DOCSLIB.ORG

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Indian Rebellion of 1857 The East India Company LO: To understand the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Tuesday 8th December 2020 Look at your Dmeline from 1600 to 1900. 500 years ago, England was a liKle country on the edge of the world. Asia was dominated by great empires. But European invenDons (guns, beKer ships, the prinDng press) meant European countries became suddenly powerful. The rise of the Islamic OKoman Empire blocked European countries from trading with India and China. So European explorers set sail to find new routes to Asia. The Italian explorer Columbus discovered America. The Portuguese explorer Magellan was the first to sail right around the world. English sailors and traders reached India and China In 1600, when the East India Company was founded, European countries were sDll weak and poor compared to the great empires of India and China. In the 17th Century, India was ruled by the Mughals, Muslim conquerors who had invaded India from the north. The Mughal Emperor of India was the richest man in the world. But the Emperor’s descendants quarreled, and the Mughal Empire was divided. As the Europeans grew stronger, India and China were in decline. The Europeans were fighDng each other to trade with India. The BriDsh fought their old enemies, the French. Indian rulers fought amongst themselves. India is a long way from Europe. The numbers of Europeans were Dny compared to the populaon of India, but it was easy for foreign powers like the BriDsh and French to sow division and to enlist Indian soldiers on their own side. The BriDsh and French fought for possession of Bengal, the richest part of India. At the Bale of Plassey in 1757, the East India Company led by Robert Clive, fought against the Nawab of Bengal, and the French. The East India Company had only 3000 troops (2000 were Indian soldiers), the Nawab of Bengal had 60,000 troops, but Clive’s army won. (A ‘nawab’ was a Mughal governor of an Indian province.) The East India Company took possession of Bengal, the richest province of India and began to raise taxes. By 1818, the East India Company had control over almost all of India. Ordinary Indian people became poorer under the Company’s rule, and many died of hunger. In 1857 the Bengal army aacked their BriDsh commanding officers. The BriDsh call this the Indian MuDny, Indians call it the First War of Independence. The rebellion was sparked when the commanders of the BriDsh army issued more modern rifles, with a new kind of gun cartridge. The soldier had to load the rifle by biDng open a paper cartridge full of gunpowder, before Dpping the powder into the gun barrel. The cartridges were made in Britain and were covered in grease to protect the gunpowder from damp. Unfortunately the grease was made from beef and pork fat. Pigs are unclean animals to Muslims, and cows are sacred to Hindus. Both Hindus and Muslims refused to touch the new cartridges. The East India Company quickly replaced the animal fat with vegetable fat, but the damage had been done. Hindus and Muslims alike felt as if they’d been deliberately humiliated. They assumed that it was part of a plot to impose ChrisDanity on India. Indian soldiers muDnied, refusing to obey orders, and aacking the BriDsh officers. The BriDsh were lucky that only the Bengal Army that turned against them. The armies in the east and south of India sDll followed their BriDsh commanders. The Indian rebels were treated very harshly. Some were executed by being Ded to cannons. “It was literally murder… I have seen many bloody and awful sights lately but such a one as I witnessed yesterday I pray I never see again. The women were all spared but their screams on seeing their husbands and sons butchered, were most painful…” Edward Vibart, 19 year old BriCsh officer The Indian soldiers of the Bengal Army asked the old Mughal Emperor to join their fight, and to re-establish the Mughal Empire. But the Emperor was too frail and weak to fight. The Indian people were unable to unite. The rebellion failed. The BriDsh government effecDvely abolished the East India Company in 1858. All of its tax-raising powers, possessions and armed forces, were taken over by the BriDsh Crown. This was the start of the BriDsh Raj, a period of direct BriDsh rule over India which connued unl independence in 1947. India is a country of many religions and many languages. Was that one reason why they didn’t unite against the BriDsh? Imagine you are an Indian soldier, your commanding officers are BriDsh, your family pays taxes to the BriDsh. The BriDsh officers expect you to use cartridges covered in animal fat – animals that are sacred to you, if you are Hindu, or unclean if you are Muslim. You’ve seen your fellow soldiers treated very cruelly. Write a leKer to your friends, telling them to fight. How would you persuade them to risk their lives? Would you tell them that Hindu and Muslim need to work together? .