WHAT WERE THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES Of THE WAR Of

INDEPENDENCE 1857-58?

Contents
u • The immediate and underlying causes of the War Key Questions addressed in this chapter
ing
• The attitude of Bahadur Shah Zafar
er
• The course of thp War, ~ What were the long-term causes of the war?
• Reasonsfor ieilur« ~ What were the immediate causes of the war?
• The short-term impact of the War on Muslims
in the sub-continent
~ Why was independence not achieved?
• The British reaction: major constitutional, What were the immediate consequences of the war?
educational and administrative reforms
ise,

ts

Timeline
1857 British announce greased cartridges September British regain Delhi and Lucknow
January will be used

cc :\1arch
Sepoys executed for refusing to use
1858
Lakshmibai killed
cartridges June

May Uprising in Meerut. Revolt spreads August War officially declared over

The Causes of the War

tell Introduction
In 1857, the British faced a serious challenge to their control of India. In that
year, there were a series of uprisings which are known by British historians as
The Indian Mutiny' and by Indian historians as 'The War of Independence'. These
A. To what extent were differing names for the same event show how history can be a matter of
economic reforms the interpretation.
main cause of the War
of Independence in For the British, the events of 1857 were a revolt against their authority which
1857? had to be crushed in order to maintain control. To the Indians, it was a war to
Explain your answer. throw off the shackles of foreign domination.
[14]
The reasons for the outbreak of the war in 1857 can be divided into four areas,
though different sections of the population were motivated by different factors.
7J What they all had in common, however, was resentment of British rule. So to
fully understand this topic, you will need to make sure you understand how the'
British imposed their rule on the subcontinent (see pages 19-26).
1. Political
As the British extended their control, the local leaders saw their authority decline.
Lord Dalhousie's use of the 'Doctrine of Lapse' was particularly unpopular.

27
 The seizure of Oudh in 1856, convinced many Indian leaders that the British
were simply greedy land grabbers.
The mistreatment of the Mughal Emperor was another cause of unrest. By 1857
obscure the Emperor had little power left, but was an important symbolic figure.
less well known Dalhousie's decision to move the royal family from the Red Fort of Delhi to the
more 0 score Qutub Sahib was seen as a sign of disrespect.
At a lower level in society, there was also resentment at the lack of opportunities
for native Indians in the civil service. Added to this, English had replaced Persian
as the official language of the administration and as the language in which
education would be given.

2. Religious and Social

As British political control grew, so did the spread of British culture. We have
already seen how the British considered it their duty to spread their 'superior
Fig. 3.1: R
culture. In 1835, one English administrator talked of how 'a single shelf of a gooo
European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia'

Many of the British were more thoughtful than this, but in general the Britisl
treated the Indians as an inferior race. Indians and British did not generally mil
as social equals and the British societies regarded themselves as small case
of culture in a largely uncivilised world. This arrogant attitude, coupled with thf
introduction of a new way of life with its railways, roads and telegraph, wa!
unacceptable to many Indians.
Many Indians feared that Islam, Hinduism and Sikh ism were under threat fron
British rule. The British always denied this, but they were not believed. It W8!
probably not the case, but it was true that Christian missionaries came to Indir
to convert the local population as well as set up schools. In these schools, Ih! : .
missionaries taught Christianity and expected locals who worked for them to giw
up their religion and follow the Christian teachings.
. .
3. Economic
We have already seen how the British merchants made substantial profits fron
their trading in goods such as textiles. The British also followed a practice c Fig. 3.2: Th
imposing high taxation to ensure that they exploited India's wealth to the ful against the
Peasants and small landowners, in particular found it difficult to pay the increasi
taxes and resentment grew. It was also true that some tax collectors were corru
and kept some of the tax money for themselves. At the same time as they wer
imposing high taxes on India, the British were also keeping the salary of sepor
(infantry) low, causing more resentment.

