Chapter – 11

Rebels and the Raj

In this post, we have given the detailed notes of Class 12 History Chapter 11 (Rebels and the Raj) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

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Revolt of 1857

• The rebellion of 1857 started with the rebellion of a soldier named Mangal Pandey.
• He was a soldier of the 34th Bengal Infantry of the East India Company
• He was posted at Barrackpore located in Bengal
• They attacked the regiment’s officer Lt. Bagh and injured him.
• He was ordered to be arrested but his fellow soldiers refused to arrest him.
• Mangal Pandey asked his comrades to revolt but no one listened to him, in the end, Mangal Pandey tried to take his life with his gun but in this attempt he could only get injured.
• After this he was arrested by the British and hanged on 8 April 1957.
• He was called the first revolutionary of the Revolt of 1857.

Rebellion in Meerut

• The rebellion did not quell even after the death of Mangal Pandey.
• On 10 May 1857, the soldiers present in the cantonment of Meerut revolted.
• The infantry made up of Indian soldiers started this rebellion and soon the cavalry also joined it.
• Slowly this rebellion spread to the entire city of Meerut.
• The soldiers first captured the armoury (a place to store arms and ammunition) so that he could collect the necessary weapons for the rebellion
• Gradually people from around the city also joined the rebellion.
• After this he attacked the bungalows of the British, killed many Britishers and looted their bungalows.
• All government buildings like records office, post office, government treasury, court etc were looted and finally destroyed

Rebellion in Delhi

• The main objective of these soldiers was not only to revolt in Meerut.
• They wanted to spread this rebellion in the whole country, so a group of soldiers left from Meerut on the night of 10 May to take this rebellion forward and spread all over the country so that they would go to Delhi and join the rebellion to Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. be able to
• This group of soldiers reached the Red Fort in Delhi the next morning on 11 May and asked for permission to talk to Bahadur Shah Zafar.
• The soldiers told Bahadur Shah Zafar that he had come to Meerut to kill the British and he wanted to protest against this British rule.
• For this they need the blessings of the emperor i.e., with him.
• In such a situation, the emperor had no other way but to support because he had already lost all his power to the British and his army and power were also limited, so he gave legitimacy to the revolt of these soldiers and gradually This rebellion spread over a large area

Because of the Rebellion

Immediate Causes

• Cow and Pig Fat Cartridge
  • Earlier, Brown Base Rifle was used in the English Army but that rifle was very old.
  • For this reason, the British started the use of Enfield rifle instead of this rifle.
  • In the cartridge of this rifle, a grease was applied at the top so that the cartridge would not leak and be protected from water, but this cartridge had to be peeled from the mouth.
  • Rumours spread that the grease on the cartridge was made of cow and pig fat and that the British had done this to corrupt the religion of Indian Hindus and Muslims.

Political Reasons

• Dalhousie and Wellesley’s expansionist policy
  • The British implemented the policy of usurpation and declared the adoption illegal.
  • Under the policy of Harap, the British made a law that any ruler who does not have children of his own, cannot adopt any child and after his death, because he has no descendants, the whole rule will go under the British.
• Subsidiary Alliance
  • It was implemented in 1798, under this a subsidiary treaty was made by the British with the rulers, there were some conditions under this subsidiary treaty.
  • kings can’t keep their own army
  • The British army would be stationed in the king’s territory
  • All the expenses of this army will be borne by the king.
  • The king cannot make any war or any treaty with anyone without the permission of the British.
  • Due to all these conditions, the power of the king became weak and gradually the British used to occupy his territory.

Commercial Purpose

• Machine-made goods became cheaper due to the Industrial Revolution in England
• It was brought to India and sold, due to which the industries located in India suffered a great loss.
• All this also turned against the British due to the loss caused to the artisans working in these industries and the owners of these industries.
• Due to the trading policy of the British, the foreign trade of India almost came to an end, due to which the Indian traders suffered a lot.
• Due to the zamindari system implemented by the British, the farmers were being exploited and the farmers also took an active part in this rebellion.
• A large amount of taxes was imposed on the Indian people by the British rule, due to which it became difficult for the people to live and that is why all of them together took part in the rebellion against the British.

