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LEGAL HISTORY
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ASSIGNMENT
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THE REVOLT OF
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1857
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Submitted To:
Submitted By:
Sana Wasim
B.A. LLb (Hons.)
IIIrd Semester
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
At the outset, I would like to thank our, Legal History Professor Hakim
Yasir Abbas, Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia, for giving me an
opportunity to work on such a good topic and being a guiding force
throughout the course of its submission and being instrumental in the
successful completion of this Assignment on the Revolt of 1857, without
which, my efforts would have been in vain.
I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my family members
and friends, for being immeasurably accommodating the requirements of this
humble endeavour.
SANA WASIM.
OBJECTIVES
The Revolt of 1857 was the first step leading
India towards its independence. By 1856, the
English were governing India by annexing
Indian states, depriving Indians of their political
rights and exploiting them economically. A
number of causes that have been discussed in
this project were responsible for instigating the
Indian sepoys into mutiny. I chose this topic
because I found it extremely intriguing. This
Revolt produced deep and far reaching effects
on the social and political life of India.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
1.Introduction
2.Position of the East India Company
before the Revolt of 1857
3.Main Events of the Revolt of 1857
4.Causes of the Revolt of 1857
5.Causes of the failure of the Great Rising
of 1857
6.Results of the Great Rising
7.Constitutional Changes after the Great
Rising of 1857
8.Conclusion
9.Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
The Revolt of 1857 is considered to be one of the most crucial chapters in the
history of India and her people. The revolt was the first stage towards the
liberation of India from the chains of bondage of the British, which shook the
very foundation of its rule. It began with a mutiny of the Indian Sepoys of the
Companys army but soon involved civilians, the peasantry, artisans as well as
all sections of the Indian people. With a series of local risings and civil
disturbances in different parts of India, the mutiny of troops was not a rare
occurrence in the history of British rule in India. The novelty of the Mutiny of
1857 lay in the wide extent of the area which it covered and in its military
potentiality. There was widespread discontent in the country and practically
every class had grievances against the British rulers; but it is unlikely that any
dissident group would have actually risen in revolt without a lead from the
Companys Sepoys. The Sepoys had substantial grievances regarding their
conditions of service, but it was the threat to their religion which actually
provoked them into mutiny. The dread of conversion to Christianity worked as a
nightmare upon their minds. At the initial stage at any rate, the sepoys were not
intimidated by any patriotic feeling or nationalist sentiment. They were moved
by a blind fury against the Firingi who threatened their caste and religious
faith. The upsurge of the sepoys was so deep and strong that it attracted the
nearly the entire population to join them. Ultimately the sepoy mutiny turned
into a national revolt. The hatred of the people towards the Firingi was so
bitter and spontaneous that historian W. H. Russell wrote In no instance is a
friendly glance directed to the white mans carriage. Oh! That language of the
eye! Who can doubt! Who can misinterpret it? It is by it alone that I have learnt
our race is not even feared at times by many and that by all is disliked.
POSITION OF THE
EAST INDIA
COMPANY
BEFORE THE
REVOLT OF 1857
The East India Company was a massive export company that was the force
behind much of the colonization of India. The power of the East India Company
took nearly 150 years to build. In bribing the Government, the East India
Company was allowed to operate in overseas markets despite the fact that the
cheap imports of South Asian silk, cotton and other products hurt domestic
business. By 1767, the Company was forced into an agreement that is should
pay 400,000 pounds into the National Exchequer annually.
By 1848, however, the East India Companys financial difficulties had reached
a point where expanding revenue required the massive expansion of British
territories in South Asia. The Government began to set aside adoption rights of
native princes and began the process of annexation of more than a dozen
independent Rajs between 1848 and 1854.
In order to consolidate and control these new holdings, a well-established army
of 200,000 South Asians officered by 40,000 British soldiers dominated India
by 1857. The last vestiges of independent Indian states had disappeared and the
East India Company exported tons of gold, silk, cotton, and a host of other
precious materials back to England every year.
MAIN EVENTS OF
THE REVOLT OF
1857
The Sepoys of Dum Dum in Calcutta were the first to express their resentment
at the use of greased cartridges on January 23, 1857. The news spread to the
cantonment at Barrackpore where an Indian sepoy killed two British officers,
when he was forced to use greased cartridges. He was arrested and hanged to
death on April 8, 1857. The regiment posted at Barrackpore was disbanded. The
news then travelled to Meerut cantonment.
Events at Meerut
On 6th May, 1857 A.D. when the new cartridges were issued to 90 Indian
soldiers in Meerut, 85 of them refused to bite them with their teeth. These 85
soldiers were court-martial led and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. They
were stripped of their uniforms in the presence of the entire Indian garrison. It
was too much of a disgrace to be put up with and this incident sent a wave of
indignation. On 10th May 1857, the Indian soldiers at Meerut broke into open
revolt. They released their companions and murdered a few European officers.
The sky was rent with deafening shouts of Maro Firango Ko. On the night of
10th May the mutineers marched to Delhi and thousands of able-bodied
civilians also joined them.