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • “Othering” Oneself: European Civilian Casualties and Representations of Gendered, Religious, and Racial Ideology During the Indian Rebellion of 1857
    “OTHERING” ONESELF: EUROPEAN CIVILIAN CASUALTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS OF GENDERED, RELIGIOUS, AND RACIAL IDEOLOGY DURING THE INDIAN REBELLION OF 1857 A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences Florida Gulf Coast University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters of Arts in History By Stefanie A. Babb 2014 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in History ________________________________________ Stefanie A. Babb Approved: April 2014 _________________________________________ Eric A. Strahorn, Ph.D. Committee Chair / Advisor __________________________________________ Frances Davey, Ph.D __________________________________________ Habtamu Tegegne, Ph.D. The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. Copyright © 2014 by Stefanie Babb All rights reserved One must claim the right and the duty of imagining the future, instead of accepting it. —Eduardo Galeano iv CONTENTS PREFACE v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE HISTORIOGRAPHY 12 CHAPTER TWO LET THE “OTHERING” BEGIN 35 Modes of Isolation 39 Colonial Thought 40 Racialization 45 Social Reforms 51 Political Policies 61 Conclusion 65 CHAPTER THREE LINES DRAWN 70 Outbreak at Meerut and the Siege on Delhi 70 The Cawnpore Massacres 78 Changeable Realities 93 Conclusion 100 CONCLUSION 102 APPENDIX A MAPS 108 APPENDIX B TIMELINE OF INDIAN REBELLION 112 BIBLIOGRAPHY 114 v Preface This thesis began as a seminar paper that was written in conjunction with the International Civilians in Warfare Conference hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University, February, 2012.
    [Show full text]
  • Rebellion of 1857 Was Doomed to Fail, but the Religious and Cultural Tensions It Inflamed Would Ultimately Topple the British Raj by Ron Soodalter
    THE INDIAN REBELLION OF 1857 WAS DOOMED TO FAIL, BUT THE RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL TENSIONS IT INFLAMED WOULD ULTIMATELY TOPPLE THE BRITISH RAJ BY RON SOODALTER On May 9,1857, some 4,000 British soldiers and sepoys—native Indian troops—formed a three-sided hollow square on the parade ground at the Meerut mihtary cantonment, 40 miles northeast of Delhi, to witness punishment. On the fourth side of the square 85 sepoys of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry—Muslims and Hindus, many of them veterans with long years of service—stood at attention as their uniform jackets were stripped from them. The disgraced soldiers, weeping and begging for mercy, were then marched away to imprisonment at hard lahor. The offense for which they had been court-martialed was disobedience—they had refused to load their rifles. or more than 150 years historians percussion cap, bring the hammer to removed from the cartridge, the sides of have maintained that India's First full cock and fire. the bullet should be wetted in the mouth revolt against British rule broke During manufacture the cartridges bejoi e putting it into the barrel; the out at least in part over a gun-—to were coated with beeswax and tallow to saliva will serve the purpose of grease beF precise, the muzzle-loading Pattern protect the powder from the elements, for the time being. 1853 Enfield rifle-musket. Each of the and the bullets were greased to ensure a weapon's paper cartridges contained a proper seal in the barrel. The adjutant- When rumors spread among the precise amount of powder and a .577- general's official 1856 Instruction of caliber Minié ball.
