This is what led to the revolt of 1857 in many localized areas. A keen cricketer and tennis player, he now lives in Delhi and serves as director of a few companies. They bore no message, and were identical to the breads cooked in every home in India, a staple part (even today) of the locals diet. Mason, Philip (1974), page 236 "A Matter of Honour", London: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston. 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. . The mysterious appearance of chapatisloaves of an Indian unleavened breadspooked the British administrators of the Raj shortly before the outbreak of rebellion in 1857. Books and articles about the bloody fighting and heroic deeds by British officers and men were published for decades in London. And when the Indian independence movement gained momentum in the 20th century, events of the Revolt of 1857 were viewed as having been an early battle for independence, while individuals such as Mangal Pandey were hailed as early national heroes. The revolt of 1857 was one of the greatest & most significant developments in the history of the 19th century. As further evidence, he observes that the Urdu sources of the pre- rebellion and post- rebellion periods usually refer to the British not as angrez (the English), goras (whites) or firangis (foreigners), but as kafir (disbeliever) and nasrani (Christians). The rani found a soldiers death, and Tantia Topi became a fugitive. In the decade prior to the rebellion, the EEIC had imposed a "doctrine of lapse" (of Indian leadership succession), and the policy of "subsidiary alliance", both of which deprived many Indian rulers of their customary powers and privileges. [10], Caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army were not merely tolerated but encouraged in the early years of the company's rule. There was thus a suppressed tension in the countryside, ready to break out whenever governmental pressure might be reduced. By a campaign in Avadh and Rohilkhand, Campbell cleared the countryside. 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. on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. The Muslims had lost the large state of Avadh; the Marathas had lost Nagpur, Satara, and Jhansi. Though paid marginally less than the Bombay and Madras Presidency troops, there was a tradition of trust between the soldiery and the establishment the soldiers felt needed and that the company would care for their welfare. Indian soldiers in the East India Company's armies believed they risked defilement because the new rounds were being issued greased with the fat of pigs and cowsuntrue, but sufficient to spark the most dangerous uprising against British imperial rule since the American Revolution. [9], Until the 1840s there had been a widespread belief amongst the Bengal sepoys in the Iqbal or continued good fortune of the East India Company. The powder and bullet for the new rifle were put together in a paper cartridge. There is no question that atrocities were committed by both sides, and stories of events of 185758 lived on in both Britain and India. 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In the 1870s the British government formalized its role as an imperial power. Large numbers of native soldiers, known as sepoys, were employed by the company to maintain order and defend trading centers. Mason, Philip (1974), page 263 "A Matter of Honour", London: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, Last edited on 28 September 2022, at 04:39, Details of the rifle issued as a result of the mutiny, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Causes_of_the_Indian_Rebellion_of_1857&oldid=1112793629, This page was last edited on 28 September 2022, at 04:39. please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. Centers and leaders of the revolt of 1857. Both Hindu and Muslim sepoys refused to use them. The Great Fear of 1857: Rumours, Conspiracies and the Making of the Indian Uprising (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2010);Andrew Ward. These changes caused widespread resentment not only among the landed aristocracy but also caused great havoc to a larger section of the middle-class people. His unit in the Bengal Army, which had refused to use the new rifle cartridges, was about to be disarmed and punished. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Though the revolt failed in its objective, even in failure it served a grand purpose. In the illustration, a mutineer was depicted chained to the front of a British cannon, awaiting his imminent execution, as others were gathered to watch the grisly spectacle. The grotesque executions by cannon became even became widely known in America. As the mutiny spread, the British began called mutineers "pandies." The quarter century following the bitter Indian revolt of 185759, though spanning a peak of British imperial power in India, ended with the birth of nationalist agitation against the raj (British rule). of your Kindle email address below. 