UPSCPORTAL : (Online Course) GS Concepts : Mordern Indian History - Causes of the Revolt of 1857

(Online Course) GS Concepts : Mordern Indian History - Causes of the Revolt of 1857

Posted: 16 Jul 2012 11:30 PM PDT

Subject : Modern Indian History
Chapter : THE REVOLT OF 1857

Topic: Causes of the Revolt of 1857

Question : Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857?

Answer:

The revolt did not happen overnight. From the beginning of the political influence .of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the British faced resistance from various sections of the society. The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British. Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt, which was written by officials turned historians, it was believed to be a 'mere mutiny' of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut, which was later joined by the civil populace. However, an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope. It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt. There were multiple grievances, which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society. While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords, banias and money-lenders. The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation.

Social and Religious Causes: From the early decades of the nineteenth century, the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians. Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck, the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856, and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813, the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing. This, combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856, which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property, created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life.