1857 Revolt with Special Reference to Bihar: Causes, Outcome, Contributions & Kunwar Singh’s Role

img

1857: special reference to Bihar

-     Causes

-     Outcome (Result / Consequences / significance) special reference to Bihar

-     Contribution of Bihar (progress)

-     Role of Kunwar Singh

-     Remarks, BCP (neither-nor)

 

Background

-     1790, Poligars of Malabar

-     1794, Raja of Vijayanagram revolted

-     1824-25, Kolis revolt in Gujarat

-     1824, Kolhapur uprising

-     1826-32, Saurashtra revolts

1841, Satara uprising

 

Initiation

 

-     29 Mar 1857: Mangal Panday (34th Native Infantry, Barrackpore - Bengal) killed British Officers Hughson and Baugh

-     10 May 1957: Sepoy mutiny at Meerut

 

 

Causes

 

Military causes

-     Overseas deployment against belief of Hindus (not crossing the seas)

-     Salary and allowance difference at equal ranks

-     Indians couldn’t rise above Subedar

Political causes

-     Doctrine of Lapse by Lord Dalhousie: Satara, Jhansi …

-     Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on charge of maladministration

-     Subsidiary Alliance by Lord Wellesley

Economic causes

-     High rate of taxation (Zamindari, Ryotwari, Mahalwari)

-     Discriminatory tariff policy against Indian products

-     Destruction of traditional handicrafts resulted in deindustrialization and unemployment

Socio religious causes

-     Anti-Sati Resolution, 1829

-     Widow Re-marriage Act, 1856

-     Racial discrimination by British

-     Forceful conversion into Christianity

Immediate causes

-     Uses of cartridges from cow and pig fat in New Enfield Rifle

Other causes

-     Muslim elite:

Persian replaced by English as official language

 

Outcome

 

-     Hindu Muslim unity

-     Patriotic sentiment

-     Govt. of India Act, 1958

·         Queen’s proclamation: Crown took complete charge of EIC

·         Queen’s secretary of state appointed

·         Viceroy appointed

·         No state would be annexed

·         No more intervention in religious matters

·         No forceful religious conversion

-     British adopted divide and rule policy

-     Increase in ratio of Europeans in army with all higher posts

-     Army recruitment from Oudh, Bihar reduced significantly.

 

 

 

FAILURE

 

-     British forces better equipped with technology and equipment

-     Revolt didn’t spread to entire country like, Punjab, South India, Bengal were marginally affected

-     No vision for the post mutiny / no forward-looking programme

-     Lack of complete nationalism

-     Lack of coordination between sepoys, peasants, zamindar and other classes

-     Local and isolated

-     Lack of modern feeling and backward looking

-     British helpers’ princely states and big Zamindars

  •   Scindia of Gwalior
  •   Holkar of Indore
  •   Nizam of Hyderabad
  •   Raja of Jodhpur
  •    Nawab of Bhopal
  •   Rulers of Patiala Nabha
  •    Maharaja of Kashmir

 Large numbers of big zamindars

-     British captured Delhi on 20 Sept 1857 by

-     With fall of Delhi focal point if the revolt disappeared

By the end of 1859 British authority over India was fully re-established