Reasons for People’s Resentment against Colonial Rule:
Loss of Power for Nawabs:
Since the mid-eighteenth century, the power of nawabs and rajas had been eroding.
The authority and the honour which they earlier commanded were gradually waning away.
The British had appointed Residents in many courts.
The freedom of the Indian rulers was reduced and their armed forces were disbanded.
The Company also took away their revenues and territories in stages.
Failed Negotiations of Ruling Families:
Many ruling families tried to negotiate with the Company to protect their interests but they failed.
Let us take the example of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi.
After the death of her husband, she wanted her adopted son to be recognized as the heir to the kingdom.
Similarly, Nana Saheb who was the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II wanted his father’s pension when the Peshwa died.
But the Company always turned down such requests.
Annexation of Awadh:
A subsidiary alliance was imposed on Awadh in 1801 and it was fully taken over in 1856.
Misrule by the nawab was given as the reason for annexation of Awadh.
Plans to End the Mughal Dynasty:
The Company was also working on its plan to bring the Mughal dynasty to an end.
It removed the name of the Mughal king from the coins.
In 1849, it was announced by Governor General Dalhousie that after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar the family of the king would be shifted out of the Red Fort.
It was announced that they would be given another place in Delhi as residence.
In 1856, it was decided by Governor General Canning that Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the last Mughal king.
After his death, none of his descendants would be recognized as kings.
They would be called princes.
The Peasants and the Sepoys:
The peasants were not happy with the high taxes and the rigid methods of revenue collection.
Many peasants had lost the lands they had been tilling for generations because of their failure to repay their loans.
The Indian sepoys were not happy about their pay, allowances and conditions of service.
Some of the new rules violated their religious sensibilities and beliefs.
Belief against Sea Voyage and its Impact:
The Hindus believed that crossing the sea would mean that they would lose their religion and caste.
In 1824, when the sepoys were told to go to Burma by the sea route they refused to follow the order.
However, they agree to go by land route.
For this, the sepoys were severely punished.
The Company passed a new law in 1856.
The new law made it mandatory for a sepoy to agree to serve overseas if required.
Most of the sepoys were from rural background.
They had families living in the villages.
So, they also reacted to what was happening in the countryside.
Responses to Reforms:
The British took several steps to reform the society.
New laws were passed against the practice of sati.
A law was also passed to encourage widow remarriage.
The Company officially promoted the English language.
After 1830, Christian missionaries were allowed to function freely and they could even own land and property.
In 1850, a new law allowed an Indian who had converted to Christianity to inherit property of his ancestors.
This law made it easier to convert to Christianity.
A feeling was developing among most of the Indians that the British were trying to destroy their religion, social customs and traditional way of life.
However, there were some others who wanted to get rid of many of the social evils.
Mutiny to Popular Rebellion:
The rebellion of May 1857 threatened the Company’s very presence in India.
The mutiny which started from the cantonment in Meerut engulfed a large part of northern and central India.
People from different sections of society rose up in rebellion.
Many historians regard it as the biggest armed resistance to colonialism in the nineteenth century anywhere in the world.
From Meerut to Delhi:
Execution of Mangal Pandey:
Mangal Pandey was a young soldier at the cantonment in Barrackpore.
He was the culprit of attacking his officers.
On 29 March 1857, Mangal Pandey was hanged to death for his crime.
Within a few days, some sepoys of the regiment at Meerut refused to use the new cartridges during an army drill.
It was rumoured that the new cartridges were coated with the fat of cows and pigs.
For their refusal to obey the orders, eighty five sepoys were dismissed from service.
They were sentenced to ten years in jail.
This incidence happened on 9 May 1857.
The Backlash:
The other soldiers in Meerut responded in extraordinary way.
On 10 May, the soldier marched to the jail and released the imprisoned sepoys.
They attacked in killed British officers.
They captured guns and ammunition.
They set fire to the buildings and properties of the British.
They declared a war on the firangis.
Anointment of the New Leader:
After creating mayhem in Meerut, the soldiers rode throughout the night of 10th May and reached Delhi the next morning.
When the regiments in Delhi heard the news, they also rose up in rebellion.
The soldiers gathered around the Red Fort and demanded to meet Bahadur Shah Zafar.
The emperor was hesitant to challenge the might of the British but the soldiers persisted in their demand.
They forced their way into the palace.
They proclaimed the Badhshah as their leader.
The emperor had no choice but to accede to their demand.
He wrote letters to all the chiefs and rulers of the country to come forward.
He asked them to form a confederacy of Indian states to fight the British.
This step of the emperor had great implications.
Political Importance of Bahadur Shah Zafar:
It is important to remember that the Mughal dynasty had ruled over a very large part of the country for a long period.
Most of the smaller rulers and chieftains had been ruling over their territories on behalf of the Mughal ruler.
