Policies and the People Political Causes
Social Causes
Religious Causes
Economic Causes
Administrative Causes
Military Causes
Policies and the People All were affected by British Policies
Nawabs lost their powers
Diplomatic Policy of Lord Dalhousie
Mr. Ekjyot - Give name of the policy introduced by that gentleman and what was it about???
Rani Laxmibai No male heir for the kingdom - Jhansi
She wanted Company to recognize her adopted son as the heir of the kingdom
Awadh was the last territory to be annexed
Begum Hazrat Mahal continued fight with Company
Miss. Keya can you tell under which policy and who was the governor general at that time???
Bahadur Shah Zafar
The name of the Mughal King was removed from the coins in 1849
Dalhousie announced that BS Zafar would be the last Mughal king
The peasants and the Sepoys
High taxes on peasants and Zamindars
Many failed to pay loans and lost their lands
Sepoys were unhappy with their salary
Were forced to go through sea routes to Burma
According to a new agreement in 1856 they have to go overseas
Sepoys
87% of British army consisted of Indian Sepoys
All castes were considered equal
Greased Cartridge of Enfield Rifles
Brahmin, Born in UP in 1827
Joined British army at the age of 18.
He refused to use cartridge and attacked his senior in Barackpore
He attacked over Lieutenant Baugh to kill him.
This news spread to Meerut
Social and Religious Causes
They believed that Indian society had to be reformed
Laws were passed to stop the practice of Sati
English education was promoted
Christian missionaries
They realized the need of unity among rulers and common people
They organized, communicated, took initiatives to display their confidence
This situation developed in North India
A massive rebellion started in May, 1857.
A large number of people took part from different sections of society
Some regarded it as the biggest armed resistance to colonialism in the 19th century anywhere in the world.
Broke the Jail
85 sepoys in Meerut refused to do the army drill using the new cartridge
They were arrested and dismissed from services
Sentenced just 10 years in jail for disobeying orders
Later they killed company officers and broke jail in May 10. 1857
They captured guns and ammunition and set fire to the buildings and properties of the British
They were determined to end up company rule…
They choose B S Zafar is their leader
Marched towards Delhi Meerut to Delhi
On May 10, they walked straight way to Delhi
They reached there early morning
British army tried to stop them
Sepoys gathered around the wall of the Red Fort
Bahadur Shah Zafar took the Lead
Though he was not willing to take he had to
He wrote letters to all the chiefs and rulers of the country to fight the British
Many small rulers loosed their territories due to company rule So Man me Laddu Futa
OMG!!!… We never thought that
We could have solved the problem of Cartridges
Bahadur Shah Zafar’s decision to bless to rebellion changed entire situation
The Rebellion Spreads
After the Delhi incident there was no event for ten days
Then a spurt of mutinies began
Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow were furious
KanpurNana Shaeb with the help of Tatya tope won against the company
Declared himself as Governor General under B S Zafar
Later he helped Rani Laxmi bai
Lucknow
Birdies Qadr - son of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah proclaimed as Nawab under B S Zafar
His mother Begum Hazarat Begam took an active part
Jhansi
Rani Laxmi bai joined the rebel sepoys and fought with Tantia Tope and Nana Saheb
Confidence of company was affecting
Telegram on August 6, 1857
“Our men are cowed by the numbers of opposed them and the endless fighting. Every village is held against us, the zamindars have risen to oppose us.” - Lieutenant Colonel Tytler
New Leaders
Ahmadullah Shah from Faizabad (Maulavi)
He came to Lucknow to fight
In Delhi many Ghazis came
Bakht Khan from Bareilly (soldier)
Kunwar Singh came to Bihar (old zamindar)
The Company Fights BackThe company decided to repress the revolt
Reinforcement from England - passed new laws
Delhi was recaptured in September - 1857
B S Jafar was arrested
He and his wife Zinat Mahal were sent to Rangoon jail in November 1862
Still they were not done…
People continued to resist and battle the British
They had to fight for two years to suppress revolt
British got the Confidence
They tired their best to win back loyalty of the people
They announced rewards for loyal landholders would be allowed to continue to enjoy traditional rights over their lands
Those who rebelled and did not kill any white will be safe
Hundreds of sepoys, rebels, nawabs and rajas were tired and hanged
AftermathGot full control on the country by the end of 1859
They had to change their policies
The British Parliament passed a new Act in 1858
A number of the British Cabinet was appointed Secretary of State for India
The Governor-General of India was given a title - Viceroy
All rulling chiefs of the country were assured that their territory would never be annexed in future
Indian kingdoms became subordinate to the Crown
Proportion of Indian soldiers in the army would be reduced and the number of european soldiers would be increased
Instead of recruiting soldiers from Awadh, Bihar and Central India and South India, more soldiers would be recruited from among Gurkhas, Sikhs and Pathans.
The land and property of Muslims was confiscated on a large scale and they were treated with suspicious and hostility
The British decided to respect the customs, religions and social practices of the people in India
Polices were made to protect landlords and zamindars