Theme 11.Rebels and the Raj
The Revolt of 1857 and its Representations
The 1857 Revolt is an important part of the Indian history that began as a sepoy mutiny of the British East India
Company. Though it was first started in the town of Meerut but later it was erupted into all the other mutinies. The
major aggressions were happened to the present day northern Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi
region.
Sequence of events in 1857 and Pattern of the revolt
On 10 May 1857, the sepoys in the cantonment of Meerut broke in mutiny. It began in the native infantry
and spread to the cavalry and then to the city.
The sepoys seized the bell of arms and plundered the treasury. They attacked government buildings-the jail,
court, post office, telegraph office, bungalows, treasury etc.
Then the sepoys marched to Delhi and ordinary people joined them.
The sepoys appealed to the Mughal Emperor Bahdur Shah to accept the leadership of the revolt. Finding no
other option, he accepted the demand of the sepoys.Thus the revolt secured a kind of legitimacy because it
could be carried on in the name of the Mughal emperor.
In towns like Lucknow, Kanpur and Bareilly, money lenders and the rich also became the objects of rebel
anger. Their houses were looted and destroyed.
The mutiny in the sepoy ranks now turned to a rebellion. The rebels defied all kinds of authority and
hierarchy.
Pattern of the revolt in every cantonment followed a similar pattern.
There was communication between the sepoys lines of various cantonments.
th
For example, the 7 Awadh Irregular Cavalry had refused to accept the new cartridge. The matter they
th
informed to the 48 Native Infantry.Sepoys moved from one station to another. People talked about the
rebellion.
Was the revolt of 1857 planned and coordinated? It is very difficult to provide answer to such question.
However some events provide hints to how the mutinies were organized. Captain Hearsey of the Awadh
st
Military Police had been given protection by his Indian subordinates. The 41 Native Infantry which
stationed in the same area insisted the Military police to kill Hearsey.The military Police refused to do so.
It was decided that the matter would be settled by a panchayat composed of Indian officers selected from
each regiment. Charles Ball wrote one of the earliest histories of the revolt of 1857.He pointed out that the
panchayats were assembled during night in the Kanpur sepoy lines and decisions were taken collectively.
So it is not difficult to imagine them sitting together to decide their own future.
Nature of leadership and supporters
The rebels needed leadership and organization to fight against the British. They appealed to the old Mughal
emperor to accept the leadership of the revolt. At first Bahadur Shah rejected this demand. But when the
sepoys defied the Mughal court etiquette in the Red Fort, he agreed to be the nominal leader of the
rebellion.
Sujith.K,HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor,Kasargod
1
, In Kanpur, Nana Sahib, the successor of Peshwa Baji Rao II became the leader of the revolt.
In Jhansi,Rani lakshmi Bai assumed the leadership of the uprising.
In Arrah in Bihar,Kunwarsingh ,a local zamindar became leader under popular pressure.
In Awadh, the displacement of the popular nawab Wajid Ali Shah and the annexation of the state were still
very fresh in the mind of the people. In luck now; people celebrated the fall of British rule by declaring
Birjis Qadr, the young Nawab as their leader.
Local leaders were also emerged in several areas and urged the peasants, zamindars and tribals to revolt.
Shah Mal organized the villagers of pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh.Gonoo, a tribal cultivator of
Singhbhum in Chotanagapur, emerged as a rebel leader of the Kol tribals of the region.
Role of Rumours and prophecies in the Revolt of 1857.
Rumours and prophecies played an important part in moving people in to action during the Revolt of 1857.
There was a rumour that the new cartridges were greased with the fat of cows and pigs which would pollute
their castes and religion.
The rumours about the British trying to destroy the religion of Indians by mixing the bone dust of cows and
pigs into the flour led people to avoid touching the flour. There was fear and suspicion that the British
wanted to convert Indians to Christianity.
The rumour about the British rule coming to an end on the centenary of the Battle of Plassey also
reinforced the call for a revolt against the masters (23 June 1857).
The British policies to reform Indian society by introducing western education and social reforms targeted
their long cherished customs and practices.
The activities of Christian missionaries also created doubt and discomfort.
The annexations on the pretext of the Doctrine of Lapse also made the people suspicious of British
intentions.
Subsidiary Alliance
Subsidiary Alliance was a system introduced by Lord Wellesley in 1798.Those who entered into such an
alliance with the British had to accept certain terms and conditions.
The British would be responsible for protecting their ally from external and internal threats to their power.
In the territory of the ally, a British armed contingent would be stationed.
The ally would have to provide the resources for maintaining this contingent.
The ally could enter into agreements with other rulers or engage in warfare only with the permission of the
British.
The ally had to keep the resident who was the representative of the Governor General and was not under
direct British rule.
Annexation of Awadh.
Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh as “a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”.Awadh
was formally annexed into the British empire in 1856 by Lord Dalhousie.
The conquest happened in stages. The Subsidiary Alliance had been imposed on Awadh in 1801.
By the terms of this alliance the Nawab had to disband his military force, allow the British to position their
troops within the kingdom, and act in accordance with the advice of the British Resident who was attached
to the court. Thus the Nawab became dependent on British.
The British were keen to acquire Awadh as its soil was good for growing indigo and cotton and was ideally
located for trade.
