The Sepoy Rebellion — Forgotten History

Going by many names such as The Sepoy Rebellion, The Sepoy Mutiny, The Indian Mutiny and in India is known as the First War of Independence, the war that saw a dramatic shift in British rule in India has a long and storied history. While ultimately unsuccessful it proved to the British that India would require more attention and resources to rule than originally believed.

Author’s Note

Initially I thought this would be a relatively easy subject to write an article about and that I would be able to include most of the major details but that is not the case. This war had many different elements to it and it is near impossible to include all of them in an article written in just a weeks time. When I would start looking at a certain aspect of the rebellion it would splinter off into more parts that in turn would split into even more sections. Therefore this article is just a cursory view of the Sepoy Rebellion. I believe I will continue researching and writing to make a much longer more definitive article while I continue with my weekly articles.

Conquest

Britain’s conquest of India started with the formation of the East India Company in 1600. The company was established to control all English trade throughout Asia, at its inception the company was given a royal charter that gifted them a monopoly over all Asian trade. The company began trading with Indian ports and slowly gained India’s trust. By the 18th century the English were trading heavily with India and were even venturing into the country itself.

British meeting the Indians, Courtesy of Getty Images

As the East India Company began pulling massive profits from trade they became not only a commercial power but also a military and political one in the region. In the 1750s the English began waging ground wars throughout India with the French and other countries in order to push out any foreign influence that was not their own. By the 1820s the British, through the East India Company, had great control over India and was even replacing Indian Aristocracy with British officials. They were able to take political control through a British policy called the Doctrine of Lapse. The doctrine stated that the East India Company could take over a region if the Indian ruler died and had no male heir to replace him.

Sepoys, Courtesy of National Army Museum

The Company kept order in country by raising armies from the locals who would then be lead by British officers. The men in these local security forces were called sepoys (see-poy) and being drawn from the higher Hindu caste of society they took great pride in their service. By the time of the rebellion thousands of sepoys were employed and trained by the British.

Seeds of Rebellion

Indians began feeling distrust towards the British once their interactions extended farther than trading. As the British began using the Doctrine of Lapse to take over the continent they abused its power and were taking over territories through deceptive acts. Oftentimes forcing the hand of certain emperors by bribing them to step down from their positions, then replacing them with British officials who took control and began implementing policies that challenged Indian culture. To add insult to injury the British never consulted any Indians on the policies that were implemented, Europeans were the ones that made the decisions and the Indians had to obey.

Indian caste system, Courtesy of A Medium Corporation

Policies that Indians found particularly appalling were those that regarded as humanitarian efforts. The British implemented female emancipation and allowed widows to remarry. Both policies were an affront to Indian culture and customs. The British also broke down the caste system that was deeply entrenched in Indian society. Everyone was a part of some level of the caste and many higher caste members became angered that they were being seen as equal to the lower castes.

Another issue was the public works the British implemented. Many of these efforts were good as they improved roads, put up telegraph lines and built railroads but some caused trouble. Two efforts in particular helped to undermine Indian's trust. First was the Christian missionaries that vehemently prosthelytized for their religion. Rarely were these missionaries succesful at converting the majority Hindu/Muslim population but they took particular offense to the British trying. Indians found it deeply disturbing to be told that the religion they believed all their life and that all their ancestors believed was completely wrong. These missionaries even made the fiercely loyal sepoys question whether the British were right for India.

Secondly was the schools that the British set up. These schools began teaching English to Indian children as well as Western customs and ideas. Many Indians did not like these schools as they believed the British were trying to indoctrinate their children.

What was seen as a point of no return was when the British took over the city of Oudh (aw-dh). The city had rich cultural and historic significance for Muslims and Hindus alike, and many feared that the British would change it. To a degree they were right. The courts and government in Oudh were very corrupt and the British decided to put their own officials in the courts to reorganize and establish a fairer system. To the British this was a good thing and they believed they were really helping the people of the city, but Indians saw it as the British stepping into and taking over a city that had always been sovereign.

