TERM I PROJECT

Project By: Ruta Anay Pokhalekar

Grade: XA
Roll No: 28
Subject: History
 CONTENTS
Introduction
Causes of the War:
➢ Political Causes
➢ Socio-Religious Causes
➢ Economic Causes
➢ Military Causes
➢ Immediate Causes
Beginning of the Uprising
Main Events
Consequences of the War
Conclusion
End Card
 INTRODUCTION An article giving an idea about the
revolt at Lucknow
▪ The process of the British conquest in India and the
subsequent consolidation of British rule was resented by
Indians belonging to all sections of the society.
▪ The First War of Independence, else known as the
Indian Rebellion or the Revolt of 1857, was the first major
uprising in India against the rule of the English East India
Company.
▪ The Rebellion began on 10 May, 1857 in the form of a
mutiny of sepoys of the company’s army in the town of
Meerut.
▪ It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions in
other sections of India.
▪ The Rebellion was repealed by the British by 8 July, 1859.
▪ Various books and articles written by many authors and
politicians give us an exact idea of the revolt.
 CAUSES OF THE WAR
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 occurred as the result of an accumulation of factors over time, rather
than a single event.
The first hundred years of the British rule in India were marked by British conquests and rapid
expansion of their dominion in India.
The combined effect of the British expansionist policies, economic exploitation, administrative
changes and socio-religious exploitation adversely affected all segments of Indian society.
Thus, by 1857, the conditions were ripe for a mass uprising and the accumulated grievances of the
people burst forth in the form of the First War of Independence, 1857.
There were five main causes for the uprising:

POLITICAL SOCIO- ECONOMIC MILITARY IMMEDIATE

RELIGIOUS
 POLITICAL CAUSES
1. Policy of Expansion – The British policy of territorial expansion
and the gradual annexation of the Indian states was one of the major
grievances of the Indian rulers. They annexed kingdoms and states in
the following ways: Lord Dalhousie
a) By Outright Wars- The Battle of Buxar (1764) established the British as
masters of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. The Anglo Maratha Wars (1767 to
1799) helped the East India Company annex most of the territories of the
Mysore State. Punjab was annexed in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. Lord Wellesley
b) By Subsidiary Alliance- The Subsidiary Alliance was introduced by Lord
Wellesley. It was an agreement between the East India Company and
the Indian Princely States by virtue of which these states lost their
sovereignty to the British. The Nizam of Hyderabad, the Raja of Tanjore,
the Sindhia and Rajput states of Jodhpur, etc. were annexed by this
method. Rani Laxmibai
c) By Doctrine of Lapse- According to this doctrine put forth by Lord
Dalhousie, if an Indian ruler died without a natural male heir, his
kingdom would “lapse” or come under the Company’s territory in
India. The state of Jhansi was annexed by this method. The ruler of
Jhansi, Rani Laxmibai, would go on to be a major threat to the British in
the revolt of 1857.
d) On the Pretext of Alleged Misrule- In 1856, Lord Dalhousie annexed
Awadh to the Company’s dominions on the pretext of alleged misrule. He
declared that Awadh was being misgoverned and British Rule was
needed to ensure proper administration.
 Bahadur Shah Zafar