4. Military
As you will read on page 29, the revolt started over the issue of 'grease
cartridges'. However, there were more deep-seated reasons for disconler
amongst members of the armed forces. Most of the soldiers in the East Ind
~lj@~ _ 0
Company's army were Indian. The sepoys and sowars (cavalry) were almo
Explain how each of the
exclusively Indian, but the officer class was almost exclusively Brilis , 1. Whyw
following factors helped to

j
bring about opposition to 'grease
This caused great resentment. There were also regular rumours that Musli~
British rule by 1857. import
Hindu and Sikh soldiers would be forced to convert to Christianity and that Ih!
A. Political might be sent to fight abroad, which was unacceptable to the Hindus. The u!
' B. Religious and Social 2. What
C. Economic
of Indian troops in Afghanistan had also proved unpopular as Hindu soldiers 0 events
D. Military not want to leave 'Mother India'. It was no wonder that one Indian observer
1857 said, 'a/l the native army is dissatisfied with the government'.

28
Iritish
The Events 1. What was `the Greased Cartridge Issue'? [4]

• In January 1857 the British announced that they were introducing

~y 1857
a new rifle with a paper cartridge covered in grease to keep the
figure.
powder dry. Before the cartridge could be loaded, the end had to
li to the
be bitten off. However, it was rumoured that the grease on the
cartridge was made from the fat of both cows and pigs. The
rtunities se pays were so angered by this that they refused to use the new
Persian cartridges. 2. What was the Meerut incident? [4]
1 which • In March a sepoy named Mangal Pandey defied his British officers
and was executed. But the real trouble began two months later.
• In May sepoys in Meerut refused to touch the new cartridges. They
were court-martialled and put in prison, but their fellow-soldiers
/e have broke into the prison and freed them. Meerut was sacked and
uperior' British officers and other Europeans were put to death. Then the
Fig.3.1: Reasons for the War of Independence soldiers marched to Delhi and captured it. The Mughal Emperor,
'a good
Arabia'. Bahadur Shah II became the unifying symbol for the uprising,
winning the support of both Muslim and Hindu.
! British
'ally mix
II oases
with the
,l ••..•..•....••

.
':....•..••

.......... Delhi •• Buli,"d

I
.
Ieerut .
.
ti
• The war spread quickly and the British lost control of Mathura,
Kanpur, Jhansi and Allahabad as well as Delhi. Lucknow was also
taken and British rule ceased to exist throughout what is now
....... 11 IIrh. • BllfCil called Uttar Pradesh. 3. What was the Kanpur incident? [4]
oh, was

..
It. • • Fill hllilrll
• In Cawnpore, Indian troops led by Nana Sahib rose up against
(. Inpuri 1.ol!dallJ\\ ....•. the British and kept their forces trapped for over three weeks. After
' ..'. ". being promised safe passage out of the city, the British
sat from G~\,~jiar
• • K,IOpUf \
surrendered. However as they left the city, Nana Sahib's forces'

;
I. It was ...... .......•. Kalpl \
......... Jh~l I • Allilhllblld\ turned on them and the British force, plus 300 women and children
to India
iols, the
1 to give
,./...... ........:~. \ \
•
were massacred. When the British recaptured the city they carried
out even worse atrocities in revenge.
However, the British proved to be too powerful to be defeated by
.................. an uncoordinated uprising across many areas. In September 1857
Delhi was regained. Bahadur Shah II surrendered peacefully, but
his sons Mirza Mughal, Mirza Sultan and Mirza Abu Bakar were
fits from
brutally murdered. Their heads were then presented to the
sctice of Fig.3.2: The main centres of uprising
Emperor as a lesson. Lucknow was also regained by the British
the full. against the British in 1857
in September 1857. 4. Who was Lakshamibai? [4]
creasing
~corrupt • After the fall of Lucknow, the main centre of opposition was Jhansi. Here the
ley were sepoys were led by Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi. She was assisted by
f sepoys Tatya Topee, an Indian general of great ability. But in June 1858 the British
killed Lakshmibai (dressed as a man) in battle. Although Tatya Topee escaped,
Now do Skills Book he was later captured and executed.
pages 9-10
Following the defeat of Lakshmibai, the British eliminated pockets of opposition
greased and the war was officially declared at an end in August 1858.
scontent
3St India Why did the war fail?
~ almost t\'ffi) 'ij@ ~
The attempt to overthrow the British and expel them from India was unsuccessful.
British. , 1. Why was the issue of
'greased cartridges' so The British were to impose severe measures on the Indians for their 'disloyalty'.
Muslim, Why did the war fail?
important in 1857?
that they B. Was an absence of leadership the main reason why the War of
1. Lack of Unity Independence in 1857 failed? Explain your answer. [10]
The use 2. What were the main
diers did events of the war? Although resentment of the British was a single cause to fight for, the Indians
server in
were not co-ordinated or united in what they hoped to achieve. There was no
general plan and no attempt to work together. In different places different groups
fought for different reasons. Although the Mughal Emperor was something of a

