolt )is *octrine of 2apse created new tensions This doctrine refused to recognise the right of the adopted sons to succeed as heirs to a protected state, unless the adoption was approved earlier %y the British It was %ased on this doctrine he anne$ed Satara, &agpur and 3hansi )e also refused to recognise the titles of e$4rulers li'e the &awa%s of Surat and "arnatic and Raa of Tanore )e refused pension to e$4rulers of India The most important of such e$4rulers was &ana Sahe%, the adopted son of the e$4-eshwa Bai Rao4II )e also decided that the +ughal successor to Bahadur Shah afar would have to shift
from Red 6ort to more hum%le uarter#s in *elhi#s outs'irts This was greatly resented for in the people#s mind +ughals were still considered as the rulers of India The culmination of *alhousie#s imperialistic policies was the anne$ation of /wadh /wadh on the prete$t of maladministration %y the reigning &awa% aid aid /li /li Shah This caused a great uproar in /wadh /wadh and caused the displacement of thousands of the e$4&awa%#s no%les and soldiers It also led to the e$tension of British policies to /wadh /wadh Thus *alhousie#s policies had a great %earing on the out%rea' of the revolt The other political causes were the decision of 2ord "anning in 1859 that henceforth +ughals would %e merely princes and loose their title of 'ings The reverses the British army faced during the 6irst /fghan ar ar :18;8 4 <0=, the -una% ars ars :18<5 4 <>= and the "rimean ars lessened their authority and prestige Administrative Causes ?nder the new administrative dispensation all higher posts were reserved for !nglishmen *uring 2ord "ornwallis# tenure he tried to ensure that all positions of authority were out of %ounds for the Indians The Indian middle and upper class, who served the native rulers, were the worst affected They lost their only source of livelihood 6urthermore the administration at lower levels was corrupt 3udicial and police administration seemed to favour the landlords than the poor farmer farmer /nother /nother aspect of British administration was its foreignness ?nli'e earlier invaders, the British never tried to %ecame a part of the Indian society They remained aloof and were more interested in e$ploitation rather than development of India Social and Religious Causes The social and religious causes played no minor role in the out%rea' of the Revolt The people feared that !nglish rule was a danger to their religion They thought that they were always trying to convert them to "hristianity This feeling was encouraged %y the activities of the "hristian missionaries who were seen almost everywhere in mar'ets, schools, hospitals and prisons Their vulgar attac's on )induism and Islam and centuries old tradition and customs under police protection angered the people "ertain @overnment measures li'e the Religious *isa%ilities /ct 1859 :which protected civil rights of the )indu converts=, the law which ena%led a convert to inherit his ancestral property added fuel The @overnment also ta$ed the lands %elonging to temples and mosues or priests or charita%le institutions This This was resented %y the priests and maulavis for these lands were hitherto not ta$ed These people were also affected %y the disappearance of native Indian rulers who were their chief patrons
This made them the sworn enemies of the !nglish "ertain social reforms instituted on demand %y Indian social reformers were not li'ed %y the conservative sections of the society They They viewed them as government deli%erately tampering with their age4old customs /%olition of Sati, the legalisation of widow remarriage, and the opening of estern education to women were regarded as instances of deli%erate infringement of the government on the people#s customs Sepoy iscontent!"ilitary Causes / maor part in the out%rea' of the Revolt was undou%tedly played %y sepoy discontent *iscrimination was a way of life in the !nglish !ast India "ompany#s army The The principle of eual pay for eual wor' or ran' had no place The Indian sepoys were paid less, lodged and fed far inferior to his British counterpart )e was always nearly insultingly addressed as (nigger# or (suar# or (pig# )e had no avenues
for promotion /n Indian could utmost %ecome a su%edar ?nli'e earlier times the soldiers no longer won any agirs for their wor' /s more and more parts of India were conuered, the sepoys lost their %atta :6oreign Service allowance= This was a huge cut in their salary The new rulers also hurt their religious sentiments Thus the @eneral Services !nlistment /ct of 1859 necessitated them to serve %eyond the seas This was against the prevalent )indu %elief that overseas travel would deprive a person of the caste status They were also for%idden to wear their caste mar's 6urther the sepoys were also not immune to the economic changes %rought a%out %y British conuest /s has %een said a sepoy was only a Apeasant in uniform )e too felt the destruction of traditional socio4economic structure %y the British Immediate Cause The immediate cause was the introduction of the new !nfield rifle and the greased cartridges episode The cartridges of the !nfield rifle had a greased paper cover The end of this paper had to %e %itten off %efore the cartridge was loaded into the rifle The grease, it was suggested, was made of %eef and pig fat This enraged %oth )indus and +uslims for whom it was against their religion to touch %eef and pig fat They felt that it was another instance of the @overnment deli%erately trying to destroy their religion and convert them to "hristianity
