The significance of the year 1857 in the political and cultural history of the subcontinent can be gauged by the fact that it marked the eventual collapse of the Mughal Empire. The deciding event of this year has as many names as there are perspectives about it; where the colonizers refer to it as the Great Rebellion, the Great Mutiny, or the Sepoy Mutiny, the survivors’ side remembers it as India’s First War of Independence, as it was the first time that the civil citizens of the region engaged in a military effort alongside the soldiers.
Background:
In the same year that Lord Canning enacted the General Service Enlistment Act, another issue arose. This legislation allowed the company to deploy soldiers anywhere, even beyond their home provinces. The sepoys of the Bengal Army from Oudh and present-day Uttar Pradesh faced financial setbacks after fighting alongside the British against the Punjabis. Previously, they would receive extra pay when Punjab was outside company territories. After its annexation, however, the auditor general withheld these extra emoluments, leaving the sepoys confused about their loyalty and the victories that they had achieved.
The loyalty of each sepoy was already under strain when the issue of new breach-loading Enfield rifles and their lubricated cartridges arose. It was believed largely by the Hindu and Muslim sepoys that the cartridges had been greased with cow and pig fat. By the motions of the prescribed drill, the soldiers were required to bite the ends off with their teeth. Soldiers of both communities were furious at the prospect due to their religious beliefs around those animals. On 9 May 1857, 85 sepoys of the 3rd Cavalry, the 11th and 20th Native Infantry, the first battalion of the 60th Rifles, the 6th Dragoon Guards, a troop of horse artillery, a company of foot artillery, and a light field battery, stationed at Meerut, both Muslims and Hindus, who had refused to handle the cartridges, were disarmed and humiliated as an example for others. They were stripped of their uniforms and shoes. Each one had their ankles shackled. The humiliation was unbearable for all the other sepoys present. The next days, they all ‘mutinied.’ The prisoners were freed by the sepoy regiment, and most of the Englishmen and their families stationed in the Meerut cantonment were put to death.
The soldiers then headed for Delhi. The Delhi sepoy regiment rose and occupied the cantonment. The weak Bahadur Shah II was restored as Emperor of India. It was not until 20th September, after storming Delhi from Kashmiri Gate, that the British won back the city. The last Moghul Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, was arrested from the tomb of his great predecessor, Humayun, outside Delhi. Confined to prison, he was displayed to European visitors and was tried on charges of not owing allegiance to the British. In 1859, he was sentenced to transportation to Rangoon, where he spent most of his days composing poetry till he died at the age of 87.
How unfortunate is Zafar: when it came to his burial
He did not obtain even two yards of space in the land of his beloved.
(Translated)
The brutal economic exploitation of the Indians at the hands of the company is a peculiar phenomenon in human history. Before the arrival of the company, all the government posts were held by Indians. Hindus and Muslims worked alike in all the government departments. When the company started occupying different regions, the natives had to go through severe economic hardships. The moment the company officials retired, they transferred their assets to England. The company destroyed the native industries. The company official John Sullivan (better known as the founder of the hill station of Ootacamund, or Ooty) observed in the 1840s:
“The little court disappears—trade languishes—the capital decays—the people are impoverished—the Englishman flourishes and acts like a sponge, drawing up riches from the bank of Ganges and squeezing them down upon the banks of the Thames.”
They displaced Nawabs and Maharajas, emptied their treasuries, and took over their states through various stratagems, the cynical ‘Doctrine of Lapse,’ that if a ruler died without a male heir, the British company would take over the kingdom and make it part of the East India Company.
When it comes to the 1857 uprising, one cannot forget the brave Rai Ahmed Kharal, who commanded the entire area between Sahiwal and Multan.’ He was an old man of eighty when he took up arms, but he wielded them with the vigor of a strong young man. In this old age too, he was a great horseman, and the Kharrals whom he led performed many skillful guerilla actions with speed and valor. On 21 September 1857, he died fighting near Gogera. His head was severed and placed atop an earthen pitcher for display to the general public. But the Kharrals manifested initiative even in defeat. The head was removed secretly and buried with Ahmed Khan’s body. To this day bards sing of Ahmed Khan:
Hamlets remember you,
Come back just once.
Ahmed Khan, son of Rai Nathoo.
(Translated)
Causes of Failure:
Treachery of the Sikhs:
The Sikhs provided every possible assistance to the English Army. The Sikh states of Jind and Patiala in the Punjab gave generous financial assistance to the English masters. Besides the Sikhs, a large number of Indians also helped the English in regaining control of India.
An Octogenarian King and Poet:
The 1857 uprising was unsuccessful due to the absence of a leader. Bahadur Shah was no leader of men. At the age of eighty-two, he was sick and old. He had, no doubt, been allowed to maintain a semblance of royal pretense by the company, but he had been dependent upon the company’s allowance of RS100,000 a month. Even though the general public looked upon him as the sovereign, he was politically impotent and insignificant.
Company’s Control over Communication and Transport:
The British came with the best technology in India. The telegrams and railways were of supreme importance in the suppressing uprising, while the Indians were neither aware nor adaptive towards the technology.
British Retribution:
In 1858, the East India Company was dissolved. The British Government took over the reins of India. The sons of the emperor were executed without trial, and the British wreaked havoc on natives by pursuing the ‘rule by fear’ policy. An enthusiastic patron of the Raj, James Morris goes on to quote an eyewitness account of the execution in the 55th Native Infantry:
“The first ten prisoners were lashed to the guns; the artillery officer waved his sword, you heard the roar of guns, and above the smoke, you saw legs, arms, and heads flying in all directions. Since that time we have had an execution parade once or twice a week, and such is a force of habit; we think little of them now.
It took a year to suppress the mutiny, leading to direct control of India by the queen. The concept of martial races emerged, with communities that supported the British joining the Indian Army. Distrust towards the natives grew, and Muslims faced heavy repercussions for a long time.
GREAT WORK