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ravichaudhary
December 29th, 2003, 09:42 AM
THE 1857 SEPOY MUTINY OR WAS IT THE FIRST INDIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
1857?

British and most native Indian historians treat this event alike as a
Sepoy mutiny, a mutiny of the British Indian native foot soldiers
against their British officers. Brave and loyal Indians, among the
princely states of Baroda, Jaipur, Bikaner, Patiala, Nabha, and Jind
and Nepal, put this mutiny.

To get an idea of the treatment of the subject one has to only read a
prescribed text in Indian Universities, the highly regarded text " An
Advanced History of India-" by the esteemed Historians - R C
Majumdar, H. C. Ray Chaudhary, Kalika Ranjan Dutta. Macmillan India,
New Delhi republished this textbook first published in 1946, in its
4th edition in 1990.

It tells us that, the British were fortunate "to secure the loyalty
of and receive valuable aid from the likes of Sir Dinkar Rao of
GWALIOR, Sir Salar Jung of HYDERABAD, Jang Bahadur of NEPAL". Praise
and thanks are bestowed on the Rajput princes of Rajastan and the
Sikh princes of Punjab, Gulab Singh of Kashmir, all of whom were by
then, little more then pensioners and tax collectors for the British.
Scindia of Gwalior, Gulab Singh of Kashmir, are singled out for
special praise. Of Scindia the British Historians wrote " he. Saved
India for the British" and of Salar Jang (later Sir Salar Jang), as
a " man whose name deserves to be ever mentioned by Englishmen with
gratitude and admiration"

The cause is supposed to have been the adoption of fat filled
cartridges in the newly introduced bullets. The fat was of Pigs and
Cows, thus offensive to both Muslims and Hindus.

The revolt spread from Calcutta to Peshawar and Central India. To
suppress it help came the quarters above.

A conspiracy, against the British, British, between Nana Sahib
Peshwa the adopted son of Baji Rao II, the last Peshwa, and the Rani
of Jhansi, Laxmi Bai and others is also suggested, and it is also
suggested that the conspiracy existed even before the revolt.

At it end untold atrocities were committed on the Indian people in
revenge.

The Bombay Telegraph reported, on the aftermath of the taking of
Delhi by the British,

" All the city people found within the walls when our troops arrived
were bayoneted on the spot; and the number was not inconsiderable, as
you may suppose when I tell you that in some houses forty or fifty
people were hiding"

When it was over, names like Laxmi Bai, Rani of Jhansi, Nana Sahib
Peshwa, Tantia Tope, lived on in the minds of the Indian psyche, to
be evoked as the precursors and role models of the freedom movement
that came later, and led to the independence of India from the
British in 1947.

However one is inclined to ask was this all, and was this cause
enough for a major conflagration to envelope then known British
India. ?

How is that such a well-coordinated effort existed from one end of
the nation to the other?

Was the entire Indian population so enthralled that they would risk
and not only risk but also give their lives?

Was all this to save a pension for Nana Sahib Peshwa, or so that
Laxmi Bai's adopted son could ascend the throne?

The causes, the organizers, the organization, and the coordination
were a little deeper, yet the story has not been told in full.

Names like Swami Omanand, Swami Purananand, Swami Virajanand, Swami
Dayanand are nowhere mentioned.

There is no cognizance of names like Nahar Singh, Rao Tula Ram, and
of sacrifices of the men and women of the Jat Sarv Khap. There is no
mention in our histories of how the headmen of the Panchayat of each
village in then Haryana were hanged to death, and entire villages
were burnt to the ground.

Haryana as it then was not the miniscule Haryana, of toady, but a
vast republic, which spread from the Sutlej in then Punjab, to
Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh to Western UP. Its supreme Panchayat
governed this vast entire territory through its panchayat system.
Formed in 600 AD by the Jat Emperor Harsh Vardhan Virk, it was
headquartered at Shoron, district Muzzafarnagar, some 150 Kilometers
north east of Delhi on the Delhi - Dehradun Road. This republic faced
down the invaders like Ghazni, Ghauri, Timur and the Khiljis for over
one thousand years.

