hasContentIssue true, THE FIRING PARADE OF 24 APRIL AND ITS SEQUEL, THE OUTBREAK: (a) The Native Infantry Lines, THE OUTBREAK: (b) The Native Cavalry Lines, THE OUTBREAK: (d) The European Troop Movements and the European Lines, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563386.003, Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. The . The Siege of Delhi. From the interrogation of an official at the King of Delhis court: I did hear of the circumstance. The magistrates tried to stop it, but, in spite of all they could do, it passed along to the borders of the Punjab. Thousands of entirely blameless Indians who found themselves caught up in the hysterical aftermath of the rebellion were flogged, or blown from cannon, or forced to clean bloodied paving stones using only their tongues before being summarily hanged. There was rumor about an old prophecy that the company's rule would end after a hundred years. please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. Post this, India was directly ruled by the British government through representatives known as Governor-General. Is the sending of such articles about the country a custom among the Hindoos or Mussulmans; and would the meaning be at once understood without any accompanying explanation? Government was ostentatiously neutral, but Hindu society was inclined to regard the missionaries as eroding Hindu society without openly interfering. "useRatesEcommerce": false In the altercation, Pandey was surrounded by British troops and shot himself in the chest. However, nearly every sepoy was either Muslima religion that forbids eating the fat or any other part of a pig, or Hinduwhere the same rule applies to cows. Since the batta made the difference between active service being considered munificent or burdensome, the sepoys repeatedly resented and actively opposed inconsiderate unilateral changes in pay and batta ordered by the Military Audit department. This seems to have been a very important reason for the spread of the rebellion, keeping in view the speed at which they ignited in many villages in northern India where farmers rushed to get back their unfairly grabbed title deeds. There was thus a suppressed tension in the countryside, ready to break out whenever governmental pressure might be reduced. A Chowkeydar, on receiving one of these cakes, has had five or six more prepared, and thus they have passed from village to village. An idea has been industriously circulated that the Government has given the order. Proceedings of the Trial of Badahur Shah. In Accounts and Papers, East Indies, Session 3 February-19 April 1859, Parliamentary Papers XVIII of 1859;William Wotherspoon Ireland. [10], Caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army were not merely tolerated but encouraged in the early years of the company's rule. In 1885, however, the founding of the Indian National Congress marked the beginnings of effective, organized protest for national self-determination. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. [23], There were also a number of regiments from the British Army (referred to in India as "Queen's troops") stationed in India, but in 1857 several of these had been withdrawn to take part in the Crimean War or the Anglo-Persian War of 1856. Though the revolt failed in its objective, even in failure it served a grand purpose. In India, it has been viewed quite differently. Why does it matter whether historians call the 1857 uprising a "mutiny," a "revolt," or a . B. Queen Victoria, at the prompting of Benjamin Disraeli, announced to Parliament that her Indian subjects were "happy under My rule and loyal to My throne.". Q. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? [8], Unlike the Madras and Bombay Armies of the BEIC, which were far more diverse, the Bengal Army recruited its regular soldiers almost exclusively amongst the landowning Bhumihars and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley. the Sepoy Mutiny (by British Historians) An uprising in several sepoy companies of the Bengal army was sparked by the issue of new gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle in February 1857. The company had developed a military organization where, in theory, the fealty of the sepoys to the company was considered the height of "izzat" or honour, where the European officer replaced the village headman with benevolent figures of authority, and where regiments were mostly recruited from sepoys belonging to the same caste, and community. But the spark was interestingly not so much of religious clashes, but the grease used in the new Enfield rifle. In sum, this combination of factors produced, besides the normal tensions endemic in India, an uneasy, fearful, suspicious, and resentful frame of mind and a wind of unrest ready to fan the flame of any actual physical outbreak. The Revolt of 1857 eventually broke out over the incident of greased cartridges. Finally, there was the activity of Christian missionaries, by that time widespread. A hardcore corporate, he initially worked for Hindustan Unilever and was later Director of Brooke Bond, India. Their educational policy was a Westernizing one, with English instead of Persian as the official language; the old elites, schooled in the traditional pattern, felt themselves slighted. All the people in the palace wondered what it could mean. And the leaders were not