Nature of the Revolt Of 1857. {PART-04 Of Revolt Of 1857}.

A Picture Showing King Bahadur Shah II Being Caught By British.

To underplay the  importance of the uprising, British historians refer to it as a 'Sepoy Mutiny', that is, one in which a few sepoys of the English East India Company revolted. The facts, however, suggest otherwise. An uprising as long-lasting and as widespread as this cannot be explained by just the disaffection that the grease cartridges caused among the sepoys.

The revolt did begin as a mutiny by the sepoys but it was soon supported by people from all sections of society. The participation of peasants and artisans made the revolt a widespread and a popular uprising. In some regions, the common people revolted much before the sepoys displayed their rebellious intent. All this shows that it was popular revolt.

The uprising was characterized by Hindu-Muslim unity. People of both communities fought together. Unity among different regions also existed. Rebels in one part of the country helped those fighting in other areas. Seeing the spread of the revolt and the participation of people, Indian historians have termed it as the 'First War Of Independence'.

Nana Sahib, and the Rani of Jhansi had entered into negotiations before the uprising of . The wide circulation of chapatis, regarded an important evidence in favor of the organized conspiracy. However, there is no reliable evidence to prove that there was a genuine Hindu-Muslims conspiracy against the British rule.

A Painting Of Bahadur Shah Zafar.
(Last Emperor Of Mughal Dynasty) 

According to Maulana Azad, “Two facts stand out early in the midst the tangled story of the Rising of 1857. The First is the remarkable sense of unity among the Hindus and the Muslims of India in this period. The other is the deep loyalty which the people felt for the Mughal Crown’. The ‘Friendly relationship’ exhibited by the Hindus and Muslims during the uprising of 1857 was a significant phenomenon, in India at that time. Loyalty to Bahadur Shah II as the emperor of India and issued all orders in his name as his suhhdar.

A Quote By A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Discuss: Will you term the events of 1857 as just the mutiny by the Company's sepoys or as a war fought by the people of India against the unjust rule of the company? Justify Your views by comments.

Whether the revolt was a War between Feudalism and Imperialism?

Jawaharlal Nehru says that the Revolt of 1857 was essentially a feudal outburst headed by feudal chiefs and their followers and aided by the widespread anti foreign sentiments. There is no doubt that the people and the sepoys had a number of grievances against the British. However, their response was not uniform. It was varied from region to region) especially in the urban centers of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta where the intellectual ferment had its impact were generally less affected than the areas where the landed interest were predominant. This contrast in the attitude of the new educated elite and the landed class was observed as early as in 1828.

The Revolt of 1857 can be viewed as a conflict between a feudalism and strong imperialism. Theoretically, if the Revolt of 1857 succeeded in driving out the British from this country, they would have been replaced by the feudal class under the nominal emperor of Delhi. The Indian feudal order was the first to challenge, and declare war upon, the British trading company when it started assuming the imperialist role.

During the Revolt of 1857 also those among the ruling princes who were adversely affected by the application of the Doctrine of Lapse. The landed aristocracy, who were affected by the land laws introduced by the British, became active during the Revolt of 1857.