Explore the Revolt of 1857 with detailed insights into its background, causes, and the socio-political impact it had on British India. Learn about the simmering discontent, preceding uprisings, and major causes including economic, political, and administrative factors. Understand the influence of external events and the role of sepoy discontent in this pivotal moment in Indian history.
The cumulative effect of British expansionist policies, economic exploitation, and administrative innovations over the years adversely affected various groups.
The affected groups included rulers of Indian states, sepoys, zamindars, peasants, traders, artisans, pundits, maulvis, etc.
Violent Outburst
The simmering discontent burst in the form of a violent storm in 1857.
The revolt shook the British empire in India to its very foundations.
The period between 1757 and 1857 was not peaceful and trouble-free.
There were sporadic popular outbursts in the form of religio-political violence, tribal movements, peasant uprisings, agrarian riots, and civil rebellions.
Enhanced revenue demands, even in famine years, caused anger.
Movements against local moneylenders sometimes turned into rebellion against the Company rule, as moneylenders had the support of the police.
British interference in native religious/traditional customs also caused resentment and resulted in rebellions.
Rebellions and uprisings occurred for various causes in different regions almost from the very early days of East India Company’s rule.
Some movements continued even after the 1857 Revolt.
Major revolts took place in the south, east, west, and north-eastern regions, which were suppressed with brutality by the Company.
The colonial policies of the East India Company destroyed the traditional economic fabric of Indian society.
Peasantry Affected
The peasantry never really recovered from the disabilities imposed by the new and highly unpopular revenue settlement.
Impoverished by heavy taxation, peasants resorted to loans from money-lenders/traders at usurious rates, often leading to eviction from their land on non-payment of debt dues.
Rise of New Landlords
Money-lenders and traders emerged as the new landlords.
The scourge of landless peasantry and rural indebtedness continues to plague Indian society to this day.
Disintegration of Zamindari System
The older system of zamindari was forced to disintegrate.
Misery to Artisans and Handicrafts People
British rule meant misery to artisans and handicrafts people.
The annexation of Indian states by the Company cut off their major source of patronage—the native rulers and nobles.
British policy discouraged Indian handicrafts and promoted British goods.
Economic Decline
The Indian trade and mercantile class was deliberately crippled by the British.
High tariff duties were imposed on Indian-made goods, while British goods attracted low tariffs, encouraging their entry into India.
By mid-nineteenth century, exports of cotton and silk textiles from India practically came to an end.
Land Rights Forfeited
Zamindars, the traditional landed aristocracy, often saw their land rights forfeited with frequent use of a quo warranto by the administration.
In Awadh, the storm center of the revolt, 21,000 taluqdars had their estates confiscated, resulting in loss of status and income.
Pauperization of the Country
The ruin of Indian industry increased pressure on agriculture and land.
The lopsided development resulted in pauperization of the country in general.
Political Causes
Company’s Greedy Policy
The East India Company’s greedy policy of aggrandizement, broken pledges, and promises resulted in contempt for the Company and loss of political prestige.
Policies such as ‘Effective Control’, ‘Subsidiary Alliance’, and ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ caused suspicion among ruling princes.
The right of succession was denied to Hindu princes.
The Mughals were humbled when Lord Canning announced that the next prince on succession would have to renounce the regal title and the ancestral Mughal palaces.
Administrative Causes
Rampant Corruption
Rampant corruption in the Company’s administration, especially among the police, petty officials, and lower law courts, was a major cause of discontent.
Alienation
The character of British rule imparted a foreign and alien look to it in the eyes of Indians, creating a sense of absentee sovereignty.
Socio-Religious Causes
Racial Superiority
Racial overtones and a superiority complex characterized the British administrative attitude towards the native Indian population.
Christian Missionaries
The activities of Christian missionaries who followed the British flag in India were looked upon with suspicion by Indians.
Socio-Religious Reforms
Attempts at socio-religious reform, such as abolition of sati, support for widow-marriage, and women’s education, were seen as interference in the social and religious domains by outsiders.
Taxation of Religious Lands
The government’s decision to tax mosque and temple lands and the making of laws such as the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856, which modified Hindu customs, caused resentment.
Influence of Outside Events
British Losses in Wars
The revolt coincided with certain outside events in which the British suffered serious losses, such as the First Afghan War (1838-42), Punjab Wars (1845-49), and the Crimean Wars (1854-56).
These events had psychological repercussions, leading to the perception that the British were not invincible.
Discontent Among Sepoys
Religious Conflicts
The conditions of service in the Company’s Army and cantonments increasingly conflicted with the religious beliefs and prejudices of the sepoys.
Restrictions on wearing caste and sectarian marks and rumors of proselytizing activities were interpreted by sepoys as interference in their religious affairs.
General Service Enlistment Act of 1856
Lord Canning’s government passed the General Service Enlistment Act, which required all future recruits to the Bengal Army to serve anywhere their services might be required, causing resentment.
Discrimination and Emoluments
The Indian sepoy was unhappy with his emoluments compared to his British counterpart and was often discriminated against racially and in matters of promotion and privileges.
Connection to the Peasantry
The sepoy’s discontent was not limited to military matters but reflected general disenchantment with British rule, as the sepoy was a ‘peasant in uniform’ whose consciousness was not divorced from that of the rural population.
Historical Revolts
There had been a long history of revolts in the British Indian Army, such as in Bengal (1764), Vellore (1806), Barrackpore (1825), and during the Afghan Wars (1838-42).
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