Title of the Chapter: 03 The War of Independence (1857) 💥

By the end of the chapter, students will:

• Learn about Lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse rule in 1852 and how it affected Indian people.

• Find out why the War of Independence in 1857 started.

• Learn about the reasons and what happened in the War of Independence (1857).

• Learn about the brave resistance (fighting back) that people like Siraj-ud-Daula showed to the East India Company.

How did the East India Company establish its rule on the subcontinent? 🇬🇧

• The British East India Company took control of the main trading posts in the middle of the eighteenth century (the 1700s).

• Other European countries also wanted these posts, like the Portuguese, the French, and the Dutch.

• The Company was like an army because it had a large army and a navy (ships).

• It even had its own money! 💰

• The Company's army units were based in its main 'factories' (trading posts) in Bengal, Madras, and Bombay.

• The Company had many Indian soldiers called 'sepoys' (like the ones in the picture). 🖼️ (Picture: Bengal sepoys uniforms)

• The East India Company started as a group that just traded, but now it controlled about two-thirds of the whole country.

The causes of unrest in the subcontinent 😠

Presence of Christian missionaries and the spread of western education

• Many Indians, especially soldiers called sepoys, joined the East India Company's army.

• But, some were unhappy with the British for making changes to their lifestyle.

• Christian missionaries coming to India worried many Indians.

• People thought the British wanted to turn Indians into Christians.

• The British also started teaching with a western-style education.

• A British politician and teacher named Lord Macaulay believed this new education was important for India's growth.

• He wanted to create a group of educated Indians who would be 'Indian in blood and colour but English in taste'.

• This meant he hoped the educated Indians would learn to like English things.

Political reforms

• In 1861 and 1892, the Indian Council Acts were passed.

• These acts were meant to bring more Indians into the government's work, but they didn't really make the Indians happy.

• Indians felt that their rights and culture were not being kept safe.

• They felt their Indian identity was being lost to British culture, language, and values.

The Doctrine of Lapse

• The Doctrine of Lapse was a rule started by Lord Dalhousie in 1852.

• This rule was one big reason for the anger against the British.

• The rule said that if an Indian ruler died without a son, the British would not accept a son they adopted as the new ruler. 👶

• Instead, the British would take over the Indian ruler's land.

• This was against the old Indian custom of adopting heirs (sons or daughters to rule next).

• Many Indian rulers and rich people were angry because they felt the British didn't respect their traditions and laws.

• The Company took over the land of many states, like Jhansi and Satara, by using this rule.

Financial and military reforms

• The British made new rules and very high taxes that made Indian landowners and farmers very unhappy.

• The British also brought in a new army system and new types of weapons and fighting.

• This caused a lot of anger among the people.

• Mistreatment of Indian soldiers (sepoys) by their British officers also led to a lot of bad feelings.

• The British government was sending Indian troops far away, which led to a lot of sadness and anger.

• This led to a widespread discontent (unhappiness) that grew until it became the War of Independence.

Greased cartridges in rifles 🔫

• In early 1857, a new type of gun cartridge (bullet) was given to the Indian soldiers.

• The cartridge was covered in a grease that was made from animal fat.

• The soldiers had to bite off the top of the cartridge before using it in the rifle.

• It was believed that the grease was made from the fat of cows and pigs.

• Cows are holy to Hindus, and pigs are considered unclean by Muslims. 🐷🐄

• Touching this grease would make both Hindu and Muslim sepoys feel they had been made unclean (not pure).

• Many sepoys refused to touch these cartridges.

• On 10 May 1857, 85 sepoys who refused were shamed and punished by their British officers near Delhi in Meerut.

• These sepoys broke out of prison, marched to Delhi, and took over the city.

The War of Independence (1857) ⚔️

The attitude of the sepoys

• The attitude of the sepoys surprised the British army officers.

• They thought that the sepoys would not cause any trouble in the whole country.

• Some people who study history think the British did not pay enough attention to the sepoys' anger.

• Many Indians, including a large group of sepoys, joined the war against the British after their imprisoned friends were freed and their officers were attacked.

The centres of the War of Independence

• The War of Independence mainly happened in Delhi, Kanpur, and Lucknow. 🗺️ (Image: Map of the areas of the War of Independence)

Delhi

• On the night of 11 May 1857, the sepoys marched from Meerut to Delhi.

• They went to the palace of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar.

• He was 82 years old and living in his palace on a pension (money) from the British.

• He was not a real ruler anymore.

• But the sepoys convinced him to become their leader—even if it was only in name.

• They announced him as the 'Emperor of the Whole of India'. 👑

• Other Indian soldiers in other army groups began to join in, and the rebellion spread far and wide.

• When the sepoys arrived at Bahadur Shah's palace, many Indians in the Red Fort also joined the war.

• Some soldiers of the Bengal Native Infantry near the Red Fort also joined the war, but others did not join in.

• The British officers in Delhi tried to blow up their arsenal (storage for weapons) to stop the rebels from getting them.

• The explosion killed many people nearby.

• Because of the explosion, the sepoys had to move away from the arsenal.

• They captured a store of 3000 barrels of gunpowder not far from Delhi.

• However, Delhi was captured back by the British on 20 September 1857.

• The Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was arrested and sent away to Burma, where he lived the rest of his life and was buried.

Kanpur

• Nana Sahib was an Indian king who was angry at the British.

• He led the sepoys' fight in Kanpur.

• He was the adopted son of the last Maratha ruler and felt the British had taken his lands and his pension (money).

