CLASS 8 THE FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1857

NOTES

INTRODUCTION OF FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

The revolt of 1857 was the landmark in Indian freedom struggle.

It was started on 10 May 1857 with the mutiny of soldiers in Meerut Contonment. On 11 May 1857 Delhi was a mute witness to sepoys was crossed over the Yamuna and enter Red Fort.

They appealed to aged Mugal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, an emperor without any authority, to take over the leadership of the revolt.

Bahadur Shah Zafar was proclaimed the Shahenshah -e-Hindustan.

The sepoys captured the city of Delhi, killed many Englishmen and ransacked many public offices.

Different sections of the society like peasants, artisans, soldiers, educated indians, Indian rulers, Hindu and Muslims came together to oppose the foreign domination.

The events was also called the Revolt of 1857 or Uprising or sepoy Mutiny by the British.

Indian historians call it the First war of Independence.

CAUSES OF THE REVOLT OF 1857

1.POLITICAL CAUSES

The Indian rulers Bahadur Shah Zafar Mughal Emperor of Delhi,Tantia Tope of Gwalior, Rani LaKhmi Bai of Jhansi, Nana Saheb of kanpur, Babu Kuwar Singh of Jagdishpur, Bihar, had personal scores to settle with the British. The led the revolt in the respective territories.

The policy of annexation of Dalhousie, particularly of the Doctrine of Lapse created fear and resentment among Indian rulers. They were not allowed to adopt heir to the throne. This policy ensured that those kingdoms, where the kings did not have natural heirs, would be taken over by the British after the demise of the king.

2.ECONOMIC CAUSES

The Zamindari system exploited the peasants who were forced to grow only those crops the British industries required. They were tortured or jailed of failure to pay the revenue in time. Industrial goods like textiles from British flooded the Indian markets. This destroyed Indian industries, artisans and peasants.

3,SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CAUSES

The social reforms by the British were considered an interference in the customs and traditional of Hindus. The Hindu law of property was changed to enable a Christian covert to receive his share of ancestral property.

4.MILITARY CAUSES

The Sepoys had helped the British to establish their empire in India but instead of receiving award or promotions, they were humiliated by the British. There was discrimination between the Indian and the British soldiers. The Act of 1856, the soldiers as Hindus belived that overseas travel would lead to loss of caste.

5.IMMEDIATE CAUSES

The cartridges of the new Enfield rifle had a greased paper cover which had to bitten of before the cartridge was loaded into the rifle. It was said that the grease composed of beef and pig. The soldiers of Hindu and Muslims refused to use.

On the 29 March 1957 at Barrackpore near Calcutta, Mangal Pandey refuse to use the cartridge. He was arrested, tried and executed.

THE COURSE OF THE REVOLT

1.The Revolt started from Meerut in April, 1857when the Indian sepoys refused to the greased cartridges.

2.On 10 May 1857,the soldiers marched to jail in Meerut, broke open the prison and released the imprisoned soldiers. They marched to Delhi on 11 May and took the control under Bahadur Shah Zafar.

3.The Revolt then spread to other places. It led by Nana Sahab in kanpur, Begam Hazarat Mahal in Awadh, Rani Lakhmi Bai in Jhashi, Kuwar singh in Jagdishpur, Bihar.

4.The Revolt also spread to Bareily, Agra, Benaras and other places.

5.The Revolt started by the sepoys but participation of the peasants and the artisans gave the revolt it's real strength.

SUPPRESSION OF THE REVOLT OF 1857

1.The British military officers freed Delhi, the epicentre of Revolt, from the rebels.

2.The Kashmiri Gate was blown up. Hundreds of the people were killed.

3Mugal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried for treason and exiled to Rangoon.

4.Lucknow was recaptured in 1858.

5.Rani Lakshmi Bai was killed in the battle and Tantia Tope was captured and hanged to death.

The British finally suppressed the massive force of popular rebellion.

CAUSES OF FAILURE OF THE REVOLT OF 1857

1.The Uprising had been planned for month, but it broke out before the appointed date. It did not go according to the plan as revolutionaries failed to spread it beyond Central India and Delhi.

2.There was no unity among the rebels. The ideas of nationalism had not yet developed. There was no common ideology amongst the rebels.

3.The rising was not widespread. It was limited to North and Central India.

4.The rebels could not match the sophisticated and modern weapons and the disciplined army of the British.

5.The leadership of the Revolt was neither strong nor gave direction to the rebels.

RESULTS OF THE REVOLT OF 1857

1.The rule of East India Company ended with Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1 November 1858.

2.British crown took over the administration of India.

3.A secretary of state was appointed by the British Parliament to look after the governance of India with the help of a council.

4.The Governor General was given the title of VICEROY-The Representative of the British Crown.

5.By the end of 1859,British authority in India was fully re-established.

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SHORT QUESTION WITH ANSWER

QUESTION 1.

"The revolt of 1857 was the landmark in the history of India's struggle for independence" Justify the statements with any three arguments.

ANSWER

1.Revolt started on 10 May 1857 with the mutiny of soldiers in Meerut Contonment.

2.The revolutionary soldiers marched towards Delhi.

