The War of Independence 1857

This handout covers the causes, main events, failure and results of the War of Independence of 1857. It belongs to Section 1 of the syllabus: the cultural and historical background to the Pakistan Movement.

Key dates

Date	Event
1848	Lord Dalhousie becomes Governor-General and begins to apply the Doctrine of Lapse
1856	Oudh (Awadh) is annexed by the East India Company
Early 1857	Rumours spread about the greased cartridges of the new Enfield rifle
March 1857	Mangal Pandey attacks British officers at Barrackpore and is later executed
10 May 1857	Sepoys at Meerut rise against their officers and march to Delhi
May 1857	Bahadur Shah Zafar is proclaimed leader of the rising in Delhi
September 1857	The British recapture Delhi
March 1858	The British finally retake Lucknow
June 1858	Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is killed in battle
August 1858	Government of India Act ends the rule of the East India Company
November 1858	Queen Victoria's Proclamation is read out in India

Background

By 1857 the East India Company (EIC) controlled most of the subcontinent, either directly or through Indian princes who depended on it. Rulers, landowners, religious leaders, peasants and soldiers each had their own reasons to resent the changes it had brought. British writers of the time called the events of 1857 the Indian Mutiny.

Causes of the war

Political causes

1. The Doctrine of Lapse. Under Lord Dalhousie, a state whose ruler died without a natural heir was taken over by the EIC. States such as Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi were annexed in this way. Indian rulers felt that no state was safe.
2. The annexation of Oudh in 1856. Oudh was taken over on the grounds that it was badly governed, although its ruler had been loyal to the British. This angered the people of Oudh, and many sepoys of the Bengal Army came from there.
3. The treatment of the Mughal emperor. The emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar had little real power, but he was still respected. The British decided that after his death the royal family would have to leave the Red Fort in Delhi. Many Indians, especially Muslims, saw this as an insult.

Religious and social causes

1. Fear of conversion to Christianity. Christian missionaries were active in schools, towns and even near army camps. Many Hindus and Muslims believed that the British wanted to convert them.
2. Social reforms. The British banned sati in 1829 and allowed Hindu widows to remarry by a law of 1856. Many people saw these laws as interference in their religion and customs.
3. Western education and language. In the 1830s English replaced Persian as the language of government and the higher courts. This damaged the position of Muslims in particular, since Persian had been the language of the Mughal court.

Economic causes

1. Heavy taxation. Land revenue demands were high and were collected strictly. Peasants and small landowners fell into debt.
2. Loss of land. Many landowners had their estates taken away when they could not prove their title with documents. They lost both income and status.
3. Damage to local industry. Cheap machine-made cloth from Britain was sold in India while Indian handmade textiles could not compete. Many weavers and craftsmen lost their work.

Military causes

1. Service overseas. The General Service Enlistment Act of 1856 meant that new recruits could be sent to fight abroad. Many Hindu sepoys believed that crossing the sea would break their caste.
2. Unequal treatment. Sepoys made up most of the army, yet they were paid much less than British soldiers and could not rise to the senior ranks.
3. The greased cartridges. A new Enfield rifle was introduced. Its cartridges were covered in grease, and the soldier had to bite the end off before loading. A rumour spread that the grease was made from cow and pig fat. The cow is sacred to Hindus and the pig is forbidden to Muslims, so both groups believed their religion was under attack. This was the immediate cause of the rising.

The main events

In March 1857 a sepoy named Mangal Pandey attacked British officers at Barrackpore in Bengal. He was executed. In May, sepoys at Meerut who refused to use the new cartridges were sentenced to prison. On 10 May their comrades rose, freed them and killed British officers. They then marched to Delhi, captured the city and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader.

The rising spread across northern and central India. The main centres were:

• Delhi: held by the rebels until the British recaptured it in September 1857.
• Kanpur (Cawnpore): the rising was led by Nana Sahib. The city was later retaken by the British.
• Lucknow: the British Residency was besieged for months. Begum Hazrat Mahal was a leading figure in the resistance. The British finally retook the city in March 1858.
• Jhansi: Rani Lakshmibai led her troops against the British and was killed in battle in June 1858.

