Get comprehensive Class 8 notes on "When People Rebelled: 1857 and After." 📚✨ Dive into the causes, key events, suppression, and consequences of the Revolt of 1857. Understand the political, economic, social, and military factors behind the uprising and its significant impact on India's history. Perfect for CBSE students preparing for history exams! For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com

1. Class VIII ( History) - Reading Materials
Chapter:5 When People rebel, 1857 and after.
( THE REVOLT OF 1857 OF INDIA)
1.Introduction:
The revolt of 1857 has been marked as the landmark revolutionary event in the history of India. The
revolt was initiated by the Indian sepoys of the Company, so it has been commonly termed as ‘Sepoy
Mutiny’.
But it was not simply a revolt of sepys. It is considered as the biggest armed resistance to the colonialism
in the nineteenth century anywhere in the world.
It was a big blow to the mighty Company Officials, an eye opening event for the British Crown in
England.
The Mutiny also helped to initiate many significant changes in the political condition in the Indian
subcontinent thereafter.
A. THE GROUPS INVOLVED IN THE REVOLT.
The revolt of 1857 was the reflection of a collective anger among different groups of
people of India. The groups of people are-
1. The Indian soldiers of the Company
2 The Rulers- emperor, kings Queens, Nawabs.
3. The peasants and Zaminders
4. The tribes or forest dweller.
Each groups had their own reasons of discontent and unhappiness but ultimately they all
spontaneously supported and joined with the rebellious sepoys.
The Groups of people participated in the Indian movement in 1857 & the Causes.
The Groups- Reasons of unhappiness
1. The Indian
soldiers of the
Company
i.Related to their pay, allowances and conditions of service.
ii) Reform in the Company army, introduction of new rifles and
cartridges.
2.The Rulers-
emperor, kings
Queens, Nawabs.
They were unhappy because they lost their territory, authority
and also their ancestral right, honour and freedom.
3.The peasants
and Zaminders
They were discontent because of the high taxes and the rigid
methods of revenue collection, social reform, religious conversion
Law passed by the Company.
4.The tribes The forest Law and atrocity acts passed by the Company to
control forest tribes, affected their life adversely.
B. CAUSES OF THE REVOLT.
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2. Many causes led to the outbreak of Revolt of 1857. There were political, economic, social, religious and
military causes of the revolt. A brief account of these causes are-
1. POLITICAL CAUSES-
I) Expanding British Empire-
II) Doctrine of Laps-
III) Annexation of Awadh
IV) Disrespect to Bahadur Shah zafar.
2. Military Grievances-
I) Low salary and allowances to Indian soldiers.
II) Poor service conditions.
III) According to the new law of 1856 Indian soldiers not given extra allowances.
IV. According to the new law, a soldier had to signed an agreement to go abroad if
required.
3. Social Reform- The Company introduced policies and laws to reform Indian society which
were not acceptable for the people of India. Some of the important reform introduced are-
I. Widow re-marriages,
II. Ban on Sati.
III. English Education.
IV. Girls education.
4. Religious expansion & discrimination-
I. The Company started to promote Christianity.
II. The Company allowed Christian missionaries to function freely.
III. The Company passed a new law in 1850, to make conversion to Christianity easier.
5. Economic causes-
I) The Company applied some exploitive policies.
II) The People in the countryside had to pay high rate of tax.
iii) The system of collection of revenue was very strict.
1) The Indian soldiers or sepoys in the Company army: The group that started the mutiny. The
out brook of the event started because of discontent among the native soldiers of the Company.
The cause of discontent or unhappiness among the soldiers:
The causes of anger and unhappiness among the Indian sepoys of the Company were many.
Some of the causes were related to their service conditions and the reforms initiated by the
Company in the army as below-
First: Generally, the Indian sepoys in the Company were from the countryside. The
sepoys were also not happy with the suffering and unhappiness among the people in the
rural areas.
Secondly :The soldiers were unhappy about their pay, allowances and conditions of
service.
Thirdly: The sepoys were discontent with the new of the new rules and the new law
introduced by the Company for the soldiers which violated religious sensibilities and
beliefs of the native soldiers.
Generally the people of India believed that crossing sea was against the religious belief.
The sepoys were forced to move over the ocean which was against their religious
sentiments and belief.
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3. The new law in 1856 passed by the Company army made compulsory for the new
employee to serve overseas if required.
Fourth : The immediate cause of the Mutiny): The new rifles and the cartridges was
the main cause for the collective anger among the soldiers. The cartridges used for the
new rifles were greased with the fate the fate of cows and pig. So, it was against the
religious sentiment of the Indian soldier both Hindu and Muslim.
2. The native rulers: emperor, Kings, queens and nobles were another active group who had
supported the mutiny spontaneously. They were unhappy because they lost their territory,
authority and also their ancestral right, honour and freedom. Their demands were not fulfilled.
3).The peasants and landlords: The peasants and zaminders were also unhappy because of
the high taxes and the rigid methods of revenue collection, social reform, religious conversion
Law passed by the Company.
4.)The tribes : They lived in the forest but they were also unhappy due to the Company's
policy and attitudes towards the tribal way of life. The forest Law and the atrocity acts passed by
the Company affected their life adversely.
C. BREAK OUT OF THE REVOLT : Beginning of the mutiny.
Indian soldiers in the Company’s army were not happy for many reasons as already mentioned
above.
But the immediate cause of the outbreak of the event was-
a) Introduction of the new rifles and the cartridge in the Company’s Army.
b) Order of army drill in the Meerut cantonment with the new rifles and cartridges.
c) Memory of Mangal Pandey, a sepoy in Barrackpur who was hanged to death on 29
March 1857 for disobeying his officer.
