Revolt of 1857: Nature, Failure and Results

Historians disagree whether 1857 was a sepoy mutiny or a war of independence, but all agree that it ended Company rule and changed British policy in India.

What was it? Different views

Why it failed

1. No central leadership or plan, and no common programme.
2. Limited area and participation. Large parts of India (Punjab, Rajputana, Hyderabad, the south) did not rise. Many Indian chiefs helped the British.
3. Poor weapons and military organisation. Indian forces had old arms and poor supplies.
4. Leaders were feudal and fought for their old kingdoms, not a new India. The educated middle class stayed away, as did many big landlords and moneylenders.
5. British advantages: the telegraph, railways, modern weapons, and sea power.
6. Loyalty of the Sikhs, Gurkhas and Dogras to the British.

Results and effects

• Government of India Act, 1858: the Company was abolished, and India went to the British Crown. A Secretary of State for India and a Council of India (15 members) governed from London. The Governor-General became Viceroy.
• Queen Victoria's Proclamation (1 November 1858): read by Canning at Allahabad. It promised that the Crown would respect the rights of princes, not annex more states, give religious freedom, and offer jobs to Indians without discrimination.
• Doctrine of Lapse ended; princes were given the right to adopt heirs (sanads). Princes were kept as "breakwaters in a storm" (Canning).
• Army reorganisation (Peel Commission, 1859): more British troops (1:2 in Bengal; 2:5 in Madras and Bombay), artillery kept in British hands, and recruitment from "martial races".
• Divide and rule policy (using religious and caste differences) became official policy. The British were at first suspicious of Muslims and then of Hindus.
• Racial bitterness increased, and the British stopped social reforms for fear of unrest.
• Many Indians learned that the British could be challenged, and it inspired later nationalists.