As it drew closer to the time of rebellion the sepoys became more and more discontent with the British. As stated before the sepoys came from the higher castes of society but they were seen by the British as equal to the lower caste members. A glaring issue that sepoys faced was that officers could only be British, no matter how experienced a sepoy may be they faced a glass ceiling with little to no room for improvement. Another problem came a year before the rebellion when the General Service Enlistment Act of 1856 was implemented, this act stated that sepoys would be required to serve outside of India whenever the empire demanded. For the high caste Hindu sepoys, travelling outside of India worried them because their status within society would not be recognized anywhere outside the country.

Diagram of how to load the new Enfield rifles, Courtesy of Guns.com

The sepoys anger reached a fever pitch when they were made to use the new Enfield pattern single shot rifles. These new rifles used a paper cartridge that was lubricated with grease to help it slide into the chamber. When loading the rifle the shooter had to bite off the end of the paper cartridge before loading it into the rifle. There was a rumor spread that the grease on these cartridges were made of cow and pig fat and coming into oral contact with these animals or any of their products was an insult to Hindus and Muslims respectively. The sepoys saw this as a tactic designed to undermine Indian culture. In reality the cartridges were never given to the sepoys and the army quickly ordered new ones that were lubricated with mutton fat, which was seen as a spiritually clean animal by both Hindus and Muslims.

Unfortunately the rumor had spread and the sepoys perception of the British had been permanently damaged. On March 29, 1857 a group of sepoys refused to use the new rifles and were punished by being given prison sentences of 10 years and then shackled to their cells. One sepoy named Mangal Pandey rose up and shot two of the British officers then shot himself in the chest, he survived however and was subsequently hanged on April 8 of that year. The imprisonments and execution enraged many sepoys and on May 10 sepoys stationed in the military garrison of Barrackpore rose up and shot their British commanders, officially starting the rebellion.

Fierce Fighting

After the sepoy garrison at Barrackpore rose up they marched 40 miles to the city of Delhi where the local Indian troops joined them. There were no British soldiers stationed in Delhi to protect the British citizens there. Deadly fighting erupted in the streets and the British citizens attempted to flee but most were captured and slaughtered. By that evening the aging Mughal Emperor Bahādur Shah II, who originally ruled Delhi, was restored to power and the rebellion began spreading throughout northern India.

As the rebellion spread so did the massacres. In the city of Cawnpore, known today as Kanpur, hundreds of British officers, women, and children attempted to flee but were captured by the sepoys. The men were killed and the local leader, Prince Nana Sahib, ordered the death of the women and children too. The sepoys refused and butchers from the local bazaars performed the executions. Between 120-210 women, children, and infants were murdered and their bodies were dumped into a nearby well. Later when the city was retaken by the British they discovered the bodies and were inflamed by what the Indians had done, fueling their thirst for retribution.

With the exception of the Mughal Emperor and Nana Sahib no major Indian leaders joined the rebellion.

Map of major Indian cities, Courtesy of Viraj

After the initial stages of the revolt the British quickly mounted an offensive to regain lost territory. Luckily for the British the rebellion was contained to the northern part of the country and the sepoys in the South remained loyal to them. The offensive would be a three year long endeavor that saw the death of thousands on both sides.

For the first part of the offensive the British wanted to retake the major cities of Delhi, Cawnpore, and Lucknow with Delhi being the main focal point. For three months the British sieged the city of Delhi, encountering obstacles along the way. The main issue being that Delhi was protected by a tall, thick stone wall where the sepoy defenders enjoyed relative safety during the beginning parts of the siege. British heavy artillery had to be brought up by train and used to blow openings in the stone wall for the attacking British to enter. Even with these openings the British suffered heavy casualties and had a difficult time gaining reinforcements due to the incomplete rail system. At one point the British commander considered retreating but received help from Sikh soldiers who were able to forcibly enter the city. Once inside combat devolved into bloody street fighting and heavy casualties mounted on both sides. Eventually the British were able to retake the city where they plundered it and harassed the locals just as the sepoys had. A 19 year old British soldier described the scene after the city was taken, “The orders were to shoot every soul. I think I must have seen about 30 or 40 defenseless people shot down before me.” Ultimately the sepoys failed to hold Delhi due to the lack of military order, lack of supplies, and lacking a clear vision for the future of India.