POLITICAL CAUSES
2. Disrespect shown to Bahadur Shah Zafar – Bahadur Shah Zafar,
the last Mughal ruler was under the protection of the Company and
received a pension from the British.
Lord Canning
▪ The name of the Mughal ruler was removed from the coins minted by
the Company, as an effort to end the Mughal dynasty.
▪ In 1849, Lord Dalhousie announced the successors to Bahadur Shah
Zafar would not be permitted to use the Red Fort as their place.
Instead, they were required to shift to a place near the Qutub Minar.
▪ In 1856, Lord Canning announced that after the death of Bahadur
Shah Zafar, his successors would not be allowed to use the imperial
titles with their names and would be known as mere princes.
▪ This decision of the British hurt the feelings of the Mughals. As a
result, Zeenat Mahal, the wife of Bahadur Shah, began plotting
against the British.
▪ Zeenat Mahal betrayed her husband and murdered a British
officer, all for her son to become king.
3. Treatment Given to Nana Saheb and Rani Laxmibai- Nana Saheb
was the adopted son of Baji Rao II, the last Peshwa. (Continued on next
page) Zeenat Mahal
 POLITICAL CAUSES
▪ The British refused to grant Nana Saheb the pension they were
paying Baji Rao II.
▪ Nana Saheb was forced to live at Kanpur, far away from his family
seat at Poona. This was resented in the Maratha region.
▪ Nana Saheb had inherited wealth from the former Peshwa , which he
utilized in sending emissaries to different parts of the country for
generating awareness among the Indians about the British polices.
▪ Nana Saheb also travelled between Delhi and Lucknow to gather Nana Saheb
support for the movement. Baji Rao II

4. Absentee Sovereignty of the British- Absentee Sovereignty of

the British means that India was being ruled by the British
Government from England, at a distance of thousands of
kilometres.
▪ This was resented by the Indians. The earlier rulers like the Mughals,
who had conquered India, had in course of time settled there. The
revenue they collected from the Indians were spent in India only.
▪ But in the case of the British, the Indians felt that they were ruled
from England and India’s wealth was being drained to England and
not utilized for their welfare.
 SOCIO-RELIGIOUS CAUSES
1. Interference with Social Customs: Some of the social reforms introduced by the British that
were aimed at improving the conditions of the people were taken wrongly by the Indians.
▪ The Abolition of Sati(1829), the introduction of the Widow Remarriage Act(1856) and the
opening of western education to girls were not at all welcomed by the masses.
2. Apprehensions about Modern Innovations: People were suspicious about modern
innovations such as railways and telegraph. It was rumored that telegraph poles were erected to
hang those who were against the British rule.
Similarly, orthodox Indians noted that in the railway compartments, the higher and lower castes
were made to sit side to side, and that the British had introduced such practices to defy their
caste and religion.
3. Policy of Racial Discrimination: The British officers were rude and arrogant towards the
Indians. They believed they were superior to the Indians and followed a policy of contempt
towards the Indians.
▪ Some European officers ill-treated and insulted Indians. Such acts of unjust discrimination
alienated the British from the Indian masses.
 SOCIO-RELIGIOUS CAUSES
4. Corruption in Administration: The police and petty officials were corrupt. The rich got away
with crime but the common man was looted, oppressed and tortured.
5. Oppression of the Poor: The corrupt judicial system enabled the rich to oppress the poor.
▪ Flogging, torture and imprisonment of cultivators for their inability to pay arrears of rent, land
revenue and interest on debt were quite common.
▪ The growing poverty made the poor desperate and led them to join a general uprising in the
hope of improving their lot.
6. Activities of Missionaries: The British were different from Indians in race, religion and
sentiments. In the 18th century, the British showed a friendly attitude towards Indian religion,
and had no zeal for their own religions.
▪ However, in the 19th century, this attitude underwent a change. The British began to interfere
with the local religious and social customs. They denounced idol worship and dubbed local
beliefs as ignorance.
▪ The Charter Act(1813) led to an increase both in the activities and numbers of the Christian
missionaries. The Indians thought that the Government supported missionaries who would
convert them to Christianity.
 SOCIO-RELIGIOUS CAUSES
7. Fears Regarding Western Education: The Western system of education was introduced in a
number of schools. In 1829, the Bengal Government established an English class in the Calcutta
Madrasa. Later, English classes were introduced in Benaras Sanskrit College.
▪ This shifting of emphasis from oriental learning to Western education was not received well by
the people, especially the Pandits and the Maulvis, who saw it as an attempt to discourage
traditional Islamic and Hindu studies.
▪ People started suspecting that the aim of Western education was not to promote literature and
sciences but to encourage their children to become Christians.
8. Taxing Religious Places: Religious sentiments of the Indians were hurt by the official policy
of taxing lands belonging to temples of mosques. The families dependent on these lands began
to propagate that the British were trying to undermine the religions of India.
9. Law of Property: The Religious Disabilities Act(1850) changed the Hindu Law of Property.
▪ It enabled a convert from Hinduism to other religions to inherit the property of his father.