3.On 11 May 1857,Delhi was a mute witness to a band of sepoys who crossed over the yamuna and entered the Red Fort.

4.Bahadur Shah zafar was proclaimed the Shanenshah-e-Hindustan.

5.The sepoys captured the city of Delhi, killed many Englishmen and ransacked many public offices.

QUESTION 2

What was the Doctrine of Lapse and how did it affect the rulers of India?

ANSWER

The Doctrine of Lapse was a policy of annexation introduced by Lord Dalhousie in 1848 and countinued till 1856.

The Doctrine declared that if any Indian ruler died without leaving behind a natural heir to the throne, his kingdom autatically became a part of the British territory.

Many kingdom like Satra, Sambhalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur, Jhasi and Awadh were annexed by applying Doctrine of Lapse.

QUESTION 3.

Explain subsidary alliances with the help of examples.

ANSWER

Subsidary alliances:-It was an alliance that the Indian rulers had to form with the British.

The Indian rulers had to disband their native army and maintain a British Army.

They also had pay for army by surrendering a pieces of their land to the British.

QUESTION 4

How did the economic policies of the British adversely affect the Indian economy?

ANSWER

The Zamindari system exploited the peasant who were forced to grow only those crops that British industries required.

They were tortured or jailed on failure to pay the revenue in time.

Industrial goods like textiles from British flooded the Indian markets.

The policy destroyed Indian industries, artisans and peasants.

QUESTION 5

Why is the Revolt of 1857 called the First war of Independence? What were it's immediate causes?

ANSWER

Indian historians call it the First war of Independence as it was the First time that different section of Indian society United and fought as one nation to throw off the shocktes of foreign domination.

On the 29 March 1857 at Barrackpore near Calcutta, Mangal Pandey refuse to use the cartridge. He was arrested, tried and executed

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LONG QUESTION WITH ANSWER

QUESTION 1

Describe the course of the Revolt of the 1857.

ANSWER

THE COURSE OF THE REVOLT

1.The Revolt started from Meerut in April, 1857when the Indian sepoys refused to the greased cartridges.

2.On 10 May 1857,the soldiers marched to jail in Meerut, broke open the prison and released the imprisoned soldiers. They marched to Delhi on 11 May and took the control under Bahadur Shah Zafar.

3.The Revolt then spread to other places. It led by Nana Sahab in kanpur, Begam Hazarat Mahal in Awadh, Rani Laxmi Bai in Jhashi, Kuwar singh in Jagdishpur, Bihar.

4.The Revolt also spread to Bareily, Agra, Benaras and other places.

5.The Revolt started by the sepoys but participation of the peasants and the artisans gave the revolt it's real strength.

QUESTION 2.

Describe Five main causes of the First war of independence.

ANSWER

1.POLITICAL CAUSES

2.ECONOMIC CAUSES

3,SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CAUSES

4.MILITARY CAUSES

5.IMMEDIATE CAUSES

On the 29 March 1957 at Barrackpore near Calcutta, Mangal Pandey refuse to use the cartridge. He was arrested, tried and executed.

QUESTION 3

What steps did the British take to suppress the Revolt?

ANSWER

SUPPRESSION OF THE REVOLT OF 1857

1.The British military officers freed Delhi, the epicentre of Revolt, from the rebels.

2.The Kashmir Gate was blown up. Hundreds of the people were killed.

3Mugal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried for treason and exiled to Rangoon.

4.Lucknow was recaptured in 1858.

5.Rani Laxmi Bai was killed in the battle and Tantia Tope was captured and hanged to death.

The British finally suppressed the massive force of popular rebellion.

QUESTION 4.

Why did the First war of independence fail inspite of the participation of different sections of Indian society? Explain.

ANSWER

(i) The uprising had been planned for months but it broke out before the appointed date. It did not go according to the plan as the revolutionaries failed to spread it beyond Central India and Delhi.

(ii)There was no unity among the rebels. The ideas of nationalism had not yet developed. There was no common ideology among the rebels. The sepoys of Bengal wanted to revive the glory of the Mughals, while Nana Sahab and Tantya Tope tried to re-establish the Maratha power and Rani Laxmi Bai fought for her lost Kingdom.

(iii) The uprising was not widespread. It was limited to North and Central India. In the North, the Sikhs, the Nizams and the Scindias were unaffected by the revolt and the Gurkhas still remained loyal to the Britishers.

(iv) The rebels lacked the sophisticated and modern weapons and the disciplined army of the British.

(v) The leadership of the Revolt was very weak. The Indian rulers fought to liberate their own territories and did not think about the freedom of the entire country.

QUESTION 5.

What changes were made in the administration of India after the Revolt was suppressed?

ANSWER

RESULTS OF THE REVOLT OF 1857

1.The rule of East India Company ended with Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1 November 1858.

2.British crown took over the administration of India.

3.A secretary of state was appointed by the British Parliament to look after the governance of India with the help of a council.

4.The Governor General was given the title of VICEROY-The Representative of the British Crown.

5.By the end of 1859,British authority in India was fully re-established.

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SOURCES

1.WE AND OUR WORLD-DAV PUBLICATION