29
 figurehead, most Indian princes didn't really want to see imperial power restored
Nor was there any real sense of national patriotism. India was too divided fo
such a feeling. For example:
• The Punjab and Sindh had been conquered by troops from Bengal ani
Central India under the command of British officers. So when those troop
rebelled against the British, it is not surprising that the Punjab was no
interested in supporting them.
• Some of the Indian princes were interested only in restoring their own feuda
powers. Sometimes their powers actually depended on the support of the Britist
5. Who was Gulab Singh? [4] This explains why the ruler of Kashmir sent 2000 troops to help the British wir
the war. His position was closely tied to the continuation of British rule
Perhaps the only real uniting force in the war was Islam. The Mughal Empirr
had been created by Muslims and they were keen to see Bahadur Shah regair
his powers. The fact that Muslims were in the minority in the country and tha
it was mainly Muslim rulers and kings that were being replaced by the Britisl
may also explain why they were more prepared than any other group to oppos
the British. However, any degree of unity amongst the Muslims alarmed thr
,-,edominantlY
,... ~ostly Hindus and Sikhs who were not prepared to fight to restore power to the Muslin
Mughal Empire. These reasons may well explain why the British came to se
the War of Independence as predominantly a 'Muslim Revolt'.
6. What was 'the Muslim Revolt of 1857? [4]
2. British Strengths
Q. L
Perhaps the major reason for the failure of the Indians was that the British wen Why
too strong. Britain was one of the most powerful nations in the world at this tim
and its troops were experienced in warfare and highly trained in modern method
of fighting. They also had a good reputation for discipline on the battlefief
The only hope the Indians had to defeat the British was that there should be,
general uprising across most of India and for the Indian troops to act together. A
it was, the British kept control in more than three quarters of their possession
They were skilled diplomats and they knew that most of the Indian rulers wen
fighting to restore their own rights, not to establish a united India. So they faun
it easy to play the various groups off against each other. Although there were:
number of serious uprisings against the British, but being uncoordinated it was ani
a matter of time before the highly efficient British military machine restored orde

The Effects of the War

The Proclamation of 1858 The failure of the war confirmed the British as master
of India. It had been intended to loosen the yoke (
The British said they would: British control, but instead it tightened it. The Britis
1. Not interfere in the religious beliefs of the people. issued a proclamation at Allahabad in 1858 bringin
the war to an end.
2. Pay due regard to ancient property rights and customs.
In the proclamation the British recognised some I
3. Abide by all treaty obligations. the grievances of the Indian people but, in practio
4. Agree to no further territorial acquisition. they paid little attention to their promises. The Britis
reaction to the war was to carry out brutal reprisal
5. Guarantee the right to appointments in public service.
against the Indians, as was seen at Cawnpore.

The War of Independence: Looking at the Evidence

Historians work with sources, but sometimes those sources do not tell the whol
story. In the case of the War of Independence, the British wanted people in Britai
to believe that they had acted correctly and that the way they defeated th
Indians was just. So some of the things they said or published were heavil
slanted against the Indians.

30
red.
j for

and Peafowl and patridges and mutineers rose

lOPS together. It was the mutineers that gavethe best
not sport.
A British officer describes the hunt for Indian
udal fighters in fields of wheat.
itish.
win Q. What does this source tell you about the
rule. attitude of some British officers?'

