Vasco-de-Gama was the first European navigator who reached India in 1498 . He had reached India with the help of an Indian. It was a revolutionary news for the whole of Europe It gave an opportunity to the Europeans like the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the British to exploit India. Soon India became a land of free looters.
However, it was the English East India Company which met with a success. All others struggled and fought with their British rivals to establish their foothold in India, but failed. They could not match the British diplomacy and treachery plus their firm determination. Queen Elizabeth of England had granted the privilege to the East India Company to carry on the trading activities in the East India Company to carry on the trading activities in the East as early as on 31
December , 1600, The English Indian company for over 150 years remained a trading company . It took another 100 years to establish its away over a large part of India and rule over her directly or indirectly on behalf of the British Government . In 1858, the East India Company was deprived of its power and the Government of India was brought under the British Crown . It is interesting to note that the rise and growth of British rule in India coincided with the industrial revolution in Europe . The immediate result of the revolution was the emergence of machine civilisaton which required new markets and more raw materials.
IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE
The aim of the British policies was to consolidate and prolong their rule over India. These were also designed to enable the British to exploit, loot and plunder the Indians and their natural resources. Science and technology considerably helped them in their exploitative scheme. Consequently, the impact of the British rule in India was disastrous.
The revenue policy adopted by the British ruined the small farmers and many others dependent on agriculture. The administrators were mainly interested in heavy revenue collection. The ruthless collection of revenue in cash or kind left nothing with their farmers to sustain production and feed their own families. As a result, quite a large number of farmers deserted their villages. This development, in its turn, led to a steep fall in agricultural production and severe famines. It also resulted in the indebtedness of the farmers and poverty in the countryside.
The industrial policy of the British crippled the town handicrafts and the Indian cottage industries. It rendered millions of the Indian artisans and craftsmen jobless. For the British, Manchester, Lancashire and other fast growing industrial towns in England like Glasgow were important. The aim of the policy of taxation adopted by the British from time to time was not different. The imposition of heavy excise duty on the Indian-made goods and virtually no or a little import duty on the British-made goods were a device designed to ensure precendence of the English goods over the Indian goods. In certain cases, duties levied were as high as 400 percent. This policy harmed the interests of the Indian traders and industrialists. The principle of free trade also denied the Indian handicrafts any protection. With the result, the Indian exports fell rapidly. All this increased the miseries of the people of India. But the British Government did nothing to improve their condition. On the other hand, it compelled the already half-starved Indian to pay tax “ on the salt he eats, on the oil he burns, on the strip of cotton cloth which he ties round his loins” and drain their wealth.
The destruction of the country’s traditional economy was one side of the story of the British rule. The other was their policy of racial discrimination. Under this policy, the Indians holding similar positions and in the same departments were treated differently from their British counterparts in terms of wages, powers and status. The modern history is full of such examples which show how contemptuous the British rulers were towards the Indians. This also show that the higher positions in departments like defence, revenue and judicial were the sole preserve of the British. The Indians were considered fit only for petty jobs. The British used to call them “Niggers” .
The British Government worked out and implemented policies which divided the Indian society on caste and communal lines. The purpose behind these policies was to create conditions which could help the British to rule over India smoothly. Yet another purpose of the British was to prove that their culture was more superior, scientific and humane. It was also to convey the feeling that the Indian culture and religion were responsible for all the ills faced by the Indian society. Their whole intention was to create a sense of inferiority complex among the Indians and induce them to support the British in all matters. The British rule, in shout, ruined India politically, culturally and economically. Besides, it also created among the Indians a class of loyalists, first in the shape of landlords and then the middle classes. All this made the Indians to seethe with anger.
There were several other factors which had also contributed considerably to the Indian unrest. These included indirect encouragement to Christian missionaries, promotion fo English education through the missionary institutions and displacement of Persian as the court and official language. These had led to the passing of the Religious Disabilities Act ( 1851 ) , the Widow Remarriage Act (1856) and large scale unemployment among the Indians.
