VIII.History.Chapter11.The Frist War of Independence 1857.

VIII.Chapter11.S.St.History.
The Great Revolt of 1857
Topic-The East India Company.
Day1.Period1.Page125-126.
Keywords.
Persons.
Bahadur Shah Zafar, Mughal Emperor an emperor without any authority, to take over the leadership of the revolt.He was proclaimed the Shahenshah - e - Hindustan. 
Understandings.Page125.
The First War of Independence - 

The Revolt of 1857.

1857,The Revolt of 1857 was the landmark in the history of India's struggle for freedom.It started on May 10, 1857 with the mutiny of soldiers in Meerut Cantonment.The revolutionary soldiers marched towards Delhi.
On May 11,1857, Delhi was a mute witness to a band of sepoys who crossed over the River Yamuna and entered the Red Fort.They appealed to the aged Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar,an emperor without any authority, to take over the leadership of the revolt.He was proclaimed the Shahenshah - e - Hindustan the sepoys captured the city of Delhi, killed many Englishmen and ransacked many public offices.  
Though the revolt was started by the Indian soldiers in the service of the East India. Company, it soon spread to different parts of country.  Different sections of the society like peasants, artisans, soldiers, educated Indians and many Indian rulers joined hands to fight herocially against the foreign rule.Hindus and Muslims also came together to oppose the foreign domination.  
The event was also called The Uprising, the Revolt of 1857 or the Sepoy Mutiny by the British.But Indian historians call it the First War of Independence as it was the first time that different sections of Indian society united and fought as one nation to throw off the shackles of foreign domination.  

Sepoy Mutiny.

Ever since the British had set foot on Indian soil, the nation was losing its wealth and independence.  The aim of the British was to exploit the resources of our country.  From 1757 Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 onwards, they won almost every battle against the Indian rulers and kept on expanding the area under their control.  They sent Indian wealt back home to England.  This angered the Indians.  Finally, 100 years later, in 1857, a number of Indians revolted against the exploitation of British for a long time.

Understandings.Page 125 

Zafar.

Causes of the Revolt.The Political Causes 
Dissatisfied Nawabs and Sepoys : The revolt was the outcome of the widespread resentment that had been boiling against the British for a long time.The Indian sepoys were dissatisfied with the treatment meted out to them.
The Indian rulers - Bahadur Shah Zafar,Tantya Tope of Gwalior, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi and Nana Saheb of Kanpur - had personal scores to settle with the British.They led the revolt in their respective territories.  
Desire against the foreign exploitation : The common people of Delhi, Lucknow, Gwalior and other places had no narrow ambitions of power or money.They wanted an end of the foreign exploitation.  
The policy of annexation of Dalhousie , particularly, the Doctrine of Lapse, created fear and resentment among Indian rulers.They were not allowed to adopt heir to the throne.This policy ensured that those kingdoms,where the kings did not have natural heirs, would be taken over by the British after the demise of the king.It is believed that if the British would have not snapped the compensation that kings were paid earlier in return of a share in government, the kings would not have joined the revolt.
Subsidiary Alliance : The British signed many treaties with the Kings and Nawabs but violated them, as per their convenience.

Begam Hazarat,Wazid Ali Shah.

One such treaty signed with Awadh was Subsidiary Alliance in 1801. The Nawab Wajaid Ali Shah was compelled to accept the permanent British army within the territory and to pay a subsidy for its maintenance.He could not recruit any other European in his service without prior approval.He had to station a Resident in his court, which reduced the power of the Nawab.  Gradually, the Indians lost all trust in the British Awadh had been an ally of the East Indian Company for nearly a century.
Still it was annexed on the plea that the government was not functioning properly.  The Nawab was exile to Calcutta.
Begum Hazrat Mahal took over the reign of Awadh.This shocked the other rulers.  
Do you know? 
Lord Dalhousie was appointed Governor - General of India in 1848.The eight years of his rule are considered the greatest period for the expansion of British power in India.

Lord Dalhousie.

