British India Lecture 4 - Impact of the Sepoy Mutiny PDF

Preview

Summary

Lecture 4 -
- Impact of the Revolt
- Changes in Military
- Colonial Bureaucracy
- Memorials, history, and the construction of a past
...

Description

Friday 27th October 2017 HIST2008 – British India 1857-1947 Dr. Pippa Virdee Impact of the Sepoy Mutiny Lecture 4 Contents:  Impact of the Revolt  Changes in Military  Colonial Bureaucracy  Memorials, history, and the construction of a past Impact of the Mutiny:  One the greatest crisis for the British Empire  EIC dissolved after 258 years  Bahadur Shah exiled to Rangoon, Burma

Aftermath:  British Raj began  Victoria declared Empress of India in 1876  Financial cost of the mutiny Indian Army:  Ratio of European to Indian set at 1:2  No Indian to be officer  Concentrating all artillery in European hands  Benares and Awadh ceased to be main recruitment areas  Upper-castes recruits no longer trusted

Changes in military recruitment: British creation of the ‘martial races’ Punjabi Muslims, Dogras, Rajputs & Gurkhas and Jats Punjab became a ruling centre Sikhs were a minority yet were prominent in the Indian Army Imperial Interests: Indian army used to suppress rebellions elsewhere in the empire Eve of WWI – Punjabi martial races formed 54% of the entire British Indian Army As many as 60,000 Indian troops died during 1914-18 Infrastructure: Improved communication network Rail network improved after mutiny - 34 miles pre-1857 by 1914 increased to 35,000 - Easy to transport army personnel - Transporting raw materials to ports The Cawnpore Angel: Placed above well at Bibighar No Indian allowed to approach except Christians Replaced in 1948 with statue of Tantia Topi, leader of Nana Sahib’s troops Major-General Sir Henry Havelock {1795-1857} Siege of Lucknow Became a national hero “To Major General Sir Henry Havelock KCB and his brave companions in arms during the campaign in India 1857. Soldiers, your labours, your privations, your suffering and your valour, will not be forgotten by a grateful country.”

Rebellion or Nationalism? Debate over whether this was a mutiny or war of independence? British emphasised the sepoys and their discontentment History, Memory, and the construction of a past: Veer Savarkar Attempts to reclaim the recent history of Indians from the British For many he is patriot, historian, and inspiration for a glorious past – Hindutva Summary:

   

EIC disbanded, India came under direct rule Higher no of British troops recruited Recognition of loyal groups 1857 – divides opinion...