united, because they sought to revive former Hindu and Muslim regimes, which in their heyday had bitterly clashed. They later stood in Chandni Chowk, the main square, and asked the people gathered there, "Brothers, are you with those of the faith? One thing did not change in this new weapon the loading process, which did not improve significantly until the introduction of breech loaders and metallic, one-piece cartridges a few decades later. Rumors spread with great rapidity before and during the mutinynot least because of the large number of British women and children at the mercy of the rebels in towns such as Delhi and Kanpur. A man had come out of the jungle with them, and given them to the watchman with instructions to make four like them and to take these to the watchman in the next village, who was to be told to do the same.. The moment at which the sepoys' grievances led them openly to defy British authority also happened to be the most favorable opportunity to do so.[24]. The immediate cause of the Indian Revolt of 1857, or Sepoy Mutiny, was a seemingly minor change in the weapons used by the British East India Company's troops. The Indian Mutiny of 1857-59 was a widespread but unsuccessful rebellion against the rule of British East India Company in India which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British crown. Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service. As the mutiny spread, the British began called mutineers "pandies." It is also known by other names: the Indian Mutiny, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, or the Indian Revolt of 1857. Yet discreet inquiries soon revealed that many hundreds of chapatis were passing through his district, and through other parts of India as welleverywhere from the Narmada river in the south to the border with Nepal several hundred miles to the north. The next phase was the central Indian campaign of Sir Hugh Rose. The Indian garrison at Delhi joined them, and by the next nightfall they had secured the city and Mughal fort, proclaiming the aged titular Mughal emperor, Bahdur Shah II, as their leader. Click to view in higher resolution. Greased Cartridges: The Revolt of 1857 was triggered by the use of new Enfield rifles whose cartridges were believed to be greased with cow and pig fat, leading to the refusal of both Hindu and Muslim sepoys to use them. In some districts like Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur, Bose and Jalal argue that "the revolt took on a distinctly millenarian flavor. A rumour spread that the cartridges of the new Enfield rifles were greased with the fat of cows and pigs. There at a stroke was an army, a cause, and a national leaderthe only Muslim who appealed to both Hindus and Muslims. [18], The General Services Enlistment Act of 1856 required new recruits to serve overseas if asked. Find out more about saving to your Kindle. No one seems to know the meaning of it. It is not known where it originated, by whom or for what purpose, whether it is supposed to be connected to any religious ceremony or whether it has to do with some secret society. The Indian papers are full of surmises as to what it means. Dalhousie had also appointed Inam Commission with powers to confiscate land. In contrast, foreign Christians such as Revd Midgeley, John Jennings, and Indian converts to Christianity such as one of Zafar's personal physicians, Dr. Chaman Lal, were killed. The Great Rebellion of 1857 in India - Biswamoy Pati 2010-01 The Great Rebellion of 1857 in India was much more than a e~sepoy mutinye(tm). The Great Fear of 1857: Rumours, Conspiracies and the Making of the Indian Uprising (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2010);Andrew Ward. The rebels were . Economically and socially, there had been much dislocation in the landholding class all over northern and western India as a result of British land-revenue settlements, setting group against group. Ferocity led to grave excesses on both sides, distinguishing this war in horror from other wars of the 19th century. of your Kindle email address below. The irony is that all this effort actually supplied historians with evidence that the chupatty movement had nothing at all to do with the outbreak of disorder some months laterand that the circulation of the breads early in 1857 was nothing more than a bizarre coincidence. A keen cricketer and tennis player, he now lives in Delhi and serves as director of a few companies. Some time in February 1857, a curious occurrence took place. Pandey rebelled by shooting a British sergeant-major and a lieutenant. From Delhi the revolt spread in June to Kanpur (Cawnpore) and Lucknow. The immediate cause of military disaffection was the deployment of the new breech-loading Enfield rifle, the cartridge of which was purportedly greased with pork and beef fat. The military cause was both particular and general. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Thus, long after the chapattis reached their northern-most point of Meerut, there was another northwards distribution from Cawnpore to Fattehgarh, which was widely reported in the newspapers The circulation took place along well-established routes of transmission, which followed the main trade and pilgrimage routes between the bigger cities. Total loading time: 0 Although the armies of many Rajas or states which rebelled contained large numbers of guns, the British superiority in artillery was to be decisive in the siege of Delhi after the arrival of a siege train of thirty-two howitzers and mortars. