150 YEARS OF THE GREAT INDIAN UPRISING, 1857 - 2007 Options

[VAMAN]

Some of you may or may not know that exactly 150 years earlier from this day on May 10, 1857, some sepoys (soldiers) of the East India Company defied their British officers on the use of gunpowder cartridges, as those cartridges contain cow and pig fat in them, soldiers had to bite off the cartridges, tear them to fill up the gun barrel. The soldiers refused to bite the cartridges as it hurts their religious sensibilities, that was the intial spark for the uprising, later others joined the sepoys.

Indians like to call it as The First War of Independence, while the British termed it as the Indian Mutiny, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Great Mutiny, Revolt of 1857.

It is a very significant episode in the histories of both the Indian sub-continent and Britain. As the aftermath of this war much of the Indian subcontinent came under the direct rule of the British government and it ended the rule of British East India Company in India. The last mugal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled to Rangoon in Burma (Mayanmar).

This post has been edited by VAMAN: Oct 16 2007, 12:00 AM

[VAMAN]

Nana Sahib (Dhundu Pant) was an Indian leader during the Rebellion of 1857. An adopted son of the last peshwa (hereditary prime minister) of the Marathas. He is notable for leading the Indian forces to victory in a large number of engagements in north India in 1857.


Raja Kunvar Singh, one of the rebel chieftains from Bihar.


Lakshmibai, the Queen of Jhansi. She was the leading figure in the war of 1857.


Tantia Tope also known as Ram Chandra Pandurang, was an Indian leader in the Indian uprising of 1857. He was probably the best and most effective of the rebels' generals.


Mangal Pandey, was a sepoy (soldier) in the 34th Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) of the British East India Company. He is primarily known for attacking his British officers in an incident that sparked the war of 1857.

This post has been edited by VAMAN: Sep 29 2008, 10:46 PM

[VAMAN]

A nice read for those interested.
http://www.proxsa.org/history/1857.html


Some pictures.

"The Nana Sahib with his escort, leaving Lucknow to meet the rebel force advancing from Malwa,"
a steel engraving, London Printing and Publishing Co., late 1850's


"Attack of the Mutineers on the Redan Battery at Lucknow, July 30th, 1857," a steel engraving, c.1860's


"The Capture of Lucknow" by the returning British forces


"Crossing the Ganges into Oude (Awadh) , 1858," William Howard Russell, 'My Diary in India', vol. 1, 1860


"The Relief of Lucknow"

This post has been edited by VAMAN: Jul 2 2008, 06:16 AM

[VAMAN]

Yearlong celebrations to mark 1857 uprising start Sunday

New Delhi, May 5: The yearlong celebrations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 1857 uprising will begin Sunday with a gala cultural programme in Meerut, a Uttar Pradesh town near the national capital.

On May 7, nearly 30,000 people will start a march from Meerut over five days to reach the historic Red Fort in Delhi on May 11 for a grand celebration here.

"The celebrations formally kick starts on Sunday evening with a mega cultural event comprising dance and drama," said S.A. Khan, director general of the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), said.

NYKS, an autonomous body under the ministry of sports and youth affairs, is organising the cultural programme and the rally at Meerut.

The programme would be would be participated by freedom fighters, members of the local administration, officials of the ministry of sports and youth affairs at the Victoria Park renamed as Jung-e-Azadi Park.

Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar will flag off the rally Monday morning.

"The rally will cover a total distance of 80 kilometres from Meerut to Delhi, and will be completed in five days. It will have halts in Modi Nagar, Murad Nagar, and Ghaziabad, on its way to Delhi. Various programs will be organised in all these places," Khan told IANS.

The 1857 uprising is also known as India's First War of Independence.

The event will celebrate the great achievements and remind our young generation of its glorious tradition and history so that they get infused with the feeling of patriotism. "And aspire for a stronger and prosperous India," he said.

The gala rally would culminate in Red Fort here on May 11. Nearly 7,000 more people are expected to participate in the rally in Delhi.

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi would be among those who will attend the programme at the Red Fort.

Former prime ministers A.B. Vajpayee, V.P. Singh, H.D. Deve Gowda, Chandra Shekhar and I.K. Gujral have been invited along with many freedom fighters.

The government had sanctioned Rs.1.5 billion to celebrate the occasion.

There would also be special functions at the Red Fort and Vijay Chowk here Aug 15 and commemoration of the Quit India Movement in Mumbai on Aug 9.