THE OTHER SIDE
The British took steps from time to time to protect and promote further their political and financial interests and endure safety of their empire in India. Some of these were, the introduction of railway and steamers, post and telegraph system and a uniform administrative system throughout India with some changes here and there. All these steps turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Indians They enabled the more awakened Indians to understand the implications of the British policies and organize public opinion against them. These also enabled the public-spirited Indians to tour different parts of the country to see for themselves the plight of their countrymen and establish contact with them.
POPULAR REVOLTS
The British policies had offended all sections of Indian society. The Indian princes, who ruled over considerable part of the country, too were unhappy with the British. The British method of playing one prince against the other, Lord Wellesley’s policy of Subsidiary Alliances, Lord Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse and similar other methods were aimed at annexing the princely dominions and enslaving the people. Lord Dalhousie, for example, annexed no less than eight states, including the last two independent states of Punjab (1849) and Awadh (1956), during his rule. He also refused to continue the pension to Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the ex-Peshwa Bajirao II , and denied Rani of Jhansi of her ruling rights. In fact, Lord Curzon and several other British administrators committed many provocative acts.
All these ended the patience of the Indians. Their discontent brust out in local popular revolts in different areas. The Bhils revolted against the British in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In Bihar and Bengal, the Santhals raised a banner of revolt. The Khonds and the Gonds in Orissa were up in arms against the British. The British faced armed rebellions of the Kols in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Similarly, the Mers in Rajasthan, the Kolis in Maharashtra and the Khasis in Meghalaya were in revolt against the British rule. The southern India also witnessed a number of anti-British uprisings(1795-1805). The most powerful uprising was by the Poligars or the zamindars with Marudu Pandyan as one of its great leaders.
The anger against the British rule was confined not just to the civil population. The sepoys or the Indian soldiers in the British Army too had their complaints against the British. They raised a banner of revolt against the British a number of times. Some of the most significant sepoy mutinies were the ones which broke out at Vellore in South India in 1806 and Barrackpore near Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1824. The British Government suppressed all these revolts and mutinies with a heavy hand. In the process, hundreds of Indians, including soldiers, lost their lives. The extent of the British repression can be determined from the fact that more than 15000 rebels, including a number of leaders, were brutally murdered and executed during the famous Santhal tribaluprising of 1855-1856 alone.
UPRISING OF 1857
As described above, all sections of Indian society were feeling alienated from the British for manifold reasons and were keen to get rid of the British colonial domination. Their discontent against the British rule on all counts grew more and more with each passing day. Ultimately, it resulted in the great uprising of 1857. According to Nana Saheb Peshwa’s close associate Azimullah Khan, the setbacks suffered by the British forces in the earlier stages of the Crimean war had also encouraged the hope of rebellion in India. The upheaval of 1857 is described as the first war of Indian independence.
Recent researches have established that the 1857 rebellion was a well-planned affair. It had all India dimensions. Both the sepoys a well as civil popu;ation had been mobilized by the word of mouth and symblolic circulation of lotus flower and chapattis. A date coinciding with the hundredth anniversary of the battle of Plassey had been fixed for the simultaneous uprising all over India. Nana Saheb, son of last Peshwa Bajirao II, was the brain behind the whole plan.
IMMEDIATE CAUSE
The immediate cause was the supply of the greased cartridges to the Indian sepoys, both Hindu and Muslim. This action constituted a grave provocation and regarded by the Indians a great insult to their religions. Why did the Indian soldiers refuse to use the newly supplied cartridges? Because these were smeared with cows and pigs fat forbidden to the Hindus and Muslims, respectively. Their wrapper had to be removed with mouth before the newly introduced rifles could be loaded and used. This action on the part of the British authorities hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus and the Muslims.
The troops at Dum Dum refused to use these cartridges on 23 January, 1857. On 29 March, Mangal Pandey, a sepoy at Barrackpore, injured an European officer. The british executed him and disarmed and transferred his Native infantry to Meerut. At Meerut, the sepoys, who refused to use these cartridges, were sentenced to ten years imprisonment. They were publicly disgraced and taunted on 9 May. And , on 10 May the three Indian regiments shot their officers and secured the release of the Indian sepoys by breaking open the prisons. Thereafter, they rebels proclaimed the last Mughal scion Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of India. Immediately thereafter, Bahadur Shah ordered a ban on cow slaughter.