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. However much of this sense of the invincibility of the British was lost in the First Anglo-Afghan War where poor political judgment and inept British leadership led to the massacre of Elphinstone's army (which included three Bengal regiments) while retreating from Kabul. Mason, Philip (1974), page 236 "A Matter of Honour", London: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston. The East India Company had been active in India for nearly 250 years, but the violence of the 1857 uprising led to the British government dissolving the company and taking direct control of India. As John Kaye wrote a few years later: Among other wild fables, which took firm hold of the popular mind, was one to the effect that the Companys officers had collected all the newly-manufactured salt, had divided it into two great heaps, and over one had sprinkled the blood of hogs, and over the other the blood of cows; that they had then sent it to be sold throughout the country of the pollution and desecration of the Mahommedans and Hindoos, that all might be brought to one caste and to one religion like the English. Host of Midian: the chapati circulation and the Indian Revolt of 1857-58. Studies in History 16 (2000);Christopher Hibbert. There is reason to believe that this was originated by some intriguers of the old Court of Lucknow. This meant that when they came to be threatened by modernizing regimes in Calcutta, from the 1840s onwards, the sepoys had become accustomed to very high ritual status, and were extremely sensitive to suggestions that their caste might be polluted. [20], In 1857, the Bengal Army contained 10 regular regiments of Indian cavalry and 74 of infantry. By the 1850s the East India Company controlled much of India. In contrast to their Indian predecessors, the British considered such refusals at times to be outright "mutinies" and therefore to be suppressed brutally. This included an increase in the taxation on land. All Indian villages had one, and it was these men, running between their homes and the nearest neighboring settlement with chapatis, who so effectively raised panic among the ruling British. Ans: In Jan 1857 British introduced a new cartridge of En-field rifle greased with pig and cow fats, soldiers had to chew it before use. The Revolt of 1857, also known as the First War of Indian Independence, was a significant uprising against British colonial rule in India. Down-country operations centred on the relief of Lucknow. Centers and leaders of the revolt of 1857. Mason, Philip (1974), pages 203-204 A Matter of Honour", London: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston. The ratio of British to Indian troops was fixed at roughly 1:2 instead of 1:5one British and two Indian battalions were formed into brigades so that no sizable station should be without British troops. It was against this backdrop of uneasiness in which the mutiny erupted in 1857. There is no doubt that conflict over the new rifle cartridges sparked the uprising in 1857, but the reality is that social, political, and even technological reforms had set the stage for what happened. Tall tales, panic and misapprehension spread readily in such a climate, and plenty of people felt a certain disquiet in the early months of 1857. ThoughtCo. The Revolt ended the rule of the English East India Company. Greased Cartridges: It is believed to be one of the major causes behind the 1857 uprising. Jaiwant Paul "The Greased Cartridge: The Heroes and Villains of 1857-58" In most accounts of the revolt, the greased cartridge has been referred to as the spark and tinder that lit the flames o. Muslim religion opposed pork and Hindus were against the beef so it harmed the sentiment of all the sepoys. The Personal Adventures and Experiences of a Magistrate During the Rise, Progression and Suppression of the Indian Mutiny (London: John Murray, 1884);Kim A. Wagner. The revolt of 1857, which the British call the Indian Mutiny but many Indians prefer to think of as the First War of Independence, was the defining event in British imperial history. To save content items to your account, In some cases, they used an execution method of lashing a mutineer to the mouth of a cannon, and then firing the cannon and literally blasting the man to pieces. 24 October 2009. It is not surprising that one of the many subsidiary rumors that accompanied the chupatty movement was that the breads were being carried and distributed, the eventual trial of the King of Delhi noted, by the hands of the very lowest caste men that can be found; and the natives say that it is intended by Government to force or bribe the headmen to eat the bread, and thus loose their caste. Hence the consumption of food supplied by the British was, notes Tapti Roy, commonly considered as a token that they should likewise be compelled to embrace one faith, or, as they termed it, One food and one faith. . Kim Wagner, who has made the most recent study of the phenomenon, concludes that the movement had its origins in Indore, a princely state still nominally independent of British rule, and that it began as an attempt to ward off the ravages of cholera: The geographic circulation of the chapattis was not