The Great Uprising of 1857: Political, Social and Religious Causes

Causes of the Great Uprising of 1857

Many Indian began feeling that the British were destroying their political structure, religion, their social customs and their traditional way of life which led to the Great Uprising.

Political, Social and Religious Cause of the Great Uprising of 1857

After a hundred years of conquest and administration, the East India Company faced a massive rebellion that started in May 1857 and threatened British rule in India. This rebellion is known by different names - The Revolt of 1857, The Sepoy Mutiny and also The First War of Independence.

Political Cause

• The accession of Lord Dalhousie inaugurated a new chapter in the history of British India. He functioned as the Governor General of India from 1848 -1856. Under him, the British followed an expansionist policy.
• Dalhousie, through his policies, had added considerable territories to the British Empire in India. He introduced the Doctrine of Lapse which enabled him to annex vast territories. Do you know about this doctrine?
• According to this Doctrine, if a ruler of a dependent state died without leaving a natural heir, the state would pass over to the British. The doctrine did not recognize adopted children as rightful heirs.
• His Doctrine of Lapse alarmed the ruling classes who had over the years seen one state after the other passing into the hands of the Company. This caused a feeling of insecurity, unease and resentment among the Hindu rulers.
• Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi wanted the Company to recognize her adopted son as the heir to the Kingdom after the death of her husband. Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II pleaded that he be given his father's pension when the latter died. But the Company in its arrogant manner had turned down such requests.
• The Company even began to plan how to bring the Mughal dynasty to an end. The name of the Mughal king was removed from the coins minted by the Company. In 1849, Governor General Dalhousie announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the family of the king would be shifted out of the Red Fort and given another place in Delhi to reside in.
• In 1856, Governor General Canning decided that Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the last Mughal king and after his death, none of his descendants would be recognized as kings they would just be called Princes.
• Lord Dalhousie had annexed Oudh to the British Empire on the pretext of mismanagement. Most of the country was under British Raj. Those states which were not directly under them had the British residents in their courts, so they dared not fight against the Company.

Social and Religious Cause

• The English introduced a number of changes in the Indian social life and customs like the abolition of Sati, forbidding child marriage, allowing widow remarriage and banning girl and child infanticide. The orthodox Hindu regarded these innovations as interference in their social set up.
• The Christian missionaries criticized Hinduism and Islam. They tried to convert Indians to Christianity by propaganda and by offering them good jobs or positions.
• The introduction of the railway meant that the untouchables would also travel in the same compartments as Brahmins. The orthodox section considered it an attempt to defame their religion.
• The Government made teachings of Christianity in Government schools and jails obligatory.
•  A law of 1850 provided that a convert to Christianity, from any religion, would be an indirect encouragement to the people to embrace Christianity.
• The spread of western culture and English education was resented by the orthodox section of society, as they thought it to be an affront to their authority and influence. All these measures produced resentment in the general public.

Questions:

1. The first war of independence happened in the year ____________.
a) 1893
b) 1875
c) 1839
d) 1857

2. Lord Dalhousie served as Governor-General of India from ___________.
a) 1839-1845
b) 1845-1848
c) 1848-1852
d) 1848-1856

3. Which of these was introduced by Lord Dalhousie?
a) Truman Doctrine
b) Doctrine of Service
c) Spencer Doctrine
d) Doctrine of Lapse

4. Nana Saheb was the adopted son of ___________________.
a) Balaji Vishwanath
b) Rani Laxmi Bai
c) Peshwa Baji Rao I
d) Peshwa Baji Rao II

5. Rani Lakshmi Bai was the queen of _________.
a) Meerut
b) Gwalior
c) Indore
d) Jhansi