Starting at Meerut, the uprising soon spread to many parts of the country. The major centres of the uprising were Awadh, Rohilkhand , Bundelkhand, Agra, Meerut, Allahabad and area around it and western Bihar. The uprising also engulfed areas in southern India. Aurangabad and Kolhapur were the most affected areas. The most prominent leaders of this uprising were Nana Saheb Peshwa, Azimullah Khan, Tantia Tope, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur (Bihar), Prince Feroze Ahah, Maulvi Ahmadullah of Faizabad, Bakhat Khan and Nawab Khan Bahadur of Bareilly and Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow.
COLLAPSE OF THE UPRISING
For a while the sudden outbreak at Meerut and capture of Delhi by the rebels caught the British by surprise. But soon they recovered and were able to recapture Delhi with the help of the newly raised forces in the Punjab. This was a big set back to the uprising. The british arrested, tried and deported Bahaduir Shah to Rangoon in Burma (Myanmar). In April 1858. Kunwar Singh died of a serious injury caused during his fierce struggle against the British. Two months later, the British captured Lucknow. Lakshmi Bai Rani of Jhansi fought a heroic battle with the British but luck did not favour her. She had to leave Jhansi. Thereafter, she captured Gwalior in collaboration with Tantia Tope and died in June 1858 an inspiring death fighting against the enemy forces. Tantia Tope himself, who offered a strong resistance to the British for two years both in Central India and Rajputana, fell into their hands through treachery and was hanged.Nana Saheb left India and went to Nepal. The British with the best of their efforts could not capture him. His disappearance has led to many romantic legends.
Several factors helped the British to suppress the upheaval. Some of them were the telegraph system and steamer service and diplomacy. While the telegraph system enabled them to receive timely information, the steamer service helped them in dispatching quickly arms and ammunition and troops to the trouble spots. Similarly, through their diplomacy they could enlist the support of Nepal, Patiala, Nabha and Jind as well as prime ministers, Dinkar rao of Gwalior and Salar Jung of Hyderabad against the rebels. In addition, the British exploited the differences among the Indians based on religions, caste and regional considerations. The end of the Crimean war, which had resulted in the defeat of Russia, had also enabled the British to with draw the English troops from Turkey and use their services in India. However, the most important factor which contributed considerably to the collapse of the upheaval was that it took place earlier than the fixed date(31 May 1857 ) . This premature outbreak had resulted in the lack of coordination among the leaders and forces fighting in different areas. On the other hand, it had forewarned the British rulers who could take precautionary measures in advance.
POLICY OF REPRESSION AND REWARD
After the suppression of the uprising, the British followed a policy of brutal repression and reward. Those who had fought against the British were subjected to inhuman cruelties. The common civilians, including the peasants, also became the target of the British wrath. The revengeful British mervelessly murdered, shot dead and executed hundreds of Indians and resorted to loot and arson in the recaptured and other towns. To instill terror among the people, the British hanged the bank or river Ganga from Benaras to Allahabad. In Awadh alone, over one lakh Indians, both Hindu and Muslim were killed. On the other hand, those who had helped the British were rewarded with sanads, titles, jagirs and similar other things.
But this was not all. In August 1858, the British Parliament passed an Act which ended the rule of the English East India Company and transferred the control of the British Government in India to the British Crown. Queen Victoria also issued a Proclamation the same year indicating the nature of policies to be pursued by the British Government in India. The British took several steps in order to strengthen their rule in India and create dissensions in the Indian society. The steps aimed at weakening the society included the disarming of the entire Indian population and reorganization of the army on caste, communal and regional lines. And, those designed to create a strong support base for the British included the preservation of princely states as breakwaters against the rising tide of any future rebellion and association of the loyal Indian elements with the legislature. They won over the loyalty of princes by discarding their age-old policy of annexation and associated the loyalist Indians with the legislature by enacting the Indian Councils Act of 1861.
