Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Background
The growth of English education in India:
The establishment of British rule and business firms in Bengal. Many Indians joined the business houses of the British, who were known as Benyan, Dewan, Mutsuddi, etc. the Indian officers and ICS of British administration in India.
These were the main causes for the rise of the Middle class in India.
English education in India Features:
From the establishment of English education the idea of the ‘middle class’ came into existence.
“WBBSE class 8 history chapter 5 notes”
English education in India Features of this class are as-
- The educated middle-class people were the pioneer of the Indian national movement.
- As they were the child of the Indian Renaissance, they were free from all corruption and orthodoxy.
- The English-educated middle-class people of India taught English language and literature. So they were greatly inspired with the creations of J. S. Mill, Bentham, Miller, Milton, Dante, Goethe, Thomas Paine, etc.
- The idea of nationalism and internationalism was first explained by them. The history of the French Revolution, the American war of Independence, unification movement of Italy and Germany encouraged the new-born middle-class people.
- The growth of English education has increased the number of educated middle classes like doctors, teachers, lawyers, etc. Derozio, Rammohan Ray, Vidyasagar, and Radha Kanta Dev were some important personalities who belonged to the English-educated middle-class community.
- The middle-class community rose in open protest against govt. misrule, economic exploitation. The emergence of English-educated middle-class people added a new dimension in, the national movement in India.
- They were the city-dwellers and free thinkers.
English education in India Impact:
- The Western-educated Indian middle class opposed evil practices in society.
- They started a socio-religious reform movement.
- They tried to spread Western education and culture in literature and science.
- The renaissance and national movement really brought by the Indian middle class.
- The ideals, of the American War of independence, the French revolution, etc. were spread and popularised by this class.
Abolition of the burning of Sati system:
Till the 18th Century, Sati or burning of widows was a great course of Hindu society. According to it, the wife of a dead husband was burnt alive on the funeral pyre of the husband.
“reaction of colonial rule resistance and revolt WBBSE class 8”
Many people wished to protest against this old superstition but dared not do so. Like the Antarjali Jatra, Satidaha was also a custom that affected the condition of unfortunate women.
In the medieval period, rules like Muhammad Bin Tughluq and Akbar and persons like Rammohan, Derozio, Vidyasagar, etc. created a strong protest movement against this practice. Akbar abolished Sati by law and inflicted severe punishment for the law-breakers.
Rammohan quoted the texts from Vishnu, Vyas, and Brihaspati and states that the widows should remain honest and restrained according to the shastras. They were not to be destroyed.
The first papers like ‘Samachar Darpan’ of the Serampore Missionaries, and ‘Sambad Kaumudi’ of Rammohan wrote articles against sati. Also; Friend of India, Calcutta Journal, etc. papers criticized the role of the conservative Hindu paper like Samachar Chandrika.
Between 1815-1818 A.D. Rammohan surveyed the burning ghats and informed that 2365 women had been Satis by that time. Of 1528 belonged to Calcutta and its surroundings.
A Conservative judge like Mrityunjoy Vidyalankar joined the movement of Rammohan against Sati. In 1828 A.D. James Peggs, a missionary from Cuttack encouraged the British to enact the Bill.
When Lord. William Bentinck became the governor (1828-35 A.D.) there were some doubts regarding the protest, but ultimately in 1829 A.D. Sati was banned by “Regulation XVII”. Rammohan had congratulated Bentinck for that.
“exercise 5 solved questions on resistance and revolt class 8”
Professor Dilip Kumar Biswas has said in his book ‘Rammohan Sameeksha’ (p.343) that one the main and noblest achievements of Rammohan was his movement against Sati.
But Dr. Ajit Kumar Ghosh (Introduction: Rammohan Rachanabali, p 20) has said that the main role of Rammohan in this sphere was that of a rational writer but he had not taken the role of a real protestant.
Notwithstanding this criticism, we can say that the anti-Sati Act brought an end to a cruel rite of Bengal.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Introduction Of Widow Remarriage
Widow Remarriage
Vidyasagar first declared his intention of starting a movement favoring widow remarriage was when he was just 21 years of age. He also wrote a book outlining the necessity for widow remarriage.
After analyzing the ancient Hindu scriptures he came to the conclusion that
- There was no religious binding amongst the Hindus to stop a widow from getting remarried and
- The widow had absolute rights over her dead husband’s property.
After consulting experts and collecting the witness signatures of 987 Pandits, he submitted an application to Lord Canning to legalize widow remarriage.
Lord Canning agreed to the proposal and on 26th July 1856, Act XV was passed which legalize the remarrying of widows. With this act, the hereditary laws regarding the transfer of properties to the widow as per the Hindu Act was also put into place.
To set an example, Vidyasagar had his son Ishan Chandra to marry a widow named Bhabasundari and this was the first ever widow remarriage to happen in the province of Bengal.
The next remarriage took place on 7th December 1856 when Vidyasagar helped another widow eleven years old Kalimoti to marry the Sanskrit College teacher, Srish Chandra Bandhopadhya.
Vidyasagar donated nearly eighty thousand rupees to help nearly 62 widows to get remarried and start a new life. The first campaign favouring widow remarriage was Nilkanta Bandhopadhya.
Some of the people who had supported Vidyasagar in this movement included the Maharaja of Burdwan and Keshab Chandra Sen. In the days of Vidyasagar, out of the age of 0-4 years married girls nearly 30 to 40 out of every 1000 girls became widows.
In the age group of 10 about 40 to 60 people were widowed. In the age group of 10 to 14 about 20-40 became widows and in the age group of 50-55 years, the number went up to 550.
“WBBSE class 8 history chapter 5 important questions”
Rammohan Ray (1772-1833):
Raja Rammohan, as a sympathetic practical reformer protested against the caste system, untouchability, priestly dominance, sati, etc. He dreamt about abolishing the social disparity to form a socialistic pattern of society.
With the earnest efforts of Rammohan, Bentinck prohibited Sati by “Regulation- XVII” in 1829 A.D. At this time the papers like ‘Samachar Darpan’ ‘Sambad Kaumudi’, ‘Bengal Harkara’, ‘Indian Gazettee’, ‘Calcutta Journal’, ‘Friend of India’, etc.
protested against Sati. To establish the right of women in their paternal property, Rammohan quoted the Yajnagyabalka Smriti and said that women have rights in their paternal properties.
Raja Rammohan Ray, the ‘Prometheus of India’ and a messenger of the renaissance, being enlightened with the western rationalism, found that the religious life of Bengal was too conservative and complicated.
So to Raja Rammohan Ray realize the real essence of religion, he read Koran in the Arabic language, the Upanishad and Veda in Sanskrit, New Testament in Greek and Talmud, and Old Testament in Hebrew.
He gained sufficient proficiency in 12 languages like Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, German, English, etc. He got some clear ideas about the religions by learning of Tantras from Hariharananda Tirthswami.