Social and Religious Reasons

• The people of India were being forcibly converted to Christianity by the Christian priests, due to which the Indian people were against the British.
• Many beliefs based in India such as Sati system and child marriage were banned by the British, Hindus considered it against their faith and opposed the British
• The British tried to spread English education in India, due to which the discontent of the people increased.

Military Cause

• Indian soldiers were treated badly during the parade and Indian soldiers wanted to avenge this insult.
• Indian soldiers were paid much less than the English soldiers, due to which they were unhappy.

Other Reason

• The pension of Nana Saheb, the second successor of Peshwa Bajirao was stopped by the British, due to which he was opposed to the British.
• Rani of Jhansi did not get permission to take adopted son, due to which she was against the British
• Princely states like Satara and Nagpur were forcibly annexed to the British Empire, due to which the rulers there were opposed to the British.
• The zamindars and chieftains located in other regions were also against the British as their lands were forcibly taken away.

Rumours and Predictions

Enfield rifle Cartridge

• According to an English official, this rumour started from the armoury (place of keeping weapons) in Dum Dum.
• Here a Brahmin soldier was asked to drink water by a low caste person, but that Brahmin soldier refused to give water to that low caste person because he believed that if that low caste person would drink water from his pot, then his lot will be defiled
• When that brahmin soldier refused to drink water to that low caste person saying the matter of purity, then that low caste person replied that soon your caste is also going to be corrupt because now you too have cartridges like cow and pig fat has to be pulled from the mouth
• It is believed that this is where this rumour started.

Cow and pig bone powder in flour

• At that time a rumour spread that the British had mixed the powder of cow and pig bones in the flour available in the market so that they could corrupt the religion of the people located in India, after this rumour many people in many areas refused to eat flour

End of rule after 100 years

• After the battle of Plassey, a prophecy was made that 100 years after the battle of Plassey, the British rule would end and the country would become independent.

Group Kitchen

• A collective kitchen was arranged by the British, the food of all the soldiers was prepared in the same kitchen, but due to casteism in India, many people were angry with it.

Rebellion and Leader

• Gradually this rebellion started spreading all over the country, all the rebels formed a good organization to spread this rebellion in the whole country.
• Made such people as their leader who used to be the main leader before the British
• for example
  • The Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was made the leader of this rebellion in Delhi.
  • Nana Saheb led this rebellion in Kanpur.
  • In Bihar, Zamindar Kunwar Singh took over the rebellion
  • The rebellion in Awadh was led by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah
  • Some local leaders also emerged in many areas who played an important role in involving the people around in the rebellion and gradually this movement spread all over the country.

Why did the rebels go to the old leaders to lead the rebellion?

• Good Image
• Respect
• increased enthusiasm
• experience
• leadership ability

Rebellion in Awadh

• The most serious and biggest rebellion in the whole country took place in Awadh.
• In 1801, the British imposed a subsidiary treaty on illegal
• Under this, the army of Awadh was abolished, the British established their army in Awadh and took complete military control in their hands.
• Gradually the British increased their influence on Awadh and in 1856 removed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah from the rule saying that the king was not able to rule properly and the general public did not like him.
• But this was absolutely wrong, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was a very popular Nawab and was very much liked by the general public.
• Almost all the people of Awadh were very angry due to the forcible capture of Awadh by Lord Dalhousie. When the Nawab was leaving Awadh, many people wept and followed him till Kanpur.
• Many writers wrote that it seems that after the Nawab’s departure, the body has died and the whole body of the city has become lifeless.

Why did the British capture Awadh?

• British came to India only to make profit
• At that time the soil of Awadh was very good for the cultivation of indigo and cotton, due to which the British took over Awadh so that they could earn maximum profit by cultivating indigo and cotton there.
• At the same time, this region could be developed as a major market in northern India, due to which the British acquired Awadh.