IMPORTANCE OF THE UPRISING
Though the uprising collapsed, it did constitute a great landmark in the history of Indian freedom movement. It was the last organized effort of the old order based on organized armies and princes and its failure led to the completion of the process of political and military expansion started by the British at Plassey in 1757. At the same time, the uprising helped in achieving political unity between different regions against the foreign rule. It also set for the nation, numerous glorious heroic examples. The subjugated Indians were deeply moved and inspired by the supreme sacrifices made by Rani Lakshmi Bai. Tantia Tope and others.
SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE
The failure of the 1857 upheaval and reign of terror let loose by the British against the Indians could not completely kill their spirit of resistance. As a result, India after 1857 witnessed several anti-British revolts. Some of them were armed.
In Benaras, a mass protest was organised against the imposition of house tax. According to an eye witness account, more than three lakh citizens of Benaras and adjoining areas deserted their houses, shut up their shops and suspended the labour of their farms and sat on dharna in order to force the British to withdraw the house tax order. Similarly, the imposition of income tax in 1860 gave rise to troubles in various parts of Bombay Presidency. These areas included Thana, Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Panvel and Shahpur, Trouble also broke out in Surat in1878 over the imposition of new license tax to meet famine expenditure. The people organized a hartal on 1 April. Four days later, they attacked the railway station in order to seize the stock of grain that was lying there.
In Manipur, Commander-in-Chief Tikendrajit organized a revolt against the British. He did so because they were interfering in the internal affairs of the independent state of Manipur. After a prolonged struggle, Tikendrajit laid down his life. Guru Ram Singh launched Kuka Movement in the Punjab. It was aimed at regaining the lost independence. It was also directed against those who indulged in cow-killing. According to one estimate, Guru Ram Singh had motivated two lakh Sikhs (Namdharis ) to rebel against the British and expel them from the Punjab. In 1872, the British arrested the Guru and lodged him in a prison in Rangoon. In Maharashtra. Vasudeo Balwant Phadke organized a revolutionary society(1879) in order to overthrow British rule. The British captured Phadke and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
However, it was the English East India Company which met with a success. All others struggled and fought with their British rivals to establish their foothold in India, but failed. They could not match the British diplomacy and treachery plus their firm determination. Queen Elizabeth of England had granted the privilege to the East India Company to carry on the trading activities in the East India Company to carry on the trading activities in the East as early as on 31
December , 1600, The English Indian company for over 150 years remained a trading company . It took another 100 years to establish its away over a large part of India and rule over her directly or indirectly on behalf of the British Government . In 1858, the East India Company was deprived of its power and the Government of India was brought under the British Crown . It is interesting to note that the rise and growth of British rule in India coincided with the industrial revolution in Europe . The immediate result of the revolution was the emergence of machine civilisaton which required new markets and more raw materials.
IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE
The aim of the British policies was to consolidate and prolong their rule over India. These were also designed to enable the British to exploit, loot and plunder the Indians and their natural resources. Science and technology considerably helped them in their exploitative scheme. Consequently, the impact of the British rule in India was disastrous.
The revenue policy adopted by the British ruined the small farmers and many others dependent on agriculture. The administrators were mainly interested in heavy revenue collection. The ruthless collection of revenue in cash or kind left nothing with their farmers to sustain production and feed their own families. As a result, quite a large number of farmers deserted their villages. This development, in its turn, led to a steep fall in agricultural production and severe famines. It also resulted in the indebtedness of the farmers and poverty in the countryside.
The industrial policy of the British crippled the town handicrafts and the Indian cottage industries. It rendered millions of the Indian artisans and craftsmen jobless. For the British, Manchester, Lancashire and other fast growing industrial towns in England like Glasgow were important. The aim of the policy of taxation adopted by the British from time to time was not different. The imposition of heavy excise duty on the Indian-made goods and virtually no or a little import duty on the British-made goods were a device designed to ensure precendence of the English goods over the Indian goods. In certain cases, duties levied were as high as 400 percent. This policy harmed the interests of the Indian traders and industrialists. The principle of free trade also denied the Indian handicrafts any protection. With the result, the Indian exports fell rapidly. All this increased the miseries of the people of India. But the British Government did nothing to improve their condition. On the other hand, it compelled the already half-starved Indian to pay tax “ on the salt he eats, on the oil he burns, on the strip of cotton cloth which he ties round his loins” and drain their wealth.