He wrote a book, ‘The Percepts of Jesus’ in English. Rammohan formed Atmiyasabha in 1815 A.D. along with some of his young followers to make the anti-religious and superstition movement popular.
He formed the ‘Calcutta Unitarian Committee’ with the help of his friend William Adam in 1821 A.D. to make the secular ideology popular. He founded ‘Vedanta College’ in 1825 A.D. to propagate Hindu monotheism.
He founded ‘The British Indian Unitarian Association’ in 1827 A.D. and ‘Brahma Samaj’ in 1828 A.D. This is known as ‘Brahma Sabha’.
He said in a lecture in the Town Hall at Calcutta on 15th December 1829 A.D. that Indians need close proximity with the Europeans for developing their mental make-up.
Macaulay the education secretary of Bentinck recommended in a Despatch for the expansion of western education in India. He helped Alexander Duff in 1830 A.D. for establishing ‘General Assemblies Institution (Scottish Church College).
Salauddin Ahmed said,’ Rammohan did not take the step which Martin Luther took, to bring about the religious revolution. Rabindranath called him “Bharat Pathik”.
Bipin Chandra Pal called him the ‘Constructor of a new era’, Dr. Dilip Kr. Biswas called him ‘Viswamanab’ and Brajendranath Seal called him ‘Universal man’ and Mughal Emperor Akbar Shah II give him the title “Raja”.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Vidyasagar 1820 To 1891
Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar became famous through social and educational reforms. Lord Dalhousie first introduced the “Widow Remarriage Act” in 1856 A.D. As a result of this, Vidyasagar gave the marriage of Srish Chandra Vidyaratna to a widow in that particular year.
After that, he gave marriage of Narayan, his own son to Bhabasundari, a widow of 18 years. Another Act was passed with his effort in which the minimum age of marriage of girls was fixed at 10 years.
Besides this, he criticized the Polygamy of men, the execution of female children, killing of leprosy patients. He had to suffer no less when he protested against “Kulinism”.
Vidyasagar founded as many as 35 girls’ schools for female education. He established Bethune school and college with the help of Drinkwater Bethune for rendering western education to women.
He wrote the books like ‘Barna Parichaya’, ‘Bodhodaya’, ‘Kathamala’, ‘Sitar Banabas’, ‘Bhrantivilas’, ‘Betal Panchabingshati’, etc. Vidyasagar built up the ‘Metropolitan Institution’ (Presently Vidyasagar College) in his own cost.
Amalesh Tripathi called him a “Traditional Modernizer” because, within him, there was a unique combination of the past tradition and modern western philosophy.
Ramendra Sunder Trivedi said that his appearance in Bengal will be a surprising historic event and there is no doubt about it.
Young Bengal movement of Derozio:
The movement organized by Derozio in the company regime (1757-1857 A.D.) was known as the Young Bengal movement. This movement was social as well as cultural.
Though Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1807-1831 A.D.) was an Anglo-Indian in origin, he used to love India like his own motherland. So he had written the poem, ‘To India, my native land’. He wrote it by worshipping mother India.
The ideologies of Mill, Bentham, Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Thomas Paine, Dante, Geoffrey, Chaucer, etc. influenced him and his followers a lot. His students considered the book ‘Age of Reason’ by Thomas Paine as the Bible.
Henry Louis
Derozio formed Academic Association in his residence at Entally (1827 A.D.). From this time he started editing the newspapers like ‘Parthenon’, ‘Hespeas’, ‘Calcutta Literary Gazette’, ‘Calcutta Magazine’, ‘Indian Magazine’, ‘Bengal Annual’, ‘Caleidoscope’, ‘Enquirer’, ‘Gynanneshan’ etc. His main target was to build up a movement against the conservative and orthodox Hindu Society.
*David Kopf in his book ‘British Orientalism and Bengal Renaissance (P-283) said, ‘The Bengal Renaissance was the child of eighteenth-century cosmopolitanism and pragmatic British policy built around the need for an accelerated civil service class.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Maharashtra In Social Reform Movement
Bombay city of Maharashtra was the main center of the religious and social reform movement. An organization named ‘Paramhamsamandali’ first started a reform movement in this city in 1840 A.D.
This organization protested against the worship of deities and the caste system. Gopalhari Deshmukh (1823-1892 A.D.) known as ‘Lokhitabadi’ was the father of the reform movement in Western India.
“early resistance movements against British rule in India”
After that, Keshab Sen inspired religious reform in Maharashtra. He propagated the Brahma religion in 1864 A.D. in Bombay. ‘Prarthana Samaj’ was founded in Bombay in 1867 A.D. The founder of this samaj was Dr. Atmaram Pandurang (1823-1894 A.D.).
Keshab Chandra again visited Bombay in 1868 A.D. and strengthened the Prarthana Samaj. After that, in 1870 A.D. the famous historian Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar and justice Mahadev Gobinda Ranade (1842-1901 A.D.) joined Prarthana Samaj and converted this samaj very strongly.
Mahadev Gobinda Ranade (1842-1901)
Was the main spring of Prarthana Samaj. His assistant was R. G. Bhandarkar. Ranade formed ‘Widow Marriage Association in 1861 A.D. He founded ‘Puna Sarbajanin Sabha’ in 1870 A.D.
‘Deccan Education Society’ was formed in 1884 A.D. for the advancement of education. He had contributions in forming National Congress. Ranade conducted the ‘National Social Conference’ in 1887 A.D.
Education is the main weapon to build up movement against superstitions and increase of social consciousness. So ‘The Deccan Education Society’ was devoted to developing a new educated generation.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the future congress leader, was a volunteer of the Deccan Education Society. Many writers had a specific role on Maratha social and religious reform movement.
The main writers were G. N. Madgankar, Baba Padmaji, Krishna Shastri Vishnubua Brahmachari, Jyoti Rao Gobinda Rao Phule, etc. The Parsis of Maharashtra also participated in this reform movement.
The English-educated Parsi youths formed ‘Ranumai Majdaisanan Sabha’ (Reform Association) in 1851 A.D. The main object of this association was to maintain the purity of the religion that was propagated by the prophet Zoroaster. K. R. Cama explained the advice of Zarathrustra perfectly in 1859 A.D.
The Parsi reformers expressed their different views about women’s education, the Puraa system, and the age for marrying. Behramji Merwanji Malabari protested against child marriage.
Mainly due to his effort the ‘Age of Consent Act’ was passed in 1891 A.D. It was mentioned in the act that a marriage will not be legal if the wife does not attain the age of 12 at the time of marriage. The conservative Hindu society protested this act.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Punjab In Reform Movement
Dayananda Saraswati of Punjab (1824-1883 A.D.) formed Arya Samaj in 1875 A.D. He formed this ‘Samaj’ for the resurgence of Hindu society. He was born in a Brahmin family of Gujarat. He was a Sanskrit pundit.
Dayananda Saraswati
He did not know English. He came in contact with Keshab Sen after being Saint. After that, he appointed himself during his last 8 years of life in the reform the work of religion and society.