English Raj and Oudh

• The situation in Awadh became very bad due to the British forcibly taking over Awadh.
• The British removed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah from the throne, due to the removal of the Nawab, the condition of the musicians, artisans, chefs and workers present in the court worsened.
• This happened because after the removal of the king from the throne, the court was abolished, due to which all these people became unemployed.
• All these people remained as slaves of the British.
• The condition of the talukdars became very bad under the British rule.
• Talukdar used to be the person who collected tax from the farmers during the Mughal rule.
• These talukdars were removed after the British takeover of Awadh.
• All their forts were demolished and their army was also abolished.
• The British government thought that the land would be handed over directly to the farmers by removing the talukdars, which would reduce the exploitation of the farmers.
• But this did not happen. During the British rule, the condition of the farmers got worse because the British rule imposed a lot of tax on the farmers, which was becoming very difficult for the farmers to pay.
• Because of this, earlier the farmers were exploited by the Talukdars and now the British started exploiting the farmers even more, due to which the farmers got angry.
• The soldiers of Awadh were also angry with the British due to their behaviour and they also took part in the revolt of 1857.
• Nawab’s wife Begum Hazrat Mahal played an important role in this rebellion and all the talukdars also joined this leadership along with Nawab’s wife, the general public also participated in this rebellion and gradually this rebellion increased.

Means of Communication

• The revolt of 1857 took place over a very large area and communication played an important role in such a big revolt.
• Communication in rebellion refers to the manner in which the rebels carried and coordinated the news related to the rebellion from one place to another.
• Looking at the dates of the rebellion in different regions of India, it seems that as the news of the rebellion spread from one place to another, the rebellion progressed.
• To give information about the rebellion, artillery was fired at many places in the evening and in many places the trumpet signalled the beginning of the rebellion.
• In many areas, cavalrymen used to travel from one place to another to carry messages related to the rebellion.
• In all these ways, the news of rebellion spread throughout the country.

What did the Rebels want?

• Most of the information we know about the Revolt of 1857 comes from English documents.
• These documents were made by the British officers, that is why through these documents the thinking of the English people is known, not much information is available about the demand of the rebels.
• Most of the rebels involved in the revolt of 1857 were common people and were not educated, due to which there is a lack of information about their demands.
• Only some advertisements and some announcements related to them are available, which were issued to involve the people in the rebellion, on the basis of these advertisements and announcements, it is known about the thinking and demands of the people involved in the rebellion.

Posters and Announcements

• Mainly all advertisements and announcements were issued in the name of Muslim Nawabs.
• In all these announcements, people of all religions were appealed to join, ending discrimination.
• Attempts were made to present the revolution of 1857 as a war of independence.
• The main purpose of all these advertisements and announcements was to gather all the people and inspire them to participate in the rebellion.

People joined in the rebellion?

• All the rebels criticized the British forcibly annexed the princely states.
• People were angry because the condition of traders in the country was getting worse due to the promotion of foreign trade by the British.
• People believed that the British wanted to make Christianity the main religion of India by destroying Indian customs.
• People were also angry with the British because the British had implemented the land revenue system by snatching their land from the land owners.
• Because of all this, people started believing in rumours too.

Establishment of a New Government

• After the disintegration of British rule in areas like Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow, the rebels established a new regime.
• The leaders here appointed people to various posts according to the old court culture.
• Made a system of land revenue so that the salary of soldiers could be given
• Ordered to stop all kinds of looting and fighting riots
• But this arrangement did not last long.

British rule Counterattack

• Gradually the British rule started disintegrating in northern India, in view of this, the British made a plan to crush the rebellion.
• Before sending troops to the areas of northern India, the British issued a new law called Martial Law.

Martial law

• Under this law, the British administration gave the British soldiers, officers and ordinary English people the right to prosecute and punish Indians who were suspected of participating in the rebellion.
• The British kept only one punishment for the rebellion and that was death.

Attack on Delhi

• In 1857, the British attacked Delhi from two sides.
• The first army was sent from Punjab to Delhi, while the second army was sent from Kolkata to Delhi.
• There was a long struggle between both the sides, this time the battle of the British was not only with the soldiers, but now the common people had also come down against the British.
• At least three quarters of the adult male population was involved in the rebellion.
• After a long battle, the British re-established their authority over the area in March 1858.

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