Storming of Delhi, Courtesy of the British Library

After this there were many operations in the winter of 1857-1858 around the city of Lucknow where more heavy fighting was seen. In early 1858, after most of the cities were retaken, campaigns were started to clear out any remaining sepoy resistance throughout northern India.

On July 8, 1859 peace was declared and the British set about seeking justice for the innocents that were massacred during the rebellion. This justice quickly turned more into vengeance as thousands of sepoys were killed in response to the massacres. A British sergeant wrote, “The men are mad, and oh, how they go about swearing and vowing to avenge this atrocity. They are wrought up to the highest pitches of madness, and are burning to go at these murdering monsters”. Some British officers protested the bloodshed but the blood lust of their compatriots far outweighed any protest they might hear. Many sepoys were executed by being bayoneted and even being blown from cannons. The latter being a terrible spectacle that the British hoped would put down any lingering rebellion in the surviving sepoys. Execution by being blown from a cannon involved the person being lashed to the front of the cannon and then the cannon being fired which then disintegrated the person lashed to the front of it. An absolutely brutal form of execution that some British citizens at home protested against its use.

Sepoys being blown from a cannon, painting by Vasily Vereshchagin

Aftermath

In all 6,000 of the total 40,000 Europeans living in India died and 800,000 Indians died in the uprising and ensuing famine. Administration in India saw a radical change after the rebellion was over. The East India Company was dissolved and India was turned into a colony, where it could be ruled directly by the British Government. A British Viceroy was put in place to lead the country and although this realistically did not mean much it did show the Indian people that the British would be taking a more personal role in India as a whole.

The rebellion created a financial crisis which in turn created famine and the whole Indian financial system had to be reorganized, the British brought it up to a more modern system.

The Indian Army (sepoys) saw extensive reorganization as well. The British would no longer recruit soldiers from the high caste Hindus but would instead recruit from the lower caste Sikhs who had proved their loyalty during the rebellion.

One of the biggest changes was that the Brtish began consulting Indians on policy matters. The previous legislative council contained only Europeans and acted as a full fledged parliament making decisions on behalf of the Indian nation. The new legislative council would have Indian-nominated elements that would represent the Indian people. The British believed, rightfully so, that a lack of communication was what led to the rebellion.

Interestingly one thing that did not change was the British implemented public works. Some of which even saw a boost in resources as they needed to be expanded to facilitate troop movement throughout the country.

The teaching of British customs as well as the attempted conversion of Hindus and Muslims was completely halted after the war. However even with this full stop Indian society continued to slowly break down as Westernization took its hold. Ironically out of this Westernization rose a strong Indian middle class that harbored nationalist beliefs that would help India to gain its independence later on.

Personal Thoughts

Recently I read the book The Last Englishmen and despite the book not being very good (watch for my review coming soon) it gave me some insight into the British ruled India. Not knowing much about India at all I became intrigued with the events that it mentioned, the Sepoy Rebellion being one of them. From what I have read it isn’t surprising that the Indians revolted and it really should not have been surprising to the British. I see the British side as well, where they believed they were improving the lives of the Indians because they were in some cases they just went about it the wrong way. Especially without asking the opinion of the native population, but that’s just how the British were during the time of their empire.

Amazon Affiliate Link to the book used for this article:

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/event/Indian-Mutiny

https://www.thoughtco.com/sepoy-mutiny-of-1857-1774014

https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons/sepoy-rebellion

http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/modernworldhistorytextbook/imperialism/section_4/sepoyuprising.html

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/why-did-indian-mutiny-happen

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/decisive-events-indian-mutiny

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/east_india_01.shtml

Book, India Under Colonial Rule 1700-1885 by Douglas Peers

Jun 7 The Sepoy Rebellion