--- IANS

http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=f...ws&id=26207

This post has been edited by VAMAN: May 10 2007, 10:47 AM

[JuicyFruit]

Congrats to India on the anniversary of the first step to independence.

[jiggyiggy]

It's sorta ironic that the British put down the revolution using the same rifles we refused to use, they had greater range and accuracy than the muskets we were using.

This post has been edited by jiggyiggy: May 11 2007, 12:29 AM

[VAMAN]

^^ Lol it was not due to the use of better rifles that British were able to quell the rebillion but because they still enjoyed the good will of most of the princely states of India. Considering there were only 35,000 British soldiers in the whole of the subcontinent at the time of the mutiny, and they were sparsely scattered. The mutiny was largely confined to the Bengal Army. The East India Company's Madras and Bombay Armies were relatively unaffected and other Indian units, including Sikhs, Punjabi Muslims and Gurkhas, supported the British. Further the princely states of Gwalior (Scindia), Hyderabad (Nizam), Patiala etc. sent their own troops to help the British. The British forces were like sitting ducks waiting for the reinforcements to arrive. Rest is history.

I am very curious about what the Indians living abroad think about the 1857 episode. Because it is of great significance to Indian people. This episode left an indelible mark in the minds of the people, and gave further inspiration to fight the British during the freedom struggle. It is an inspiration to a lot of literary work.

This post has been edited by VAMAN: May 23 2007, 06:02 AM

[ACMILAN1983]

I am very curious about what the Indians living abroad think about the 1857 episode. Because it is of great significance to Indian people. This episode left an indelible mark in the minds of the people, and gave further inspiration to fight the British during the freedom struggle. It is an inspiration to a lot of literary work.

It's interesting to learn about and I've read up about it in the past, but it's never actually stirred any feelings in me.

[VAMAN]

Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle.


Sepoys of the Bengal Army at rifle practice.


The outbreak of revolt at Khurkowhah, 1857.


Disarming of the 11th Cavalry at Berhampore.


"Sepoys in their Native Costume," from Ballou's Pictorial, 1858

This post has been edited by VAMAN: May 12 2007, 05:16 AM

[VAMAN]

It's interesting to learn about and I've read up about it in the past, but it's never actually stirred any feelings in me.

Good atleast your well aware. I am just celebrating 1857 my own way, if I could make a few people aware I would consider my time worth spent. Now times have changed. There was a time when the nation was fresh from freedom, upto 1960s there was idealism in the society. Now most people in India especially the younger generation doesn't care at all. The most important thing is 'don't forget the past' and this matters the most.

This post has been edited by VAMAN: Oct 3 2007, 10:27 AM

[ACMILAN1983]

Good atleast your well aware. I am just celebrating 1857 my own way, if I could make a few people aware I would consider my time worth spent. Now times have changed. There was a time when the nation was fresh from freedom, upto 1960s there was idealism in the society. Now most people in India especially the younger generation doesn't care at all. The most important thing is 'don't forget the past' and this matters the most.

Truth be told I'm only interested in history mostly because I want to learn about how it influences various factors in my life. For example, I wanted to learn about this stuff because it partly explains why my grandparents left India in the past.

[VAMAN]

^ Very interesting, nice I like your curiosity.

[VAMAN]

A Brief Chronology of events of 1857

Calcutta

• Some miles outside Calcutta, in Barrackpore, was the 34th Bengal Native Infantry. Among them was a sepoy (soldier) named Mangal Pandey, whose brief rebellion over the new ammunition on March 29 sparked off the 1857 Mutiny. Pandey was put down in a matter of minutes, but the emotions he set off, exploded in the sepoy mutiny 40 days later in distant Meerut.

Meerut

• On May 9, 1857, some 85 Indian soldiers created a sensation by refusing to obey orders from their British officers.
• They refused to bite the new cartridges that they believe, were laced with pig and cow fat because it was against their religious beliefs.
• All of them were humiliated publicily and later sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by Major GeneralHenry Hewitt.
• The next day, rebellion broke out in the 3rd Light Cavalry; it was the beginning of the First War of Indian Independence.
• The soldiers liberated Meerut from the British in no time as more and more Indians joined hands.

Delhi

• After liberating Meerut the soldiers marched to Delhi and captured the city on May 11.
• The last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was running a puppet government with actual powers vesting in the Brisish, was quickly restored to the throne, with Indian soldiers promising to end Brutush rule in India under his leadership.
• The British, however, fought back and regained Delhi on September 14 entering it from the Kashmiri Gate. This brought the curtain down formally on 332 years of Mugal rule in India.