- “Go back to the Vedas.” We have nothing to learn from the West. Because our Veda is self-sufficient in respect of all knowledge and teachings.
- The Tantrik and mythical Hindu religion should be reformed because there are many shortfalls in this religion.
- He was against deity worship, child marriage, and the caste system and was a great supporter of woman’s education, widow marriage, and sea voyages.
- He fulfilled his movement by writing two books namely ‘Satyartha Prakash’ and ‘Vedabhasya’.
- He propagated religious ideologies among the common people. The main difference with Brahmo Samaj was that he was not educated in western education.
- He started the ‘Suddhi movement’ for reconverting the Hindus who were detached from it. As a result, his relationship with the Muslims became strained.
The Arya Samaj movement gradually spread over the entire India. It spread in Punjab, Rajputana, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat. Historian K. M. Panikkar thinks that Arya Samaj had an important role in strengthening the Hindu religion in Northern India.
“causes of revolts during colonial rule class 8 history”
Other reformers:
Swami Dayananda died in 1883 A.D. His followers tried to continue to propagate his ideologies. The important representatives of Arya Samaj were Lala Hamsaraj, Pandit Gurudatta, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Swami Sraddhyananda.
Lala Hamsaraj founded ‘Anglo Vedic College’ in Lahore. Sraddhyananda founded ‘Gurudal Arya Vidyalaya’ in Haridwar in 1902 A.D. Their main object was to propagate the ideology of Veda. But from this time; the members of this Samaj realized the necessity of western education.
‘Dev Samaj’ was founded by Swami Satyananda Agnihotri in 1887 A.D.
- Veersalingam Pantulu (1848-1919) was a Telugu social reformer. He disliked castism, untouchability, polygamy, etc. He founded ‘Rajmundri Social Reform Association (1878) and ‘Deyaleswar Giri School (1874). So he is called “The father of Telugu social reform”.
- Jatiba Phoole (1827-1890)and his wife Savitri Bai founded Female School at Poona in 1851. Phoole also opposed castism and untouchability. He founded the “Satya Shodhak Samaj” in 1873 A.D.
- Narayan Guru (1856-1928) Narayan Guru was a Keralian reformer who started a movement against castism and the oppression on the downtrodden. He founded ‘The all India Depressed classes Federation’ (1927) for the ‘Ezhava community. He started the ‘Bhaikom Satyagraha Movement’.
- ‘Theosophical Society of Madam Blavataski and H. T. Olcott had a vital role in the reform movement. Mrs. Anne Besant popularised the movement in India.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Brahmo Movement And Revival Of Hinduism
Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905 A.D.):
Debendranath Tagore, a, keen follower of Rammohan, founded Adi Brahma Samaj. In 1843 A.D. Dedendranath first founded ‘Sarbatatyadipika Sabha’ for religious discussions. Later it was known as ‘Tatwabodhini Sabha’.
He introduced the ‘Tatwabodhini Pàtrika’ and its editor was Akshay Kr. Dutta. On 21st December 1843 A.D. Debendranath, along with his 20 friends became Brahma by Ramchandra Vidyabagish.
Debendranath with the help of Radhakanta Dev founded ‘Hindu Hitarthi’ on 1st March 1846. Then he founded ‘Hindu Metropolitan College’ and ‘Brahma Vidyalaya’ (1859 A.D.).
The death of this great man on 19th January 1905 A.D. was a serious blow to cultural movement and reform.
Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884):
Debendranath Tagore used to call him as ‘Brahmananda’.Keshab Sen founded the ‘Indian Brahmo Mandir’ in 1869 A.D. just to bring about harmony between temples, mosques, and churches.
In 1878 A.D. there had been some conflicts between keshab Sen and some of his young followers. As a consequence, Shibnath Shastri, Anandamohan Bose, etc. came out of Indian Brahmo Samaj and founded Sadharan Brahmo Samaj separately.
At the same time. Nababidhan Samaj (1880) was founded. Besides this, they had some contributions towards the expansion of women’s education and equal rights by establishing the Civil Marriage Act and Victoria Institution.
Not only as a reformer but also as a scholar Keshab Sen wrote biographical texts of Sri Krishna, Jesus, Mohammad, etc.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Bijoy Krishna Goswami 1841 To 1899
Bijoy Krishna was a famous reformer in Bengal in the 2nd half of the 19th century. He belonged to an Advaita Vaishnava family but had become a devotee of the Brahmo religion in 1860-61. He met Sri ramakrishnadev in 1875.
Though he was Brahmo, he was criticized by other Brahmo leaders for his worshipping of Radha-Krishna’s images. Bengal’s religion and society was also influenced by Bijoy Krishna Goswami. In his early life, he was influenced by the Brahmo Samaj.
Bijoy Krishna
Later on, he came under the influence of a religious sage and under his guidance started roaming the forests and mountains to become a hermit. He did a very difficult meditation and finally emerged as a Saint.
He came to be known as Prabhupada Bijoy Krishna Goswami. He was born in the Dahakul village of Shantipur and later on he shifted to Calcutta and got admitted to Sanskrit College (1859). His father was Ananda Chandra Goswami and his mother was Swarnamoyi Devi.
He died at Nilachal, Puri on 5th June 1899. At the age of 18, Bijoy Krishna Goswami got married to one Jogmaya Debi. But he was not able to continue long in his family life and soon he got admitted to the Brahmo Samaj under the influence of Debendra Nath Tagore.
He was also admitted to the Medical College but at the fag and of the course he had left his medical studies. Along with Keshab Sen, he and Agharnath Gupta had created the ordinary Brahmo Samaj in 1878.
Unfortunately, in his later life, Bijoy Krishna became a critic of Keshab Sen on the concept of divine incarnation. He then return to the Vaishnava religion of Chaitanyadev and started the ‘Neo Vaishnava Movement’ in 1886.
He founded the ‘Gendaria Ashrama’ at Dhaka in 1888 with the help of his followers like Bipin Chandra Pal, Aswini Kumar Datta, Satish Chandra Mukherjee of Dawn Society, etc.
Baba Loknath Brahmachari had greatly influenced the young Bijoy Krishna Goswami. He had established his own Ashram after exiting from Brahmo Samaj. His three main ideals are to love god, country, and countrymen.
Like Swami Vivekananda, he gave effort to the ideal of man-making religion and selfless service for the India. According to historian David Kopt, he combined the Brahmo and Hindu Bhakti religions.
Ramakrishna Paramhansadeva (1836-1886 A.D.):
Sri Sri Thakur Ramakrishna Paramhansadeva had a great role to play in the broad humanitarian religious propagation and reform movement. His impact on social conservatism and religious rigidity was a great gain for the nation.
The simple, easy, broad views of life was a new light towards the darkened society. Sri Ramakrishna really lighted the way as Avtar. Historian Toynbee said, ‘In this case, Ramakrishna has raised his uniqueness’.