Economic Causes 
The policy of economic exploitation and the destruction of the traditional Indian economi structure by the British caused widespread resentment among Indians.  The zamindari system exploite the peasants who were forced to grow only those crops that the British industries required.They were tortured or jailed on failure to pay the revenue in time.  Industrial goods like textiles from Britain floode the Indian markets.This destroyed Indian industries and made the artisans and peasants unempolye 
Whenever the princely states were annexed, the British got rent - free land and huge amount money.  The common people faced unemployment and poverty.  When Awadh was occupied by the British, Nawab's officers were dismissed and his army was disbanded.  About 60,000 professionl soldiers lost their livelihood. 

Home Assignment.
a.Attempt the inside Questions/Answers 
b.Understand by your own.

c.Learn them.
d.Keep eyes over figures.
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VIII.Chapter11.S.St.History.
The Great Revolt of 1857
Topic-The Causes of the Revolt .
Day2.Period2.Page127-128.
Keywords
Understandings.Page127 

Social and religious Causes 

Map.1857.Page.128

the social reforms by the British were considered an interference in the customs and tradition of the Hindus.Many Indians opposed the introduction of western education and the conversion of  Indians to Christianity.
The Hindu of property was changed to enable a Christian convert to receive  his share of ancestral property. 
The spread of railways created further fear among the poor and illiterate sections of the society that they would lose their caste
Do you know?
Rumours created panic.One such rumor was that the whole Indian population would lose their caste as the British had sent cartloads of bonedust which was mixed with flour and mithai (sweets)that they would lose that  was being sold in the market!
Indians were not allowed to travel in first class train compartments.The conservative In were alarmed by the rapid spread of western culture and English education in India. Moreover the British looked down upon Indians and followed a policy of  racial discrimination.They considerd themselves as 'superiors'.They advocated a judicial system based on the principle of equality actual practice it was biased. 
Military Causes 
The Sepoys had helped the British to establish their empire in India but instead of re awards or promotions,they were humiliated by the British.There was discrimination between the Indian and the British soldiers.The highest pay given to an Indian sepoy as subedar than the minimum pay of a European recruit.The Act of 1856,made it compulsory for new recruit to serve overseas.It hurt the feelings of the soldiers as Hindus believed that travel would lead to the loss of caste.  

Mangal Pandey.

Immediate Causes the cartridges of the new Enfield rifle had a greased paper cover which had to be bitten off before the cartridge was loaded into the rifle.  It was said that the grease composed of beef and pig fat.Both the Hindus and the Muslims refused to use them as the cow is sacred to the Hindus and the pig is detestable to the Muslims.  
On March 29,1857 at Barrackpore near Calcutta,Mangal Pandey, a young Indian Sepoy from Bengal Regiment, refused to use the greased cartridge and shot down his sergeant.  He was arrested, tried and executed.  When this news spread, many sepoys started the revolt.
Understandings.Page127.
Page.128 -Map.

Home Assignment.
a.Attempt the inside Questions/Answers 
b.Understand by your own.

c.Learn them.
d.Keep eyes over figures.

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VIII.Chapter11.S.St.History.
The Great Revolt of 1857
Topic-The Course of the Revolt .
Day3.Period3.Page129-130.
Understandings.Page129 
Course of the Revolt 
The sepoys broke out into an open revolt at Meerut in April,1857.They refused to touch the greased cartridges.  

Kunwar Singh.

Do you know? Kunwar Singh, the 80 - year old landlord of Jagdishpur, was the most outstanding military leader of the revolt in Western Bihar
They were court - martialed and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.The regiments in Meerut revolted on May 10, 1857.They broke open the prison and released  the imprisoned soldiers.They marched  to Delhi on May 11 and rebelled under Bahadur Shah Zafar II.  
The Revolt then spread to other places.It was led by Nana Saheb in Kanpur along with his general, Tantya Tope and by Begum Hazrat Mahal in Awadh, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi led the revolt in Central India and fought valiantly.  
The Revolt also spread to Bareily, Agra, Benaras and other places.  The Sikh leaders in Punjab, Nizam of Hyderabad and Scindia of Gwalior did not join the revolt.  The Madras and the Bombay Regiments also did not join the revolt.The Afghans and the Gurkhas remained loyal to the British.
The Revolt was started by the sepoys but the participation of the peasants and the artisans gave the Revoit its real strength.It reflected GO the Hindu - Muslim unity.  Although the Revolt was a great event but it Rani Lakshmi Bai was effectively suppressed by the Britishers.Main centers of Revolt 

Rani Laxmi Bai.