Awadh

• The British had exiled the ruler Nawab Wajid Ali Shah unceremoniously to Calcutta in 1856.
• When news of the Meerut and Delhi mutiny reached Awadh the first sign of rebellion came from Sitapur in June and then started spreading to other districts.
• On June 30, British and Indian soldiers fought a decesivie battle at Chinhat, 90 kms from Lucknow, which the freedom-fighters won. Sir Henry Lawrance was badly injured in the battle and died on July 4.
• The rebellion in Awadh was mainly led by Wajib Ali Shah's wife Begum Hazrat Mahal, with the help of Kanpur ruler, Nana Sahib.

Kanpur

• It was one of the bloodiest theatres of war as Nana Sahib with his lieutinents Azimullah Khan and Tatya Tope valiantly fought the British.
• Nana Sahib was the adopted son of Peshwa Bajiro the Second and led the Indian mutineers.
• However, they couldn't hold the city of Kanpur for long as the British threw all their might at them.
• The battle continued till mid-1859 and seeing the imminent British victory, Nana Sahib, Azimullah Khan and Tatya Tope escaped.
• Nana Sahib and Azimullah Khan were never seeen again, but Tatya Tope was arrested in April 1859 and hanged.

Jhansi

• This was the last bastion of the first Indian rebellion against the British.
• Rani Laxmibai led the rebellion against the British and became an everlasting symbol of the Indian freedom struggle.
• She died fighting the British and 150 years later, Indians still recall her legend with pride.

This post has been edited by VAMAN: May 16 2007, 02:07 AM

[jiggyiggy]

Think about it, traditional Indian battle tactics(in the gunpowder era) was hitting the enemy with heavy cannonade and/or rocket barrage followed by calvary charges and hand to hand combat. Indian infantry tactics never revolved around forming neat lines and shooting each other to death. This played heavily into the favor of the British whose style of infantry combat was superior, and add to that fact that their rifles had better range and accuracy. The Sepoys were mainly infantryman and didn't have access to the amount of artillery and calvary needed to tip things in their favor. And the fact that soldiers like the Gurkhas still sided with the British made things even more lopsided.

This post has been edited by jiggyiggy: May 17 2007, 07:46 PM

[VAMAN]

Think about it, traditional Indian battle tactics(in the gunpowder era) was hitting the enemy with heavy cannonade and/or rocket barrage followed by calvary charges and hand to hand combat.

The things you pointed out were true for Marathas and Rajputs. They had cavalary centric battle tactics. But how could you say the same for Indian soldiers who were in British regiments and trained to fight using British tactics? Let me remind you that the 1857 uprising was started by Indian soldiers in a British regiment, and these soldiers formed the bulk of Indian forces which battle against British forces. Btw hand to hand combat was inevitable in those times, guns were not sophisticated enough to avoid melees in those days all over the world.

Indian infantry tactics never revolved around forming neat lines and shooting each other to death. This played heavily into the favor of the British whose style of infantry combat was superior, and add to that fact that their rifles had better range and accuracy. The Sepoys were mainly infantryman and didn't have access to the amount of artillery and calvary needed to tip things in their favor. And the fact that soldiers like the Gurkhas still sided with the British made things even more lopsided.

I do agree with you that the new Enfield Rifle that British had was more accurate in greater distances and more powerful than previous Brown Bess rifle, but the loading time was same. But rifle is not the only reason. Dude here you are contradicting yourself. Why do you think that Sepoys need to form neat lines to get massacred by more potent rifles and artillery? Guerrilla Tactics are more suitable in this scenario. Tatia tope and others had many victories against the British so I don't think that Indian armies were that bad at that time.

What I see the main reason that British were able to subdue their opposition was that they had already created a lot of resource base. It is ultimately the endless supply of resources of supply lines, men, materials, arms, ammunition which tipped the balance in favour of the British. Also the majority of Indian kings supported the British for example some Sikh kingdoms, Gurkhas, Nizam etc. Also the mutinied soldiers were only from North India, the Madras Regiment and Bombay Regiments were untouched by mutiny. It also helped in the end. The main thing was that the British had the means and resources to fight the war in the long run. That made all the difference in the end.

