WHEN PEOPLE REBEL

1857 And After

Made By –Deepansha

SinghClass – VIII ARoll No. - ⑭

CONTENTS Introduction Loss Of Power For The

Nawabs Failed Negotiations Of Ruling

Families Annexation Of Awadh Plans To End The Mughal

Dynasty The Peasants And The

Sepoys Belief Against Sea Voyage

And Its Impact Responses To Reforms Mutiny To Popular Rebellion From Meerut To Delhi

Execution Of Mangal Pandey The Backlash Anointment Of The New

Leader Political Importance Of

Bahadur Shah Zafar

The Spread Of Rebellion Spread Of Rebellion Widespread Rebellion

Rise Of New Leaders The Company Fights

Back The Counter Attack

Arrest Of The Last Mughal Emperor

The Long Battle Shifting Loyalties Aftermath Summary

INTRODUCTION When East India Company established power in India it

affected the life of Indian Kings, Queens, Landlords, Peasants, Tribals and Soldiers in many ways.

Many of them revolted against the policies enforced by the British.

The Nawabs, who ruled the land till then, slowly lost all their power.

The Nawabs and the Rajas lost all their authority and honour.

British Residents were stationed in all the courts to monitor the proceedings, thus, undermining the authority of the Nawabs.

The Nawabs’ armies were disbanded and the freedom of the rulers was reduced.

The revenue collected by the Nawabs

was taken by the British and their

territories were also seized.

Many ruling families tried to negotiate with the company in order to protect their interests.

Rani Laxmi Bai wanted the Company to recognize her adopted son as the heir to the kingdom after the death of her husband.

Nana Saheb was the adopted son of Peshwa Baji

Rao II. When Peshwa Baji Rao II died, Nana Saheb

pleaded with the British Company to give him his

father’s pension. The British refused to do so, as

they had military power to defeat him, in case he

revolted. In 1801, a subsidiary alliance was imposed on Awadh. Governor General Dalhouise declared that the state was being misgoverned by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and imposed British rule for a proper administration. In 1856, Awadh was taken over by British. It was one of the last territories to be annexed by the British.

Bahadur Shah Zafar II was last of the Mughal Emperors. In 1849, Governor General Dalhouise announced that

after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the family of the king would be shifted out of the Red Fort and given another place to live in Delhi.

In 1857, after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar, Governor General Canning decided that his descendants would not be recognized as kings but would be called only princes.

Thus, slowly but decisively the power of all the Nawabs were taken by the British.

Lord Dalhousie

LOSS OF THE POWER FOR THE 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 Laxmi Bai 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.

Jhansi Ki Rani – Lakshmi Bai

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.

Nawab of Awadh“Wajid Ali Shah”

Sons of Bahadur Shah Zafar

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 Barrack pore. 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 and 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 agree 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 THE REBELLION

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 Laxmi Bai 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 out-numbered 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.

THE RISE OF NEW LEADERS Ahamdullah Shah 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 centers

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 Laxmi Bai 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. He 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 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.

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.

SUMMARY When East India Company established power in India it

affected the life of Indian Kings, Queens, Peasants, Landlords, Tribals and Soldiers in many ways.

Many of the rulers revolted against the policies enforced by the British.

Even the peasants and the zamindars lost all their power after the Nawabs and the rulers.

The sepoys were unhappy about their pay, allowances and conditions of service.

After the British established power in India, they passed many laws to reform the Indian society.

Many Indians started feeling that the English were destroying their religion, social customs and their traditional way of life.

The anger of the peasants quickly spread amongst the sepoys.

The Sepoy Mutiny which started in 1857 threatened British East India Company’s very presence in India.

The British were shaken by this rebellion that began spread all over India.

By the end of 1859, the British regained control over the subcontinent.

The British decided to respect the customary and the social practices of the Indian people.

Policies were made to protect landlords and zamindars and give them security of rights over their lands.