Causes of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 facts for kids
Historians have found many reasons for the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the First War of Indian Independence. These reasons include political, economic, military, religious, and social issues.
The rebellion started in February 1857 among some sepoy (Indian soldier) groups in the Bengal army. The main spark was new gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle. To load the rifle, soldiers often had to bite open the greased cartridge. Many sepoys believed these cartridges were greased with cow and pig fat. This was a big problem for both Hindu and Muslim soldiers. Cows are sacred to Hindus, and pigs are considered unclean (Haram) by Muslims.
Other problems also made the sepoys angry. These included high taxes from the English East India Company (EEIC) and the British taking over Indian lands. Within weeks, many Indian army units and peasant groups joined the widespread rebellion. Old Indian rulers, both Muslim and Hindu, who were losing their power to the EEIC, also fought against British rule.
The British also had policies that upset Indian rulers. In the years before the rebellion, the EEIC used rules like the "doctrine of lapse" and "subsidiary alliance." These rules took away the traditional powers and rights of many Indian rulers.
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Why People Were Unhappy
Some Indians were very unhappy with the strict rule of the Company. The Company was expanding its control and bringing in westernization, which meant changing Indian ways to British ways. They did this without much care for Indian society and traditions.
Changes to Laws and Religion
The British also made new laws that banned some Indian religious customs. Many people saw these changes as attempts to force them to become Christians. As early as 1813, Christian missionaries were allowed to come to areas controlled by the EEIC, like Bombay and Calcutta.
Lord Dalhousie, who was the British Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856, made some important changes. He passed the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856, which allowed Hindu widows to remarry, similar to Christian women. He also allowed Hindus who converted to Christianity to inherit property, which was not allowed by local custom before. These changes were seen by many as interfering with their religious practices.
By 1851, many Protestant Christian groups were working in India to convert Indians to Christianity. In the ten years before the rebellion, British Christian groups had set up many mission stations across India.
Religious Reasons for the Rebellion
Historian William Dalrymple believes that the main reason for the rebellion was religious unrest. He says the rebels were fighting against the English East India Company's actions, especially under Lord Dalhousie. These actions were seen as attempts to force Christianity and Christian laws on India.
For example, when the rebellion began, Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar met the sepoys on May 11, 1857. They told him: "We have joined hands to protect our religion and our faith." Later, in the main square of Delhi, they asked people, "Brothers, are you with those of the faith?" Europeans who had converted to Islam were spared, but foreign Christians and Indian converts to Christianity were killed.
Dalrymple also points out that on September 6, 1857, Zafar called on the people of Delhi to fight the Company. He said it was a religious war for 'the faith' and encouraged all Muslims and Hindus to stay true to their beliefs. Also, old Indian writings often called the British kafir (disbeliever) and nasrani (Christians), not just "English" or "foreigners." This shows how much religion was on people's minds.
Some historians, however, think that the impact of British economic and social changes was not as big as some believe. They argue the Company did not have enough resources to enforce these changes everywhere.
Economic Problems
Many Indians felt that the Company was asking for very high taxes, especially on land. This was a major reason why the rebellion spread quickly in many villages in northern India. Farmers rushed to get back their old land ownership papers.
Land Confiscation
The British also started taxing land that was previously tax-free and took away jagirs (rights to control land revenue). This made many landowners and landlords angry. Lord Dalhousie also set up a commission to take away land. Years before the sepoy mutiny, Lord William Bentinck had also taken away many jagirs in western Bengal and started taxing previously tax-free lands.
These changes upset not only the rich landowners but also many middle-class people. Lands were taken from landlords and sold in auctions. Rich merchants and moneylenders could buy these lands, which often pushed out the poorer farmers.
Sepoys: The Indian Soldiers
In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the East India Company's armies, especially the Bengal Army, were very successful. They won many battles across India and even in China and Burma. The Company had a military system where sepoys felt great loyalty and honor towards the Company. European officers were seen as caring leaders, and regiments were often made up of soldiers from the same caste and community.