Events at Delhi
The revolutionaries from Meerut reached Delhi on 11th May, 1857 and the
small British garrison at Delhi could not resist and consequently fell into their
hands within 2 days. The Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, joined the
revolutionaries after initial vacillation and was proclaimed Emperor of India.
The loss of Delhi lowered the prestige of the British in India. To retrieve their
prestige they put everything at stake and Sir John Lawrence sent a strong British
Lucknow, at the head of English and Gurkha soldiers. Lucknow fell into the
hands of the British after a fierce battle in March 1858.
CAUSES OF THE
REVOLT OF 1857
1. POLITICAL CAUSES
The doctrine of Lapse had caused Indian territories to be annexed
by the English and this angered the Indians. Disrespect shown to
the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah was also intolerable for the
them.
Ill-treatment of Nana Sahib and Rani of Jhansi, annexation of Oudh
and disbanding of armies of annexed states agitated the people and
soldiers who wanted revenge.
3. ECONOMIC CAUSES
Exploiting economic resources and subordinating Indian economy
to the interests of British trade and industry led to the decline of
Indian industry
Handicrafts and artisans were not cared for and they collapsed.
Jagirdars and Zamindars were unhappy when the English resumed
the tax-free lands and confiscated jagirs.
The Annexation of Oudh and disbanding of its army made the
soldiers very angry and the Zamindars and Taluqdars were
distributed when their land were annexed. This led to
unemployment, and starvation.
Soon the educated Indians were jobless too as only the English got
high posts and good remunerations.
Lack of attention to trade and Industries led to their decline.
Poverty and famine were common. All this turned the people
against the English.
4. MILITARY CAUSES
Indian sepoys had aided the British in setting up their Empire in
India but they never got their due. They were ill-paid and illtreated. The General Service Enlistment Act forced Indian sepoys
to be sent to fight even on an overseas front. The sepoys opposed
this Act.
When the English lost the Afghan War, the Indian sepoys thought
that the English were not invincible. As they were more in number
compared to the English soldiers, they grew confident of revolting
and winning.
As the English soldiers went to fight the Crimean War they were
less in number and weak in the British Indian Army. The rumour
that hundred years British Rule would soon end also encouraged
soldiers.
CAUSES OF THE
FAILURE OF THE
GREAT RISING OF
1857
The freedom fighters failed to achieve their aims and their aims and their
attempt ended in utter failure. Many causes were responsible for that.
i.
ii.
iii.
Rising Started before the Fixed Date: The Rising started much
before the fixed date, i.e., 31 May, 1857 due to the incident of the
greased cartridges. So the whole plan remained disorganised and
the preparations could not be completed.
The Rising Could Not Spread All Over India: The rising was not
widespread. It could not embrace the entire country and become an
All-India struggle. The Southern India, Sindh, Rajputana, Bengal,
Kashmir, Punjab did not join it. The revolt did not break
simultaneously at the centres and failed miserably.
Lack of Unity: The rising was a national movement but lacked
unity.All the groups and classes of the Indian society did not join
it. Scindia, Holkar, the Nizam, the Raja of Jodhpur and other
Rajput rulers, the Nawab of Bhopal, the rulers of Nabha, Patiala
and Jind, many other ruling chiefs, Zamindars and big merchants
remained loyal to the British and gave active help to the British.
Not more than one per cent of the chiefs of India joined the Great
Rising.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
unruly mob. They lacked organisation and could not act together.
They had no common leader. The uprisings in different parts of the
country were not well-coordinated.
British Control of the Seas: The British had mastery over the seas
and it helped them to suppress the rising. They could pour men and
war material into India from other parts of their vast empire. The
rebels did not possess even a small boat to intercept the British
supplies on the seas.
RESULTS OF
THE GREAT
RISING
Results pertaining to Constitutional and Political Field
End of the Companys Rule: The first and great result of
thr Rising was that the hundred years old Companys Rule in
India came to an end. The Board of Control was abolished
and the Board of Directors was stripped of all it powers.
Now the Government of India passed into the hands of the
British Queen and her Parliament, who appointed a Secretary
of State for India to look after the administration of India.
The Secretary of State of India was a member of the British
Cabinet. A 15 member Council, eight of whose members
were appointed by the Queen and seven by the Directors of
the Company, was constituted to aid and advise the
Secretary of State. His office was in London but all his
expenditures were met by the Indian Government.
Change in the Designation of the Governor-General:
With the transfer of the Government from the hands of the
Company to those of the Crown, the designation of the
Governor-General was also changed. While he remained the
Governor-General for the provinces under his rule, he came
to be known as the viceroy while dealing with the nawabs
and the Rajas and other native princes.
Accepting the Previous Treaties: The British Government
had fully realised that the Great Rising had broken out
CONSTITUTIONAL
CHANGES AFTER
THE GREAT
RISING
The bitter experience of the events of 1857 made the British government realize
that the rule of the sword simply would not be sufficient. For the stability of the
British rule, the hearts of the subject race should also be changed. In pursuance
of this aim, a massive change was brought in the field of constitutional
development and legislation.