▪ The Hindus regarded this as an incentive to give up one’s religious faith.

 ECONOMIC CAUSES
1. Exploitation of Economic Resources: The British exploited the Indian resources for
their own benefits. They made agricultural India an economic colony to serve the
interests of industrial England.
▪ India was forced to export at cheaper rates, raw materials like raw cotton and raw silk
that the British industries needed urgently, plantation products and food grains which
were in short supply.
▪ India was made to accept readymade British goods either duty-free or at nominal duty
rates while Indian products were subjected to high import duties in England. The Indian
handmade goods were unable to compete with the cheaper, machine-made British
products.
▪ This ruined the Indian industry, deprived the artists of their income and reduced the
avenues of employment for labour.
▪ Export of raw materials and food grains deprived India of her agricultural surplus and
raised the prices of raw materials.
 ECONOMIC CAUSES
2. Drain of Wealth: Till the Battle of Plassey(1757), the European traders brought gold
to India to buy Indian cotton and silk. After the conquest of Bengal, however, the British
stopped bringing gold to India. They purchased raw materials for their industries in
England and profits from duty-free inland trade.
▪ The transfer of wealth from India to England for which India got no proportionate
economic return, is called the Drain of Wealth.
▪ The drain included the salaries, incomes, savings of Englishmen, the British
expenditure in India on the purchase of military goods, office establishment, interest on
debts, unnecessary expenditure on the army etc.
3. Decay of Cottage Industries and Handicrafts: British goods were imported to India
at a nominal duty, while heavy duties on Indian silk and cotton textiles in Britain
destroyed Indian industries.
▪ By the middle of the 19th Century, the art of spinning and weaving became extinct. The
misery of the artisans was further compounded by the disappearance of their
traditional patrons and buyers.
 ECONOMIC CAUSES
4. Economic Decline of Peasantry: The peasants were discontent with the official
land revenue policy and the consequent loss of their land. The peasantry bore the
heavy burden of taxes to provide money for the trade of the Company, for the cost
of administration and the wars of British expansion.
▪ The traditional zamindars were replaced by merchants and moneylenders. They
had no concern for the peasants.
▪ They pushed rents of exorbitant levels and evicted their tenants in case of non-
payment. The economic decline of peasants affected cultivation and led to many
famines.
5. Growing Unemployment: The traditional rulers had given financial support to
scholars, preachers and men of arts. The coming of the British led to the decline of
these rulers. Those who depended on these rulers and their patronage were
impoverished.
▪ When the native states were annexed, thousands of soldiers, officials in
administrative, military and judicial posts became unemployed because British
policies excluded from high posts.
 ECONOMIC CAUSES
6. Inhuman Treatment of Indigo Cultivators: Indigo trade was highly profitable to the
British but the conditions under which the peasants had to work were inhuman.
▪ They were forced to cultivate only indigo in the fields chosen by the British planters. If
they planted anything else, their crops were destroyed, and their cattle were carried off
as punishment.
7. Poverty and Famines: The economic exploitation, decay of indigenous industries,
high taxation, drain of wealth, stagnation of agriculture and exploitation of the poor
peasants reduced the Indians to extreme poverty.
▪ Famines ravaged the country in the second half of the 19th Century. There were
various major and minor famines between 1765 and 1857.
8. Decline of Landed Aristocracy: According to the provisions of the Inam
Commission(1852), 20000 estates were confiscated when the landlords failed to produce
evidence by which they held the land.
▪ These lands were sold by public auction to the highest bidder, and they were usually
purchased by merchants and moneylenders who could care less about the needs of the
tenants.