This post has been edited by VAMAN: Oct 15 2007, 01:47 PM

[VAMAN]

Brave and beautiful: the Rani of Jhansi in British eyes

Few Indians may know that the British, who fought the plucky Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi during the Great Indian Mutiny of 1857-58, also admired her greatly. Her enemies on the battlefield and the political bigwigs of that time, openly acknowledged that she was a rare combination of bravery, intelligence and administrative ability. And interestingly, many were in raptures over her personal charm and beauty.

She was a "man among mutineers," wrote Sir Hugh Rose, who led the British forces against her. "She used to dress like a man (with a turban) and rode like one. Not pretty and pock marked with small pox, but beautiful eyes and figure," noted Lord Canning, India's first Viceroy, in his private papers.

"She was a good looking woman, rather stout but not too stout," wrote John Lang in Wanderings in India (1859). "Her face must have been very handsome when she was younger. Even now it has many charms," Long, who knew her, said. According to him, the expression was very intelligent, the eyes were particularly fine, and the nose very delicately shaped. She was not fair though she was far from dark.

"Her dress was plain white muslin, so fine in texture and drawn about her in such a way that the outline of her figure was plainly discernible - a remarkably fine figure she had. What spoilt her was her voice(!)," Lang noted.

There is some doubt about Lakshmi Bai's age at the time of the mutiny. Christopher Hibbert in his Great Mutiny (Penguin, 1978) says that she was in her early thirties, but others put her age at 23 (born in 1835).

Quoting JH Sylvester's Recollections of the Campaign in Malwa and Central India (Bombay 1860), Hibbert says that the Rani was to acquire amongst British officers an "undeserved reputation for excessive lasciviousness." But in the opinion of Sir Robert Hamilton, Resident in Central India, she was a "civil, polite and clever young lady," who had all the qualities to be a good ruler.

Reluctant first but committed later

Hibbert says that at first, the Rani was not interested in joining the rebels, even though Governor General Lord Dalhousie had refused to accept her adopted son as heir to the Jhansi throne and denied her claim to Jhansi as well. This had come as a shock to the Rani as she had been on good terms with the local British Political Agent Capt Alexander Skene thanks to the "force and charm of her personality and with her evident wish to remain on friendly terms with her British masters."

When the mutineers from outside Jhansi entered the town and massacred European civil and military officers, the Rani was appalled, but had no means to stop them. She told the British about this, but the Governor General did not believe her and decided to teach her a lesson, which at that time meant death and annihilation. An army under Sir Hugh Rose arrived at Jhansi in March 1958. Overwhelmed, the Rani quit the city, and the invaders slaughtered 5,000 civilians in unprecedented revenge.

Now determined to take on the British unreservedly, the Rani issued a proclamation saying: "We fight for independence. In the words of Lord Krishna, we will, if we are victorious, enjoy the fruits of victory. If defeated and killed on the field of battle, we will surely earn eternal glory and salvation".

The British pursued her doggedly. Although most of her men were killed in the many skirmishes, she managed to get away every time. "She is a wonderful woman, very brave and determined. It is fortunate for us that the men (her men) are not at all like her," wrote Cornet Combe of the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry.

But on June 17, the Rani was cornered at Kotah-ki Sarai. She fought fiercely holding her sword with both her hands while holding the reins of her horse with her mouth. Eventually, she was shot in the back by a trooper of the 8 th Hussars. The Rani turned back and fired at him, but this was of no use as the man ran through her with his sword.

The ill-informed British press had dubbed her "The Jezebel of India" or a shameless and immoral woman ( after Jezebel, wife of Ahab in the Old Testament). But others were fulsome in their praise. "She was the bravest and best military leader of the rebels. A man among mutineers," wrote Sir Hugh Rose. And Lord Cumberland said: "The Rani is remarkable for her bravery, cleverness and perseverance; her generosity to her subordinates was unbounded. These qualities, combined with her rank, rendered her the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders."

Source - http://hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=029a7aa2-e499-43c2-8939-dd2f8a6d867c

This post has been edited by VAMAN: Oct 7 2007, 09:19 AM

[VAMAN]

Some real rare photographs related to the events of 1857.


^ The Sikander Bagh in Lucknow was the venue for a fierce battle during the 1857 uprising. This picture was taken by Felice Beato, an Italian who visited India soon after the mutiny and, some say, had the bones dug out for the photo. Pictures courtesy: Alkazi Foundation.


^ Up to 1,000 British troops, their families and loyal sepoys were holed up in Gen Wheeler's entrenchment in Kanpur for three weeks in June 1857 where they were constantly bombarded by a local prince, Nana Sahib's army. Photo: Felice Beato, 1858.


