The 1857 revolt was sparked by various British policies that disrespected Indian traditions and rulers. The Doctrine of Lapse and other social changes angered both Hindus and Muslims. Key figures like Mangal Pandey, Rani Lakshmi Bai, and Bahadur Shah II led uprisings in many major cities across northern India. Although the revolt ultimately failed, it marked the beginning of the Indian independence movement and led the British to transfer power over India from the East India Company to the British Crown.
2. British raj in
rf
india
*British mostly lied on present countries of
India , Pakistan & Bangladesh .
*When we talk about other countries lying in
Indian sub continent Burma , Ceylon ,
Singapore ,
Nepal and Bhutan were the major countries
under
British.
*Many fierce battles occurred and India kept
3. CAUSES OF THE REVOLT
*By his Doctrine of lapse policy lord Dalhousie annexed many states of India such
as Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur etc. According to his policy, if an Indian ruler did not
have his real son , he was not allowed to adopt any son of his relative to become
his successive.
*The Muslims were also very unhappy with the East India Company. It was
declared by the company that after the death of Bahadur shah II , his successor
would not enjoy the title of Raja, held by the Mughal Emperor.
*The English introduced many changes in Indian social life such as- Abolition of
sati, child marriage, allowing widow to remarry, banning girl child infanticide etc.
*The introduction of Railways meant that the untouchables would also travel the
same compartment as Brahmins.
*Economic exploitation of India and her people became the potent cause of unrest.
The English company had its officials carried India’s wealth to England in several
ways.
*The Indian soldiers were discriminated and were considered inferior.
*The Indian soldiers were sent across the seas which was forbidden as per Hindu
religious beliefs.
4. onset of the reBellion
*several months of increasing tensions coupled with
various incidents preceded the actual reBellion.
*on 26 feBruary 1857 the 19th Bengal native infantry (Bni)
regiment Became concerned that new cartridges they had
Been issued were wrapped in paper greased with cow and
pig fat, which had to Be opened By mouth thus affecting
their religious sensiBilities.
* their colonel confronted them supported By artillery
and cavalry on the parade ground, But after some
negotiation withdrew the artillery, and canceled the next
morning's parade.
5. mangal pandey
*on 29 march 1857 Barrackpur , near parade ground, calcutta , 29
year old mangal pandey took various steps against east india
company . he declared that he will reBel against his commanders.
*sergeant-major james hewson went to investigate only to have
pandey shoot at him. hewson raised the alarm. when his adjutant lt.
henry Baugh came out to investigate the unrest, pandey opened fire
But hit Baugh's horse instead.
*general hearsey when saw the fire in the eyes of mangal pandey ,
he asked indian jemadar to arrest mangal pandey , the jemadar
refused to do so.
*on 22nd of the april jemadar was put onto the death By general
hearsey Because of disoBedience towards British raj
.
*after failing to incite his comrades into an open and active
reBellion, mangal pandey tried to take his own life By placing his
musket to his chest, and pulling the trigger with his toe. he only
managed to wound himself, and was court-martialled on 6 april. he
was hanged on 8 april.
6. Bahadur shah zafar
*Bahadur Shah Zafar was proclaimed the Emperor of the whole
of India. Most contemporary and modern accounts suggest that
he was coerced by the sepoys and his courtiers to sign the
proclamation against his will. In spite of the significant loss of
power that the Mughal dynasty had suffered in the preceding
centuries, their name still carried great prestige across
northern India.
*initially, the Indian soldiers were able to significantly push
back Company forces, and captured several important towns in
Haryana, Bihar, Central Provinces and the United Provinces.
When the European troops were reinforced and began to
counterattack, the sepoys who mutinied were especially
handicapped by their lack of a centralised command and
control system.
*on may 11 the regiments that had rebelled at Meerut the
previous day reached Delhi and asked for a formal audience
with Bahadur Shah which was granted the next day. It was
attended by several excited sepoys who treated him familiarly
or even disrespectfully.
7. Rani laxmi bai : jhansi Bundelkhand.
Jhansi was a Maratha-ruled princely state in
ki rani
When the Raja of Jhansi died without a biological male heir in
1853, it was annexed to the British Raj by the Governor-General
of India under the doctrine of lapse. His widow, Rani Lakshmi
Bai, protested against the denial of rights of their adopted
son. war broke out, Jhansi quickly became a centre of the
When
rebellion. A small group of Company officials and their
families took refuge in Jhansi's fort, and the Rani
negotiated their evacuation. However, when they left the
fort they were massacred by the rebels over whom the
Rani had no control; the Europeans suspected the Rani of
complicity, despite her repeated denials.
By the end of June 1857, the Company had lost control of much
of Bundelkhand and eastern Rajasthan . After being driven
from Jhansi and Kalpi, on 1 June 1858 Rani Lakshmi Bai and a
group of Maratha rebels captured the fortress city of
Gwalior from the Scindia rulers, who were British allies. The
Rani died on 17 June, the second day of the Battle of Gwalior
probably killed by a carbine shot from the 8th Hussars,
according to the account of three independent Indian
representatives.
8. Major places which were involved
into the Indian rebellion
•Meerut
•Delhi
•Agra
•Allahabad
•Oudh
•Awadh
•Kanpur
•Jhansi
•Lucknow
•Punjab
•indore
9.
10. Consequences of the
consequences of the
Indian rebellion
Indian
rebellion
The Revolt of 1857 was the most dramatic instance of India's struggle against
foreign rule. But it was no sudden occurrence. It was the culmination of a
century long resistance to domination by the British whose scale, duration
and intensity of plunder were unprecedented in Indian history..
First war of independence , the revolt of 1857 broke but with failure
of the revolt the thinking of purna swaraj ( complete
independence ) came into the minds youth and public.
The British parliament passed a new act in 1858 known as government
of India act 1858 and transferred the powers of east India company
to the British crown in Oder to be more responsible towards
managing Indian affairs
.
The land and property of Muslims was confiscated on a large scale
and they were treated with suspicion and hostility.
The British decided to respect the social believes and practices of
people of India .
11. Let us summarize
*British east India company ruled over present
Days of Bangladesh , India , Pakistan , Thailand,
Myanmar & Ceylon.
*Doctrine of lapse and many other kinds of policies which were
introduced by British was the main cause of this revolt.
•Rani Lakshmi Bai, Mangal Pandey, Bahadur Shah ll and Tantya
Tope were the great leaders of this revolt.
•*Merrut, Delhi ,Kanpur, Punjab, Indore, Awadh and Oudh were
the major places where these revolts occur.
•The first war of independence helped in the realization of
independence in the minds of youth and public
