FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1857

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Context

• 10^th May 1857, marked as the day of the Indian Rebellion, also known as the First War of Indian Independence.
• On 10^th May 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to all those who were a part of the events of 1857 for their outstanding courage.

Revolt of 1857

• The revolt marked the widespread rebellion against the rule of the British East India Company.
• The revolt of 1857 started with the mutiny of the Company’s sepoys.
• The revolt began at Meerut, 36 miles from Delhi, on 10 May 1857 and then gather force rapidly as it cut across Northern India.

Causes of the Revolt of 1857

• Political Cause
  • British expansionist policies: Doctrine of Lapse and Direct Annexation were proved to be the political cause of the revolt of 1857.
  • The doctrine of Lapse: involved the British prohibiting a Hindu ruler without a natural heir from adopting a successor and, after the ruler died or abdicated, annexing his land.
  • The annexation of Awadh on the pretext of maladministration.
• Social Cause
  • Indians considered the Modern education introduced by the British, and the abolition of practices like sati and female infanticide as a threat to their culture.
• Economic Cause
  • The heavy taxes on land, destruction of Indian handicrafts and influx of British manufacturing goods affected the majority of the Indian peasantry class.
• Immediate Cause
  • The incident of greased cartridges, under which the sepoys had to bite off the paper on the cartridges before loading their rifles. The cartridges were greased with the fat of cows and pigs.
  • Both Hindu and Muslim sepoys revolted against it.

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1824040