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Socialistic Mentality of the Rebels of the Revolt of 1857

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Socialistic Mentality of the Rebels of the Revolt of 1857 Socialistic Mentality of the Rebels of the Revolt Of 1857 A Thesis submitted to the University Of North Bengal For the award of Doctor of Philosophy In Department of History By Malay Saha Guide Prof. Dr. Ratna Roy Sanyal Department of Studies in History University of North Bengal June, 2015 ABSTRACT The Revolt of 1857 or India's first independence movement can be considered to be the principal milestone that put a specific direction and path for the future freedom fighters of British India. Growing socialism in the international sphere, especially in the Western world brought in a significant impact on the urban and rural leaderships who fought in the revolution. Mass uprising in rural and tribal hamlets took place against the then economic and political structure, which was sometimes native in origin or had the exploitation of the East India Company behind it, Bringing in equality in sharing the profits accrued by the Company, providing as much religious freedom and protection to Indian sepoys as enjoyed by the British soldiers, equal work distribution and lessening of inequality remained to be the primary motive behind the sepoys fighting the imperial power. The ideas of revolt or revolution are intrinsically associated with the; ideas of – socialism. However, there was a unique Indianess to such socialistic mentality which revolved around religious, traditional conservative mindsets fighting against exploitation, making attempts to dismantle the unequal administrative and economic structure. But how did socialism, which still was growing as a concept amidst theorists in the West found a shape amidst the masses in the then India, who were basically illiterate as well as had more or less no contact with the outside world. Fighting against imperial powers, the masses which included the masses, peasants, and workers, soldiers, together against East India Company’s hegemonic political and economic exploitation had a strange socialistic colour, as all castes, creed and religious followers joined the revolution against such exploitation. Marx himself identified such a revolution as one of the most practically successful attempts of a socialistic revolt that was thought of and theorised. There is a need to assess the nature of the revolt, the causes that lay behind it, as well as the major and minor actors who were involved in giving the revolt a full shape. How could a society already under tight conservative and feudal setup rise to reform and revolt against the then socio-political and economic setup, sometimes even supported by the erstwhile rulers of the native princely kingdoms. The inspiration that forced such masses to unify, breaking the traditional socio-religious divisions created by the society, fighting shoulder to shoulder against a common exploiter, needs to be explored. The revolt can be broken up into various spectrums to understand the birth of the socialistic mindset that took its birth amongst the masses. Analysing the major and minor causes from a socialist prism, re-thinking the causes that could have narrowed down the traditional gap between the masses and the native rulers and princes, the exploitation that was embedded within the ranks of the East India Company, might provide a better explanation in understanding the momentous revolution that shook the mighty British Empire from its roots, ending the hundred year old exploitation of the East India Company, bringing in direct British rule in India, and innovating new techniques to divide the Indian society for good, which had strangely unified and showed a strength that even defeated the will of one of the biggest capitalist ventures of Great Britain. The economic aspect of the Revolt brings in new dimensions, grooming a socialistic mentality amongst the masses, bringing in the peasants tribal and rural masses within the revolt's lap. There is a need to assess the growing socialist trend after the revolt, its genesis, and its aftermath moulding the future Indian National Movement from different dimensions bringing the birth of communist parties, socialist thinking amongst national leaders and growth of a politically conscious mass even before the advent of senior leaders like Mahatma Gandhi in the political spectrum of British India. To understand the reasons behind the birth of such consciousness amongst the masses, the causes and mentality behind the rise of peasants, workers and tribals against the imperial powers, the birth of a politically conscious urban lower middle class, demand for economic freedom and equality remain to be the primary motive behind part taking this study. As most of the analysis till date revolves around the prominent leaders of the pre and post revolt period and seldom there has been any analysis to study the mindset, the psyche of the general revolutioneers, this study might usher a new aspect in looking at the first freedom struggle in the Indian national movement. PREFACE The revolt of 1857 is considered as one of the important even in Indian history, which