    [Show full text]
  • Celebrating 75 Years of Independence INDIAN INDEPENDENCE
    AJADI KA AMRUT MAHOTSAV Celebrating 75 Years of Independence INDIAN INDEPENDENCE India celebrates its Independence Day on 15th August every year. Independence day reminds us of all the sacrifices that were made by our freedom fighters to make India free from British rule. On 15th August 1947, India was declared independent from British colonialism and became the largest democracy in the world. Various parts of India was ruled by East Indian company from History 1757 to 1858 followed by the direct administration of united kingdom (British India) from 1858 to 1947. The lives of the of Indian people were miserable. Indians were treated as slaves and had no rights to say anything to them. Indian rulers were Independence mere puppets in the hands of British officers. Indian soldiers were treated inhumanely in British camps, and farmers were dying of starvation as they could not grow crops and had to pay heavy land taxes. Our freedom fighters struggled for India’s Independence. Famous leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rani Lakshmi Bai, fought fearlessly against the Britishers. Many of them also sacrificed their lives to make India free from British rule. Their contribution and effort are remembered in India’s Independence history. Independence India achieved independence after years of struggle. India got complete freedom from the British and secured full after Struggle autonomy on 15th August 1947. That’s why the day holds great significance in the heart of every Indian citizen living in and Sacrifice India or abroad. India completed 73 years of freedom on 15h August 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • Saluting August 15,1947
    Orissa Review 1700s and occupied vast tracts the British Empire to strengthen of Indian soil for 347 years their grip over Indians and to whereas the Portuguese and effect broad reforms within Saluting the French had kept their colonial India.The triggering of August influence on some parts of the the Indian rebellion of 1857 was country. British East India a period of uprising in India 15,1947 Company generated more than against the British Rule and it ten percent of England’s was India’s first National War revenue per annum to Britain of Independence. It brought ž Mayadhar Nayak by slaughtering the vibrant about signs of valour and economy of India. Against this bravery about the sacrifice troubled backdrop, the British made by the freedom fighters August 15, 1947 is a glorious rise to power was slow, but of Indian heroes with accounts and memorable day for all remarkably steady because of of unimaginable horror and Indians, the day when the long the competition of the French destruction. The uprising was suppressed nation got with the British in acquiring the result of creation of cultural utterance. It was the day when Indian territory. and ethnic differences between India got her independence the British Officers and Indian After the Battle of soldiers.The policy of divide from the mighty British Empire. Plassey, the British Army under The day reminds us about the and rule and attack on the the leadership of Robert Clive culture triggered widespread end of the British Colonial defeated the Nawab of Bengal Authority from India and the resentment among the Indian and the British East India rulers like Mughals and ex- end of the widespread Company was established.
    [Show full text]
  • John Kaye and the 1857 Indian Rebellion
    ABSTRACT Title of Thesis: “BECAUSE WE WERE TOO ENGLISH:” JOHN KAYE AND THE 1857 INDIAN REBELLION Christina Lee Fairchild, Master of Arts, May 2017 Thesis Directed By: Professor Richard N. Price, Department of History Throughout the nineteenth century, no other rebellion received the same level of attention in Britain as the 1857 Indian Rebellion. This was one of the most written about events in the nineteenth century. The foremost writer on the rebellion is Sir John William Kaye. This thesis examines John Kaye’s writings on India before and after the rebellion. Kaye viewed the British-Indian relationship through a paternalistic lens. Kaye viewed the role of the British to uplift the condition of Indians through personal examples. He was therefore critical of the East India Company’s policies and actions which were detrimental to this agenda, while he still defended it as an institution of progress. After the 1857 Mutiny, Kaye re-examined his standpoint on British interference in India. He did not forsake his paternalistic viewpoint, which allowed Kaye to examine how British actions had caused a divide between the British officers and the sepoys. “BECAUSE WE WERE TO ENGLISH:” JOHN KAYE AND THE 1857 INDIAN REBELLION by Christina Lee Fairchild Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2017 Advisory Committee: Professor Richard N. Price, Chair Julie A. Taddeo Madeline C. Zilfi © Copyright by Christina Lee Fairchild 2017 Dedication To all of my friends and family who encouraged me to finish this project.
    [Show full text]
  • The Indian Rebellion of 1857
    The Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the cantonment of the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to present-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern Madhya Pradesh, and the Delhi region. The rebellion posed a considerable threat to East India Company power in that region, and was contained only with the fall of Gwalior on 20 June 1858. The rebellion is also known as India's First War of Independence, the Great Rebellion, the Indian Rebellion, the Indian Mutiny, the Revolt of 1857, the Rebellion of 1857, the Uprising of 1857, the Sepoy Rebellion and the Sepoy Mutiny. Other regions of Company-controlled India – such as Bengal, the Bombay Presidency, and the Madras Presidency – remained largely calm. In Punjab, the Sikh princes backed the Company by providing soldiers and support. The large princely states of Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir, as well as the smaller ones of Rajputana, did not join the rebellion. In some regions, such as Oudh, the rebellion took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence. Maratha leaders, such as Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, became folk heroes in the nationalist movement in India half a century later; however, they themselves generated no coherent ideology for a new order. The rebellion led to the dissolution of the East India Company in 1858. It also led the British to reorganize the army, the financial system and the administration in India.