▪ This drove the landed aristocracy to poverty without benefitting the peasantry which
suffered under the weight of exorbitant land revenue.
 MILITARY CAUSES
1. Ill-Treatment of Indian Soldiers: The East India Company
established the British Empire in India with the help of Indian soldiers.
Indian Sepoys in the British Army
▪ Despite being as efficient as their British counterparts, they were
poorly paid, ill-fed and badly housed.
▪ British military authorities forbade the sepoys from wearing caste or
sectarian marks, beards or turbans. They showed disregard for the
sentiments of the sepoys.
2. General Service Enlistment Act: According to traditional belief, it
was taboo for a Brahmin to cross the seas. As per the General Service
Enlistment Act(1856), the Indian soldiers could be sent overseas for
duty.
▪ The Act did not take into account the sentiment of the Indian
soldiers. The Brahmin soldiers saw in this a danger to their caste,
leading to a feeling of resentment among them.
3. Large Proportion of Indians in the British Army: The number of
British troops in India was never very large with the British in the ratio
as low as one in four thousand.
▪ This made it easier for the large number of Indian soldiers to take up
arms against the British.
 MILITARY CAUSES
4. Bleak Prospects of Promotions: Higher positions in employment were reserved
for the British, irrespective of their performance. The Indian soldiers could not rise
above the rank of a Subedar. The future of the Indian soldiers was bleak without
chances of Promotions.
5. Deprivation of Allowances: The extension of British dominion in India adversely
affected the service conditions of the sepoys. They were forced to serve in areas
away from their homes without extra payment and additional Bhatta.
▪ The Post Office Act of 1854 withdrew the privilege of free postage enjoyed by
sepoys.
6. Faulty Distribution of Troops: Places of strategic importance had no British
armies and were wholly held by Indian soldiers.
▪ Indian soldiers had the feeling that the British were in difficulty and the safety of
the Indian empire depended on them. They were determined to strike at them at a
suitable time.
 MILITARY CAUSES
7. Poor Performance of British Troops: The British army suffered major reverses in
the First Afghan War(1839-42), in the Punjab Wars(1845-49) and in the Crimean
War(1853-56).
▪ In 1855-56, the Santhal tribesmen of Bihar and Bengal armed with axes and bows
rose up against the British, temporarily sweeping away the British rule from their
area. Though the uprising was suppressed, the disasters they suffered broke the
myth that the British were invincible.
8. Lower Salaries: The wages of the Indian soldiers were inadequate to support
their families. The British soldiers, on the other hand, received more than eight times
the salary of the Indian soldiers.
 IMMEDIATE CAUSE
▪ Introduction of the Enfield Rifle: 1n 1856, the British
authorities decided to replace the old fashioned musket
called the Brown Bess with the new Enfield Rifle.
▪ The loading process of this new musket involved bringing the
cartridge to the mouth and biting off the top greased paper
with the teeth.
▪ In January 1857, there was a rumour in the Bengal regiments
that the greased cartridge had the fat of cow or pig.
▪ The sepoys were now convinced that the introduction of
greased cartridges was a deliberate move to defile Hindu and
Muslim religions.
▪ So, both the Hindus and Muslim soldiers refused to use these
cartridges and staged an uprising when they were forced to
use them.
 BEGINNING OF THE UPRISING
▪ On February 26,1857, the 19th Native Infantry at Berhampur
in Bengal, refused to accept the cartridges given to them. The
regiment was disbanded as a warning to other regiments.
▪ The sepoys feared loss of their caste and religion if they
accepted the greased cartridges.
▪ As a result, Mangal Pandey, a sepoy, led an attack on the
Adjutant of the 34th Native Infantry at Barrackpore on March
29, 1857.
▪ The Mutiny of 1857 started from Barrackpore when Mangal
Pandey killed two British officers on that date.
▪ It started at Meerut on May 10, 1857 and spread to Delhi on
the next day, followed by Kanpur, Allahabad, Bihar and
other centers. Mangal Pandey