gave a way to the freedom fighters to fight a mass movement against the British East Indian Company. There is a large body of documents from the time, British official’s documents, records, diaries and personal narratives who witnessed the mutiny. Growing socialism in the international sphere, especially in the Western world brought in a significant impact on the urban and rural leaderships who fought in the revolution. Mass uprising in rural and tribal hamlets took place against the then economic and political structure, which was sometimes native in origin or had the exploitation of the East India Company behind it, Bringing in equality in sharing the profits accrued by the Company, providing as much religious freedom and protection to Indian sepoys as enjoyed by the British soldiers, equal work distribution and lessening of inequality remained to be the primary motive behind the sepoys fighting the imperial power. The ideas of revolt or revolution are intrinsically associated with the; ideas of –socialism. However, there was a unique Indianess to such socialistic mentality which revolved around religious, traditional conservative mindsets fighting against exploitation, making attempts to dismantle the unequal administrative and economic structure. While assessing the existing literature on the Revolt, two major streams of thought are found. One points out how the revolt only revolved around the mutiny that took place amongst the sepoys employed by the East India Company. The other thought tries to narrate the mass appeal and participation that was involved in the revolt, giving it the fame of being the first struggle against British colonial and imperialistic rule. The study will try to use both these streams to filter out the socialistic mindset that prevailed amongst the mindset of the Indian sepoys, the peasants, the urban middle class, as well as the landlords, zamindars and native rulers. I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to my supervisor, Prof. Ratna Roy Sanyal, who has been a tremendous mentor for me. I would also like to thank my teachers of the History department, Prof. Ananda Gopal Ghosh, Prof. I. Sarkar, Dr. Anita Bagchi, Dr. Bijoy kumar Sarkar, Dr. Dhalia Bhattacharya and Dr. Sankar Kumar Das. I also want to thank Dr. Sudash Lama and Sri Varun Kumar Roy for their kind cooperation in getting my paper to completion . A special thanks to librarians and staffs of North Bengal University, Darjeeling; National Library, Kolkata, Asiatic Society of Bengal, Kolkata; National Museum, New Delhi; National Archives, New Delhi; Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi; Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi; library of university of Delhi, State Archives of Uttar Pradesh and west Bengal State Archives for the kind help they extended to me. At the end I would like to express my appreciation to my families who are always supported me. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Appendices IX Glossary X Chapter One – Introduction - 1 Chapter Two – Rise of Socialistic Trends in India during 1850s - 15 Chapter Three – The Revolt of 1857: Extent and Dimension - 48 Chapter Four – The role and Influence of the Revolutioneers on the Revolt - 99 Chapter Five – The Impact of the Revolt of 1857: An Assessment - 144 Chapter Six – Conclusion - 187 Bibliography - 197 Appendix A - 205 Appendix B - 206 Appendix C - 207 Index - 208 List of Maps - 213 LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A: [Proclamation Rebels From Meerat to Delhi, Collection No, 60, Serial No.774, Undated, NAI, New Delhi] APPENDIX B: [The Proclamation of Commender- in- Chief of Delhi, Collection No.57, Serial No, 474, Dated 11 th Sep. 1857, NAI, New Delhi] APPENDIX C: [The C-in-C charges the Hindu and Musalman troops by all that they hold sacred to fight with effort against the British, Collection No. 57. Serial No 461, Dated 10 th Sep.1857, NAI, New Delhi] GLOSSARY Amils - Revenue Official Adibasi - Original inhabitant Balwai – Revolt Bannia - Marchant Bhumij - Tribal / Adibasi Chappati - An unleavened flatbread Chowkider - Watchman Deswa - Country Faquir – Religious ascetic who lives solely on alms Firangi - Foreighner, especially Brtish or White person Gadar – Revolt Gujar – Tribes Gaon - Village Guru - Teacher Gora - Faire Skined Julum – Coercion Mahajans – Merchant Majwa – Luxuries Mahal – A revenue division of paragana Moulavi - An expert in Muslim law Mulk - Country Pandit - Scholar or Teacher Padshah – King Petty – Minor or Subordinate in rank Phunki – Arson Poligar – Feudal Chief Prabasi – Migrated people who lived in foreign land Raj – Zamindari Estate Raja - King Sahukar - Money lender Sanyasi - A Brahman who having attained the fourth and last stage of life as a beggar Subedar – Chief native officer Tola – Unit of weight measuremen 1 CHAPTER - I INTRODUCTION The Revolt of 1857 or India’s First Independence Movement can be considered to be the principal milestone of modern Indian history. This Chapter has indicated the theoretical analysis of revolt especially associated with socialistic thought and practical implication in the nineteenth century world political and economic order.
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