    [Show full text]
  • Colonial Hunting and Wildlife in British India, 1800-1935 By
    Sahibs and Shikar: Colonial Hunting and Wildlife in British India, 1800-1935 by Swati Shresth Department of History Duke University 12.03.2009 Approved: ___________________________ Sumathi Ramaswamy, Supervisor ___________________________ Leela Prasad ___________________________ Janet Ewald ___________________________ Philip Stern ___________________________ John Thompson Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of Duke University 2009 i v ABSTRACT Sahibs and Shikar: Colonial Hunting and Wildlife in British India, 1800-1935 by Swati Shresth Department of History Duke University 12.03.2009 Approved: ___________________________ Sumathi Ramaswamy, Supervisor ___________________________ Leela Prasad ___________________________ Janet Ewald ___________________________ Philip Stern ___________________________ John Thompson Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of Duke University 2009 Copyright by Swati Shresth 2009 i v Abstract This dissertation explores the colonization of wildlife in nineteenth and early twentieth century British India. It discusses hunting and colonial policies on wildlife to explore the political, social and cultural concerns that influenced British interactions with Indian wildlife, with their compatriots and with natives. Hunting, I argue was deeply implicated in the exercise of power in all
    [Show full text]
  • Persecution of Hindus - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Persecution of Hindus from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    12/15/2014 Persecution of Hindus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Persecution of Hindus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Persecution of Hindus refers to the religious persecution inflicted upon Hindus. In modern times, Hindus in the Muslim-majority regions of Kashmir, Pakistan, Bangladesh and others have also suffered persecution. Contents 1 Medieval 1.1 Persecution by Muslim Rulers 1.1.1 By Arabs 1.1.2 Mahmud of Ghazni 1.1.3 Timur's campaign against India 1.1.4 Delhi Sultanate 1.1.4.1 Firuz Shah Tughlaq 1.1.5 In the Mughal empire 1.1.6 Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan 1.1.7 In Kashmir 1.2 During European rule of the Indian subcontinent 1.2.1 Goa 1.2.2 British Colonial India 2 Modern 2.1 Partition of India 2.1.1 Direct Action Day 2.1.2 Naokhali Riots 2.1.3 During the era of Nizam state of Hyderabad 2.1.4 Pakistan 2.1.4.1 1971 Bangladesh genocide 2.2 Contemporary persecution 2.2.1 Persecution by Buddhists 2.2.1.1 Bhutan 2.2.2 South Asia 2.2.2.1 Republic of India 2.2.2.1.1 Jammu and Kashmir 2.2.2.1.2 Northeast India 2.2.2.1.3 Punjab http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus 2.2.2.1.4 Kerala 1/33 12/15/2014 Persecution of Hindus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 2.2.2.1.4 Kerala 2.2.2.2 Bangladesh 2.2.2.3 Pakistan 2.2.2.3.1 Pakistan Studies curriculum issues 2.2.2.3.2 Forced conversions 2.2.2.3.3 Temple Destruction 2.2.2.3.4 Discrimination due to the rise of Taliban 2.2.2.4 Afghanistan 2.2.2.5 Sri Lanka 2.2.3 In other countries 2.2.3.1 Germany 2.2.3.2 Italy 2.2.3.3 Kazakhstan 2.2.3.4 Malaysia 2.2.3.5 Saudi Arabia 2.2.3.6 Fiji 2.2.3.7 Trinidad & Tobago 2.2.3.8 South Africa 2.2.3.9 United States 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links Medieval Persecution by Muslim Rulers By Arabs Muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent began during the early 8th century, when the Umayyad governor of Damascus, Hajjaj responded to a casus belli provided by the kidnapping of Muslim women and treasures by pirates off the coast of Debal,[1] by mobilising an expedition of 6,000 cavalry under Muhammad bin-Qasim in 712 CE.
