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Chapter 3: The Causes and Consequences of the War of Independence4 mark questions:What was the Proclamation of 1858?What was the greased cartridges issue?Describe the Vernacular Press Act?In 1878,?the vernacular press act was passed?by?the colonial government by lord Lyton. It was made to control the?local newspapers that?were?printing articles against?the government.?The vernacular press act?gave?the?right to?the government?to censor reports and seize editorial reports written against?the government.Describe the Arms Act? The Indian Arms Act of 1878 was enacted by legislated during Lord Lytton’s time. By this act, no Indians could manufacture, sell, possess, and carry firearms. However, the English people could do so. Indian could get arms but with license and in practice it was a tedious process for them. An unlicensed gun was punishable with a fine and imprisonment up to 3 years. Thus in one blow the British restricted the ownership of guns during the days of the Raj.How did the British take revenge against the sepoys?They were dismissed, exiled, imprisoned or hanged.The number of British soldiers in the army was increased.They were then being taken from Punjab and N.W.F.P rather than from Oudh and Bengal that had lost their trust.Sepoy artillery was abolished also, leaving all artillery in British hands. The post-rebellion changes formed the basis of the military organization of British India until the early twentieth century.What was the effect of the revolt on the Muslim Community?What were the long term causes of the war?What were the immediate consequences of the War? What happened at the Battle of Kanpur?Who was Mangal Pandey?Mangal Pandey?was an Indian soldier under the British who is associated with the Revolt of 1857. His attack on British officers on March 29, 1857, marked the begining of the Revolt. During his service in the Bengal Infantry at Barrackpore, The British had introduced new 'Enfield Rifle' in the army. Mangal Pandey urged his fellow soldiers to not use the rifle. On 29 March 1857, he attacked his officers in Barrackpore. He was later hanged. This incident sparked the revolt of 1857.?Who was Lakshami Bai?Lakshmibai married to the?Maharaja?of Jhansi and gave birth to a boy, later named Damodar Rao, in 1851, who died after four months. The Maharaja adopted a child called Anand Rao, the son of Gangadhar Rao's cousin, who was renamed? HYPERLINK "" \o "Damodar Rao of Jhansi" Damodar Rao, on the day before the Maharaja died. Her state had to go under the British control as the Doctrain of Lapse was implemented. She was a skilled in different war affairs too. She fought against the British during the War of independence but killed.What system did the British set up for governing India after the War of Independence?What happened with The East India Company after the War of Independence?Describe the events of the War of Independence.What happened at the Battle of Kanpur?7 mark questions:Why was the War of Independence 1857 started?Why did the War of Independence 1857-58 fail?mark questions:Question 1.Was the introduction of the Doctrine of Lapse in 1852 the most important reason for the War of Independence in 1857? Explain your answer.Religious and social causes:In 1833, Christian missionaries allowed to enter India.Female infanticide and sutti were banned.Widow Remarriage Act was introduced which was not practiced among Hindus.Veil (purdah) was also banned that is an important value for the Muslim ladies of all times.Forceful conversion to Christianity.Religious education was also removed.Islamic and Hindu traditions were being disregarded. Indians were being treated as an inferior race. They maintained a distance between Indians and themselves.British introduced new English system of education where not only the medium was English. Persian and Hindi were removed from schools.No regards for Indian culture and literature.Telegraphs, roads and railways were new to Indians and were not liked by them.Political causes:The mistreatment of the Mughal Emperor.Doctrine of Lapse.English replaced Persian.No opportunities for Indians in the civil services. Indians could get only low salary posts.Economic causes:Imposition of heavy taxes.Wealth drainThey used to send cotton to Britain as raw material for their textile industry and then sold back to Indians. This collapsed the local textile industry and caused unemployment. Their products were cheap as compared to the locally manufactured ones as no taxes were applied on them.Revenue collected from Indians was sent to Britain rather than being spent on Indian public. Military causes:Low salaries for sepoys.Could be transferred outside India that was not acceptable for Hindus as it was like losing their religion and Muslims did not want to fight against their Muslim Brothers outside India.Rumor about the greased cartridges.Question 2.The War of Independence achieved nothing. Give reasons why you might agree or disagree with this statement.The War of Independence brought