Revolt of 1857: Causes, Leaders and Centers

Introduction

At the beginning, the East India Company showed interest in exploring India only along with the French and Portuguese colonies. But slowly, the British started to interfere in the Indian administration, judiciary, and other aspects. Soon, they took control of the entire country and forced rulers to abide by the rules and regulars. Over the course of almost seven decades, Indians suffered due to several reasons. 

The Revolt of 1857 is the climacteric incident of India as in this period India started the struggle to seek independence from British Rule. This was also known as the Great War of Independence because it was the first time Indians fought to overthrow British rule and gain independence.  

What were the economic and socio-religious causes of the revolt of 1857?

Economic causes

1. The East India company exported all the raw materials from India to Britain. This affected the small industries because they had no raw materials to work with. 
2. A lot of discontent and dissatisfaction were there in people’s mind from reforms like the permanent settlement system, the Mahalwari system, and so on. 
3. Also, huge taxes were imposed on the Indian industries while the British were allowed to go on with free-way trade. 

Social and religious causes 

1. Rammohan Roy and his followers supported the western education and believed that both women and men should get equal rights. This caused an uprising locally because people thought that with western education, the Indian values and morale would be threatened. 
2. When the British installed new telephone posts for better communication, people thought that they were done for hanging and killing the Indians. 
3. In fact, the Indians even considered the railways to be a deliberate attempt to attack religions because one would have to travel with a person of another caste or religion. 

What are the two prime causes of the revolt of 1857?

The leading causes of revolt of 1857 are:

The Sepoy

The Indian soldiers were highly disappointed by the allowance, pay scale, and the condition of services, which led to the military causes of revolt of 1857. Several rules were made by the British that hampered their religious beliefs and sensibilities. Also, in 1804, the soldiers were given the duty to cross the sea and move to Burma, which was considered a religious offense by them. However, they disagreed with this proposal and thought of moving by land. In addition, they were highly punished and decided to be a part of the Revolt of 1857.

Losing to the Power of Nawab

Kings and Nawabs of that time witnessed the disintegration of their powers, and for that, they chose a binding deal with the company. For instance:

• After losing her better half-life, Rani Lakshmi Bai wished that the company would embrace her offspring. 
• Peshwa Baji Rao II, Nana Saheb, requested the pension when his father died. 
• In 1856, Governor-General Canning wanted Bahadur Shah Zafar to be the next ruler among his all other descendants.

What was the immediate cause that led to the Revolt of 1857?

Anger, discontentment, resentment, and hatred were spreading in an uncontrolled fashion among the Indians, both locals and sepoys. They were just waiting for a perfect occasion to declare a war against the British, and the introduction of greased cartridges in 1856 sparked the fire. 

The British government wasn’t satisfied with the brown begs used for loading the Enfield rifles. That’s why they introduced a new weapon, where the Enfield rifles had the greased cartridges. To load the guns, one would have to bite down the cartridge and open it. In January 1857, a rumour spread among the sepoys that the cartridges were greased with the fat of pig and cow-the former animal was sacred for the Muslims while the latter one was forbidden to the Hindus. 

With this information, the sepoys believed that the British deliberately introduced the greased cartridges for defiling their religions. This is what led to the revolt of 1857 in many localized areas. 

Centers and leaders of the revolt of 1857

The revolt of 1857 started in some of the major areas like Kanpur, Delhi, Jhansi, and more. 

Kanpur

In Kanpur, the revolt was led by Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope. At that time, the British troops were forced to surrender because they had no food or water. The soldiers were on the brink of dying, which is why General Sir Hugh Wheeler surrendered to the Indian army on June 27, 1857. 

Lucknow

On June 4, the revolt of 1857 broke out in Awadh, Lucknow. Begum Hazrat Mahal besieged the British residency with the help of the sepoys, while killing Sir Henry during the battle. It continued till the end of the year. Begum and her followers fought bravely, but they were defeated when the British army was led by Sir Colin Campbell.  

Delhi

The sepoys marched to Delhi and made Bahadur Shah II the new ruler of Delhi. They re-established Mughal rule, but couldn’t succeed because Bahadur Shah II was unable to lead the Mughal army properly. He was soon captured by General Hudson. Hudson also killed his sons at the India gate and sent the emperor to exile in Burma. 

Jhansi 

Jhansi was the center of the revolt of 1857 where Rani Laxmibai led the warriors after her appeal for her son to be crowned as the new ruler was declined. Even though she fought bravely and fiercely, her army didn’t stand a chance against the new and advanced battle tactics of the British troops led by Sir Hugh Rose. 

Conclusion 

The revolt of 1857 was a milestone in the history of India. It brought together different regions of the country and sparked a feeling of nationalism in the people. However, the uprising was a complete failure due to a lot of reasons. By the beginning of 1858, most rebellions were suppressed and the Great War came to an end. To know more about how the revolt was pacified and its impact, you can refer to our notes on Unacademy.