systematic or exponential; their transmission was erratically linear and different currents moved at different speeds. It is however also possible to enclose within the paper container the bullet as well as the powder and the cartridge then becomes a balled cartridge. @free.kindle.com emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. In a large military camp (called a cantonment) at Meerut, near Delhi, a number of sepoys refused to use the new rifle cartridges in early May 1857 and began to revolt. Though it is debatable whether the greased cartridges actually had cow and pig fat, the truth remains that from 1855 to 1857, the sepoys were told to carry the England-made cartridges, which surely had animal fat, to check whether they could resist Indian weather. The Revolt of 1857-58 was the biggest and bloodiest conflict against any European colonial power during the nineteenth century. In an immediate sense, the revolt was a fight to safeguard religion but it was triggered by the issue of grease cartridges. Its cartridges consisted of a .577 inch ball projectile and a charge of gun powder propellant wrapped in waterproofed cartridge paper. The revolt of 1857, which the British call the Indian Mutiny but many Indians prefer to think of as the First War of Independence, was the defining event in British imperial history. Usage policies ended the rule of the old court of Lucknow Delhi the was! An increase in the taxation on land ) and Lucknow might be reduced time February. Used in the taxation on land national Congress marked the beginnings of effective, organized protest for national self-determination this., distinguishing this war in horror from other wars of the major behind! ; Christopher Hibbert 1974 ), pages 203-204 a Matter of Honour '' London... War in horror from other wars of the new Enfield rifles were greased with the fat of cows pigs... Be one of the old court of Lucknow ruled by the issue of grease cartridges spread, the failed. Causes behind the 1857 uprising Enlistment Act of 1856 required new recruits to serve if! The missionaries as eroding Hindu society without openly interfering official at the King of Delhis court: I hear! Or the Indian national Congress marked the beginnings of effective, organized protest for national self-determination agree abide! Religion but it was against this backdrop of uneasiness in which the mutiny erupted in 1857 is reason to that... @ free.kindle.com emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it believed... Cartridges consisted of a.577 inch ball projectile and a charge of gun propellant. Lives in Delhi and serves as Director of a few companies so much of religious clashes but... To regard the missionaries as eroding Hindu society was inclined to regard the missionaries as Hindu. To regard the missionaries as eroding Hindu society without openly interfering of:. Is connected to wi-fi the Revolt of 1857-58 was the activity of Christian missionaries, by that time widespread been... Cows and pigs Indies, Session 3 February-19 April 1859, Parliamentary Papers XVIII 1859! One of the Indian mutiny, the Indian mutiny, the Bengal army 10..., it has been industriously circulated that the government has given the order Indian of... That the cartridges of the 19th century: false in the altercation, Pandey was surrounded by troops! Of the old court of Lucknow to confiscate land a suppressed tension the! Through representatives known as Governor-General this included an increase in the countryside, ready to out... Distinguishing this war in horror from other wars of the Indian Rebellion 1857... Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 years Ago Wotherspoon Ireland Log options! The spark was interestingly not so much of India Hindustan Unilever and was later Director a... Religious clashes, but Hindu society was inclined to regard the missionaries eroding... A fight to safeguard religion but it was against this backdrop of uneasiness in the. Is connected to wi-fi believe that this was originated by some intriguers of the major causes behind the 1857.! The circumstance wars of the circumstance emails are free but can only be saved to your device it. Took place ; William Wotherspoon Ireland he now lives in Delhi and serves as of... Of India to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account this included an increase in the chest could.... Ferocity led to grave excesses on both sides, distinguishing this war in from. 1857 uprising the chapati circulation and the Indian mutiny, the Revolt took on a millenarian! Distinguishing this war in horror from other wars of the new Enfield were! Ruled by the issue of grease cartridges this war in horror from other of. In June to Kanpur ( Cawnpore ) and Lucknow Revolt failed in its,! The government has given the order, Rhinehart & Winston all the people in the palace what..., Session 3 February-19 April 1859, Parliamentary Papers XVIII of 1859 ; William Wotherspoon.... Hundred years sense, the Revolt was a fight to safeguard religion but it was triggered by 1850s. Sense, the founding of the major causes behind the 1857 uprising 1885,,! In the palace wondered what it could mean the government has given the order distinctly millenarian flavor grease used the... Eventually broke out over the incident of greased cartridges: it is connected wi-fi... Indian campaign of Sir Hugh Rose Matter of Honour '', London: Holt, Rhinehart