Ramakrishna was born in a poor Brahmin family of Kamarpukur in Hooghly. Later he was appointed as a priest in the Bhabatarini temple of Dakshineswar under the instructions of Rani Rashmoni.
From this time, his depth toward religion started increasing and he became famous. Keshab Sen’s mind changed when he came to see Ramakrishna in 1875 A.D. He became a non-believer in idolatry.
Besides this, Keshab Sen was absorbed in realizing God for some time by forming Sadhanashram. People like Bijay Krishna Goswami, Balaram Basu, Girish Ghosh, Mahendranath Gupta, etc. were very much influenced by Ramakrishna.
Vivekananda and Ramkrishna Mission (1897 A.D.):
The theory of Sri Ramakrishna Jata Mat, Tata Path’ showed the way of unity and tolerance. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902 A.D.). the main disciple of Sri Sri Thakur, founded ‘Ramakrishna Mission’ on 1st May 1897 A.D.
The main object of this mission in “Bahu-Janahitaya, Bahujana Sukhaya”. Vivekananda founded ‘Sri Ramakrishna Math’ in Belur on 9th December 1898 A.D. The main ideals of the saints of this Math were “Atmono Mokharthang Jagadhitayacha”.
This means sacrificing yourself. The ideals of serving and sacrifice of this mission still ‘stand high in, our society. Irrespective of any caste, religion or creed, Ramakrishna Mission is still an exception in social and educational reform.
The ideals of Swamiji-‘Man Making religion’ and ‘Practical Vedanta’ helped to make the human mind fertile. His ideals are accepted all over the world.
The foreigners like Sister Nivedita and Okakura being inspired by his ideology came to India. ‘Sarada Mission and Math’ was founded by him is famous now.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Nature And Limitations Of Reform Movements
If we analyze the nature of the reform movement we must find out some characteristic features of its such as
- Removal of evil practices from society and religion.
- Introduction of rationalism and humanism.
- Led the foundation of renaissance and regeneration.
- The idea of equalism and pragmatic and
- Role of the middle class in the movement etc.
Besides the limitation of the reform movement are-
- It brought awakening only among educated people,
- Rural illiterate people where not influenced by the movement,
- It brought renaissance only among a few people in society.
It failed to enlighten the whole, society religion, politics, and culture. Dr. K. M. Panikkar said in his book. ‘A Survey of India History’, ‘As a phase of nationalism and as an expression of resistance to Christian and Islamic doctrines, Arya Samaj is very important.
Arya Samaj is still an important factor in the Hindu resurgence of the North.
Reforms in Muslim Society: Aligarh Movement:
Syed Ahmed influenced contemporary politics though he was known as a social reformer in the 2nd half of the nineteenth century. With the advice of the British, he wanted to raise a barrier between Hindus and Muslims and he used to comment against Hindus in “The Aligarh Institute Gazette”.
He first mentioned the “Two Nation Theory” and mentioned Hindus and Muslims as ‘two separate races’. He expressed his anti-Congress speech of the National Congress was being held in Madras in 1887 A.D.
At that time, he called Congress as a Hindu organization and he called its movement as “an unarmed civil war”. So he founded ‘The United Indian Patriotic Association’, ‘The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriented Defence Association’ of upper India, and ‘The Educational Congress as the alternative to the Congress for the general improvement of the Muslims.
These associations were supported by the British for the sake of safeguarding the interest of the Muslims and strengthening the Aligarh movement. But nevertheless, this sowed the seed of communalism in India.
Syed Ahmed
The base of this movement was social reformation. He tried to develop mass consciousness against all prejudice and superstitions of the Muslim community. He took a bold step in protesting ‘talaq’ paratha, child marriage, and polygamy of man.
He emphasized on humanity and tried to modify the Mullatantra and the verdicts of the Koran. He said that anything which is irrational and unscientific in the Koran should be rejected. But in his opinion, the Koran is the only holy text.
His effort was unique in making an equilibrium between society and religion. According to R.C. Majumdar-“He did for his community something like what Raja Rammohan Roy had done for the Hindus”-History of Freedom Movement in India (Vol. 1).
- The movement was activated by British support. In this context, Moulana Jamaluddin-al-Afghani said that Syed was against the “Pan-Islamic” ideology.
- Really backward poor class did not have any role in this movement except a few educated servicemen and zamindars of Uttar Pradesh.
- The religious fanatism of the Muslims increased to a great extent and the British also supported this movement.
- The Aligarh movement was opposed by the Hindu-Bengalee and the National Congress at the same time.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Revolt Of Peasants And Tribals
British Raj was established in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa first. Naturally, the people of these regions were severely affected. So the aggressive people of Bengal and other provinces organized 40 revolts and man small upheavals from 1763 to 1865 A.D.
The tribals and peasants organized movements like the ‘Sannyasi revolt’ (1772-1812) of Bengal and Bihar; the Chuar revolt (1766-1799) of Bankura, Ghatshila, Midnapur, Dhalbhum, Poligarh revolt (1783-1805) of Tamilnadu, Peasant revolt of Kurnul (1846-47) and other revolts by the Koya, Konda, etc near the bank of the river of the Godavari.
The Paik Revolt (1817) under the leadership of Vidyadhar Mahapatra started in Orissa. Historian Dr. Ranjit Guha in his book ‘Elementary Aspects of Peasant.
Insurgency’ stated that the peasant upsurge against Devi Singh, the oppressive ljaradar of Rangpur ultimately transformed into an anti-imperialist struggle.
“The Revolt of 1857 causes, events, and consequences”
The ‘Pagalpanthi Revolt’ of Mymensing district (1824- 33) was really conducted by a special religious group. Sheikh Karim Shah was its leader.
Causes of Peasant and Tribal Movements :
The hundred years (1757 to 1857) of British Rule in India and the establishment of its paramount power made unrest among the peasants and tribal of India. Mainly the colonial and commercial interests of the company played a vital role in the uprisings.
Now the causes of the revolts are as follows
- Firstly, the high rate of revenue of the Mughals and some other revenue demands of the state extremely deprived the peasants. They had no sufficient subsistence after fulfillment of the state demand of land revenue. The state was under the control of the Company’s rule, where the state really had no surplus. According to Dr. Narahari Kaviraj, the new classes of zamindars, moneylenders, and Company officials together exploited the peasants.
- Secondly, the introduction of the ‘private property act’ in land by the British brought revolutionary changes in an agrarian society. As a result, land became a purchasable commodity and the Zaminder had enjoyed the right to evict the peasants from the land at any time.
- Thirdly, like the ‘encloser system’ in Europe, land fragmentation in India became the other cause of the peasant’s unrest. Joint land system and joint family fragmented generation after generation. Increasing land fragmentation created increasing tension in rural areas.
- Fourthly, the rise of moneylenders in society were actually the broker of the British. It was. another cause of peasant rebellion. The system of paying revenue in cash forced the peasants to depend on the moneylenders. They gave loans at a high rates of interest. The dishonest moneylenders squeezed out the poor peasants by applying inhuman fraudulent methods.
