NOW is the time for Indians to think about the great upheaval of 1857 and its effects on Indian society, politics and economy. British historians and their followers are still unwilling to accept this war of independence for what it was: a great revolution. They still describe it as the Sepoy Mutiny or simply the Indian Mutiny. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first minister of education in independent India felt that the British version of events had disproportionately influenced the Indian view and that it was about time Indians produced their own version. He wrote, “It has now been almost five years since, during the annual session of the Indian Historical Records Commission, I drew the attention of its members to the need of writing a new history of the great uprising of 1857, generally described as the Sepoy Mutiny. I did not overlook the fact that there were already many studies on the subject. Even if we consider the work of recognized historians, the number of books on the uprising is quite considerable. In spite of this, I felt that the prevailing view was the British one.”
Before Mogul rule, India had had many kings and emperors. But never in its history, however, had it seen something that shook it to its very foundations. The coming of Muslim Arabs, Turks, Afghans and Moguls put an end to the degeneration and fragmentation that had become a salient feature of the ancient country. It was in a state of decline during the last centuries of the Hindu kingdoms due to constant civil wars and degeneration. After the arrival of Muslims, instead of losing social, political, economic or religious importance, it seems that India regained its strength and emerged from its confusion as one of the wealthiest and powerful countries in the world.
The Turks, Afghans and Moguls gradually became part of the varied and complex Indian social mosaic. They fought wars of course but they enriched India with their knowledge and power. They did not look behind once they had left their homelands. They lived and died on India’s soil. Their sweat and blood made India bloom. Muslim rulers had substantial knowledge of the social and economic conditions of their Indian subjects. In the absence of a strong central authority, it is true that the different provincial Muslim governors sometimes fought each other but they seldom oppressed their subjects. During eight centuries of Muslim rule, India never faced such a great upheaval as it did in 1857. Muslim rulers were able to keep India united in spite of its social and religious diversity. From top to bottom, all sections of society took part in the country’s social and economic development.
From Alberuni, Ibn Battutah, Farishta and Badayuni to the European chroniclers, one has to accept that during Muslim rule, the Indian economy and India’s social fabric remained intact. Indian wealth remained in India. Indian industries, arts, crafts and architecture cast a spell on the Western diarists, chroniclers and historians. The difference between Indian Muslim rulers and the British is that the British never mingled with the local population. They were rulers and the Indians were their subjects. The arrogance and cruelty of the British bred hatred in the hearts of Indian people and British reforms were greeted with suspicion.
The British plunder made India a pauper. The last Mogul Emperor, Bahadur Shah, was deceived, humiliated and later exiled to Rangoon. The Mogul princes who had taken refuge with him in Humayun’s Tomb after the failed Great Revolution of 1857, and who were promised fair treatment by the British, were murdered in cold blood.
Here the basic difference between the early invaders and the British is quite evident. The earlier invaders sometimes forgot their enmity and became a part of the Indian social fabric but the later ones could never do that. They persecuted Indians for years after 1857. They looted Indian treasures and sent the valuables to England. As the historians put it:
“It was believed that the British were seeking to destroy traditional Indian religious and cultural customs. One concern was that the British were trying to force Christianity on the Indian people. The East India Company, formed to trade in India, now effectively ruled much of India. Changes introduced by the British, such as outlawing sati (the ritual burning of widows) and child marriage may have been well meaning but they were imposed without any regard for Indian tradition or culture. They were seen as part of a Westernizing policy and there was a widespread feeling that the traditional Indian way of life was under threat. No single factor was in itself enough to start a revolt, but the cumulative effect meant that all that was needed was a catalyst to turn discontent among the sepoys into a much more serious affair.” These might be the reasons for this great uprising. But one striking feature of this revolt is that once it started on May 10, 1857, it spread like a wildfire and gripped large swathes of India in a matter of days. “The 38th, 54th, and 74th regiments of infantry and native artillery under Bakht Khan (c.1797- c.1859) joined the rebel army at Delhi in May. June 1857 marked the battle of Kanpur (Cawnpore). The last Maratha prince, Baji Rao II, decreed his title and 80,000 pounds annual pension to his son Nana Sahib (c.1820- c.1859) and was refused twice. Despite Sahib’s attempts to push his claim, Lord Dalhousie refused the Hindu nobleman. Thus, in June 1857, Nana Sahib led the sepoy battalions at Cawnpore against the British. Nana Sahib sent word to Sir Hugh Wheeler, commander of the British forces at Cawnpore warning of the attack, guaranteeing him safe passage. On June 27, Nana Sahib broke the pact and trapped Wheeler in his palace. The events leading up to Wheeler’s surrender and death. The siege of Lucknow lasted from July 1st to August 31st. The commanding British officer, Sir Henry Lawrence, died early during the siege. By July 25th two-thirds of the British forces had retreated across the river and Delhi had been taken by early September. Bahadur Shah, the last surviving Mogul ruler was installed as ruler and the devastating battle between rebels and British forces for control of Delhi ensued. Soldiers faced down the horrific sight of the impregnable walls of Delhi and “more than fifty guns and mortars belching fire at Delhi’s northern walls from the water bastion on the east to the Mori bastion on the west.” (Collier 246) Under Gen. John Nicholas, Delhi had fallen by September 20th, at the cost of 3,835 soldiers, British and Indian, and 378 horses. (Collier 264) Rebel forces retreated to Lucknow where the siege was approaching three months in length. There the war lasted until late November, until the rebels were driven to defeat in the Ganges Valley in December and January by Hugh Rose and Colin Campbell. By July 8, 1858, a peace treaty was signed and the war ended.
Though the Sepoy War has been dismissed as a chaotic, disorganized peasant uprising, several facts go undisputed that offer a counterargument. The “unorganized peasants” of India fought one of the most powerful empires in the world to near defeat with limited resources and even more limited training.” A contemporary British chronicler, Thomas Lowe, in Central India during the rebellion, wrote in 1860: “To live in India, now, was like standing on the verge of a volcanic crater, the sides of which were fast crumbling away from our feet, while the boiling lava was ready to erupt and consume us.” Further, he exclaimed: “The infanticidal Rajput, the bigoted Brahmin, the fanatic Mussalman, had joined together in the cause; cow-killer and the cow-worshipper, the pig-hater and the pig-eater... had revolted together.” Revolutions generally change the form of government. If one takes this principle, the East India Company that had become ruler of India, although it was able to brutally crush the rebellion, it lost power and India came under the direct control of the British monarch. This war of independence bred many great national movements. These finally forced the British to quit India. And with the biggest jewel in the crown gone, the British lost importance as a major power on the political stage of the world. After this revolution they were a spent force. Different historical sources provide almost the same facts regarding this great upheaval that has every mark of a great revolution.
The government of India is celebrating 2007 as the 150th Anniversary of India’s First War of Independence. The (British) National Army Museum in London has had an exhibition since May 10 to mark the 150th anniversary, and there is also an online exhibition called “India Rising.”
The All India Majlis-e-Tameere-Millat and Tipu Sultan Research Center, Hyderabad organized a four-event celebration to mark the 150th Anniversary of the First War of Independence on Aug. 17-19, 2007. Many famous historians read papers that shed light on the importance of the event. In commemoration, the organizers also published a souvenir entitled “The Relevance of 1857 to Present India.” It consists of papers of well-known historians. The objective of these celebrations was to highlight the “Hindu-Muslim unity that emerged as a guiding light for subsequent generations.” The celebrations and the souvenir were both great successes.