ipire
!gain
that
'itish
pose
I the
rslirn
Isee
Thepicture shows British officers blowing sepoys apart with
large guns ThiS drawing came from a book published in 1868.
Q. Lookat Source A
were Whydo you think the British are acting so cruelly in this picture?
time
hods
field.
be a
sr, As Whilstit is true that large numbers of Europeanwomen and
ions. A cartoon about the Cawnpore Massacre printed
childrenwere murdered with great brutality, some of the
in a British magazine in September 1857. The
were storieshavebeen exaggerated.The Britishforcesfelt that every
woman in the cartoon represents British justice.
ound malecapableof carrying weapons was guilty of such crimes.
ere a A modern British historian writing about the war. This cartoon is asan example of Britishpropaganda
; only and not drawn to tell the truth.
)rder. Q. ReadSource C
a. What do you think the messageis and how
Whydo you think the British might have exaggeratedstories
does the cartoon try to put it across?
of Indianbrutality in 1857?
b. In what ways is that messagewrong?
ssters
,ke of
Iritish
'1ging
c). To what extent were British Rule
the outcomes of the
After the War of Independence the East India Company was abolished. Now the
ne of War of Independence
British government would take full responsibility for all matters in India. A member
ctice, beneficial for India?
Explain your answer. of the British Cabinet, the Secretary of State for India, was given responsibility
sritlsh
risals [14] for the government of the country.
4

However, the direct responsibility was in the hands of the Governor-General,

now called the Viceroy. He had over one thousand members of the Indian Civil
7. Who was a 'Viceroy? [4]
Service (ICS) to help him administer the country. These ranged from highly paid
judges to lowly paid junior administrators. Despite the proclamation of 1858, by
Nhole 1870 only one Indian had become an officer in the ICS. As for the Indian princes,
8. What was the ICS? [4]
sritain those who had shown themselves to be loyal were allowed to remain on their
d the thrones. Yet they had little or no real power and were obliged to follow the olicy
savily laid down by the British government.

31
 After the war Bahadur Shah was put on trial and sentenced to life
imprisonment. He was sent to live out his years in Burma. In January 1877
the British Queen, Victoria, was appointed Empress of India. The Indian royal
family had formally been replaced.

The Muslims
The British considered that the Muslim community was largely to blame for the
war and it was to be many years before they once more began to trust Muslims.
In the army the British began to recruit men mostly from groups such as Sikhs,
Pathans and Gurkhas, who they thought were 'trustworthy'.

The Muslims objected to British education and to the use of English, both of
which they considered to be un-Islamic. But the British withdrew funding from
Muslim schools and Muslim education fell into decline.
tln)~~
It may well have been part of the British plan to keep the Muslims illiterate and
, 1. What wa the effect of
the war on the Muslim thus prevent them from gaining public office. As a well-known British historian
community in India? of India wrote at the time:
2. Do you think that the
There is scarcely a Government office in Calcutta in which a Muslim can hope
treatment of the
Muslims by the British
for any post above the rank of porter, messenger, filler of inkpots or mender
after 1857 was justified? of posts.

In contrast the Hindus soon found favour with the British by adapting themselves
to the new rule. They readily accepted British education and many of them quickl,
learned to speak English. Although only minor posts were offered to Indians
almost all of these went to Hindus educated in 'English type' of schools

Thus the Muslim community suffered as a result of the War of Independence

The Birth of ationalist Ideas

After the War of Independence the British took strong measures to ensure thal
their control of India was unchallenged. The East India Company was abolished
and control of India now passed to Her Majesty's Government. In other words.
to the British government in London. In 1877 Queen Victoria was proclaimeo
Empress of India in a magnificent ceremony in Delhi.

• British rule proved unpopular with many Indians. They were largely excluded
from governing India. A member of the British Cabinet, the Secretary of State
for India, was in charge of deciding the policy for India, working with a fifteen
man council. In India itself, the policy was administered by the Governor
General (sometimes called 'the Viceroy'), based in Calcutta. He was advised
by an Executive Council and the everyday business of the 'British Raj' was
9. Who was Queen Victoria? [4]
carried out by the Indian Civil Service. In 1858 Queen Victoria had asked tha'
'our subjects of whatever race or creed be freely and impartially admitted te
offices in our service'. However, by 1870 there was only one Indian officer
in the Indian Civil Service. So the Indian people had little say in how thei
country was run.
1. What system did the
• In other areas also the British made sure that India was run in a way to bene«
Britishset up for governing
India after the War of themselves, instead of putting the needs of the local population firsl
Independence? • After 1857, there were fewer opportunities for Indian soldiers in the Britisl
army, as the ratio of British to Indian soldiers was increased from 1:5 to 1:2
2. Why do you think so many
Recruitment from less 'trust worthy' areas, such as Oudh, was stopped
Indians disapproved of
British rule in India in the • Viceroy Lord Lytton ended import duties on British cotton goods entering India
late nineteenth century? These duties had made British goods expensive and so the local cotton ha
sold easily. With the duties ended, British cotton was cheaper and loca
manufacturers found it harder to sell their goods.