- Fifthly, after the introduction of the permanent settlement Kol, Santhal, etc. tribals were depressed by various men. The Company’s officials, moneylenders, agents, zamindars, etc. started exploitation on them.
- Sixthly, The British policy of deforestation was an important cause of the discontentment of tribals. The transformation of forest lands into cultivable lands and the conversion policy of the Christian Missionaries caused the tribal revolt.
- Seventhly, the British government forced the peasants to cultivate some cash crops like jute, cotton, indigo etc. in place of rice, wheat, etc.
The indigo revolt (1860) was such an uprising in which peasants were forced to cultivate indigo. In the ryotwari system company acted like zamindars. So the peasants organized the Deccan riot. The unrest situation among the peasants
arose.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Santhal Hool 1855 To 1856
The Santhal Rebellion broke out in 1855-56 A.D. The main reason behind the Santhal rebellion was the exploitation of the zamindars and money lenders. Sidhu himself complained that the Mahajans exploited them and enacted an interest of 50%- 500%.
So he boldly declared that their movement was against the zamindar and not against the Government. But Sherwell and Ward think that religious animosity was the main cause of the revolt. But they had also accepted the exploitations of the Mahajan.
Paresh Bhattacharya and zamindar Gopal Sinha thought that the Santhals were led to revolt due to the rape and exploitation of their women by the British officers. The main important event was that the zamindars’ men began to encroach up to the Jungle- Mahals of the Santhals.
They cut their noble Shal trees frequently and expanded lands for cultivation. The zamindars and his people plundered the locality of the Santhals. The latter called their own territories as ‘Damin-i-Koh’. Unlike the former peaceful situation, the new zamindars increased their torture.
Then 20,000 Santhals under the leadership of Sidhu, Kanu, Chand, and Bhairab united themselves in the field of ‘Bhagna-dihi’ and took the promise of Hul or revolt (30th June 1855 A.D.) The Santhal revolt, led by Sidhu and Kanu began on 7th July 1855 A.D.
It was spread in Ranchi, Hazaribag, Birbhum, Chhotanagpur, Midnapur, Purulia and Bhagalpur, etc. At first, Mahesh Daroga and his follower was killed. Then the Santhals started killing the Mahajans desperately.
Ultimately the British army under Lord Dalhousie ruthlessly suppressed the rebellion. Jervis the British commander himself accepted that they had not launched any war but mass killing.
Barun De, Amalesh Tripathi, and R. C. Majumder stated in their book Freedom struggle that this rebellion became a war of independence before the Sepoy Mutiny.
“regional uprisings and tribal revolts against colonial rule”
Though it was suppressed by the government according to Dr. K. K. Quanungo (The Santhal Rebellion) had to submit to the force of the rebellion. Ultimately a separate area called “Santhal-Dihi-Pargana” was created for the Santhal minorities.
Thus the government had to fulfill partly the aims of Sidhu and Kanu.
Moplah Revolt:
The Moplah peasants of Malabar Coast (North Kerala) organized 22 movements against the oppression of the landlords (Genmis) from 1836 to 1854. The Moplahs’ discontent found nearly renewed expression in 15 major outbreaks from 1873 to 1880.
The Moplah peasants belonged to Muslim community and were religious-minded. Yaqub Khan was the leader of the Moplah Revolt. The Hindus were nearly 4,00,000.
They were economically very poor just for the severe exploitation of the Hindu gennis (specially Nambodri and Nayar zamindar). The Moplah formed a majority of the total population in the talukas like Earnad and Walluvanad.
The Congress and khilafat parties organized them for tenancy reform movements against the big landlords. The police broke a mosque, which was another cause of their open protest. The agitators sacked the police station, and looted govt.
Treasuries and destroyed the records of mortgages and debts. The Moplah region was free from British rule for and a Moplah leader started to govern the territory.
During the khilafat movement, Moplahs resorted to violence and Gandhiji withdrew his support from it. The rebels killed 500 Hindus, sacked 100 temples, and forcibly converted 2500 Hindus into Muslims.
On the other hand, 10,000 rebels died in this prolonged guerrilla warfare and many among them were shot, hanged, died of suffocation (61 prisoners), and deported to the Andamans.
According to Dr. D. N. Dhanagare the rebels were the poor peasants, not the rich kanamder Moplahs. So he remarked “The communal sentiment or fanaticism of the Moplahs was only the symptom and not the disease”.-Peasant Movements in India 1920-1950.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Faraizi Movement
Haji Sariatullah (1781-1837 A.D.) was the founder of the Faraizi movement. The movement continued from 1818 A.D. to 1906 A.D. From this time, he started the Faraizi movement as a part of the religious reform movement.
‘Faraizi’ has been derived from the Arabic word ‘Faraiz’ and from this came the word ‘Farazi’. This means the mandatory duties determined by Islam surrendered to Allah.
According to Sariatullah, the British ruled India is an enemy country ‘Dar-ul-Harb’ so he told everybody to be united according to the dictum of the Koran. Sariatullah told about forming a socialistic state free from superstitions.
The Faraizi movement was really a bold step against the Indigo owners and the Hindu-Muslim zamindars. The poor Hindu and Muslim peasants, weavers, artisans, laborers from Faridpur, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Barishal, etc. participated in this movement.
After Haji Sariatullah the death of Sariatuallah in 1837 A.D. his son Dudhu Mian (1819-62 A.D.) converted the Faraizi movement into a political, economic, and social movement.
His slogan against the zamindars and government was the “lands belong to them who cultivate the land”. Or “the owner of the land is god”. Hence no tax would be paid. He stopped the exploitation of Sikdar, the zamindar of Faridpur (1841 AD.).
In 1846 A.D. total member of his followers were nearly 80,000. So he had been able to kill Kashi Prasad, the go most of Dunlop, the tutorial of Panch Char of Faridpur. For this offense, he was imprisoned in Alipore jail up to 1859 A.D.
Due to his influence, the ideology of the Faraizi movement spread over Dhaka, Pabna, Bakhargunge, Mymensingh, Noakhali, Khulna, Tripura and West Bengal. After the death of Dudhu Mian in 1862 A.D.
Noa Mian his son converted this Faraizi movement into a religious movement. According to the historian Narahari Kabiraj, “The Farazi movement was essentially an agrarian movement though the demands were carefully dressed up in religious catchwords….”.
Wahabi Movement:
The Wahabi belonged to a religious group of Muslims. The Wahabi group was founded by Abdul Wahabi. The word ‘Wahabi’ means ‘regeneration’ or rebirth.
His follower was Syed Ahmed of Raiberili, U. P. His aim was ‘Islamic revivalism’ but he had apathy on British Rule in India. To him, India was ‘Har-ul-Harb’ or ‘enemy’ state. He wanted to transform it into a ‘Dar-ul-Islam’ or ‘theocratic state’.
