Episode 1 - 1857: The First War of Indian Independence

The First War of Indian Independence a.k.a The Sepoy Revolt or The Revolt of 1857 is one of the most motivating wars of all time. However, we, as citizens of the country rarely remember the History of that era or even if we remember, we do not know the stories that aren't narrated to the general public. 

Although the country was in distress, there were about 40 major resistances that occurred between the year 1757 to 1857, apart from the 100 or so minor incidents. On 11th May, 1857, an situation arose in the town of Meerut. A company of Sepoy's of the British Indian Army defied their European masters and ended up killing them. After this, the sepoys marched towards Delhi, raided it and entered the Red Fort. Here, they met with Bahadur Shah II, who was the then pensioner under the British East India Company. 

Bahadur Shah II was taken surprise when he saw the sepoys. The sepoys asked Bahadur Shah II to reclaim the Delhi Dynasty and lead the revolt against the British. However, Bahadur Shah II was reluctant to do so. He was afraid that this step will burnish his contract with the Company. After much persuasion by the sepoys, he accepted to lead the revolt and was crowned Shahenshah-e-Hindustan, the Emperor of India. Upon hearing this news, half of the Company's strength opted out of the loyalty of the British. This reflects that there were lot many wrong doing incidences the British had been making. 

The news of restoration of the Delhi Dynasty spread like wildfire in the country, especially in the general public. Within a month of capture of Delhi, there were revolts across all over the country. Cities like Bareilly, Jagdishpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Benares, Allahabad and other North, Middle and Western cities of India were the epicenter of the revolt. However, South was particularly silent. 

With the country turning rebellious, the revolters and rebels now turned towards their traditional leaders of the Indian Society to lead the revolt. Leaders like Nana Saheb, who was the adopted son of Baji Rao II, lead the revolt from Kanpur; Begum Hazrat Mahal from Lucknow. Her son, Qadir Birjis, proclaimed the Nawab and organised a government with important offices shared equally between the Hindus and Muslims. At Bareilly, Khan Bahadur Khan, a descendant of the former rule of Rohilkhand, was placed in command. From Bihar, the revolt was lead by Kumar Singh, who was a zamindar and was frustrated by the English rule because he was literally put to bankruptcy. 

The most outstanding and charismatic leaders of all, Rani Laxmibai, lead the revolt from Jhansi. Her situation was such that her husband had died and her adopted son was refused to claim the throne by Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor General of the country. Later, he ordered the annexation of he state of Jhansi by the application of "Doctrine of Lapse". 

Now, what is this Doctrine of Lapse? 

This was just another toy the British used to grab and capture as much land as possible. The main article that dictates this Doctrine is that, the British held the power to annex any state if in case they find that "the ruler is either incompetent or has died without a male heir". 

The revolt grew across every nook and corner of the northern part of the country, even in cantonments like Bengal, Bombay and others. However, the Madras cantonment still remained loyal to the British. 

Now, the question arises, what led to the sepoys actually revolting against their officers? What were the reasons or beliefs of the soldiers that made them to act upon the British?

The answer to this is multi-fold. To begin with, let me present to you a small portion of the proclamation that was issued by the sepoys upon capturing Delhi - "It is well known that in these days all the British have entertained these evil designs - first to destroy the religion of the whole Hindustani army and then to make the people of this country by compulsion, Christians. Therefore, we solely on the account of our religions have combined with the people and have not spared alive one infidel and have re-established the Delhi dynasty on these terms"

This proclamation is like half cooked food. It only tells a reader about the reason as to why the sepoys revolted. Let me take you a little more in depth, making you understand, what instances led the sepoys to have such a strong belief.

  1. There were reports that bone dust was mixed with atta (wheat flour) in the rations issued to the sepoys
  2. The introduction of Enfield Rifle. The cartridges that were used in these rifles had to be bitten off and the grease in these cartridges was reported made from Beef and Pork fat
  3. There was always a partiality in emoluments, i.e, the salary and allowances issued between the Indian soldier and his British compatriot. The salary received by the Indian cavalry (around Rs. 27) was used for paying for the uniform, mount, food and other work related expenses and ultimately the soldier was left with only Rs.1 at the end of it.
  4. The last and the most important of all - Racial Discrimination. 