32
o life In 1907, Bhikhaiji Rustom Cama, a Parsi from Bombay, attended the International
1877 Socialist Conference in Germany. There she made a fiery speech attacking how
I royal India had suffered from the 'terrible tyrannies of British rule'.

Bhikaiji Rustom Cama said:

"Thirty-five million pounds have been taken annually from India to England without
'or the return. As a consequence people in India have died at a rate of half a million every
islirns. month. "
Sikhs, 1. What do you think Bhikhaiji Rustom Cama was trying to say?
2. Do you think the figures 35 million and half a million will be very accurate figure?
loth of Does it matter?
~ from
The lack of opportunities for Indians led to wide-spread criticism of the British
te and in newspapers articles written in regional languages. The British response was
storian to pass the Vernacular Act of 1878, which placed strict controls on these
newspapers. In the same year, the British passed an Arms Act which made it
impossible for most Indians to own weapons, to ensure that if there were another
1 hope
Indian uprising, it would be less effective.
iender
In this environment it is not surprising that nationalist ideas began to grow in India.

iselves • In 1866 Rajinarayan Base founded a society for the promotion of national
quickly feeling.
idians, • In 1867 the yearly Hindu Mela was started in Bengal.
:hools. • Political groups also ·began to spring up, such as Sarvajanik Sabha founded
in 1870. The most significant of all these was the Indian National Congress
dence. founded in 1885.

Ire that
olished
words,
Look carefully at the picture
:Iaimed
of the Viceroy.
1. What impression do
(eluded you get of the Viceroy
)f State from this source?
fifteen- 2. Do you think this
vernor-
drawing was done by
advised
someone who
.a]' was
supported the British
ced that
rule or opposed it?
iitted to
Explain your answer.
I officer
)w their Give reasons for your
answer.
) benefit
in first.
~British
) to 1:2 .:
topped.
Fig. 3.3: The Viceroy of India receiving a visitor. Notice how he has all the trappings of a
19 India.
royalty.Behind him is a picture of the Empress of India, Queen Victoria
ton had
ld local

33
Section B Exam-style Questions -----------------------~

A. What was the Doctrine of Lapse? [4J

B. Why did the British take tough measures against the Muslim community after the War of
Independence? [7J

C. Do you agree that the British defeated the Indians in the war because the Indians were
not united? Give reasons for your answer. [14J Co
•
•
•
•
•
•
SIR sveo AHMAD KHAN AND 'THE CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REVOL T' •
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan wrote, 'The Causes of the Indian Revolt' in 1858. He had •
witnessed events very closely and had lost both a cousin and an uncle in the fighting.
In the summer of 1857, he had rescued the British population of Bijnaur district
and had almost lost his life in doing so. He also witnessed the revenge carried out
by the British when they recaptured Delhi in September 1857. He witnessed large
numbers of Muslims driven from the city and the confiscation of numerous estates
belonging to Muslims. He is quoted as saying:
'For some time I wrestled with my grief and, believe me, it made an old man of
me. My hair turned white'.
He was particularly disturbed by the way that the British came to view the war as
a Muslim conspiracy and that they should be punished for it. Syed Ahmad complained
that Hindus were gaining revenge on Muslims by incriminating them in the eyes of
the British. No proof was needed to establish guilt. Being Muslim was enough.
'It is from the voice of the people only that Government can learn whether its
projects are likely to be well received. The voice of the people alone can check
errors in the bud, and warn us of dangers before they burst upon and destroy us'
Indian representation would have another advantage too. It would prevent
misunderstandings of the government's intentions and help counter the widely held Fig. 4.
belief that the government wanted to convert Indians to Christianity - or, at the
very least, to threaten established customs and practices in India.

It was from these misunderstandings that Syed Ahmad thought all causes of the war
could be traced. He didn't believe that the war was a Muslim conspiracy and he didn't
see it as part of the development of Indian nationalism and a desire to restore the
power of the Mughal Emperors.

34