The Revolt of 1857 is one of the most important events of India’s history and glorifies the courage and bravery of every revolutionary that fought with their life for the first time in the land of India.
Table of Contents
Introduction of Revolt of 1857
The Indian Revolt lasted from 1857-59; it was a prolonged battle of the Indian revolt of 1857, who fought for their freedom of Independence for the first time. The battle was a widespread war fair, which was defeated by the British Empire (British Raj).
The Revolt provoked and mentioned the unfair trade practice of the East India Company, which delivered as renowned power on behalf of the whole British Empire.
This Indicate is marked as one of the great histories of India with the different knowing names of:-
- The sepoy Mutiny
- The Indian Mutiny
- The great rebellion
- The Revolt of 1857
- The Indian Insurrection
- The first war of Independence
The Revolt of 1857
- The main agenda of the Revolt of 1857 was to stop the East India Company from implementing unfair trade practices.
- The Revolt began with sepoys of the British East India Company but later evidenced the participation of many from the other states of India.
Causes of the Revolt of 1857
The causes of the Revolt had many factors that belonged to different segments of the country. On the surface, the only reason for The Revolt wasn’t only the greased cartridge issue but also shared other causes of:-
- Political causes
- Social and Religious causes
- Economical causes
- Military causes
Political Causes
One of the most vital causes of The Revolt was the British policy of expansion by introducing the doctrine of lapse; this was a political reason introduced by the British to prevent direct annexation.
Many Indian rulers suffer the same fate by falling over this policy of British expansion.
Some of the events were:-
- Annexation of Jhansi’s thorn from Rani Lakshmi Bai by guarding her adopted son over this policy.
- The annexation of Awadh by Lord Dalhousie.
Social and Religious Causes
The interference of British rule in India’s socio and regional matters had brought a huge and drastic change to the people. The changes were described as both good and bad forms.
Some of the noticeable changes were:-
- Hindu widow remarriage act ( 1856)
- Abolition of Sati ( 1829)
- Introduction of Western education
- Introduction of Western clothes
- Introduction of Christian Missionaries.
The Doctrine of Lapse
The East Indian Company applied the “Doctrine of lapse “ in India Until 1859. The doctrine of lapse was withdrawn or ended by the Lord canning in the year 1857-1861. The court of Directors Passed this law in some of the smaller states in the year 1847. The doctrine of lapse was abolished because two years before the British government took over the rule of India from an east Indian company. In the state of Satara, the doctrine of lapse was first applied in the year 1848. It was one of the main causes of the revolt of 1857.
Economic causes
The stagnation of the agriculture sector and the de-industrialization were two major causes of economic disability during the British era.
Some of the reasons and implementation for the stagnation of the agriculture sector were:-
- Introduction of the Zamindari system
- Commercialisation of agriculture
- Low maintenance of cultivating lands
Some of the reasons behind the de-industrialization were:-
- The de-stabilization of the handicraft industry
- Lack of good capital industry
These all factors were the real cause of the overall decline of the economy.
Military Causes
One of the most important causes of military grievances was the general service enlistment act of 1856, which referred every sepoy to cross the seas under any requirements. The total dominance of the British raj had an adverse effect on the military condition, leading to one of the most important factors for the cause of this Revolt. The sepoys were withdrawing from the free posted facility by the act of post office 1854
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Causes of the Defeat
The leading cause of the defeat was people’s knowledge of the Agenda of the Revolt. The war didn’t get much support from every Indian for supporting its causes which eventually led to the fall of aim for less support and awareness.
Some of the causes were:-
- The word equipment was inferior compared to the Britishers, which led to the death of many in a shot of Rifles and a lack of efficient and effective leadership overruling the Revolt.
- Many rulers like the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Rana of Nepal, and the rulers of Patiala, Sindh, and Kashmir supplied active support and power to the British.
- There was a lack of awareness among over a thousand Indians, and some who were intelligent didn’t support the cause.
Consequences of the Revolt of 1857
The impact was a huge loss for India in politics, economy, society, and Military sectors. It lost many lives and the blood of sepoys and great rulers.
Some of the consequences were:-
- The British Empire grew more strong Over Control of the Indian Administration and passed on to Britishers for the stack of the government.
- Furthermore, a strongly organised section of the Army we’re built to prevent any other such event by the British government. The Army we’re further pushing for more strict restrictions and also got familiar with the use of British war equipment.
- A huge amount of raw material was supplied from India to the British with a free export duty.
- Other discriminatory import and export factors were that it charged high import duties over importing Indian handicrafts or other materials and had free import duties over raw material supply.
Rulers Who provided active participation in the war were:-
- Mangel Pandey
- Rani Laxmi Bai
- Begum Hazrat Mahal
- Bahadur Shah ll
- Tatye Tope
- Nana Saheb
- Kunwar Singh
- Bakht khan
And many other rulers joined the Revolt with the sepoys for the first war of Independence.
Aftermath
The rebellion of 1857 introduced us to the start of our great Indian history’s first independence war, following thousands of sentiments of defeated sepoys and rulers who lost their lives just for their motherland and freedom over it.
The defeat of the war ended Indians in a condition of hardship but left for the first time to live up to the sense of freedom among many Indians. The consequences after the war were not more than being in a miserable state with many de-stability over different sectors of the country. It shows how the small raw between see boys lead to the first battle of Independence against the unfair trade practice and another segment of de-utilization of the British East India Company.