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. [17], Officers of an evangelical persuasion in the company's Army (such as Herbert Edwardes and Colonel S.G. Wheler of the 34th Bengal Infantry) had taken to preaching to their Sepoys in the hope of converting them to Christianity. India at the time of the 1857 rebellion. Victoria added the title "Empress of India" to her royal title. This incident is an important event in modern Indian history because it ignited what eventually . ), Find out more about saving to your Kindle, Book: The Mutiny Outbreak at Meerut in 1857, Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563386.003. The chupatty movement first came to British attention early in February 1857. Pandey rebelled by shooting a British sergeant-major and a lieutenant. 24 October 2009. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Or it might have been an aristocratic plot, set off too soon by the Meerut outbreak. In the altercation, Pandey was surrounded by British troops and shot himself in the chest. To save content items to your account, This movement became much more than a military mutiny. When the mood of the sepoys turned against their masters, they remembered Kabul and that the British were not invincible. A popular American illustrated magazine, "Ballou's Pictorial", published afull-page woodcutillustration showing the preparations for such an execution in its issue of October 3, 1857. The Revolt of 1857 eventually broke out over the incident of greased cartridges. However, in those two years, they were not ordered to use them. It is also known by other names: the Indian Mutiny, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, or the Indian Revolt of 1857. This made them more accurate and gave them a longer range. In Britain and in the West, it was almost always portrayed as a series of unreasonable and bloodthirsty uprisings spurred by falsehoods about religious insensitivity. One common punishment was to tie mutineers to the mouth of a cannon and then fire the cannon, completely obliterating the victim. Fighting in some places continued well into 1858, but the British were ultimately able to establish control. Total loading time: 0 No, it is not by any means a custom; I am 50 years old, and never heard of such a thing before. Author Pramod Nayar points out that by 1851 there were nineteen Protestant religious societies operating in India whose goal was the conversion of Indians to Christianity. 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. Richard Barter. In addition, the General Service Enlistment Act of 1856 required recruits to serve overseas if ordered, a challenge to the castes who composed so much of the Bengal army. Some Indians were upset with the draconian rule of the Company who had embarked on a project of territorial expansion and westernization that was imposed without any regard for historical subtleties in Indian society. The Sepoy Mutinywas a violent and very bloody uprising againstBritish rule in Indiain 1857. In some districts like Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur, Bose and Jalal argue that "the revolt took on a distinctly millenarian flavor. E. Jaiwant Paul is a man of varied interests, having authored eight other books, including Rani of Jhansi, The Story of Tea, Baji Rao, The Unforgettable Maharajas, Har Dayal: The Great Revolutionary (co-author Mrs Shubh Paul), Arms and Armour: Traditional Weapons of India, and Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan. But in the 1830s and 1840s, tensions began to emerge. The cartridge of the Enfield rifle was heavily greased - with animal fat, to facilitate an easier load into the muzzle. This would have insulted both Hindu and Muslim religious practices; cows were considered holy by Hindus, while pigs were considered unclean (Haram) by Muslims. Mangal Pandey was an Indian soldier who played an important role in incidents prior to the uprising of 1857, known by different names like the 'Indian Rebellion of 1857,' the 'Sepoy Mutiny' and 'India's First War of Independence.'. Historians have identified diverse political, economic, military, religious and social causes of the Revolt of 1857 (First War of Indian Independence 1857). Dalhousie had also appointed Inam Commission with powers to confiscate land. Nationalist historians have seen in it the first Indian war of independence. [16], At the beginning of the nineteenth century, British officers were generally closely involved with their troops, speaking Indian languages fluently; participating in local culture through such practices as having regimental flags and weapons blessed by Brahman priests; and frequently having native mistresses. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox. In most accounts of the revolt, the greased cartridge has been referred to as the spark and tinder that lit the flames of rebellion. There at a stroke was an army, a cause, and a national leaderthe only Muslim who appealed to both Hindus and Muslims. But the back of the rebellion had been broken and time gained for reinforcements to restore British superiority. 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. Later, the attitudes of British officers changed with increased intolerance, lack of involvement and unconcern of the welfare of troops becoming manifest more and more. Thereafter he headed the National Mineral Water Company in Muscat, Oman. On 29 March 1857, Mangal Pandey, a sepoy of the 34 th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) mutinied against his commanding officers of the East India Company. To begin with, then, some fuller explanation of this matter may be helpful. 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