    [Show full text]
  • An Assessment of Uprising Against the Indian Revolt of 1857: British Historiography
    Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education Vol. XI, Issue No. 22, July-2016, ISSN 2230-7540 An Assessment of Uprising against the Indian Revolt of 1857: British Historiography Kuldeep Singh Bahia1* Dr. Birbal2 1Research Scholar 2Professor Abstract – The Uprising of 1857 was in many ways a representation of such feelings among the people. The Uprising shook the foundation of British rule but was suppressed with great power and ruthlessness. The Uprising of 1857 is a great landmark in the history of India. The year 1857 symbolizes a turning point in the history of modern India because in that eventful year an upsurge, invariably referred to as the 'Mutiny' in most contemporary accounts, took on the dimensions of a rebellion as the princes and people of India, following the lead given by the sepoys, challenged a well -established administrative set up. Over the years, the nature and scope of this great struggle has been the subject of controversy with historians in India and overseas. During the last one and half century a massive literature have been produced by the historians and scholars on this event. However, it goes without saying that this Uprising occupies a unique peace in the annals of Indian freedom struggle. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - INTRODUCTION arrested and the regiment disbanded. On the day following the initial outbreak – 29 March 1857 – The Uprising of 1857 had both material and emotional Mangal Pande of the 34th Regiment, which had been causes. It began as a mutiny within the ranks of the barracked alongside the 19th, fired at his native sipahi or ‗sepoy‘ army of the Bengal Presidency commanding officer but was overpowered.
    [Show full text]
  • India in 18Th Century Contents
    Student Notes: India in 18th Century Contents 1. Decline of the Mughals .......................................................................................................... 5 Aurangzeb’s Responsibility ..................................................................................................... 5 Weak successors of Aurangzeb .............................................................................................. 5 Degeneration of Mughal Nobility ........................................................................................... 6 Court Factions ........................................................................................................................ 7 Defective Law of Succession .................................................................................................. 7 The rise of Marathas .............................................................................................................. 7 Military Weaknesses .............................................................................................................. 8 Economic Bankruptcy ............................................................................................................. 9 Nature of Mughal State .......................................................................................................... 9 Invasion of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali .................................................................... 9 Coming of the Europeans ....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Violence, Resistance and the Birth of a New Literature Vedita Cowaloosur University of Warwick
    Volume 3(2) 2010 PHARMAKON Violence, Resistance and the Birth of a New Literature Vedita Cowaloosur University of Warwick hen Thomas Babington Macaulay, then serving on the Supreme Council of India, W presented his ‘Minute on Indian Education’ to Lord Bentinck on the 2nd of February 1835, arguing for the adoption of the English language as the teaching medium in Indian institutions from the sixth form onwards, he envisaged the birth of a new class of English- educated native, ‘Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect’ (Macaulay 1835). The Indian native of this new class, enlightened, civilised, made less threatening and more recognisable by a reduction of his otherness,1 curbed through the English language, was envisaged as ‘a subject of difference that is almost the same, but not quite’ (Bhabha 1991:86); these ‘mimic men’2 would help to lead the rest of the native population by their example and through their superiority. To achieve this, Macaulay’s ‘aggressive’ project methodically sought to discourage the teaching of both bhasha or indigenous Indian languages, such as Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, and classical languages, such as Sanskrit and Persian, in all Indian institutions of further education and, instead, emphasised the moral imperative of the English language and literature.3 Bengal was an important territory where the immediate results of this new system of education could be measured, for it was then both the administrative and commercial capital of India; consequently, constant interaction between the white rulers and the thousands of people they governed was inevitable.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Muslims in 1857 Revolts: in the Concern of Bihar
    Volume II, Issue IX, September 2015 IJRSI ISSN 2321 - 2705 The Role of Muslims in 1857 Revolts: In the Concern of Bihar Iftikhar Arshad Assistant Professor Prabhu Dhan Degree College Nyagal Bari, Rajasthan Abstract: - By the first half of the 19th century, the East India administered the factory areas established for trading Company had brought major portions of India under its purposes, its victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757 control. While British historians called it the Sepoy Mutiny, marked the beginning of its firm foothold in Eastern India. Indian historians named it the Revolt of 1857 or the First The victory was consolidated in 1764 at the Battle of War of Indian Independence. The Revolt of 1857 had been Buxar, when the East India Company army defeated preceded by a series of disturbances in different parts of the country from the late eighteenth century onwards. Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II. After his defeat, the Mughal Emperor granted the Company the right for Keywords— 1857 Revolts "collection of Revenue" in the provinces of Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha known as "Diwani" to the Company. Hastings recruited farther west from the high-caste rural I. INTRODUCTION Rajputs and Bhumihar Brahmins of Awadh and Bihar, a practice that continued for the next 75 years. However, in The Indian Rebellion of 1857 refers to a rebellion in India order to forestall any social friction, the Company also against the rule of the East India Company, that ran from took pains to adapt its military practices to the May 1857 to June 1858. The rebellion began as a mutiny requirements of their religious rituals.
    [Show full text]