I)The Mutiny in Meerut:
I)In Meerut cantonment, the soldiers were ordered by the Company higher Officers to
participate an army drill using the new rifles and Cartridges.
II) Both Hindu and Muslim soldiers refused to use the new rifles and disobeyed their
higher Colonial officers.
III)The soldiers refused to obey the order were severely punished.
IV)So, Eighty five soldiers were dismissed from service and they sentenced to ten year
in jail on 9 May 1857.
II)Activities by the angry soldiers in Meerut:
I)The other soldiers in Meerut reacted extraordinarily.
II)Next very day all other soldiers marched to the jail and released the imprisoned
sepoys.
III)They attacked and killed British officers.
IV)They captured guns and ammunition and declared war against the Company.
V)The Declared war against the ‘firangis”
D. SPREAD OF THE REVOLT.
The spread of the rebellion was influenced by the two factors as-
1)March of the rebellious soldiers from Meerut to Delhi, over night.
2)Involvement of Bahadur Shah Zafar with the Mutiny.
1) March of the rebellious soldiers from Meerut to Delhi.
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4. I)After the event in Meerut cantonment on 10th
May, next all the night o the soldier
rode to Delhi.
II)As the news of their arrival spread the soldiers in the Delhi also rose up in rebellion
and attacked the British officers and captured the arms and ammunition.
III)Then the Soldier went to Red Fort and to get the support of Bahadur Shah Zahar,the
last Mughal king.
IV) When the king gave consent, he was proclaimed as the Leader of the rebellious
sepoys.
2). Involvement of Bahadur Shah Zafar with the Mutiny.
Although, at first the emperor was not willing to challenge the mighty British power but finally
had to accept the demand of the soldiers.
I) Involvement of Bahadur Shah Zafar was like extra energy to the Mutiny and
strengthened the rebellion.
II)The emperor then wrote letter to all the chiefs and rulers to come forward and organize
a confederacy of Indian states to fight the British.
III)This motivated the rulers and chieftains across the country and gave their support to
the rebellion.
IV) Such development also encouraged other soldiers of the Company in different
cantonments of India. So regiment after regiment in different cantonments mutinied and
took off to join other troops at Nodal point line Delhi.
V) Many native rulers responded the call of the leader and joined the rebellion.
E. PLACES OF THE REVOLT:
The Mutiny started in Meerut, the soldiers from different cantonment from different
places of India joined .
Some of the places are- Delhi, Luknow, Kanpur, Gowalior, Jhansi, Ramgarh,
Barrakpore, Bareilly and many more,
F. PERSONS / LEADERS INVOLVED.
Local peasant leader, Zaminder, religious leaders and rulers joined the rebel.
1. Bahadur Shah Zafar: The last Mughal king. He lived in Red Fort. The rebel sepoys
requested him to join with them. Initially he was not wanted to
challenge the British but ultimately he joined as the sepoys forced.
He was proclaimed as the leader of the sepoys. He wrote letter to
all the native rulers to join the sepoys. He was sentence to jail in
Rangoon. He died in Rangoon in November 1862.
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5. 2. Nana Saheb: The adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II. He wanted that his father
pension be given to him. Lived near Kanpur, gathered armed
forces and expelled the British garrison from the city.
3.Rani Avantibai Lodhi: She was the ruler of Ramgarh in the Mandala region of Madhya
Pradesh. She raised and lead an army of four thousand against
the British who had taken over the administration of her state.
After initial victory in Khetri, she chose to embrace death when
she was surrounded by the British on all sides.
4. Rani Lakshmibai: Rulers of the kingdom called Jhansi. She wanted the Company to
recognize her adopted son as the heir to the kingdom after death
of her husband. She joined the rebel sepoys and fight the British
along with Tantia Tope. She was defeated and was killed in March
1858.
5. Tantia Tope: The General of Nana Saheb, escaped to jungles of central Indian
and continue to fight a gurrilla war with the support of many tribal
peasant leaders. He was captured , tried and killed in April 1859.
6.Kunwar Shing: A zaminder from Bihar. He joined the rebel sepoys and battled
with the British for many months.
7.Bakht Khan : A soldier from Barerilly took the charge of a large force of fighters
who came to Delhi.
8.Ahmadullah Shah: A maulvi from Faizabad lead a large number of ghazis or religious
warriors against the Colonial power.
9.Birjis Qadr: In Lucknow he was proclaimed as the new Nawab under the
suzerainty of Bahadur Shah zafar. He was son of Nawab Wajid
Ali Shah, the deposed Nawab.
G. THE COMPANY FRIGHTS BACK:
I) The company decided to repress the revolt with all its might.
II) It brought reinforcement from England.
III)It passed new laws so that the rebels could be convicted with case.
IV)The British army moved into the storm centres of the revolt and many of these were
recaptured.
V)The company announced rewards for loyal landholders.
VI)The company announced to protect the life and right if any rebel who wanted to
submit.
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6. H. AFTERMATH: IMPACT OR THE CHANGES AFTER THE REVOLT.
The British had regained control of the country by the end of 1859.
1.Changes in Administration of British India
I) The British Parliament passed a new Act in 1858 and transferred the powers of the
East India Company to the British Crown.
II) A member of the British Cabinet was appointed Secretary State for India and made
responsible for all matters related to the government of India.
III) The Cabinet member was given a council to advise him.
IV)The Governor General of India was given the title of Viceroy, as a personal
representative of the Crown.
2. All the ruling chiefs of the country were assured that their territory would never be annexed in
future and their right would be protected.
3. Decided to reduce the proportion of Indian soldiers and to increase European soldiers.
4. The land and properties of Muslims was confiscated on large scale.
5. The British decided to respect the customary religious and social practices of the people in
India.
6. Policies were made to protect landlords and zaminders and give them security of rights over
their lands.
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