The destruction of the country’s traditional economy was one side of the story of the British rule. The other was their policy of racial discrimination. Under this policy, the Indians holding similar positions and in the same departments were treated differently from their British counterparts in terms of wages, powers and status. The modern history is full of such examples which show how contemptuous the British rulers were towards the Indians. This also show that the higher positions in departments like defence, revenue and judicial were the sole preserve of the British. The Indians were considered fit only for petty jobs. The British used to call them “Niggers” .
The British Government worked out and implemented policies which divided the Indian society on caste and communal lines. The purpose behind these policies was to create conditions which could help the British to rule over India smoothly. Yet another purpose of the British was to prove that their culture was more superior, scientific and humane. It was also to convey the feeling that the Indian culture and religion were responsible for all the ills faced by the Indian society. Their whole intention was to create a sense of inferiority complex among the Indians and induce them to support the British in all matters. The British rule, in shout, ruined India politically, culturally and economically. Besides, it also created among the Indians a class of loyalists, first in the shape of landlords and then the middle classes. All this made the Indians to seethe with anger.
There were several other factors which had also contributed considerably to the Indian unrest. These included indirect encouragement to Christian missionaries, promotion fo English education through the missionary institutions and displacement of Persian as the court and official language. These had led to the passing of the Religious Disabilities Act ( 1851 ) , the Widow Remarriage Act (1856) and large scale unemployment among the Indians.
THE OTHER SIDE
The British took steps from time to time to protect and promote further their political and financial interests and endure safety of their empire in India. Some of these were, the introduction of railway and steamers, post and telegraph system and a uniform administrative system throughout India with some changes here and there. All these steps turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Indians They enabled the more awakened Indians to understand the implications of the British policies and organize public opinion against them. These also enabled the public-spirited Indians to tour different parts of the country to see for themselves the plight of their countrymen and establish contact with them.
POPULAR REVOLTS
The British policies had offended all sections of Indian society. The Indian princes, who ruled over considerable part of the country, too were unhappy with the British. The British method of playing one prince against the other, Lord Wellesley’s policy of Subsidiary Alliances, Lord Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse and similar other methods were aimed at annexing the princely dominions and enslaving the people. Lord Dalhousie, for example, annexed no less than eight states, including the last two independent states of Punjab (1849) and Awadh (1956), during his rule. He also refused to continue the pension to Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the ex-Peshwa Bajirao II , and denied Rani of Jhansi of her ruling rights. In fact, Lord Curzon and several other British administrators committed many provocative acts.
All these ended the patience of the Indians. Their discontent brust out in local popular revolts in different areas. The Bhils revolted against the British in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In Bihar and Bengal, the Santhals raised a banner of revolt. The Khonds and the Gonds in Orissa were up in arms against the British. The British faced armed rebellions of the Kols in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Similarly, the Mers in Rajasthan, the Kolis in Maharashtra and the Khasis in Meghalaya were in revolt against the British rule. The southern India also witnessed a number of anti-British uprisings(1795-1805). The most powerful uprising was by the Poligars or the zamindars with Marudu Pandyan as one of its great leaders.
The anger against the British rule was confined not just to the civil population. The sepoys or the Indian soldiers in the British Army too had their complaints against the British. They raised a banner of revolt against the British a number of times. Some of the most significant sepoy mutinies were the ones which broke out at Vellore in South India in 1806 and Barrackpore near Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1824. The British Government suppressed all these revolts and mutinies with a heavy hand. In the process, hundreds of Indians, including soldiers, lost their lives. The extent of the British repression can be determined from the fact that more than 15000 rebels, including a number of leaders, were brutally murdered and executed during the famous Santhal tribaluprising of 1855-1856 alone.
