1857 - British termed it as Revolt of 1857. But many Indian termed it the 'First War of Indian Independence'. Veer Sawarkar was the first person to call it 'First War of Indian Independence'

1. Socialscience4u.blogspot.com

3. Political Causes:
The British policy of territorial annexations led to the displacement of a large number
of rulers and chiefs. The vigorous application of the policies of Subsidiary Alliance and
Doctrine of Lapse angered the ruling sections of the society. Rani Lakshmi Bai and
Nana Sahib became bitter enemies of the British and led to the revolt in their
respective territories.
The annexation of Awadh, on grounds of misgovernment, was greatly resented. The
Nawabs of Awadh had always been loyal to the British. The annexation was widely
seen as a blatant act of back-stabbing by the British. It deeply hurt the sentiments of
the Company’s sepoys because most of them came from Awadh. Moreover, even
under the new regime, the people of Awadh got no relief from oppression. Peasants
had to pay even higher revenue and additional taxes were imposed. The British
provided no alternative source of employment to the people who lost their jobs due to
the dissolution of the Nawab’s administration.

4. Social Causes:
The social reforms introduced by the British were looked upon with suspicion by the
conservative sections of the Indian society. Reforms such as abolition of ‘sati’,
legalization of widow remarriage and extension of western education to women were
looked upon as examples of interference in the social customs of the country. The
social discrimination faced by the Indians due to the British attitude of racial
superiority also led to much resentment. Educated Indians were denied promotions
and appointments to high office. This turned them against the British.
Religious Causes:
A major cause of the outbreak of the revolt was the fear among the people that the
British government was determined to destroy their religion and convert Indians to
Christianity. The increasing activities of the Christian missionaries and the actual
conversions made by them were taken as a proof of this fear. The policy of taxing lands
belonging to temples and mosques lent further support to this idea. The belief that
their religion was under threat, united all sections of society against a common enemy.

5. Military Causes:
Indian soldiers formed seven-eighth of the total British troops in India. As they were an
integral part of the Indian society, they too suffered the consequences of the
oppressive British rule. Besides, they had other grievances. The Indian sepoys were
looked upon as inferior beings and treated with contempt by their British officers.
They were paid much less than the British soldiers. All avenues of the promotion were
closed to them as all the higher army posts were reserved for the British.
There were other specific and more immediate causes for the discontent among the
sepoys. The annexation of Awadh inflamed their strong feelings against foreign rule.
They were also influenced by the general fear that their religion was in danger. The
order that forbade the sepoys from wearing caste and sectarian marks hurt their
sentiments deeply. So also the Act of 1816 which required the new recruits to travel
overseas, if needed. The Hindu sepoys resented this as according to the popular Hindu
belief, travel across the sea led to a loss of caste. Another cause of sepoy discontent
was the withdrawal of the Foreign Service allowance (‘batta’), which the sepoys were
getting for fighting outside the country.

6. Immediate Cause:
Discontent and resentment against British rule had been growing among the Indians
for a long time. By AD 1857, the stage was set for a massive revolt. Only a spark was
needed to set the country ablaze. That spark was provided by as small a thing as a rifle
cartridge.
At this time, the Enfield rifle was introduced in the army. Its cartridges were covered
with a greased paper cover. This greased cover had to be bitten off before the
cartridge could be loaded into the rifle. The news spread that the grease was made of
cow and pig fat. As the Hindus consider the cow sacred and the Muslims do not eat
pit’s meat, both these communities were enraged at such a blatant attempt to harm
their religion. This incident, popularly known as the Greased Cartridges Incident,
became the immediate cause of the revolt.

7. Course and Spread of the Revolt:
The first sign of unrest appeared in 1857 at Barrack-pore in Bengal. A sepoy, Mangal
Pandey on 29th March 1857, killed senior officers on parade and started the revolt.
The revolt spread to Berhampur in Bengal. On 24th April 1857 about ninety men of
the Native Cavalry stationed at Meerut refused to accept the greased cartridges.
Eighty-five of them were dismissed and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. On
10th May the revolt started at Meerut and the mutineers after killing some of their
officials marched towards Delhi.
Delhi:
On 12th May Delhi was seized and Bahadur Shah II was proclaimed the emperor of
India. The real command was in the hands of Bakht Khan who had led the revolt at
Bareilly and brought the troops to Delhi.
Kanpur:
Here the revolt was led by Nana Saheb who declared himself the Peshwa and
governor of Bahadur Shah. Tantya Tope did most of the fighting. Rebels defeated
General Windham outside Kanpur.
Lucknow:
The revolt was led by Hazrat Mahal, the Begum of Awadh. She had proclaimed her
young son Brijis Kadiras the Nawab of Awadh against the wishes of the British.
Henry Lawrence, the British resident was killed at Lucknow.

9. Jhansi:
After some initial vacillations, Rani Laxmi Bai assumed the leadership of the
mutiny. After being defeated at Jhansi, she captured Gwalior with the help of
Tantya Tope and Afghan guards.
Bareily:
Khan Bahadur Khan proclaimed himself as the Nawab and led the revolt there.
The other centres of the revolt were Benaras, Allahabad, Gwalior, Nasirabad in
Rajputana, Indore, Aligarh and Kota. At all these places the sepoys killed the
senior officers and other Europeans on whom they could lay their hands, in
many cases not even sparing women and children. They also released prisoners
from jail, plundered the treasury and burnt land records at many pieces.
However the superior British forces soon suppressed the revolt. Bahadur Shah II
proved to be a weak leader. Delhi was recaptured on 20th September 1857 by
John Nicholson. Bahadur Shah was arrested and deported to Rangoon where he
died in 1862. The rebels were defeated by General Havelock in Kanpur. Nana
Saheb after being defeated refused to surrender and escaped to Nepal. At Jhansi
Hugh Rose suppressed the revolt and Rani Laxmi Bai died on the battle field.
Benaras, Bareilly and Gwalior were also recaptured by British officers.

10. Results of the 1857 Revolt:
The most significant result of the mutiny was the transfer of power from a trading
company to a sovereign power of Britain by the Government of India Act of 1858.
This Act of 1858 completed the process initiated by the Charter Act of 1853. In the
place of the President of the Board of Control, the Secretary of State for India was
appointed. The Secretary of State for India was assisted and helped by a 15-
member body of India Council. Out of the fifteen, eight were appointed by the
crown and the rest were to be appointed by the court of the directors.
The designation of the Governor General of India was changed to Viceroy.
One-third of the British army in India should consist of the Europeans. The artillery
section was exclusively kept under the British. Reduced the Brahmins from the
army and recruited Gurkhas, Sikhs, Jats and Rajputs of the Punjab.
Queen Victoria’s proclamation of 1 November, 1858 guaranteed freedom of faith
and equal treatment to all Indians. The Queen made it clear that there was to be
no distinction between one individual and another on the pretext of race, religion,
sex and creed.