The Revolt of 1857 Short Introduction :
The revolt of 1857 was a product of the character and policies of
colonial rule. The cumulative effect of British expansionist policies,
economic exploitation, and administrative innovations over the years had
adversely affected the positions of all—rulers of Indian states, sepoys,
zamindars, peasants, traders, artisans, pundits, maulvis, and so on. The
simmering discontent burst in the form of a violent storm in 1857 which shook
the British Empire in India to its very foundations. The causes of the revolt
emerged from all aspects—socio-cultural, economic, and political—of the daily
existence of the Indian population cutting through all sections and classes.
These causes are discussed in the following sections.
Storm Centres and Leaders of the Revolt : At Delhi, the nominal and
symbolic leadership belonged to the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, but the real
command lay with a court of soldiers headed by General Bakht Khan who had led
the revolt of Bareilly troops and brought them to Delhi. The court consisted
of ten members: six from the army and four from the civilian departments. The
court conducted the affairs of the state in the name of the emperor. Emperor
Bahadur Shah was perhaps the weakest link in the chain of the leadership of
the revolt. His weak personality, old age.....
The most outstanding leader of the revolt was Rani Lakshmibai, who assumed the
leadership of the sepoys at Jhansi. Lord Dalhousie, the governor-general, had
refused to allow her adopted son to succeed to the throne after her husband
Raja Gangadhar Rao died, and had annexed the state by the application of the
infamous ‘Doctrine of Lapse’. Driven out of Jhansi by the British forces, she
gave the battle cry—‘main apni jhansi nahin doongi’ (I shall not give away my
Jhansi). She was joined by Tantia Tope, a close associate of Nana Saheb, after
the loss of Kanpur. Rani of Jhansi and Tantia Tope marched towards Gwalior
where they were hailed by the Indian soldiers. The Sindhia, the local ruler,
however, decided to side with the English and took shelter at Agra. Nana Saheb
was proclaimed the Peshwa and plans were chalked out for a march into the
south. Gwalior was recaptured by the English in June 1858.
Socio-Religious Causes : Racial overtones and a superiority complex
characterized the British administrative attitude towards the native Indian
population. The activities of Christian missionaries who followed the British
flag in India were looked upon with suspicion by the Indians. The attempts at
socio-religious reform such as the abolition of sati, support to
widow-remarriage, and women’s education were seen by a large section of the
population as interference in the social and religious domains of Indian
society by outsiders. These fears were further compounded by the Government’s
decision to tax mosque and temple lands and legislative measures, such as the
Religious Disabilities Act, 1856, which modified Hindu customs, for instance
declaring that a change of religion did not debar a son from inheriting the
property of his heathen father.