Doctrine of Lapse 1857Causes?

Expansionist policies of colonial rule (political)

Economic exploitation (economic)

Administration innovation (socio cultural)

Affected section?

Rulers of Indian states, Sepoys

Zamindars/ Taluqdars, Peasants

Traders, artisans

Pundits, Maulvis

Economic causes East India company destroyed traditional economic fabric of Indian society

New Revenue settlement impoverished peasantry, heavy taxation imposed, left on mercy of moneylenders/traders, new landlord class emerged through this revenue system, peasant highly indebted

British goods promoted at cost of Indian handicraft, destroyed Indian artisans & handicraftsmen, new jobs not created, no development of modern industry

Traditional landed aristocracy of zamindars & taluqdars destroyed their estates confiscated , condemned to penury

Awadh , storm center of revolt 21,000 taluqdars estates confiscated & were left without any source of income

Political causes British expansion policies

Effective control

Subsidiary alliance

Doctrine of lapse

Right of succession was denied to Hindu princes

Mughal prince Faqirrudin was forced to renounce regal title

Led to collapse of Indian rulers and erstwhile aristocracy

Administrative causes

Rampant corruption in company administration

Socio religious causes

•Activities of Christian missionaries

•Socio religious reforms s.a. “sati” , widow re-marriage, woman’s education were considered as the interference in their socio religious life by the people

• Change in the inheritance laws & other customs by legislations like Religious disabilities act 1856.

External events

•First Afghan war 1838-42

•Punjab wars 1845-49

•Santhal rebellion 1855-57

Sepoy’s discontentment/ spark•Service conditions in company’s army in conflict with their religious belief, Racial discrimination in promotion and privileges

•Lord Canning’s General services enlistment act 1856 made it compulsory to serve anywhere outside India for new recruits to army, Hindu’s considered crossing sea against their caste system

•Unhappy with emoluments compared to their British counterparts

•No more foreign service allowance (bhatta)to be given

•Annexation of Awadh, home of many sepoys (peasant in uniform) led to resentment in them Beginning the

spark•Introduction of enfield rifles whose cartridges made of beef &pig fat to be bitten off before loading , served as the spark of the revolt

•Revolt began at Merrut on 10th may,1857as the mutiny in Indian soldiers, it became epicenter of revolt

•Before Merrut also incidents occurred like mutiny in feb 1857 at Berhampur, in april 1857 Mangal Pandey kills sergeant major in Barrakpore, may 3 Awadh regiment defied its officers .

•Merrut mutiny soldiers killed their officers & set off for Delhi, local infantry in Delhi joined them & killed political agent “Simon Fraser”

•Bahdur Shah Zafar aged & powerless last Mughal emperor was proclaimed the emperor of India and leader

Participation of all

•Delhi became the centre of great revolt

•Mughal dynasty the traditional symbol of India’s political unity, Zafar made supreme leader of the revolt

•Bengal,Awadh,Rohilkhand,Doab,Bundelkhand, Central India, large part of Bihar, east Punjab center of the revolt

•Revolt of the sepoys accompanied by civil population rebellion in north west province and Awadh

•Peasants , artisans , shopkeepers , day laborers , zamindars, religious mendicants, priests, civil servants joined the revolt

•Peasants attacked moneylenders & destroyed their debt records

•Of 1,50,000 who died fighting the English in Awadh over 1,00,000 were civilians

Revolt centers & leaders

•Delhi ,Bhahadur Shah , general Bakht Khan led Barreily troops to Delhi

•Kanpur,Nana saheb adopted son of last peshwa Baji rao II , was refused family title and banished from poona, proclaimed him peshwa acknowledged Bahadur shah as emperor of India , sir Hugh Wheeler commanding the station surrenders

•Lucknow, Begum Hazrat Mahal of the deposed Nawab took reins of revolt

•Barreily, Khan Bahadur descendant of former ruler of Rohilkhand , resentment over meagre pension given by British

• Bihar, Kunwar Singh ,zamindar of jagdishpur , Arrah , was deprived off his estates

•Faizabad, Maulvi Ahmadullah

•Jhansi, Laxmibai , Lord Dalhousie refused to allow her adopted son to succeed to throne after her husband Raja Gangadhar rao died & her state was annexed through “Doctrine of lapse”

•Tantia tope close associate of Nana Saheb joined Rani Laxmibai after loss of Kanpur

Causes of failure of revolt

•Limited territorial spread, north & middle India

•Big Zamindars,Taluqdars , rulers, middle class intelligential did not participate

•Not more than one fourth of total area and one tenth of population participated

•Indian soldiers poorly equipped

•Poor organization & coordination

•Lack of unity among Indian as no nationalism at this time

Suppression of revoltDelhi was captured on Sept 20,1857

Bahadur Shah taken as prisoner,exiled to Rangoon where he died

Nana Saheb defeated in Kanpur escaped to Nepal

Tantia tope was captured and killed

Laxmibai died in battlefield , Jhansi was recaptured by Sir Hugh Rose

By 1859 Kunwar singh,Bakht Khan, Khan Bahadur Khan,Rao Saheb(brother of Nana saheb) & Maulavi Ahmadullah were all dead, by the end of 1859 British authority over India was fully re-established

Hindu Muslim Unity Factor

•Bahadur Shah was Muslim , complete cooperation at all levels

•Everyone accepted Mughal as emperor

•People & politics before 1858 was not communal in India Nature of Revolt

•Was it mere sepoy mutiny? As per British historian

•Military outbreak ………………. Dr K.Datta

•Planned war of national independence….. V.D. Savarkar in his book

“First war of Indian independence”

Consequence•British crown took direct responsibility of administration , company rule was abolished

•Lord canning announced it at Allahabad durbar in “Queen’s proclamation” issued on nov 1, 1858

•British ended era of annexation & expansion

•Indian states to recognize paramountcy of British crown

•British followed “divide & rule policy”

Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856)•Second Anglo Sikh war 1848-49

•Annexation of Burma 1852

•Introduction of “Doctrine of Lapse” & annexation of Satara (1848), Jaipur ,& Sambhalpur(1849), Udaipur(1852), Jhansi(1853), Nagpur(1854), Awadh(1856)

•Wood’s Dispatch 1854 & introduction of Anglo Vernacular schools & colleges

•1st Railway line connecting Bombay & Thane 1853

•Post office act 1854 & reforms

•Telegraph lines to connect Calcutta with Bombay, Madras with Peshawar

•Ganges canal opened 1854

•Widows remarriage Act 1856