Bengal Army Recruitment
Unlike the Madras and Bombay Armies, which had diverse soldiers, the Bengal Army mainly recruited its regular soldiers from landowning Bhumihars and Rajputs in the Ganges Valley. Even though they were paid a little less, there was a strong trust between the soldiers and the Company. Soldiers felt important and believed the Company cared for them. They fought well and were rewarded with honors and extra pay (called "batta") for fighting outside Company-controlled areas.
Loss of Trust
Until the 1840s, Bengal sepoys believed in the Company's good luck and strength. However, this feeling of British power was shaken during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Poor decisions by British leaders led to a terrible massacre of a British army (which included Bengal regiments) retreating from Kabul. When the sepoys later turned against their leaders, they remembered Kabul and realized the British were not unbeatable.
Caste and Customs
In the early years of Company rule, caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army were not just allowed but encouraged. Because of this, Bengal sepoys were not flogged (whipped) like European soldiers. This meant that by the 1840s, sepoys were used to a very high social status. They became very sensitive to anything that might "pollute" their caste. If a high-caste sepoy's caste was considered "polluted," they would have to spend a lot of money on religious purification to be accepted back into society.
Earlier Mutinies
There were signs of trouble in the East India Company's armies before 1857.
- In 1806, fears about caste pollution led to the Vellore Mutiny, which was brutally put down.
- In 1824, a regiment ordered overseas for the First Anglo-Burmese War refused to go. They were not given transport for their cooking pots and told to share communal ones. Eleven sepoys were executed, and hundreds were sentenced to hard labor.
- In 1851-52, sepoys ordered to serve in the Second Anglo-Burmese War also refused to go by sea but were just sent to serve elsewhere.
Pay Issues
Sepoys' pay was relatively low. After Awadh and the Punjab were taken over by the British, soldiers no longer received extra pay (batta or bhatta) for being posted there. This was because these areas were no longer considered "foreign service." Since batta made a big difference in how good active service felt, sepoys often protested against sudden changes in pay.
Before British rule, Indian soldiers often refused to serve until pay issues were fixed. This was seen as a normal way to show their complaints. The British, however, sometimes called such refusals "mutinies" and punished them harshly. But at other times, the Company did agree to the sepoys' demands, like when Bengal and Madras army troops refused to serve in Sindh without batta.
The British government's changing rules, lower allowances, and harsh punishments made the troops feel that the Company no longer cared for them. Also, the government started recruiting more Sikhs and Gurkhas, whom Bengal sepoys considered lower caste. This made the sepoys distrustful, thinking their services were no longer needed. For example, the number "66th" was taken from a Bengal Sepoy regiment that was disbanded for refusing to serve without batta, and given to a Gurkha battalion. Sepoys saw this as a betrayal by the Company.
Officer Relations
In the early 1800s, British officers were usually close to their troops. They spoke Indian languages, took part in local customs (like having regimental flags blessed by priests), and often had Indian partners. Later, British officers became less tolerant and less involved with their troops' well-being. Caring leaders like Lord William Bentinck were replaced by arrogant ones like Lord Dalhousie, who seemed to dislike the troops and the people. Over time, the power of commanding officers decreased, and the government became more distant from the sepoys' concerns.
Some British officers in the Company's Army, who were very religious, even started preaching to their sepoys, hoping to convert them to Christianity.
New Enlistment Rules
The General Services Enlistment Act of 1856 said that new recruits had to serve overseas if asked. High-caste sepoys who were already serving feared this rule would eventually apply to them. This would violate the kala pani rule, which banned sea travel for religious reasons. So, Hindu soldiers saw this Act as a threat to their faith.