UPRISING OF 1857
As described above, all sections of Indian society were feeling alienated from the British for manifold reasons and were keen to get rid of the British colonial domination. Their discontent against the British rule on all counts grew more and more with each passing day. Ultimately, it resulted in the great uprising of 1857. According to Nana Saheb Peshwa’s close associate Azimullah Khan, the setbacks suffered by the British forces in the earlier stages of the Crimean war had also encouraged the hope of rebellion in India. The upheaval of 1857 is described as the first war of Indian independence.
Recent researches have established that the 1857 rebellion was a well-planned affair. It had all India dimensions. Both the sepoys a well as civil popu;ation had been mobilized by the word of mouth and symblolic circulation of lotus flower and chapattis. A date coinciding with the hundredth anniversary of the battle of Plassey had been fixed for the simultaneous uprising all over India. Nana Saheb, son of last Peshwa Bajirao II, was the brain behind the whole plan.
IMMEDIATE CAUSE
The immediate cause was the supply of the greased cartridges to the Indian sepoys, both Hindu and Muslim. This action constituted a grave provocation and regarded by the Indians a great insult to their religions. Why did the Indian soldiers refuse to use the newly supplied cartridges? Because these were smeared with cows and pigs fat forbidden to the Hindus and Muslims, respectively. Their wrapper had to be removed with mouth before the newly introduced rifles could be loaded and used. This action on the part of the British authorities hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus and the Muslims.
The troops at Dum Dum refused to use these cartridges on 23 January, 1857. On 29 March, Mangal Pandey, a sepoy at Barrackpore, injured an European officer. The british executed him and disarmed and transferred his Native infantry to Meerut. At Meerut, the sepoys, who refused to use these cartridges, were sentenced to ten years imprisonment. They were publicly disgraced and taunted on 9 May. And , on 10 May the three Indian regiments shot their officers and secured the release of the Indian sepoys by breaking open the prisons. Thereafter, they rebels proclaimed the last Mughal scion Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of India. Immediately thereafter, Bahadur Shah ordered a ban on cow slaughter.
Starting at Meerut, the uprising soon spread to many parts of the country. The major centres of the uprising were Awadh, Rohilkhand , Bundelkhand, Agra, Meerut, Allahabad and area around it and western Bihar. The uprising also engulfed areas in southern India. Aurangabad and Kolhapur were the most affected areas. The most prominent leaders of this uprising were Nana Saheb Peshwa, Azimullah Khan, Tantia Tope, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur (Bihar), Prince Feroze Ahah, Maulvi Ahmadullah of Faizabad, Bakhat Khan and Nawab Khan Bahadur of Bareilly and Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow.
COLLAPSE OF THE UPRISING
For a while the sudden outbreak at Meerut and capture of Delhi by the rebels caught the British by surprise. But soon they recovered and were able to recapture Delhi with the help of the newly raised forces in the Punjab. This was a big set back to the uprising. The british arrested, tried and deported Bahaduir Shah to Rangoon in Burma (Myanmar). In April 1858. Kunwar Singh died of a serious injury caused during his fierce struggle against the British. Two months later, the British captured Lucknow. Lakshmi Bai Rani of Jhansi fought a heroic battle with the British but luck did not favour her. She had to leave Jhansi. Thereafter, she captured Gwalior in collaboration with Tantia Tope and died in June 1858 an inspiring death fighting against the enemy forces. Tantia Tope himself, who offered a strong resistance to the British for two years both in Central India and Rajputana, fell into their hands through treachery and was hanged.Nana Saheb left India and went to Nepal. The British with the best of their efforts could not capture him. His disappearance has led to many romantic legends.