Sujith.K,HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor,Kasargod
2
The Revolt of 1857 and its Representations
The 1857 Revolt is an important part of the Indian history that began as a sepoy mutiny of the British East India
Company. Though it was first started in the town of Meerut but later it was erupted into all the other mutinies. The
major aggressions were happened to the present day northern Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi
region.
Sequence of events in 1857 and Pattern of the revolt
On 10 May 1857, the sepoys in the cantonment of Meerut broke in mutiny. It began in the native infantry
and spread to the cavalry and then to the city.
The sepoys seized the bell of arms and plundered the treasury. They attacked government buildings-the jail,
court, post office, telegraph office, bungalows, treasury etc.
Then the sepoys marched to Delhi and ordinary people joined them.
The sepoys appealed to the Mughal Emperor Bahdur Shah to accept the leadership of the revolt. Finding no
other option, he accepted the demand of the sepoys.Thus the revolt secured a kind of legitimacy because it
could be carried on in the name of the Mughal emperor.
In towns like Lucknow, Kanpur and Bareilly, money lenders and the rich also became the objects of rebel
anger. Their houses were looted and destroyed.
The mutiny in the sepoy ranks now turned to a rebellion. The rebels defied all kinds of authority and
hierarchy.
Pattern of the revolt in every cantonment followed a similar pattern.
There was communication between the sepoys lines of various cantonments.
th
For example, the 7 Awadh Irregular Cavalry had refused to accept the new cartridge. The matter they
th
informed to the 48 Native Infantry.Sepoys moved from one station to another. People talked about the
rebellion.
Was the revolt of 1857 planned and coordinated? It is very difficult to provide answer to such question.
However some events provide hints to how the mutinies were organized. Captain Hearsey of the Awadh
st
Military Police had been given protection by his Indian subordinates. The 41 Native Infantry which
stationed in the same area insisted the Military police to kill Hearsey.The military Police refused to do so.
It was decided that the matter would be settled by a panchayat composed of Indian officers selected from
each regiment. Charles Ball wrote one of the earliest histories of the revolt of 1857.He pointed out that the
panchayats were assembled during night in the Kanpur sepoy lines and decisions were taken collectively.
So it is not difficult to imagine them sitting together to decide their own future.
Nature of leadership and supporters
The rebels needed leadership and organization to fight against the British. They appealed to the old Mughal
emperor to accept the leadership of the revolt. At first Bahadur Shah rejected this demand. But when the
sepoys defied the Mughal court etiquette in the Red Fort, he agreed to be the nominal leader of the
rebellion.
Sujith.K,HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor,Kasargod
1
, In Kanpur, Nana Sahib, the successor of Peshwa Baji Rao II became the leader of the revolt.
In Jhansi,Rani lakshmi Bai assumed the leadership of the uprising.
In Arrah in Bihar,Kunwarsingh ,a local zamindar became leader under popular pressure.
In Awadh, the displacement of the popular nawab Wajid Ali Shah and the annexation of the state were still
very fresh in the mind of the people. In luck now; people celebrated the fall of British rule by declaring
Birjis Qadr, the young Nawab as their leader.
Local leaders were also emerged in several areas and urged the peasants, zamindars and tribals to revolt.
Shah Mal organized the villagers of pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh.Gonoo, a tribal cultivator of
Singhbhum in Chotanagapur, emerged as a rebel leader of the Kol tribals of the region.
Role of Rumours and prophecies in the Revolt of 1857.
Rumours and prophecies played an important part in moving people in to action during the Revolt of 1857.
There was a rumour that the new cartridges were greased with the fat of cows and pigs which would pollute
their castes and religion.
The rumours about the British trying to destroy the religion of Indians by mixing the bone dust of cows and
pigs into the flour led people to avoid touching the flour. There was fear and suspicion that the British
wanted to convert Indians to Christianity.
The rumour about the British rule coming to an end on the centenary of the Battle of Plassey also
reinforced the call for a revolt against the masters (23 June 1857).
The British policies to reform Indian society by introducing western education and social reforms targeted
their long cherished customs and practices.
The activities of Christian missionaries also created doubt and discomfort.
The annexations on the pretext of the Doctrine of Lapse also made the people suspicious of British
intentions.
Subsidiary Alliance
Subsidiary Alliance was a system introduced by Lord Wellesley in 1798.Those who entered into such an
alliance with the British had to accept certain terms and conditions.
The British would be responsible for protecting their ally from external and internal threats to their power.
In the territory of the ally, a British armed contingent would be stationed.
The ally would have to provide the resources for maintaining this contingent.
The ally could enter into agreements with other rulers or engage in warfare only with the permission of the
British.
The ally had to keep the resident who was the representative of the Governor General and was not under
direct British rule.
Annexation of Awadh.
Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh as “a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”.Awadh
was formally annexed into the British empire in 1856 by Lord Dalhousie.
The conquest happened in stages. The Subsidiary Alliance had been imposed on Awadh in 1801.
By the terms of this alliance the Nawab had to disband his military force, allow the British to position their
troops within the kingdom, and act in accordance with the advice of the British Resident who was attached
to the court. Thus the Nawab became dependent on British.
The British were keen to acquire Awadh as its soil was good for growing indigo and cotton and was ideally
located for trade.
Sujith.K,HSST History GVHSS Kayyoor,Kasargod
2
