What was the Indian Rebellion of 1857 ?

policies of doctrine of lapse, subsidiary alliance and policy of Effective Control created discontentment among people. Annexation of Awadh proved that even the groveling loyalty can't satisfy British greed for territories.

abolition of practices like sati, female infanticide, support to widow remarriage and female education were seen by many as an interference in their culture by the outsider.

As per Laxmi Subramanian pay, pension and prospect were the main reason for discontent.

British fought first Afghan war, Crimean war, Punjab wars and in all these wars the company had to incur huge losses. This had a great psychological repercussions.

umors such as mixing of bone dust with atta ( flour) and introduction of Enfield rifle , the catridges of which were made up of the fat of beef and pig , acted as a sparking point for the revolt.

Lacked all- India participation. Southern, eastern and western part of India remained more or less unaffected.

All sections didn't participate. Those who didn't participate were modern educated Indians, moneylenders, merchants and some rulers like holkars of Indore, Scindhias of Gwalior , rulers of Patiala, sindh and other sikh chieftains.

Poor arms and equipments.

Lacked unified ideology, political perspective, forward looking programme and societal alternative. Rebels represented diverse elements and had differing grievances and concepts of current politics.

Poor arms and equipments.

CONSEQUENCES:-

The direct responsibility of administration of the country passed on to the British crown.

Act of Better Government was passed , declaring Queen Victoria as the empress of the British India and a secretary of state was to be appointed who would be the member of the British cabinet.

Racist feeling and suspicion between indian and europeans aggravated.

The rights and dignity of the Indian princes were respected and the Indian states henceforth had to accept the paramountcy of the British.

Zamindars were declared as “native rulers” of the people of india

Army was reorganized and the British military policy was dominated by division and counterpoise.

Thus, though the revolt failed, it ended the company rule in India and sowed the seeds of nationalism and quest for freedom from the alien rule.

Lord Dalhousie was the Governor-General of India till 1848-1856. Under him the British followed an expansionist policy in India.

Dalhousie through his policies had added considerable territories to the British Empire in India.

The policy of annexation reached its climax when he implemented the policy of Doctrine of Lapse and annexed the Indian states on charges of mis-governance and absence of an heir. In the course of eight years Dalhousie annexed Satara (1848), Sambhalpur (1850), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1853), Jaipur (1849) and Bhagat (1850).

This policy enraged the Indian rulers against the British government.

As part of the Doctrine of Lapse policy, the titles and pensions of some Indian princes were confiscated.

The pension of Baji Rao ll’s son Nana Sahib was discontinued after his father’s death and Rani of Jhansi had been deprived of her right to rule in violation of the recognized Hindu law.

Dalhousie further proposed to abolish the title of the Mughal emperor after the death of Bahadur Shah II.