Thursday 29 November 2012

Reasons For The Sepoy Mutiny Of 1857

By Lenore Bolton


When the Indian officers went up in arms against their British counterparts, it led to the sepoy mutiny of 1857. It was especially felt in the northern regions of present day India. The results of which was the collapse of British east company in 1859. The main reasons given for beginning the uprising was that their religious principles were compromised.

The rebellion started out in Meerut a city near Delhi on the tenth of May. The freedom fighters reinstated the then ageing Mogul Emperor, Bahadur Shah back to the throne. When they were starting out, they captured a number of cities including Kanpur and Delhi; the British soldiers however recaptured Delhi. They had by now however gained confidence in their activities and openly defied them.

There are a lot of things that also contributed towards this uprising. However, not all these were felt at once. When brought together, all those reasons made them feel that it was becoming too much on them. And this is what made them decide to go up in arms. As part of the political reasons for their revolt was the introduction of the doctrine of lapse. This gave the British authority to extend imperial rule over the princes. They managed this by disallowing those who were not born heirs to have any inheritance. The same was applied to the pensions that they were to get and on the tittles.

On top of this, they were not allowed to occupy high civil and even military office. Coupled with the doctrine of lapse, the roles of princes were greatly reduced rendering them redundant. Their status can thus be said to have been reduced and this did not sit down well with them. They wanted some respect accorded to them.

Economically, the agrarian policy became a major cause of distress among the greater part of members in their community. Sales laws that were imparted on them made most of the loose their possessions. The land rates that they were to remit were too much for most leading to their eviction. The British further affected the local economy by dealing in various products importing and exporting some.

Social concerns were also raised by their leaders. Some were worried that their customs would be erased by the coming in of the western culture. As for the religious bit, there were major concerns over the unrestricted entry that was allowed to the Christian missionaries. This, they found to be threatening to their institution.

Geographically, there were some activities that left an impact on them especially for those living in the northern regions of Oudh. Various technological advancements such as the construction of railway lines and canals were the main sources of disputes. At times, they were forced to bring down temples and even trespass sacred ground.

When it comes to the military causes of the sepoy mutiny of 1857, the major reasons can be said to be the ratio of the Europeans to that of the Indians. There were more of them by about six times. The Indians were also given poor treatment and subjected to a lot of abuse. Apart from their conditions being poor, they were poorly remunerated.




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