Supression  of the Revolt
British military officers freed Delhi, the epicentre of the Revolt, from the rebels.  The Kashm Gate was blown up.  Hundreds of people were massacred.Bahadur Shah Zafar II, the Mughal Emper was tried for treason and exiled to Rangoon.His sons were cruelly shot down as they were h guilty of the murder of the English men,women and children.
The control of Delhi and imprisonment of Bahadur Shah Zafar by the British broke the backbe of the mutiny. Lucknow was recaptured in 1858 Rani Lakshmi Bai was killed in the battle and Tar Tope was captured and hanged to death.
Thus, ended the episode  of the historic Revolt, also called the First War of Independence.
Understanding Page 130
Causes of the Failure of the Revolt.
The upgrading had been planned for months, but it broke out before the appointed date: did not go according to the plan as the revolutionaries failed to spread it beyond Central India and Delhi, if the plan had gone as per the schedule, the revolt would  have broken ou in many parts of India simultaneously and it would have been very difficult for Lord Canning 

 the Governor - General at that time, to control the revolt.  

Begam.Tantiya.Nana.

There was no unity among the rebels.The ideas of nationalism had not yet developed.  There was no common ideology amongst the rebels.The sepoys of Bengal wanted to revive the glory of the Mughals while Nana Saheb and Tantya Tope tried to re - establish the Maratha power and Rani Lakshmi Bai fought for her lost kingdom.
The rising was not widespread.  It was limited to North and Central India.  In the North, the Sikhs, the Nizams and the Scindias were unaffected by the Revolt and the Gurkhas not only remained loyal to the Britishers, but helped the British in suppressing the mutiny.
The rebels could not match the sophisticated and modern weapons and the disciplined army of the British.  Moreover, an organized communication system and military strategies led to British victory.  
The leadership of the Revolt was neither strong nor gave direction to the rebels.  The Indian rulers fought to liberate their own territories and did not think about the freedom of the whole country.  Moreover, the company officials got timely help from the government of Britain.  

Revolts Center.

Result of the Revolt. 
The rule of the East India Company ended with Queen Victoria's Proclamation of November She assumed the title of the Empress of India.  The British crown took over the administration 
A Secretary of State was appointed by the British Parliament to look after the governance with the help of a council.The Governor - General was given the title of Viceroy -the representative of the British Crown.  
British reorganized the army to prevent any future revolts.The policy of ruthless conquests exations of Indian territories was given up.  The Indian princes were given the assurance that tes would not be annexed and were granted the right of adoption.  
Full Religious freedom was guaranteed to the Indians, they were also given the assurance that it would be given to them without any discrimination.  
By the end of 1859, British authority in India was fully re-established.  But the Revolt proved first great struggle for freedom.  It became a source of inspiration for the later freedom and its heroes became household names in the country.
Page130.

Home Assignment.
a.Attempt the inside Questions/Answers 
b.Understand by your own.

c.Learn them.
d.Keep eyes over figures.

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VIII.Chapter11.S.St.History.
The Great Revolt of 1857
Topic-The Queen's Proclamation.

Kuwar,Azimullah,Jhansi ki Rani.

Day4.Period4.Page131.
Understandings.Page131.

Keywords.  .  
Ally : a state formally cooperating with another for a military or other gains.  
court - martialed: a judicial court for trying members of armed services accused for offenses military law.  
Mutiny : an open rebellion against the proper authorities, especially, by soldiers and sailors against their officers.  
Racial discrimination : unfair treatment or bias against a person or a group of people on the basis of race - hair type, color of eyes or skin.  
revolt: take violent actions against an established government or ruler, or an authority.  Sergeant : a rank of non - commissioned officer in the army or air force.  
Shackles : a pair of fetters connected together by a chain, used to fasten a prisoner's wrists together.  
Subebar : it is rank in Indian Army, ranking below the commissioned officers.  
Subsidy : money that is usually paid by a government to keep the price of a product or

Queen Victoria.

service help a business or an organization to continue to function.  
treason, the crime of betraying one's own country.

Figure Queen Victoria 

Figure Proclamation Act of 1858 
Page 131
Home Assignment 
a.Understand by reading.

b.Make yourself understand.

Home Assignment

a.Understand the contents

Proclamation Act of 1858.