Underline ideological dimensions of the uprising of 1857.

Q12. Underline ideological dimensions of the uprising of 1857. (20m)

Introduction

The revolt of 1857 was the first expression of organized resistance against the British East India Company. It began as a revolt of the sepoys of the British East India Company’s army but eventually secured the participation of the masses.

Main Body

The rapidly spreading Western Civilisation in India was alarming concerns all over the country.

○ An act in 1850 changed the Hindu law of inheritance enabling a Hindu who had converted into Christianity to inherit his ancestral properties.

○ The people were convinced that the Government was planning to convert Indians to Christianity.

The abolition of practices like sati and female infanticide, and the legislation legalizing widow remarriage, were believed as threats to the established social structure.
Introducing western methods of education was directly challenging the orthodoxy for Hindus as well as Muslims
Even the introduction of the railways and telegraph was viewed with suspicion.
The Revolt of 1857 eventually broke out over the incident of greased cartridges.

○ A rumour spread that the cartridges of the new enfield rifles were greased with the fat of cows and pigs.

○ Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paper on the cartridges.

○ Both Hindu and Muslim sepoys refused to use them.

Lord Canning tried to make amends for the error and the offending cartridges were withdrawn but the damage had already been done. There was unrest in several places.
In March 1857, Mangal Pandey, a sepoy in Barrackpore, had refused to use the cartridge and attacked his senior officers.

○ He was hanged to death on 8th April.

○ On 9th May, 85 soldiers in Meerut refused to use the new rifle and were sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.

Conclusion

The revolt of 1857 was an unprecedented event in the history of British rule in India. It united, though in a limited way, many sections of Indian society for a common cause.Though the revolt failed to achieve the desired goal, it sowed the seeds of Indian nationalism.

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