Quoting Mr. T. R. Holmes - "Though he might give the signs of a military genius like Hyder, he knew that he could never attain a pay of an English subaltern and that the rank to which he might attain after 30 years of relentless service, would not protect him from the insolent dictation of an ensign fresh from England"

 There were other reasons that also led the sepoys getting infuriated. 

Firstly, it was due to oppressive stance of the British with regard to the economy. The British demotivated local entrepreneurship and encouraged the use of British products over the local made ones. Secondly, there was heavy taxation on the farmers of the country and a heavy influence on what needed to be grown on the farm lands. The introduction of Zamindari system has been like a plague for the agriculture sector. This system authorized a select few people (picked by the British) to collect heavy taxes from the peasants. All the British ever cared was to have a fixed portion of that tax in their treasury. The farmers were even taxed heavily if they incurred any losses on their field. 

There have been reports that the tax collection revenue more than doubled after the Mughal dynasty fell. This situation plagued the entire land and farmers started taking their own lives out of pressure. 

The Indian economy has always been predominantly backed by the agrarian sector. The sepoys who joined the British Indian army were the young generation of the farming family, meaning to say, the sepoy was a "Peasant in Uniform". 

Now, how did the war come to a conclusion? How did it end? Were the revolters successful at achieving what they had intended to?

Well, before I go into the conclusion of the war, let me give you some more insights into what was the reaction of the general public and the Indian leaders when they heard about the revolt.

After the Meerut incident in 1857, when the sepoys marched through Delhi and entered the Red Fort, Bahadur Shah II was actually surprised to meet the sepoys. So was the case with Rani Laxmibai. It took some time for these leaders to ascertain their decision of full involvement in the revolt. 

On the bright side, the positive factor for the revolt was that within one month of the Meerut incident, the revolt spurted through the general public. Letters were sent to all neighbouring states of Delhi upon its capture. Bahadur Shah II was formally recognised and accepted as the Emperor of India and the leader of the revolt by all Kings and Kingdoms. Coins and orders were issued in his name and also, a temporary government was in place in Delhi to handle all administration problems. 

However, for more than a year, the rebels struggled to maintain the pace of the revolt. They did not have the modern arms or ammunition that their enemy, the British had. Hence, they were compelled at using traditional equipment of war like the sword and pikes, which were no match to their enemy weapons. Additionally, there was no fast way of communication established with their own compatriots and hence, once again, everyone was left to play a lonely hand.

The rebels received sympathy but did not receive full support of the people of the country. Almost half of the Indian Soldiers, still under the British loyalty, fought against their own countrymen and did not participate in the revolt. 

After intense battle for more than five months, on 20th September 1857, Delhi fell. It was recaptured by the British using 15 columns of 1700 British and 3200 Indian soldiers. This incident broke the back of the revolt because Delhi was the only rallying point the rebels had. The British went on to regain every inch of lost and capture more land one by one. 

Rani Laxmibai died fighting on 17th June 1858. The General who conducted the assault against her, General Hugh Rose paid a high tribute to her and said - "Here lay the woman who was the only man among the rebels". 

Nana Saheb refused to give up on the revolt but eventually had to escape to Nepal. Tantia Tope, who successfully carried out Guerrilla warfare against the British, was betrayed by a zamindar and later captured, tortured and killed by the British. 

Except these and some other honourable personalities, the rebels were poorly served by their leaders. John Lawrence rightly remarked - "Had a single leader of ability arisen among the rebels, we must have been lost beyond redemption".

Thus ended the most formidable challenge the British ever faced in India. It is only a matter of speculation , had the rebels won the revolt, what would have been the course of History, for that matter, even the Future.

The revolt did fail in achieving its objectives, but was a grand success to lay the foundation stones for motivation and a source of inspiration, to what happened in the coming years. 


Source: India's Struggle for Independence - Bipin Chandra


You can listen to the podcast India Unchained on Spotify to hear to the narration of this amazing story. 

https://open.spotify.com/show/04aUtBJKJ187bMwe9V0OlB?si=QoPEjRQqSkC7P8D_O3juBA

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