One of his followers was Titumirh who started the Wahabi movement from Barasat. Dr. Ranjit Guha remarked that the Wahabi agitators tried to establish their ‘Subaltern identity’. Suprakash Ray said it a primary stage of the anti-imperialist struggle.
W. C. Smith in his book ‘Modern Islam in India: A Social Analysis rightly remarked its nature as “the movement through religious was not simply communalist”.
“role of peasants and workers in anti-colonial movements”
The Movement did not set the lower class Muslims against lower class Hindus in open conflict, nor did it divert the lowest class Muslims from economic issues to false solidarity with their communal friends but class enemies.
Titumer’s biographer Biharilal Sarkar wrote that many Hindus accepted Titu and joined him.
Barasat revolt of Titumir (1831):
Titumir’s Barasat revolt of 1831 A.D. was one of the main peasant movements fought for economic and religious reasons. Titumir (Mir Nisar Ali 1782 A.D.-1831 A.D.) tried to expand the Wahabi movement in Bengal.
This gymnast was born in the village of Baduria in Haiderpur in North 24 Parganas. While going to Mecca for Haj at the age of 39, Titumir came in contact with Syed Ahmed.
After that, he led the Barasat revolt in the style of the Wahabis. The word Wahabi meant a ‘Renaissance’ (Regeneration). Titumir tried to remove the superstitions of Muslim society for the first time.
Then he united the poor Muslim weavers and peasants against the cruel zamindar. Indigo planters and the British government had started a mass movements in Khulna, Jessore; Rajshahi.
Dacca, Nadia, Malda and 24 Parganas, Krishnadev Ray, the zamindar of Punra of North 24 Parganas. Titu became very angry and attacked the house of Krishnadev with 300 followers.
Biharilal Sarker in his ‘Titumir’ (P-60) and Kumud Nath Mallick in his ‘Nadia Kahini’ (P-76) mentioned that the followers of Titumer had attacked the temples and the priests, similarly they had also looted the wealth of rich Muslims.
Titu established his supremacy over a large area from Barasat to Basirhat and declared himself as ‘Badshah’. His close associates were his nephew and commander Golam Masum and his follower Mainuddin.
V. A. Smith has stated that many Hindus of lower castes had joined the army fo Titumir. When he became powerful, he established a bamboo fort in the village of Narkelberia and ignoring the British started enacting taxes.
Then Lord Bentinck started a battle against him. 600 followers of Titu attacked the British with green bel fruit, bricks, bows, arrows, and spears and ultimately the bamboo fort was destroyed by the cannons of Bentinck on 19th November 1831 A.D.
Many of the soldiers died with the bamboo fort. Those who were alive had to face long imprisonment. This event was known as the Barasat revolt. Historian Quamuddin Ahmed thinks that.
Titumir’s revolt was a non-communal national revolt as the lower caste Hindus and Muslims alike supported it.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Munda Ulgulan
The Munda community used to live in Chotonagpur and its adjoining areas. The word ‘Munda’ means the village headman. They believed that the farmland and residential buildings which their ancestors or khuntoktidar had made by clearing deep forest was forcibly taken away by the dike.
The British even ousted the main priest or the pahan community. The land acquired by traditional khuntoktidar was called khuntakati.
The system of collective ownership of the Munda people over this property is called khuntakati. The Munda Revolt was called Ulgulan which means “great danger”.
Main causes of the Munda revolt were-
- ‘Bet-began or forced labour of the Mundas,
- No help from Missionaries,
- No proper justice from the government,
- Torture and exploitation from the Dikus and
- According to historian K. S. Singh, the religious and cultural devastation of the Munda tribe turned them towards revolt.
Under these circumstances, the famous Munda leader Birsa Munda (1878- 1900) took up the reins of the revolt in his own hands. He was the son of Sugan Munda. A few hundred Munda leaders also perished.. Many of them were either sentenced for life or deported.
A total of 450 followers were imprisoned. 87 were presented at the session’s court and only two were hanged. This incident came to be known as Ulgulan or dangerous muddle. In the midst of this situation, Birsa was jailed in Ranchi on 3rd February 1900.
On 2nd June, at the age of 26 years, he succumbed to cholera while still in custody. Hence, intensity and comprehensiveness were two important characteristic features of this rebellion.
The rebellion had far-reaching effects-In spite of the fact that the rebellion had failed, the Government recognized their system of Khuntakati and passed a bill called Chotonagpur Law of Tenants Rights (1908).
But the Dikus had already grabbed 90% of the Khuntakati land from the Munda people.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Indigo Revolt 1859To 60
After the ‘great revolt’ (1857 A.D.) British Government tried to pacify the people through many administrative changes but they could not succeed Just after two years in 1859-1860 A.D. from the mutiny, nearly 60 lacs of Indigo peasants started the ‘Indigo revolt’ against the British rulers due to exploitations and oppressions.
After that, the Deccan Peasant Movement started. In the long past, indigo was cultivated in this country. It is a bush-like a tree. Its height is 4-5 ft. The scientific name of indigo is Indigofera Tinctoria.
Cultivation for indigo was mentioned in ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ written by Abul Fazal. Louis Bonard, a French merchant first cultivated indigo in. this country in 1777 A.D. After Karl Blam first established the indigo industry in India.
India was ranked first in the world in indigo production within the period from 1780-1802 A.D. In 1815-16 A.D. indigo production in Bengal was able to meet up the entire demand of the world.
By the ‘Charter Act’ in 1833, indigo cultivation was freed from the hands of the British. As a result, many employees of the company and of the private sector, British employees left their job and became engaged in indigo cultivation because it fetched 100% profit.
Though the British owners/officials increased the profit margin, yet the lacs of peasants were pennyless and extremely poor. So at one time, they exploded in the Indigo revolt.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Causes Of Indigo Revolt
Firstly, the Indigo planters used two kinds of land. These were
- ‘Niza Abad’ and
- ‘Ryoti chas’. The land directly owned by the European Indigo planters was known as ‘Niza Abad’. ‘Ryoti chas’ belonged to the farmers.
In territorial land, the farmers were engaged on daily basis. In non-territorial land, the farmers were paid Rs. 2/- per bigha. Due to extreme poverty, the farmers were trapped in ‘data’ system.
But in both cases, the farmers were extremely exploited. The condition became intolerable when the indigo cultivation and Nilkuthis were expanded in Nadia, Jessore, Khulna, Dacca, Pabna, Faridpur, etc.
It was found that there was about 1000 Nikuthis in Bengal in 1830 A.D. As a result, the total land area was increased due to indigo cultivation. Side by side the degree of exploitation was also increased.
Secondly, indigo cultivation was a total loss to the farmers. Food crops cannot be cultivated in a particular land when it is used for indigo cultivation. Over and above the farmers were trapped in ‘Dadan’ loan which was unbearable to them.
The farmers of Bengal were modified into land laborers. The Nilkar owners became furious when the farmers refused to cultivate indigo. This was another reason of unrest among the farmers.