By the middle of 1858 the British had regained control. Bahadur Shah Zafar was put on trial and exiled to Rangoon in Burma, where he died in 1862.

Why did the war fail?

1. Lack of unity and a common aim. Each group fought for its own reasons. Some wanted to restore the Mughal emperor, others wanted their own states back. There was no shared plan for what India would look like after victory.
2. No single leader or coordination. The risings in Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow and Jhansi were separate. Bahadur Shah Zafar was old and was more a symbol than a commander. The British could defeat each centre in turn.
3. The rising was not national. It was mainly limited to northern and central India. The Punjab and Sindh, which had been conquered only recently, stayed quiet, and Sikh soldiers from the Punjab helped the British to retake Delhi. Many princes also stayed loyal to the British.
4. British strengths. The British had disciplined troops, experienced officers, modern weapons and good supplies. They used the telegraph to pass messages quickly.

Results and effects

Effects on British rule

• The Government of India Act of 1858 ended the rule of the EIC. India was now governed directly by the British Crown.
• A Secretary of State for India was appointed in London. The Governor-General in India was given the extra title of Viceroy. Lord Canning was the first Viceroy.
• Queen Victoria's Proclamation of November 1858 promised to respect the rights of the princes, not to interfere in religion and to treat all subjects fairly. The Doctrine of Lapse was dropped.
• The army was reorganised. The proportion of British soldiers was increased, artillery was kept in British hands, and more soldiers were recruited from groups that had stayed loyal, such as Sikhs, Pathans and Gurkhas.

Effects on Muslims

• The British blamed Muslims most for the rising, because it had been fought in the name of the Mughal emperor. The Mughal dynasty came to an end.
• Many Muslims were executed or lost their property, especially in Delhi.
• Muslims were distrusted and were kept out of government jobs and the army for some years. Many Muslims also refused British education, so they fell behind the Hindu community.
• This decline led reformers such as Sir Syed Ahmad Khan to work for better relations with the British and for modern education for Muslims.

How to judge it

Which cause was most important? The greased cartridges started the fighting, but they were a trigger and not the whole explanation. Political causes such as the Doctrine of Lapse and the annexation of Oudh gave the rising its leaders, because rulers like the Rani of Jhansi and Nana Sahib had lost their rights. Religious and social fears made ordinary Hindus and Muslims ready to believe that their faith was in danger.

Was it a success or failure? In military terms the war failed: the British won and their control became firmer. On the other side, it ended the EIC and forced the British to promise respect for religion and for the princes.

Judgement. The strongest answer is that the causes worked together. Long-term political, religious and economic grievances created the anger, and the cartridge issue turned that anger into action in the army, which was the only group with the weapons to fight. The war failed mainly because of the lack of unity among those who fought it.

Key terms and people

• Sepoy: an Indian soldier in the army of the EIC.
• Doctrine of Lapse: the policy of taking over a state whose ruler died without a natural heir.
• Bahadur Shah Zafar: the last Mughal emperor, exiled to Rangoon.
• Viceroy: the representative of the British Crown in India after 1858.

Exam practice

1. Describe the Doctrine of Lapse. [4]
2. Why did the War of Independence of 1857 fail? [7]
3. "The introduction of the greased cartridges was the most important cause of the War of Independence in 1857." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [14]

Outline answers

1. A policy applied by Lord Dalhousie from 1848. If a ruler died without a natural heir, the EIC took over his state. Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi were annexed in this way. It was deeply resented by Indian rulers and was one cause of the war in 1857.

2. Three explained reasons: (a) no unity or common aim, as each group fought for its own interests; (b) no single leader or coordination, so the British defeated each centre in turn; (c) British strengths in discipline, weapons and communications, together with the support of the Punjab and many princes.

3. Agree: the cartridges offended both Hindus and Muslims, directly caused the refusal at Meerut and turned the army against its officers. Disagree: explain political causes (Doctrine of Lapse, Oudh, treatment of the emperor), religious and social causes (missionaries, reforms, English replacing Persian), economic causes (taxes, loss of land, decline of crafts) and other military causes (overseas service, pay). Judgement: the cartridges were the trigger, but the long-term grievances explain why the rising spread so widely.