Just after the end of the great uprising, the Government of India Act 1858 was
passed in the British Parliament. While introducing the Bill in the House of
Commons in February 12, 1858, Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister of
England said, The principle of our political system is that all administrative
functions should be accompanied by ministerial responsibility responsibility
to the Crown. The Bill proposed the transfer of Government of India to the
Crown, the liquidation of the Court of Directors and Proprietors and setting up
of an Executive Council headed by a Cabinet Minister to conduct the affairs of
India on behalf of the crown. According to this Act, India henceforth was to be
governed by and in the name of her Majesty Queen Victoria. It changed the
designation of the Governor-General to The Viceroy of India. The Act
empowered the Crown to appoint the Viceroy of India and Governors of
Presidencies. The Act created a new post of Secretary of State for India. He had
to rule India with the aid of a council of fifteen members. The Act required the
Secretary of State for India to lay annually before the British Parliament, a
financial statement of expenditure and revenues of India. The Parliament could
also ask him questions relating to India or criticize him on the charge of
inefficiency. According to Gurumukh Nihal Singh, a great significance of the
Act was that it closed one great period of Indian history and ushered in another
great era the direct rule of the crown. It rang the death-knell of the trading
company which was born in 1600 A.D.
The proclamation was important in many respects because it laid the foundation
of a new policy in India. Regarding the various effects of the proclamation Dr.
Ishwari Prasad observes: To the people of India the proclamation brought a
new heaven on earth. It promised them peace, prosperity and the protection of
their religion, equality of treatment with other subjects of the Queen and above
all promised to them a share in the highest services of the state, if so qualified.
CONCLUSION
Indian Mutiny, also called Sepoy Mutiny, widespread but unsuccessful
rebellion against British rule in India in 185758. Begun in Meerut by Indian
troops (sepoys) in the service of the British East India Company, it spread to
Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, and Lucknow.
To regard the rebellion merely as a sepoy mutiny is to underestimate the
increasing pace of Westernization after the establishment of British
paramountcy in India in 1818. Hindu society was being affected by the
introduction of Western ideas. Missionaries were challenging the religious
beliefs of the Hindus. The humanitarian movement led to reforms that went
deeper than the political superstructure. Lord Dalhousie had made efforts for the
emancipation of women and had introduced a bill to remove all legal obstacles
to the remarriage of Hindu widows. Converts to Christianity were to share with
their Hindu brethren in the property of the family estate. There was a
widespread belief that the British aimed at breaking down the caste system. The
introduction of Western methods of education was a direct challenge to
orthodoxy, both Hindu and Muslim. To these problems may be added the
growing discontent of the Brahmans, many of whom had been dispossessed of
their revenues or had lost lucrative positions. Everywhere the old Indian
aristocracy was being replaced by British officials.
The mutiny broke out in the Bengal army because it was only in the military
sphere that Indians were organized. The pretext for revolt was the introduction
of the new Enfield rifle. To load it, the sepoys had to bite off the ends of
lubricated cartridges. A rumour spread among the sepoys that the grease used to
lubricate the cartridges was a mixture of pigs and cows lard; thus, to have oral
contact with it was an insult to both Muslims and Hindus. There is no
conclusive evidence that either of these materials was actually used on any of
the cartridges in question. However, the perception that the cartridges were
tainted added to the larger suspicion that the British were trying to undermine
Indian traditional society. For their part, the British did not pay enough attention
to the growing level of sepoy discontent.
The immediate result of the mutiny was a general housecleaning of the Indian
administration. The East India Company was abolished in favour of the direct
rule of India by the British government. In concrete terms, this did not mean
much, but it introduced a more personal note into the government and removed
the unimaginative commercialism that had lingered in the Court of Directors.
The financial crisis caused by the mutiny led to a reorganization of the Indian
administrations finances on a modern basis. The Indian army was also
extensively reorganized.
Another significant result of the mutiny was the beginning of the policy of
consultation with Indians. The Legislative Council of 1853 had contained only
Europeans and had arrogantly behaved as if it were a full-fledged parliament. It
was widely felt that a lack of communication with Indian opinion had helped to
precipitate the crisis. Accordingly, the new council of 1861 was given an
Indian-nominated element. The educational and public works programs (roads,
railways, telegraphs, and irrigation) continued with little interruption; in fact
some were stimulated by the thought of their value for the transport of troops in
a crisis. But insensitive British-imposed social measures that affected Hindu
society came to an abrupt end.
Finally, there was the effect of the mutiny on the people of India themselves.
Traditional society had made its protest against the incoming alien influences,
and it had failed. The princes and other natural leaders had either held aloof
from the mutiny or had proved, for the most part, incompetent. From this time
all serious hope of a revival of the past or an exclusion of the West diminished.
The traditional structure of Indian society began to break down and was
eventually superseded by a Westernized class system, from which emerged a
strong middle class with a heightened sense of Indian nationalism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS REFERRED1.
2.
3.
4.
M.P Jain
NCRT Indian History
ICSE History and Civics by D.N Kundra
Outlines Of Indian Legal & Constitutional History Eight Edition
M.P Singh
3. www.britannicaindia.com