They hoped that if the Mughal ruler could once again resume power, they would also be able to rule their own territories once again.
The British had initially taken the revolt at Meerut quite lightly.
But the decision by Bahadur Shah Zafar to support the rebellion had dramatically changed the entire situation.
People were emboldened by an alternative possibility.
The Spread of Rebellion:
The rebellion gradually spread to other parts of the country.
Various regiments mutinied and marched to join other troops at nodal points like Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow.
The people in the towns and villages also revolted and rallied around local leaders, zamindars and chief.
For the local leaders, zamindars and chiefs it was an opportunity to assert their authority.
Nana Saheb gathered armed forces and expelled the British garrison from the city of Kanpur.
He declared himself as a governor under the Mughal Emperor.
Birjis Qadr proclaimed himself the new Nawab in Lucknow.
He was the son of the deposed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.
He also acknowledged the suzerainty of Bahadur Shah.
His mother Begum Hazrat Mahal actively organized the uprising against the British.
Rani Lakshibai joined the rebel sepoys in Jhansi.
She fought the British along with Tantia Tope who was the general of Nana Saheb.
Widespread Rebellion:
The British were greatly outnumbered by the rebel forces.
They got defeat in a number of battles.
The changing situation convinced the people that the British rule had collapsed for good.
This gave them the confidence to join the rebellion.
Widespread popular rebellion developed especially in the region of Awadh.
Rise of New Leaders:
Many new leaders came up during the revolt.
Ahamdullah Sha was a maulvi from Faizabad.
He prophesied that the end of the rule of the British was imminent.
A large number of supporters rallied behind him.
He came to Lucknow to fight the British.
A large number of ghazis or religious warriors came together to wipe out the white people in Delhi.
Bakth Khan was a soldier from Bareilly.
He took charge of a large for Kunwar Singh was an old zamindar in Bihar.
He joined the rebel sepoys and battled with the British for many months.
The Company Fights Back:
Counterattack:
The Company decided to suppress the revolt with all its might.
Reinforcements were brought in from England.
New laws were passed to make it easy to convict the rebels.
The Company then moved forces into the storm centres of revolt.
Delhi was recaptured from the rebel forces in September 1857.
Arrest of the Last Mughal Emperor:
Bahadur Shah Zafar was arrested.
He was tried in a court and sentenced to life imprisonment.
His sons were shot dead before his eyes.
He was sent to prison in Rangoon; along with his wife Begum Zinat Mahal; in October 1858.
The last Mughal Emperor died in the Rangoon jail in November 1862.
Long Battle:
It took almost two years completely control the situation.
Lucknow was recaptured in March 1858.
Rani Lakshmibai was killed in a battle in June 1858.
Tantia Tope escaped to the jungles of central India.
He continued to wage a guerilla war with the support of many tribal and peasant leaders.
Tantia Tope was captured, tried and killed in April 1859.
Shifting Loyalties:
The defeat of the rebel forces encouraged desertions from the ranks of the rebel forces.
The British also tried to win back people’s loyalty.
Rewards were announced for loyal landholders.
The loyal landlords were allowed to enjoy their traditional rights over the land.
The rebels were told that if they submitted to the British, they would remain safe and their claims and rights would not be denied.
But there was a condition that they had not killed any white people.
Hundreds of sepoys, rebels, nawabs and rajas were tried and hanged.
Aftermath of Revolt:
The British could regain the control of the country by the end of 1859.
But the situation had changed to such an extent that they were not in a position to rule the country with their earlier policies.
Many changes were introduced by the British.
Some of the important changes are as follows:
A new Act was passed in 1858 by the British Parliament.
The new Act transferred the powers of the East India Company to the British Crown.
This was done to ensure a more responsible management of Indian affairs.
A member of the British Cabinet was appointed as the Secretary of State for India.
He was given the responsibility of all matters related to the governance of India.
A council; called the India Council; was given to him.
The title of the Governor General of India was changed to the title of Viceroy of India.
The Viceroy was a personal representative of the British Crown.
Thus, the British government accepted the direct responsibility of ruling over India.
All ruling chiefs of the country were assured that their territory would never be annexed in future.
They could not pass on their kingdoms to their heirs; including adopted sons.
But they had to acknowledge the British Queen as their Sovereign Paramount.
The Indian rulers were to hold their kingdoms as subordinates of the British Crown.
A decision was taken to reduce the proportion of Indian soldiers in the army and to increase the proportion of European soldiers.
A decision was also taken not to recruit soldiers from Awadh, Bihar, central India and south India.
The decision to recruit more soldiers from among the Gurkhas, Sikhs and Pathans was taken.
The Muslims were treated with suspicion and hostility and their land and property was confiscated on a large scale.
The British decided to respect the customary religious and social practices of Indians.
Policies were made to protect the landlords and zamindars and give them security of rights over their lands.