Thirdly, The unwilling farmers were whipped with a leather-covered whip known as ‘Shyamchand’. Not only that, cows and agricultural equipment of the unwilling farmers were looted.
Even the huts of the farmers were set to fire after looting everything. The women were molested. Even the local zamindars and affluent people of the locality were treated in the same manner. So, unrest was inevitable in every corner and every person.
Fourthly, Lord, William Bentinck passed Regulation-V in 1830 A.D. As a result, any breach of contract between the Nilkar owners and the farmers were treated as a criminal offense.
Fifthly, the newspapers and magazines of that period also inspired the farmers. Harish Chandra Mukherjee wrote about the tortures and Government negligence in ‘Hindu Patriot’ – which also inspired the farmers.
“impact of revolts on British colonial policies WBBSE”
Sisir Kumar Ghosh, editor of ‘Amrita Bazar Patrika’ wrote many letters in ‘Hindu Patriot’ by the nickname ‘M.L.L.’ for inspiring indigo farmers.
‘Sambad Prabhakar’ of Iswar Gupta and ‘Tatwabodhini Patrika’ of Akshay Kumar Datta played a great role in making the background of Indigo Revolt. It was mentioned in the book ‘Indigo Rebellion ‘O’ Bangali Samaj’ by Dr. Pramod Ranjan Sengupta that the role of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was great in inspiring the indigo farmers.
Besides this, Madhusudan Dutta translated ‘Nil Darpan’, a drama written by Dinabandhu Mitra in English and published in the name of father James Long. This created a sensation among the people at that time.
Sixthly, according to Rev. James Long the main causes of the Indigo Rebellion were-
- Rise in price of commodities
- Rise in labour wages
- Impact of exciting political incidents like the Wahabi and Sepoy Mutiny and
- Support by the educated middle-class towards the indigo farmers.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Leaders Of Indigo Rebellion
Bishnu Charan Biswas and Digambar known as “Biswas brothers” of Chougachha Village of Krishnanagar first initiated the Indigo movement in 1859 A.D. After that this Movement spread in Nadia, Jessore, Khulna, Pabna, Faridpur, Rajshahi, Malda, Murshidabad, Dinajpur, Barasat etc.
Baidyanath Sardar and Biswanath Sardar (known as Bishe Dakat) of Bansberia, Rafique Mandal of Malda, Rahimullah of Sundarban, Meghai Sardar of Asan Nagar, Panchu Seikh of Mallikpur, Srihari Ray of Chandipur, Zamindar Srigopal Palchowdhury of Ranaghat, Manmathanath Acharya of Sadhuhati, Zamindar Ramratan Mullik of Narail (known as Narasaheb of Bengal), Mahesh Banerjee of Pabna, Lalchand Saha and Morad Biswas of Aurangabad, etc.
“chapter 5 reaction of colonial rule long and short questions”
Took an active part in this mass movement. The Indigo Planters tried to subdue this movement with paid goondas and lathes. But according to Regulation-X 1859 A.D., the eviction of indigo farmers Iwas banned and the owners were in difficulty.
Ultimately the Indigo Rebellion was a success.
Importance:
There is no doubt the Indigo Rebellion was successful as the first peasant movement. Because, by judging the intensity of the movement’ J. P. Grant, the Deputy Governor of Bengal formed ‘Indigo Commission’ on 31st December 1860 A.D.
It was a five-member Commission. It was said in the report of this Commission that indigo cultivation is polluted, injurious and wrong. The price of indigo increased as per the recommendation of the Commission. ‘Tinkathia system’ was introduced.
That is three kathas of land per bigha can only be used as indigo cultivation. That too if the farmer is willing. It cannot be done forcefully.
It was fortunate that Germany started manufacturing indigo in an artificial method in 1891 A.D. and as a result, the cultivation of indigo lost its importance and the agricultural business of indigo stopped.
The Indigo Rebellion started after two years of Sepoy Mutiny and continued for two years. Indigo Rebellion was very significant in respect of importance and the result.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot The Revolt Of 1857
Nature of the Sepoy Mutiny: Popular revolt:
Historians differ regarding the nature of the Sepoy Mutiny. According to some, this was a struggle between the whites and the blacks, some found feudal reactions and dying voices of feudalism in it, while others regard it as a revolt of the sepoys.
Some find in it a national revolt, while some regard it as the first war of Indian Independence. The most important among those who regard it as a Sepoy Mutiny were Charles Reikes, Charles Roberts, John Silly, John Lawrence, John Key, etc.
“contributions of leaders in resistance movements class 8”
Among the Indians who named it as a Sepoy Mutiny, mention should be made of Iswar Chandra Gupta, Sambhu Chandra Mukherjee, Harish Chandra Mukherjee, Akhsoy Kumar Datta, Durgadas Banerjee, Syed Ahmed Khan, Raj Narain Bose, Dadabhai Nauroji, etc.
The Sepoys started but finally, common people joined it, so it was a popular revolt no doubt. From Eastern Punjab to Western Bihar it was a revolt of commoners. In Oudh, more than one lac people joined the revolt of 1857.
In the July of 1857 A.D. Disraeli, the leader of the Tory Party declared the rebellion as a ‘National Revolt’ in the British Parliament. Many British historians like J. B. Norton, Alexander Duff, Malleson, Charles Ball, James Outram, and Holmes also regarded it as a national revolt.
Karl Marx had also accepted the national character of the rebellion. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in his book ‘Indian war of Independence’ has declared that the revolt of 1857 A.D. was the First Indian war of Independence.
He was supported by the only historian Ashoke Mehra. Dr. Ramesh Chandra Majumdar in his ‘History of Freedom Movement in India’ has written that the “First National war of independence in 1857 A.D. is neither First or National nor a war of Independence.”
Dr. Surendranath Sen said in his book ‘Eighteen Fifty-Seven’ that the revolt of 1857 A.D. is neither First or National nor a war of Independence”.
The Marxist historian Rajani Palme Datta referred to the movement as a military unrest against all feudal and conservative forces. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has stated in his ‘Discovery of India’ that the revolt was reactionary in character.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Causes
Political Cause:
- The people of all classes became angry with the British due to the latter’s despotic policy of aggression adopted from the battle of Plassey to the revolt of 1857 A.D.
- Clive introduced a double rule in the name of good government and brought famine in India.
- Wellesley’s Subsidiary alliance by which he grabbed different provinces increased political resentment.
- Lord Dalhousie deprived the Indians from adopting a son by implementing his Doctrine of Lapse. By this policy, he occupied the princely states of Satara, Sambalpur, Nagpur, and Jhansi and aroused public sentiment against him.
- Apart from the princely states, the Santhals, Bhils, Khasis, Jaths and Faraizis revolted against the British.
- The Indian sepoys of Bhopal were very angry with the British since 1806 A.D. Because they were deprived of the right to wear tikas on the forehead or turbans on the head.
- When the East India Company became sovereign and while Bahadur Shah II disowned his title as the ‘Mughal Emperor’, the Muslims became united against the British.