▪ Mangal Pandey was executed after a court-martial on 8th

April, 1857, and became an inspiration and martyr for his
fellow sepoys.
 Begum Hazrat Mahal

MAIN EVENTS
Events at Meerut: On May 9, 1857, eighty-five sepoys refused to touch
the cartridges on the parade ground, and were sentenced to 10 years of
rigorous imprisonment.
▪ On May 10, 1857, all sepoys at Meerut rushed to the jail and set free
their comrades and other convicts.
Events at Lucknow: Begum Hazrat Mahal, wife of the Nawab of Awadh
led the uprising at Lucknow on May 30, 1857.
▪ The city was recaptured by the British in March 1858, which led to the
Begum fleeing towards the Nepal frontier.
Events at Kanpur: Nana Saheb led the uprising at Kanpur. The British
surrendered in June 1857.
▪ The British defeated Nana Saheb in December, 1857, leading to Nana
Saheb fled towards Nepal.
▪ His general, Tantia Tope, escaped to Kalpi.
Events at Jhansi: The battle began at Jhansi early in June, 1857. Sir Hugh
Rose laid siege to the fortress of Jhansi in March 1858.
▪ Rani Laxmibai resisted but Jhansi was captured by the British when
traitors opened the gates of the fortress for them.
▪ The Rain escaped from the fortress on April 4, 1858, to join Tantia Tope
at Kalpi. (Continued on next page) Tantia Tope
 Khan Bahadur

MAIN EVENTS
▪ The Rani died fighting the British on June 17, 1858 at Gwalior.