^ On 27 June 1857, Europeans who had been promised safe passage from Wheeler's entrenchment arrived at the Sati Chaura Ghat (jetty) to take the boat out when Nana Sahib's army ambushed them and killed many. Photo: Samuel Bourne, early 1865.


^ A hand-written caption identifies the man as Gungoo Mehter who was tried at Kanpur for killing many of the Sati Chaura survivors, including many women and children. He was convicted and hanged at Kanpur on 8 September 1859. Photo: John Nicholas Tressider.


^ This sketch of Lucknow's Alam Bagh was made by Lt CH Mecham on 25 December 1857 while fierce fighting raged on. In a note at the bottom of the sketch, the artist wishes "my future readers many happy returns of this festive season".


^ The hanging of two participants in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. It is not known where Felice Beato took this picture in 1858.


^ The Mutiny Memorial in Delhi is a monument to British officers. In panels around the base, there is a record of 2,163 officers and men who were killed, wounded or went missing between 8 June and 7 September 1857. It was taken in 1870 by an unknown photographer.

[VAMAN]

Malegaon to Mauritius: On the trail of 1857
10 May 2007, 0152 hrs IST,TNN

The gleaming towers of Singapore are a far remove from the squalor of Malegaon, but a common historical thread runs through both, as it does through habitats as diverse as Mauritius and Jabalpur, the powerloom townships of Malegaon and Bhiwandi and the Muslim quarters of Madanpura and Mominpura in Mumbai.

All the above-mentioned were destinations for the refugees of 1857. They came by bullock-cart and boat, by train and on foot, fleeing not only the revenge of the Company but, in many cases, the feudal oppression of the old order.

In the aftermath of the May Rising, when additional forces of British troops had been hurriedly despatched from England, the retrieval of the northern plains was executed without mercy. The main targets of the suppression were the Muslim ulema, weavers and peasants, since the British blamed them for being the masterminds behind the revolt, but the fury of the advancing armies was so terrible that no one was left unscathed and sometimes entire villages were set ablaze. Families of weavers fled from Azamgarh, Maunath Bhanjan, Mau Aima, Mubarakpur, Barabanki, Allahabad, Lucknow, Benaras, Kanpur, Tanda, Faizabad and Basti, all of them heading for the Agra Highway, which snaked down to the Deccan.

Along the way, the refugees sought protection in domains loyal to Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. Maheshwar, on the banks of the Narmada and a seat of power for the Holkar dynasty, was a major stop. The then ruler Ahilyabai allowed a large workforce to settle in her territory. Further down the road came Burhanpur, a fertile belt close to the Tapi river, and on to Dhule, Jalgaon and Malegaon in northern Maharashtra.

Bhiwandi, where the road nearly ended, proved to be a promised land of sorts, with its healthy economy and railway line running all the way to Bombay. Some families even moved into the heart of the city, to Madanpura and Mominpura, which in fact gets its name from the Momin weavers of UP.

Mauritius, at that time, was a plantation colony under the British and in need of sugarcane labour. The flow of indentured labour intensified after the revolt. Migration figures are not recorded, but a Mauritian family that had migrated from Bhojpur, has records of a ship crammed with more than 500 Bhojpuris, embarking from the Kerala coast.

Writer Amaresh Misra, in his soon-to-be-published book 'War of Civilisations: India 1857' points out that this Bhojpuri provenance manifests itself in popular culture. "The local language in Mauritius, Creole, is a patois of French with notes of Bhojpuri — for example, in the song 'Hamre avion mein chal jo' or the other common usage for 'I love you', 'Je t'aime va', where a 'va' is added in the way that Bhojpuri speakers say riskva or chalva," he says.

Misra's research also throws light on the migration to Singapore in 1859, when about 600 families from Gorakhpur fled to Siwan in Bihar, and on to Darbhangha and then to Calcutta. "The minister of Darbhanga financed their trip to Singapore," says Misra. "In Singapore, the refugees stayed with the boat people of Malay origin, called the Orang laut. It was only years later that they got jobs as labourers and were given land plots in the Kampong Glam area in the eastern part of the island. Their descendants are still there. Many of them are still not rich and classified as working class, but others have broken out and live in the better parts of town."

Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Malegaon_to_Mauritius_On_the_trail_of_1857/articleshow/2024216.cms

[ACMILAN1983]

thanks for the pics Vaman

[moobie]

commemorate by nuking britain.