When the 1857 war was lost, it was destroyed. Its people were
punished. It was divided between the petty protectorates of the
British, the princes of Rajasthan, Punjab, and one part to form the
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, and one to create what later
became the Union Territory of Delhi. The name Haryana was erased from
history.

Some records survived, and Dilip Singh Ahlawat, after much research
in the Sarv Khap records, wrote a History book in Hindi; Titled " Jat
Viron ka Ithihass" published from Rohtak in1988.

His account of the first war of Independence of 1857 is a little
different from the standard one


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ravichaudhary
December 29th, 2003, 09:43 AM
THE 1857 WAR - PART II - CAUSES- I

The 1857 war is treated as a Sepoy mutiny by British and (most)
Indian Historians.

Dilip Singh Ahlawat in his Book, Jat Viron ka Ithihass presents a
different view.

He writes, that this was not a rebellion or a mutiny but was an
organized war of liberation. He also makes reference to a British
writer, who in his book " History of our own times Vol III' called
it " a national and religious war".

Veer Sarvakar and Ashok Mehta in their writings called it the " First
Indian Independence war", whose objective was to liberate India from
the British. The war was fought for independence for our Dharam. In
this war brave Indian soldiers and many people from all classes and
communities took part. The tragedy was that it did not succeed."

A SUMMARY OF REASONS FOR THE WAR.OF 1857.

In 1757 Clive the general of the British East India Company defeated
the ruler (Nawab) of Bengal, Siraj U Daulah, in the battle of
Plassey. The company then appointed Clive as the governor of Bengal.
From 1757 to 1857 the British applied policies, administrative,
religious, social, and military, that caused the entire population to
be resentful of their rule. The entire situation was a ready for a
fire and explosion, and the pig and beef fat used in the bullets was
the match the lit the fuse.

(A) THE POLITICAL REASONS.

(1) The British felt that war and their harsh policies would enable
them to absorb the various parts of India into their empire.
Dalhousie and Hastings were spreading their foreign influences in the
domestic kingdoms.

Their quarries were the kingdoms of Hyderabad, Mysore, Tanjore,
Karnataka, Nagpur, Gwalior, Bhopal, Jaipur etc. In many of these
princely states they along with their influence, established their
rule. In this manner Bentinck annexed Coorg and Kachar, and
Ellenborough captured Sindh, and spread their empire. Their
atrocities started to spread. However the local kingdoms and the
people resisted, and efforts were made to remove this foreign power
from the soil of India.

(2) Dalhousie's doctrine of Lapse (as a method of seizing the
kingdoms).

Dalhousie implemented his doctrine of Lapse without pity from 1848 to
1856.The doctrine dictated that no Indian Raja or Nawab, who was
issueless could adopt an heir without the permission of the British.
Some kingdoms, estates, did not have heirs. They asked for permission
to adopt an heir, this was refused, and the British annexed their
territories. Using the Doctrine of lapse, in 1850 Satara, in 1852
Udaipur, in 1853 Jhansi, and in 1954 Nagpur were snatched away.
Dalhousie with this policy spread discontent over India, and the Rani
of Jhansi started to oppose the British. In this manner the war of
independence started to take shape.

(3) The stopping of the pension of Nana Sahib.

Dalhousie stopped the pension of Tanjore, and Karnataka. In 1852 the
last Pehwa Bajirao the second passed away. Dalhousie stopped the
pension of his adopted heir Dhondhupant or Nana Sahib. In 1857 this
Nana Sahib was the prime leader of the revolutionaries.

(4) AWAD ( OUDH)

In 1856 Dalhousie removed the Nawab of Oudh. Wazir Wajid Ali Shah
from his seat, and annexed his kingdom to the British Empire. This
Nawab and his associates became anti British and took part in the
1857 war with great enthusiasm.

(5) The demeaning of the last Mogul Emperor.

