Undoubtedly, the revolt that happened in the year 1857 was India’s first War of Independence. Although, as expected, some British historians have tried to paint that revolt as “military mutiny” and a few even went on to give the revolt a communal angle. Nevertheless, the revolt ended the rule of East India Company if not succeeded in uprooting the British from Indian soil.
Understanding The Situation
But what grievances had led Indians to rise against their colonial masters? Any textbook would simply answer this query by saying that it was the exploitation of Indians by the British which caused the revolt. There’s nothing wrong with this answer. It is precise and simple and even a layman could understand it.
The only thing that is not clear is the nature of the ‘exploitation’ of Indians. Was it financial? Or physical? Emotional? Or psychological? The second thing which this answer fails to clarify is that the British had officially established themselves as the rulers after the Battle of Plassey, then what took Indians so long to revolt against them?
The Incidents Preceding The Revolt
After defeating the Nawab of Bengal in 1757, and further consolidating their power winning the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the British established themselves as the new ruler of Bengal. To legitimize their role, they had garnered the support of the Mughal King.
The arrival of a new Ruler didn’t affect the common people as the EIC superimposed their authority over the existing order. But with time, the British exposed their true color and started meddling with the existing rule and order of society to satisfy their needs. And gradually they started mercilessly exploiting every stratum of Indian society.
The British imposed trade monopoly and artisans became the first victim of their exploitation. The flourishing Indian artisans had to sell their products to the British at a price that was insufficient to support their families. According to some legends, the weavers of Dhaka had protested to the trade monopoly by chopping off their thumbs.
The unfortunate peasants of India met the same fate in the hands of British rule after some time. With three draconian land settlements that came into existence- namely Permanent Settlement, Ryotwari Settlement, and Mahalwari Settlement- the life of peasants had become so difficult that many of them had to abandon their villages and homes to escape from the huge debts and vicious cycle of taxes.
Oppression of Small Kingdoms
The artisans and peasants were not the only victims of the exploitation of the British. The alien rulers didn’t even spare the small kingdoms. After consolidating power in Bengal, the British started annexing neighboring states. Some of the native kingdoms aligned themselves with the British and others had to be submitted by force. The EIC annexed Satara in 1848. After a few years, they went on to annex Nagpur and Jhansi in 1854. The British even turned against their ally, the Kingdom of Awadh, in 1856 and exiled Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.
Not to mention the anger installing in the mind of Sepoys. They were the ones who started the rebellion. Indian Sepoys were subjected to humiliation by the British officers who thought themselves superior to Indians. The discrimination was clearly visible in salary and promotion.
An Indian Sepoy, even being eligible, could never serve in the army above the rank of Subedar. The salary of Indian Sepoys was around Rs.7-9 per month while the British were being paid manifolds larger amounts for the same job. Above all, from the 20s and 30s of the 19th century, British officers, who were relatively friendly earlier, started looking at Indian Sepoys with suspicion.
All these things accumulated together and the final was done by the rumor that the cartridges of the new Enfield rifle were greased with the fat of cows and pigs.
Initiation of Revolt From Meerut
In April 1857, 90 Indian Sepoys of Meerut refused to use the new cartridges, and the British instead of assuring them about the rumor punished them. On May 9, 1857, 85 Indian Sepoys were dismissed from the duty and were sentenced to 10 years in jail. This incident acted as a trigger event for the inevitable revolt that was on its way from decades. The very next day, on May 10, the whole battalion of Sepoys revolted against the British and started marching towards Delhi to fight against the foreign rule under the banner of the Mughal Empire, or what was left of it.
That’s how the things had unfolded in the backdrop of India’s First War of Independence.
I’m ending it here with a quote from Julian Barnes’s novel ‘The Sense Of An Ending’.
“There is accumulation. There is responsibility. And beyond these, there is unrest. There is great unrest.”
Julian Barnes