Sources:
Christopher Hibbert, The Great Mutiny of 1857 (Viking, 1978); Michael
Edwards, Battles of the Indian Mutiny (Macmillan, 1963); misc. Internet
sites.
A
Western View in a Nutshell
Expansion of British East India Company control
in India in the first half of the century leads many Indians to fear subjugation
of social and religious customs, causing growing resentment to the British
presence. In the Bengal Army, with more competent officers taking administrative
positions, morale declines. In 1857 the British introduce the new Enfield
Rifle, and its cartridge, greased with beef or pig fat (or both), must
be bitten open before loading — a requirement seen by the Hindu and Muslim
troops as a religious defilement. Some troops refuse its use and at their
punishment the garrison revolts, killing all Britons.
The mutiny spreads to Delhi with Europeans soon
being killed mercilessly throughout Bengal. All British troops are hastily
assembled assisted by still loyal Punjab and Bombay troops. Delhi is recaptured,
a mutineer siege of the British residents of Lucknow is lifted and finally
the Rani of Jhansi, the most capable leader in the mutiny, is defeated
in Central India.
The mutiny over, avenged with as much ruthlessness
as it began, the British government seizes administration of India from
the East India Company and reorganizes the Army to increase the ratio of
British to Indian troops.
An
Indian View
England's East India Company prospered
from 1751 to 1856. State by state, it took control over almost all of India.
With the profitable trade, the Indian businessmen were not so unhappy till
then. In fact, Indians had come to accept the presence of the East India
Company. But 1857 sow the seeds of national uprising. And it was very unexpected
and sudden. For though there had been a number of revolts against the English,
it was restricted to small groups. Nevertheless, it had sparked discontentment
within the masses. Furthermore, the interference by the English in the
basic traditional Indian way of life in social causes like prohibition
of the Sati (permission of widow remarriage) was seen by many as a threat
to their religion. Also by then, the British had taken to forcible annexation
of Avadh, Jhansi, Nagpur, etc. This was again perceived as a threat.
 But
the general unrest advanced greatly with the onset of discontent among
the Indian soldiers. Most Indian soldiers in the East India Company’s army
came from peasant families, so they were deeply affected by their impoverished
status. Even in the army, there was a bias shown toward Indians. Not many
Indians held a post higher than that of a Subhedar, and their salary was
much less than their English counterparts. All this had made them discontented
with the English. Against such a background came the rumours that the new
Enfield Rifle cartridges issued to the troops were greased with a mixture
of cow and pig fat. Since it was army practice to open the cartridges by
biting off a twist of paper at one end, both Hindus and Muslims believed
they were being asked to violate religious taboos.
This offence lit the fuse of rebellion and finally
on the 29th March, 1857, a soldier Mangal Pande rebelled during a military
parade and fired at the officer in command. He was arrested and hanged
which was the undoing of the mass rebellion. In April, 1857, Indian soldiers
of the cavalry unit of Meerut refused to use the new cartridges, and hence
were arrested and thrown into prison. Enraged by this latest act of atrocity,
the whole battalion charged to Delhi and were joined on the way by thousands
of common people.
Though the "Sepoy Mutiny" began among native
soldiers, it spread like fire within the others disaffected by the British
rule. Throughout northern India, army units mutinied, killed their British
officers – and often their families. The rebels appealed to the 82-year-old
Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar to lead the revolt and proclaimed him
the Emperor of India. The British called it the Indian Mutiny; later the
Indians were to name it the Great War of Independence. But most of India
remained loyal. The rebellion was confined to the Ganges plain between
Calcutta and Delhi; troops in the south and west continued to serve the
British.
Ultimately, the seeming impasse was broken by
the arrival of reinforcements from England and the mutiny was crushed after
14 months. A four-month siege broke the rebels’ hold on Delhi. By January
1859, the last of the rebel armies had been hunted down. Everywhere, the
British exacted bloody retribution for the massacres that had started the
uprising. The mutiny failed due to lack of a leader and proper coordination.
The rebellion was the great watershed in
the history of British India. Afterward, there was never any doubt that
British rule was ultimately based not on moral superiority but on armed
force, ruthlessly wielded. The mutiny’s most immediate consequence was
a military reorganisation, expressly designed to keep the proportion of
European troops at a safely high level. The mutiny also made the English
realize the extent of the Indians' dissatisfaction. Thus, in 1858, the
government of India is transferred from the East Indian Company to the
British crown. In 1858, the Queen issued a proclamation saying that all
were her subjects and that there would be no discrimination, appointments
would be made on the basis of merit, and that there would be no interference
in religious matters. The British government did not honor the Queen's
promises in the succeeding years. After 1857, the nationalist movement
started to expand in the hearts of more and more Indians.
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