In 1857, the Bengal Army had 10 cavalry regiments and 74 infantry regiments. All the cavalry regiments and 45 of the infantry units rebelled at some point. After 17 other Bengal Native Infantry regiments were disarmed and disbanded (because they were suspected of planning mutiny), only 12 survived to serve in the new army after the rebellion. Once the first rebellions happened, British commanders realized that the problems were felt throughout the Bengal army. They could not fully trust any Indian unit, even though many officers still believed in their men's loyalty.
The Bengal Army also managed 29 irregular cavalry regiments and 42 irregular infantry regiments. Some of these units belonged to states allied with the British or recently taken over. Two large groups from Awadh and Gwalior quickly joined the rebellion. Other irregular units were raised in border areas from groups like Assamese or Pashtuns to keep local order. Few of these joined the rebellion. One group, the recently formed Punjab Irregular Force, actively helped the British.
The Bengal Army also had three "European" infantry regiments and many artillery units with white soldiers. Artillery units usually had more British soldiers because they needed technical skills. Even though many Indian rulers who rebelled had many guns, the British advantage in artillery was key in the siege of Delhi, especially after a large group of cannons arrived.
There were also British Army regiments (called "Queen's troops") in India. But in 1857, several of these had been sent to fight in the Crimean War or the Anglo-Persian War of 1856. This meant that when the sepoys' complaints led them to openly defy the British, it was also the best time for them to do so.
The New Enfield Rifle
Sepoys across India received a new rifle, the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled musket. This weapon was more powerful and accurate than the old, smoothbore Brown Bess muskets they had used for decades. The grooves inside the rifle barrel (rifling) made it accurate at much longer distances. However, the loading process for this new rifle was still the same as the old one. It did not get much better until later, with new types of guns and cartridges.
Loading the Rifle
To load both the old musket and the new rifle, soldiers had to bite open the paper cartridge. They would pour the gunpowder into the rifle's muzzle. Then, they would stuff the paper cartridge (which had a thin mix of beeswax and mutton tallow for waterproofing) into the musket as wadding. The bullet was attached to the top of the cartridge and guided into place to be pushed down the muzzle. The rifle's cartridges contained gunpowder, and the bullet was usually a heavy lead ball.
Many sepoys believed that the cartridges for the new rifle were greased with lard (pig fat) and tallow (cow fat). Pig fat was considered unclean by Muslims, and cow fat angered Hindus because cows are sacred to them. The British officers told the sepoys these were just rumors. They suggested that the sepoys make their own cartridges using a religiously acceptable grease, like ghee or vegetable oil. This suggestion, however, made the sepoys even more convinced that the original cartridges were indeed greased with pig and cow fat.
The Biting Issue
Another suggestion was to introduce a new way of loading where the cartridge was torn open by hand, not bitten. The sepoys refused this. They pointed out that they might forget and bite the cartridge anyway. This was understandable, as soldiers were trained to bite the cartridge as part of their fast loading drill. Nineteenth-century British and Indian soldiers could fire three to four rounds per minute, which required quick, practiced movements.
The military training books even suggested that if the grease on the bullet melted, soldiers should wet the sides of the bullet in their mouth before putting it into the barrel. This meant that biting a musket cartridge was second nature for sepoys, some of whom had served for decades. The first sepoy who rebelled by aiming his loaded weapon at a British officer was Mangal Pandey, who was later executed.
Prophecies and Rumors
There was a rumor about an old prophecy that the Company's rule would end after a hundred years. This idea was strong among Muslims, with preachers in Lucknow saying the British rule would soon be over. The Company's rule in India had started with the Battle of Plassey in 1757, exactly a hundred years before the rebellion.
Before the rebellion, there were reports that "holy men" were mysteriously passing around chapatis (flatbreads) and lotus flowers among the sepoys. Benjamin Disraeli, a British politician, said these were signs to rebel and proof of a secret plan. The newspapers also believed this.
After the rebellion, there was a rumor in Britain that Russia was responsible for stirring up trouble.
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