Causes for the Revolt of 1857

Causes for the Revolt of 1857: The idea of an uprising had brewing among the people but, when it finally happened, it was not planed. It broke out all of a sudden, and it shook the British. This Revolt was the first open protest against the British by such a large number of Indians, all at the same time. Also, this Revolt was not confined to a particular group of society or to a particular region. Though it started as a rebellion in Meerut by the sepoys of Awadh, people from regions other walks of life joined in- the peasants, the zamindars and even some erstwhile rulers.

There are following causes of Revolt are as follows

The revolt was the outcome of the widespread resentment that had been boiling against the British for a long time .

The Indian sepoys were dissatisfied with the treatment meted out to them. The Indian rulers-Bahadur Shah Zafar-the old Mughal Emperor of Delhi ,Tantia Tope of Gwalior, Rani Laxmi bai of Jhansi and Nana Saheb of Kanpur , had personal scores to settle with the British. They led the revolt in their respective territories .

The common people of Delhi, Lucknow, Gwalior and other places had no narrow ambitions of power or money. They wanted an end of the foreign exploitation.

This policy ensured that those kingdoms, where the kings did not have natural heirs, would be taken over by the British after the demise of the king. it is believed that had the British not snapped "compensation" that the kings were paid earlier in return of a share of government they may not have joined the revolt.

The British signed many treaties with the kings and the nawabs but violated them, as per their convenience. Indians lost all trust in the British . Awadh had been an ally of the east India company for nearly a century .

The policy of economic exploitation and the destruction of the traditional Indian economic structure by the British caused widespread resentment among Indians . The zamindari system exploited the peasants who were forced to grow only those crops that the British industries required . They were tortured or jailed on failure to pay the revenue in time.

Industrial goods like textiles from Britain flooded the Indian market . this destroyed Indians industries , artisans and peasants. The princely states were annexed , the British got rent-free land huge amount of money .The common people faced unemployment and poverty .when Awadh was occupied by the British , Nawabs officials were dismissed and his army was disbanded .about 60,000 professional soldiers lost their livelihood.

​​​​​​​The social reforms by the British were considered an interference in the customs and traditions of the Hindus. Many Indians opposed the introduction of western education and the conversion of Indians to Christianity. The Hindu law of property was changed to enable a Christian convert to receive his share of ancestral property. The spread of railways created further fear among the poor and the illiterate sections of the society that they would lose their caste.

Indians were not allowed to travel in first class train compartments. The conservative Indians were alarmed by the rapid spread of western culture and English education in India. The British looked down upon Indians and followed a policy of racial discrimination.

​​​​​​​The sepoy had helped the British to establish their empire in India but instead of receiving awards or promotions , they were humiliated by the British . There was discrimination between the Indians and the British soldiers. they highest pay given to an Indian sepoy as subedar was less than the minimum pay of European recruit . The act of 1856, made it compulsory for new Indian recruit to serve overseas.

​​​​​​​The cartridges of the new Enfield rifle had a greased paper cover which had to be bitten off before the cartridge was loaded into the rifle. it was said that the grease composed to beef and pig fat. Both the Hindus and the Muslims refused to use them as the cow is scared to the Hindus and the pig is destestable to the Muslims.

On march 29, 1857 at Barrackpore near Calcutta (now Kolkata) , Mangal Pandey , a young Indian sepoy from Bengal Regiment, refused to use the greased cartridge and shot down his sergeant.