• The British army group, called the British garrison, in Kanpur gave up.

• Nana Sahib promised them they could leave safely, but they were attacked and defeated by the sepoys at Kanpur.

• Nana Sahib thought he would have to hide in the hills of Nepal.

Jhansi

• After the ruler of Jhansi died, the British Governor-General did not accept his adopted son as the new ruler.

• The British took over the land of Jhansi.

• The ruler's wife, Lakshmi Bai (also known as the Rani of Jhansi), refused to give up the land.

• She used the uprising (the fighting) to get her land back.

• Rani of Jhansi used a unique way of teaching her adopted son:

  • She taught him to wear a turban.

  • She taught him to wear a dress.

  • She trained him in martial arts (fighting skills).

  • She gave him an upbringing like a brave girl.

• The British passed her by, and the Governor-General refused to accept her adopted son and take back Jhansi.

• The Rani of Jhansi managed to get away with a small group of palace guards.

• Lakshmi Bai and other rebels fought successfully and attacked Gwalior.

• But, she was killed in a fight while dressed like a man. 🦸‍♀️

Lucknow

• There was already tension (unhappiness) in Lucknow because the East India Company had taken over the state of Awadh and sent its ruler, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, to Calcutta in 1856.

• The British officer (commissioner) of Awadh stayed in Lucknow.

• He had built up forts and gathered supplies to stop a siege (a long attack).

• The British citizens were moved inside the fort when they heard about the sepoys' rebellion.

Why did the War of Independence fail? 🤔

• The British troops fought to protect the area where they lived (residency) against the sepoys, who were much larger in number.

• The siege lasted many days, but by March 1858, the British took back Lucknow, and the War of Independence was over. 🏰 (Image: The remains of the British residency at Lucknow)

• The war failed for many reasons:

  • The war was not organized very well.

  • The people of the country could not keep the fight going across all parts of the country.

  • Apart from cities like Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Jhansi (where the Rani of Jhansi put up a brave fight), other important cities like Bombay, Madras, and the Deccan did not join the fight.

  • Also, many Muslims and Hindus did not fight together against their common enemy.

  • Many sepoys stayed loyal to the British forces.

What were the effects of the War of Independence?

• The immediate effect was that the British government took the East India Company's power away. 🚫

• In August 1858, the India Act put India directly under the British Crown (the Queen of Britain).

• In her announcement on 1 November 1858, Queen Victoria said that India would be governed by her.

• The British Monarch started ruling through a Secretary of State.

• Lord Canning became the first viceroy (ruler for the Queen) of India.

• This was the formal end of the Mughal Empire. 🔚

• The British blamed the Muslims for the war, which made the relationship between them and the British very difficult.

• New rules were made that specifically targeted the Muslim community.

• The British sent Bahadur Shah Zafar away and killed his sons, which was a way to end the Mughal Empire.

• They also started an education system that favored Hindus and started a Western-style education.

• This made it hard for Muslims to get access to education.

• The British military was changed:

  • Fewer Indian sepoys were hired.

  • Only British soldiers were allowed to use the artillery (big guns).

  • More sepoys were hired from parts of India that did not take part in the war, such as Sikhs, Gurkhas, and Pathans.

• The British started three new universities for Indians in Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. 🎓 (Image: The Bombay University established by the British government in 1857)

• The British government's power grew, and many British people came to live in India, where they could make a lot of money from trade and business. 📈

ASSESSMENTS 📝

• 1. Find the best possible answer for each of the following questions:

  • I. What was the Indian Council Acts of 1861 and 1892 intended for?

    • The answer is to include more Indians in civil administration. (Option B)

  • II. What was the Doctrine of Lapse?

    • The answer is an interference with the traditional system of inheritance in India. (Option A)

  • III. What was the reason for the sepoys' refusal to use the greased cartridges in rifles?

    • The answer is They were made from animal fat. (Option C)

  • IV. What was the uniform of the Bengal sepoys?

    • The answer is Red and white, with blue or white trousers. (Option A)

  • V. What were the main centres of the War of Independence?

    • The answer is Delhi, Kanpur, and Lucknow. (Option B)

• 2. How did the British East India Company become the ruler of most of India by the nineteenth century?

• 3. How did people in India feel about being ruled by a British company?

• 4. What started the War of Independence?

• 5. What made so many people ready to join in the struggle for independence?

• 6. Why do you think the sepoys asked Bahadur Shah to lead their struggle for independence?

• 7. Why did Nana Sahib join in the War of Independence?

• 8. What were the main reasons for the failure of the War of Independence?

• 9. What were the main reasons for the failure of the War of Independence? (This question is asked again, so the answer is the same as the one before).

OVERVIEW

• 1848 - The Doctrine of Lapse rule was started in India by Lord Dalhousie.

• May 1857 - The sepoys in Meerut fought against their British officers.

• September 1857 - Delhi was captured back, and Bahadur Shah Zafar was sent away to Burma.

• March 1858 - Lucknow was captured back by the British.

• August 1858 - India came under the rule of the British Crown (the Queen).

ACTIVITIES

• 1. Do a research paper on how the British education policies affected the Indian people. Write an essay about the short-term and long-term effects (what happened right away and what happened much later) of these policies on the social (people's lives), economic (money), and political (government) situation of the country. Do you think the results can still be seen in the region today? If yes, talk about how.

• 2. Make a presentation using a computer program (like PowerPoint) about the important Indian leaders and fighters in the War of Independence. Point out the part they played in the events and how well they did.