The first Sepoy Mutiny took place in Vellore (1806), then it spread out in Bengal (1824), Sind, and Rawalpindi (1844).
Economic Cause:
- P. J. Marshall has commented in his ‘East India Fortune’s that after the battle of Plassey poverty in this country increased as the Government drained the
- The wealth of India by taking away diamonds, gold, silver, and other precious articles by indirect reforms in Danish trade and by Bill of Exchange.
- After the attainment of Dewani, the cost of land revenue was also increased to a great extent.
- The Charter Act of 1833 A.D. gave the facilities to many other Europeans. companies like trading in India. In this way, pressures on the Indian economy went on
- increasing.
- The British used to take raw materials at a cheaper rate from India and sold the costly readymade goods here.
- Indian markets were full of Manchester clothes which ultimately destroyed India’s handicraft industry.
- Besides the high rate of tariff and the ‘Drainage of wealth’ led to famines and epidemics in India.
- At the same time, the salaries of the Indians were much lower than that of the Europeans. One statistic recorded that when 98 lakh pounds were spent for 3,15,650 Indians annually, a sum of 2356 lakhs 60 thousand pounds were spent for 51316 white officers.
This economic discrimination was one of the main reasons of the great revolt.
Social Cause:
It is known from the text ‘Siyar-ul-Mutakherin’ that social discrimination took a bad shape on the eve of the revolt. The British people used to hate the Indians as Black skinned.
Dr. Nikhil Sur has written that Bentinck himself had similar attitudes towards the Indians. While introducing western education, Mackulay had made a neglecting comment on India’s culture that the entire collection of India’s books cannot be compared with the superior quality of a single European library.
It is known from the works of Lieutenant Darn that the British, officials had never mixed freely with the Indians. Indian entry was prohibited in restaurants, parks, and clubs reserved for the British.
It was written at the entrance of many European nightclubs-“No entry for dogs and Indians.” A British magistrate at Agra said in a law that Each Indian must Salute each British on the street.
Indian officers and general people had to suffer from racial and social discrimination in their courts and offices.
Military Cause:
Another cause of the revolt of 1857 A.D. was the growing resentment of the Indian army.
There were many reasons behind such resentment-
- Low salary as compared with the British soldiers
- Poor quality of food
- III manners of the British battalion
- Lack of promotion
- Sending of soldiers in faraway places across the ocean etc. R. C. Majumdar has said in his book “British Paramountcy and Indian renaissance” that the salary of the Indian soldiers was 9 Rupees per month.
The Hindu soldiers were also angry for crossing the seas or Kalapani. Their religious feelings were hurt by it. According to Thomas Munroe, the Indian soldiers had lost their respect due to the ill manner of the British.
Bipan Chandra commented that while the Indian soldiers consisted of 2,75,000 men, the Europeans were only 45,000 in number, so numerically speaking the resentment of the sepoys led to an imminent revolt. On 29 March 1857 A.D.
Mangal Pandey first revolted out of this anger and became a martyr (hanged on 8th April 1857).
Direct Cause:
The sepoys were given a new rifle called “The Enfield rifle”. The grease paper cover of its cartridge was made of the fat of beef and pig. A rumor spread that efforts were made to destroy the religion of the Hindus and the Muslims.
In Dum Dum, Calcutta (23, January). and in Bahrampur the mutiny of sepoys started in February. Mangal, Pandey revolted against it for the first time in Barrackpore on 29th March 1857.
Then the revolt spread in Barrackpore, Meerut (10 May) Delhi (12 May), Lucknow, etc. Thus the revolt became a great revolt from East Punjab to West Bihar. So the Revolt of 1857 A.D. was a man-made event and not an incidental happening.
Laxmibai and Tatiatopi of Jhansi, Nana Saheb of Kanpur, Begum Hazrat Mahal of Oudh, Moulavi-Ahmedullah of Rohilkhand, Kunwar Singh (Tiger of the Revolt) of Bihar, Moniram Diwan of Assam joined the revolt of 1857 A.D.
Laxmibai
Reasons for the Failure of the Revolt of 1857 A.D.
There were several causes behind their failure.
- Though the sepoys revolted over a large area from Eastern Punjab to Western Bihar, it had no effect on the entire sub-continent. It was not felt elsewhere except in some portions of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rohil Khand, Oudh, Bengal, and Bihar. There was no revolt in Sind, Rajasthan, Nepal or South India. So this localized nature of the revolt made it less powerful.
- Though there was public support for the revolt in many places like Jhansi, ‘Oudh, and Delhi, people of the other areas were reluctant to sympathize with the sepoys. The king of Gwalior, Sindhia, and his minister Dinkar Rao, Jang Bahadur of Nepal, the Nawab of Hyderabad, the Begam of Bhopal, the king of Jodhpur had helped the British to subdue the rebels. Besides, the kings and the common people of Patiwala and Jhind were supporting the British.
- There was no unity or harmony among the leaders of the rebellion. For instance, Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi revolted for the selfish interests of her own state. Similarly, Kunwar Singh of Bihar, fought for himself, Nana Saheb tried to re-establish the Maratha power, the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II fought for his own sovereignty.
- The leaders could not place a definite aim before the sepoys. As there was no national interest or proper planning, the revolt could not start together at all places.
- The Indian Sepoys did not have efficient leaders like Lawrence, Outram, Havelock, Nicholson, or Nill. Among the Indian leaders, Nana Saheb, Tantiya Topi, and Lakshmibai had led the revolt quite confidently, but they were not led for national purposes.
Chapter 5 Reaction Of Colonial Rule Assistant And Revot Result
The results of the great rebellion of 1857 A.D. had been far-reaching. Though the revolt had failed, historians like Sir Lepal Griffin Stated that “The revolt of 1857 A.D. swept the Indian sky clear of many clouds”.
“practice exercises on resistance and revolt WBBSE history”
This revolt brought far-reaching changes in political, social, and other aspects.
Firstly:
On 2nd August 1857 A.D. “An Act for the Better Government in India” has been passed. By this act, the East India Company’s rule ended with the direct rule of Queen Victoria. The Viceroy post was created instead of the earlier Governor General.
Instead of the Board of Control and the Court of Directors, the post of the Secretary of States for India was initiated. For proper governance, the Imperial Legislative Council was formed with 15 members.
Secondly:
On 1st November 1858 A.D. Queen Victoria had promised in a declaration.
- The Doctrine of Lapse will be ended.
- The Indians will be appointed according to their qualifications.
- The policy of imperial expansion will be abandoned.
- Nobody’s customs and beliefs will interfere notwithstanding anyone’s race, religion, or caste.
- All Indian prisoners except those committing serious offenses will be released.
Thirdly:
The Indian army will be reorganized so that the sepoys will not revolt again and the sepoys will also not be placed in higher military services.
“economic and social impact of colonial revolts”
Fourthly:
The Hindus and Muslims will be consciously separated so that the Indians will not revolt in the future.