Several factors helped the British to suppress the upheaval. Some of them were the telegraph system and steamer service and diplomacy. While the telegraph system enabled them to receive timely information, the steamer service helped them in dispatching quickly arms and ammunition and troops to the trouble spots. Similarly, through their diplomacy they could enlist the support of Nepal, Patiala, Nabha and Jind as well as prime ministers, Dinkar rao of Gwalior and Salar Jung of Hyderabad against the rebels. In addition, the British exploited the differences among the Indians based on religions, caste and regional considerations. The end of the Crimean war, which had resulted in the defeat of Russia, had also enabled the British to with draw the English troops from Turkey and use their services in India. However, the most important factor which contributed considerably to the collapse of the upheaval was that it took place earlier than the fixed date(31 May 1857 ) . This premature outbreak had resulted in the lack of coordination among the leaders and forces fighting in different areas. On the other hand, it had forewarned the British rulers who could take precautionary measures in advance.
POLICY OF REPRESSION AND REWARD
After the suppression of the uprising, the British followed a policy of brutal repression and reward. Those who had fought against the British were subjected to inhuman cruelties. The common civilians, including the peasants, also became the target of the British wrath. The revengeful British mervelessly murdered, shot dead and executed hundreds of Indians and resorted to loot and arson in the recaptured and other towns. To instill terror among the people, the British hanged the bank or river Ganga from Benaras to Allahabad. In Awadh alone, over one lakh Indians, both Hindu and Muslim were killed. On the other hand, those who had helped the British were rewarded with sanads, titles, jagirs and similar other things.
But this was not all. In August 1858, the British Parliament passed an Act which ended the rule of the English East India Company and transferred the control of the British Government in India to the British Crown. Queen Victoria also issued a Proclamation the same year indicating the nature of policies to be pursued by the British Government in India. The British took several steps in order to strengthen their rule in India and create dissensions in the Indian society. The steps aimed at weakening the society included the disarming of the entire Indian population and reorganization of the army on caste, communal and regional lines. And, those designed to create a strong support base for the British included the preservation of princely states as breakwaters against the rising tide of any future rebellion and association of the loyal Indian elements with the legislature. They won over the loyalty of princes by discarding their age-old policy of annexation and associated the loyalist Indians with the legislature by enacting the Indian Councils Act of 1861.
IMPORTANCE OF THE UPRISING
Though the uprising collapsed, it did constitute a great landmark in the history of Indian freedom movement. It was the last organized effort of the old order based on organized armies and princes and its failure led to the completion of the process of political and military expansion started by the British at Plassey in 1757. At the same time, the uprising helped in achieving political unity between different regions against the foreign rule. It also set for the nation, numerous glorious heroic examples. The subjugated Indians were deeply moved and inspired by the supreme sacrifices made by Rani Lakshmi Bai. Tantia Tope and others.
SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE
The failure of the 1857 upheaval and reign of terror let loose by the British against the Indians could not completely kill their spirit of resistance. As a result, India after 1857 witnessed several anti-British revolts. Some of them were armed.
In Benaras, a mass protest was organised against the imposition of house tax. According to an eye witness account, more than three lakh citizens of Benaras and adjoining areas deserted their houses, shut up their shops and suspended the labour of their farms and sat on dharna in order to force the British to withdraw the house tax order. Similarly, the imposition of income tax in 1860 gave rise to troubles in various parts of Bombay Presidency. These areas included Thana, Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Panvel and Shahpur, Trouble also broke out in Surat in1878 over the imposition of new license tax to meet famine expenditure. The people organized a hartal on 1 April. Four days later, they attacked the railway station in order to seize the stock of grain that was lying there.
In Manipur, Commander-in-Chief Tikendrajit organized a revolt against the British. He did so because they were interfering in the internal affairs of the independent state of Manipur. After a prolonged struggle, Tikendrajit laid down his life. Guru Ram Singh launched Kuka Movement in the Punjab. It was aimed at regaining the lost independence. It was also directed against those who indulged in cow-killing. According to one estimate, Guru Ram Singh had motivated two lakh Sikhs (Namdharis ) to rebel against the British and expel them from the Punjab. In 1872, the British arrested the Guru and lodged him in a prison in Rangoon. In Maharashtra. Vasudeo Balwant Phadke organized a revolutionary society(1879) in order to overthrow British rule. The British captured Phadke and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
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