8/13/2019 Notes IM

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-  Section 1: seeks to rally zamindars. Under ryot (police guy) the respectable zamindars aresummoned to court and lands seized. Those who help will only pay ½ revenue

-  Section 2: merchants. BEIC monopolising everything. Under us every trade of article open toyou, those with no ships will have government streamed vessels for foreign trade and loans

-  Section 3: CS – those under BEIC treated rubbish, those who help them will go to hell. Under uswe’ll give you high posts and 200-300 rupees per month. Sepoys will get double what BEIC pay

after win.

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Section 4: reg. artisans. Under BEIC they are reduced to beggary. Under us they’ll be entitled tosecular and eternal happiness of employment in high courts

-  Section 4: reg. pundits. Those who help will NOT be condemned and receive rent-free lands-  Gen. James George Neill of Madras Fusiliers blamed for escalation. Upon hearing events in

Oudh went to Varanasi, disbanded local regiment and shot them. The Sikh regiment, who saw

this and were usually loyal, revolted. News spread, Kanpur regiments revolted and marched to

Bithur where persuaded Nana Sahib to help. Neill was ordered by telegraph from Calcutta to

move to Allahabad and Kanpur but refused

-  Kanpur regiments commanded by Wheeler. By the time Neill arrives in Allahabad, too late.Wheeler surrenders to Nana Sahib and Tatya Tope in hope of safe passage to Calcutta.

-  Nana Sahib tried to suppress Cawnpore Massacre when ears of it, asks 70 remaining 70 officersbe taken to Bibighar where massacred next day. B erected memorial in that place.

-  Lucknow: B retreated to the residency, couldn’t get in   because Oudh’s masses involved.Foolishly (under Henry Lawrence) start war in Chinhut village but outnumbered.

-  Such was popularity of revolt in Oudh that 10 EU died/day while supporters increased by10,000 per day

-  Neill’s delay because of his mop up operations ( indiscriminate murders of I)  Gen Havelocksent from Calcutta to relive Cawnpore

-  BUT on 4th  Aug John Nicholson finally arrived at Delhi with huge troops of Sikhs from NWFrontier. Bombed Kashmiri gate, rushed into Delhi city.

-  William Hodson captured Mughal emperor who was hiding in Humayun’s tomb andsurrendered in exchange for his life.

-  Hodson then captured the three princes leading the rebels and shot them after stripping inpublic. Mirror image of barbarity followed. Informers helped them as they got the loot from

dead men

-  Took Red Fort, only allowed emperor to live there. Destroyed city, only kept 1/5th of Red Fort’ssize – end of Muslim Urdu cultural dominance in North India

-  But Lucknow (Oudh capital): stuck. Sir Colin Campbell came from Calcutta with Ldn (BritishExpeditionary Force) troops directed to China

-  Sahib ran, Tatya went to Jhansi to help rani against Gen. Walpole. But Gen. Hugo Rose defeatedrani’s forces in Kopatti Serai 

-  Lucknow was prioritised by Tatya because it was former capital of Oudh; royalconnections/symbol. The expense was failing to cut B power in Calcutta as this was mainreason why B able to win

-  Popular revolt: Failed to penetrate village levels in zamindari areas e.g. Bihar-  Indians in Hyderabad believed yet another war between B and Maratha in progress. South

India quiet.

-  Bayly 1998: planted seeds of later nationalism. Yet presently regional affair-  Bengal and Punjab loyal. B troops heavy there, plus many in borders of Afghanistan. Clearly

shows how B power only collapsed in 1857 in areas where there was few B troops therefore

more practical manoeuvring opportunities

-  The desire for old system prompted rebels to look to traditional leaders, many aristocrats e.g.Khan Bahadur Khan who was last indpt ruler of Rohilkand when B annexed in 1801 and Birjis

Qadir, one of the sons of nawab of Oudh, taluqdars, and the nawab of Oudh’s ex-wife BegumHazrat Mahal

-  Yet historians like Gautam Bhadra (1985) show how many opportunists took part e.g. ShahMal, an over-taxed Jat of Bijraul. He created a militia of similar minded people to take over.

8/13/2019 Notes IM

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-  Devi Singh: main one. Acted without outsider contact. Came from Raya, a Mathura districtwhere the brotherhood land tenure system (bhaiyachara) was existent: that is, land divided

between families who paid revenue jointly. But B revoked this for individual ownership,

moneylender Raja Gokul Das (largest Marwari moneylenders benefited because where families

couldn’t pay, took land. Singh fought against Das and other lenders.-  Rebel leaders like these had a common goal: they were organised, caste did not divide them,

and united in anti-B/Eu feeling

-  B reprisal of cannon shooting was aimed to scare public and offend Hindus/Muslims becauseprevented cremation or proper burial

-  Letters sent home demonstrate blood thirst : ‘we have power of life and death in our hands, andwe assure you we spare not.’ 

-  Fredrick Cooper, deputy commissioner of Amritsar killed 237 sepoys and subjected 45 moreto cell overcrowding in re-enactment of Zephaniah Holwell’s Black Hole

-  Indians did same while fighting e.g. Tatya ordered collaborates to have noses and ears cut offso can’t hear insurgents. Both desperate to use violence to intimidate because it was the only

language they understood.

-  Canning: promises clemency. But doesn’t happen on foot level. Yet promises taluqdars nonconfiscation of lands if give up, 14 in Oudh immediately follow. Clemency still helped to reduce

anger, and by 1859 Tatya killed and all opposition ends.-  Shah tried for treason – transported to Rangoon where he died in an unmarked grave :’(-  1858 Royal Proclamation of Allahabad promises to respect princes.-  IM used as political tool. To justify rule despite unpopularity.-  Main result: Delhi court vacated. Advent of B imperial rule. But the IM resistance was

harnessed by later nationalists; this was its greatest legacy.