India under complete and strict control of British..The immediate outcomes of the war of independence 1857 were a disastrous. The uprising was successfully crushed by the British troops in all parts of India within a few months. Countless Indians lost their lives. Muslims were victims of worst atrocities after the war ended because the British blamed them responsible for the revolt as they wanted the supremacy of Mughals back.. They were hanged in large number; their properties were confiscated and many were driven out of jobs. The Indians especially the Muslims suffered heavy losses as their social and economic condition deteriorated as a result. The war brought utter destruction to the still existing powerless Mughal King and the symbolic Mughal Empire. On the other side, Hindus had to continue with widow remarriage and ban on sutti. So they also achieved nothing.Although the uprising failed in driving the British out of India, but it won’t be just to say that it achieved nothing. It brought about significant changes in policy and administration of the British government in India. The exploitative role of East India Company came to an end. It was an achievement on the behalf of Indians who succeeded in getting rid of the company. The subcontinent went under direct control of the British Crown. Constitutional reforms were introduced involving Indians in the affairs of the state on limited scale. The governor-general was to be called Viceroy and a Secretary of State for Indian affairs was nominated with a council of 15 members. These changes were made to address concerns of Indian people. The hated “doctrine of lapse” was abolished which was aimed at grabbing Indian territories. The controversial greased cartridges were also removed and their supply was stopped by the British. In the proclamation of 1858 the British ensured that they would not interfere with the religious affairs of Indians.The war became a historic event promoting nationalism and patriotism in Indians. It created a strong urge in the Indians to break the shackles of slavery. At the same time Indian leaders came to know that the British are too powerful to be overthrown through armed struggle. Therefore, they changed their strategy and started political struggle forming Indian National Congress in 1885 followed by All India Muslim League in 1906. Their urge for freedom culminated in independence of the subcontinent 90 years?after?the 1857 war.[Conclusion]?Instead of saying “nothing” I would like to say that the war achieved “little” in terms of immediate returns.?It was a lesson for both sides and had long term effects which finally ended in complete freedom from British.Question 3:‘A lack of unity and coordination was the main reason for the failure of the War of Independence.’ Do you agree? Give reason for your answer.During the War of Independence 1857, there was a complete lack of unity among the fighting groups though all were fighting against a common enemy, the British soldiers. There was no coordination between different regions of unrest and no attempts were made to bring their strengths together. Some local leaders even helped the British in the war e.g. the ruler of Kashmir sent 2000 troops on the British side. However, there were also some other reasons for the failure of the war. In many areas nobody knew about the war such as in Rajputana. Had there been a general uprising, things would have been different. The war only spread in Delhi and surrounding areas. Therefore it was easy to be crushed. There was no central leadership to motivate people to join the rebellion. There was no central command to provide guidelines, prepare action planes or coordinate between different areas of revolt. The final reason is that the British were very strong to defeat, and they were very determined to suppress the revolt.? They dragged Bahadur Shah Zafar as a leading in the War but that could also not prove capable leader. The sudden outbreak of 1857 war had no defined goals or planning. Different groups were fighting for different causes. Most of the Muslims wanted to restore the Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, but Hindus and Sikhs were not ready to fight for restoring the Muslim Mughal Empire. Some conspiracies also broke out. Many princes were interested in regaining their own feudal powers. A good number of ordinary people remained neutral i.e. they did not take part in the uprising.?The British took complete advantages of this.The most important reason for the failure of the war was the strength and position of the British. They were good planners of war strategies. They had sound financial resources and could fight long wars. They had latest warfare tools and their troops were experienced and highly trained in modern methods of fighting. They had efficient means of communication e.g. railways for quick deployment of troops. They had skilled diplomats who knew the techniques of gaining support of local rulers.? ................
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