▪ Tantia Tope was betrayed by the Gwalior Chief, Man Singh, and was
hanged on April 18, 1859. Maulvi Ahmadullah
Events at Other Centers: At Bareilly, Khan Bahadur, a descendant of
the former ruler of Rohilkhand, took command of the movement.
▪ In Bihar, the struggle was led by Kunwar Singh, the zamindar of
Bihar (Jagdishpur). He was deprived of his estates by the British.
Kunwar Singh
▪ At Faizabad, the leadership was taken by Maulvi Ahmadullah, who
aroused the Muslim community against the British.
▪ Bengal, Rohilkhand, Bundelkhand, Central India, several parts
of Bihar and East Punjab, rose against the British policies.
▪ In several states, the rulers remained loyal to the British Government
but their soldiers rose against the British.
 CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR
1. End of the Company’s Rule: The most significant result of the uprising was the
end of the rule of the English East India Company. It was done by the
Government of India Act(1858). It has the following provisions:
i. It transferred the power to govern India from the East India Company to the
British Crown.
ii. The Company’s Board of Control and Court of Directors were abolished. The
ultimate power over India remained with the British Parliament.
iii. Actual governance was to be carried on, as before by the Viceroy, that is a
personal representative of the Crown.
iv. Appointments to the Civil Service were to be made by open competition under
rules made by the Secretary of State.
2. Queen Victoria’s Proclamation: The Queen’s Proclamation incorporating the
transfer of governance from East India Company to the British Crown was made
public at Allahabad on November 1, 1858 by Lord Canning. (Continued on next
page)
 CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR
The proclamation would:
i. Follow a policy of non-intervention in social and religious matters of Indians
ii. Treat all subjects as equals
iii. Grant a general pardon to all those who had taken part in the War except those who
were found guilty of murder of British subjects
iv. Do its best to advance the industries in India
v. Promote works of public utility in India so as to ensure the material as well as the
moral progress of the people.
3. End of Mughals and Peshwas: With the death of Bahadur Shah II, who was deported
to Yangon, the Mughal dynasty came to an end.
▪ Nana Saheb, the last Peshwa had taken an active part in the uprising and had fled to
Nepal after its failure. The office of the Peshwa also came to an end.
4. Relations with Princely States: 1n 1876, Queen Victoria assumed the title of
Empress of India. The Indian princes willingly became junior partners or agents of the
British Crown because they were promised that they would continue as rulers of their
states.
 CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR
5. Policy of Divide and Rule: After 1858, the British continued their policy of Divide
and Rule by turning Indians against each other on basis of caste, religion, creed and
economic positions.
▪ They encouraged hatred and ill-feelings among the Hindus and Muslims so that
they could never challenge the British Empire in India.
6. Racial Antagonism: The British believed in their racial superiority and they
thought that a social distance was to be maintained to preserve their authority over
the Indians.
▪ Railways compartments, parks, hotels, clubs, etc. reserved for “Europeans only”
were visible manifestations of this racialism.
7. Foreign Policy: India’s foreign policy was dictated by the interests of the British
Government. It fulfilled the two aims of the British-
a) Protection of its Indian Empire
b) Expansion of British economic and commercial interests in Asia and Africa
The cost of implementation of these policies was borne by the Indians.
 CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR
8. Increased Racial Bitterness: After the uprising of 1857, racial bitterness increased.
The British dubbed all Indians as unworthy of trust and subjected them to insults and
humiliation. The entire structure of the Indian government was remodeled and based on
the idea of a superior race.
9. Religious Changes: The British rulers declared empathetically their policy of non-
interference in the religious affairs, customs and traditions of the Indians.
10. Changes in the Army: The Indian army was reorganized after 1858 to prevent the
reoccurrence of another uprising in the following manner:
i. The strength of European troops was increased.
ii. European troops were kept in key geographical and military positions.
iii. Sophisticated weapons and ammunition was never placed under the charge of
Indians to prevent another uprising.
iv. Discrimination on the basis of caste, region and religion was practiced in the
recruitment to the army.
v. Measures such as introduction of caste and community in most regiments were taken
to discourage nationalism.
vi. Newspapers, journals and nationalist publications were prevented from reaching the
soldiers to keep the Indian army separated from the life of the rest of the population.
 CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR
11. Economic Exploitation: The uprising ushered in the era of economic exploitation in
the following manner:
i. India was turned into a typical colonial economy, exporting raw materials and
importing finished goods.
ii. The salary and allowances of the Secretary of State and members of the India
Council, the civil servants and military officers were a large drain on the country’s
resources.
iii. Peasants were impoverished under the British rule.
iv. Rural artisan industries such as handicrafts, spinning and weaving collapsed.
v. The Indians had to pay heavy interests and dividends on the British capital invested
in India.
12. Rise of Nationalism: The uprising was the first struggle of the Indian people for
freedom from British imperialism. It paved the way for the rise of the national movement.
▪ The sacrifices made by Rani Laxmibai, Mangal Pandey and Nana Saheb served as a
source of inspiration for the future freedom fighters and established valuable traditions
of resistance to the British rule.
 CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR
13. Widening of the Gulf Between Hindus and Muslims: During the First War of
Independence, both the Hindus and the Muslims showed great enthusiasm and zeal
to fight against the British.
▪ After the uprising, however, the gulf between the two communities widened due to
the policy of divide and rule.
▪ It was a deliberate attempt so that the two communities never come together to
pose a threat to the British rule in India.
 CONCLUSION
▪ The revolt of 1857 was unprecedented event in the history of British Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
rule in India.
▪ Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, in his book “The Indian War of
Independence” described it as “a planned war of national
independence”.
▪ It united many sections of India together as one unit for a common
cause – To end British rule in India.
▪ Though the revolt failed to achieve the goal it had set, it sowed the
seeds for Indian nationalism and paved the way for future freedom
fighters to finally achieve freedom.