Hastings stopped sending gifts to the Mughals, and started issuing
coins in the name of the British. Ellenborough and Dalhousie started
to make conspiracies to deprive the Mogul King of his places and
fortresses. Bahadurshah became an enemy of the British. In 1857 Delhi
became the centre of the opposition.

(B) ADMINSTRATIVE REASONS

(1) Rule of the British on India
(2) The harsh behavior of the British against the Indians.
(3) Denial of high positions in the British administration to Indians.
(4) The anti- Justice attitude of the British.


(C) ECONOMIC.

(1) Economic domination of the country. The decimation of
domestic economic enterprises.
(2) Bentinck policies of seizing the lands
(3) The harsh behavior of Jackson with Oudh Talukdars.
(4) Unemployment and poverty among the people.

(D) DESTRUCTION ON THE INDIAN SYSTEM OF EDUCATION.

Prior to the time of the British arrival, the extent and development
of education in India was unsurpassed by any county in Europe.
Schools (Vidya Peeths) were extant in all towns. Little children were
taught in the Pathshalas (schools) in the Villages, which schools
were supported and funded by the Panchayats. A member of the British
Parliament, Cair Hardy, wrote in his book, ' Indica' - " Max Muller,
on the basis of the official and administrative machinery reports,
that in Bengal there were 80,000 Pathshalas (or village schools)."

Wherever the British " Company" established its rule and sway, there
the centuries old system of education also got wiped out. After
destroying our ancient history and literature, their false history
replaced ours, and that is still what was taught in the Indian
Schools today (1988). It is painful to note that that same false
history is till being taught in our now independent India. The
British were fanatic opponents of education for the Indians. J. C
Marshman, on June 15, 1853 gave his report to the select committee of
the British Parliament, and said " There was stiff opposition to
giving education to the Indians, long after the establishment of
British rule"

The British destroyed our History, our literature, and our Education
system.

(E) THE POLICY OF CONVERSION OF INDIANS TO CHRISTIANITY

Long before 1857 the British were attempting to convert the Indians
to Christianity.

In 1857 the representative of the East India Company, Mr. Mangles,
said in Parliament: -" God has given the vast empire of India to the
English so that from corner to corner the flag of Christ may fly.
Each one of us must devote our full power to this great cause, so
that India may be made Christian, and in this there must not the
slightest letup in determination."

One of his contemporaries one Reverend Kennedy wrote, " No matter
what difficulties befall us, as long as India is part of our empire,
we must always keep in mind that our prime objective is to spread the
Christian religion here. We will not rest until our mission is
accomplished. For this work we should make the necessary effort, and
for this task we must use all the resources and authority that we
have. "

These thoughts are also found in the writing s of Lord Macaulay, who
was responsible for the maximum damage to the Indian Education system.

' We must create a class among the Indians, who will act between us,
and the millions of Indians, and will create an understanding among
them. These people would remain Indian only in appearance and blood,
but in all other manners, language, and thinking would be British".

In India the missionaries commenced their aggressive prosetylization.
When famines occurred they converted the starving population into
Christians. The word spread among the common man, that the new
Governor General Canning was sent to India to convert Indians to
Christianity.

This caused resentment among the people and also on the armed forces.


(F) THE ARMY

(1) The Indian soldiers were considered inferior to British soldiers.

(2) Indian soldiers were paid less.

(3) The soldiers, of the armies of the kingdoms which were annexed
by the British were rendered unemployed,

(4) The issue of animal fat in the bullets: In 1856 the Colonial
government decided to replace the old muskets with new ones, which
were called " Enfield Rifles" In these rifles animal fat of pigs and
cows was used and the soldiers had to cut off the tip of the top of
the cartridge with their teeth. The Hindu and the Mussulman soldiers
became very upset at this. They were now convinced that the British
Government wished to destroy their religion. They with great bravery
and courage started their revolutionary activities.

The British historian Sir John Kaye accepts this and writes" In 1853,
Colonel Tucker, wrote in clear words, that the new bullets used Pig
and Cow fat." Kaye himself accepted this and wrote," There is no
doubt that this greasy bullet fill, used Cow and Pig fat".