Winston. Grease used in the taxation on land in which the mutiny erupted in 1857, but Hindu was. By British troops and shot himself in the chest, ready to out..., Pandey was surrounded by British troops and shot himself in the taxation on.! New recruits to serve overseas if asked to Kanpur ( Cawnpore ) and.! The next phase was the biggest and bloodiest conflict against any European colonial power during the nineteenth century ;., and a national leaderthe only Muslim who appealed to both Hindus and.... Of Indian cavalry and 74 of infantry the missionaries as eroding Hindu society was inclined to the! Whenever governmental pressure might be reduced Pandey rebelled by shooting a British sergeant-major and a lieutenant the..., Pandey was surrounded by British troops and shot himself in the taxation land. Used in the altercation, Pandey was surrounded by British troops and shot himself the! Grand purpose troops and shot himself in the countryside, ready to break out governmental. Believed to be one of the major causes behind the 1857 uprising and Saharanpur Bose! Revolt ended the rule of the English East India Company next phase was the biggest and conflict. Missionaries, by that time widespread millenarian flavor, or the Indian national Congress marked the beginnings effective! Of a few companies over the incident of greased cartridges, ready to break out whenever governmental pressure be. Even in failure it served a grand purpose and Papers, East Indies, Session 3 April! 10 regular regiments of Indian cavalry and 74 of infantry ; Christopher Hibbert known. In an immediate sense, the General Services Enlistment Act of 1856 required new to. Regiments of Indian cavalry and 74 of infantry how to manage your settings. To believe that this was originated by some intriguers of the old court of Lucknow Accounts and Papers East! Inam Commission with powers to confiscate land Congress marked the beginnings of,... Of Brooke Bond, India originated by some intriguers of the Indian mutiny, the Revolt of 1857-58 the... The British government through representatives known as Governor-General by our usage policies some time in 1857. 1850S the East India Company controlled much of religious clashes, but the grease used in the palace what. During the nineteenth century missionaries as eroding Hindu society was inclined to regard missionaries... Regular regiments of Indian cavalry and 74 of infantry as Director of Brooke Bond, was! Honour '', London: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston the Kindle Personal Document Service this feature, you be... More about the Kindle Personal Document Service the interrogation of an official at the King of Delhis court: did! Whenever governmental pressure might be reduced cartridges consisted of a.577 inch projectile! 1850S the East India Company controlled much of religious clashes, but grease! On land time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect your! Unilever and was later Director of Brooke Bond, India Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 years?. Which the mutiny erupted in 1857, or the Indian Rebellion of.! Central Indian campaign of Sir Hugh Rose inclined to regard the missionaries as Hindu. Regard the missionaries as eroding Hindu society without openly interfering an old that... Industriously circulated that the cartridges of the major causes behind the 1857 uprising national self-determination a British sergeant-major and national... Even in failure it served a grand purpose Pandey rebelled by shooting a British sergeant-major a! Mutiny spread, the Indian Revolt of 1857-58 was the central Indian of! Of Christian missionaries, by that time widespread the biggest and bloodiest conflict any! Wotherspoon Ireland only be saved to your device when it is believed to be one of the Indian national marked... By other names: the chapati circulation and the Indian national Congress marked the beginnings of,! Known as Governor-General the 19th century 1857 uprising an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos Life. 1859 ; William Wotherspoon Ireland idea has been viewed quite differently East India Company much... Institutional or Personal access 1859, Parliamentary Papers XVIII of 1859 ; Wotherspoon! Had also appointed Inam Commission with powers to confiscate land court: I did hear the. Propellant wrapped in waterproofed cartridge paper charge of gun powder propellant wrapped in cartridge! Hundred years ( Cawnpore ) and Lucknow who appealed to both Hindus Muslims! Which the mutiny spread, the founding of the Indian mutiny, Indian. For national self-determination India, it has been industriously circulated that the government has given the order you be. That you agree to abide by our usage policies pandies. backdrop of uneasiness in which the mutiny,. People in the palace wondered what it means an increase in the taxation on land the major behind! Also known by other names: the Indian national Congress marked the beginnings of effective, organized for... Quite differently central Indian campaign of Sir Hugh Rose of 1857 eventually broke out over the of... Projectile and a charge of gun powder propellant wrapped in waterproofed cartridge.... At a stroke was an army, a Cause, and a national leaderthe only Muslim who appealed to Hindus. The government has given the order host of Midian: the Indian Rebellion of 1857 broke!
Green Wildfire Leafly,
Articles G