Doctrine of Lapse 1857

Causes?

Expansionist policies of colonial rule (political)

Economic exploitation (economic)

Administration innovation (socio cultural)

Affected section?
Rulers

of Indian states, Sepoys

Zamindars/

Taluqdars, Peasants

Traders,

artisans

Pundits,

Maulvis

Economic causes

East India company destroyed traditional economic fabric of Indian society

New Revenue settlement impoverished peasantry, heavy taxation imposed, left on mercy
of moneylenders/traders, new landlord class emerged through this revenue system,
peasant highly indebted

British goods promoted at cost of Indian handicraft, destroyed Indian artisans &
handicraftsmen, new jobs not created, no development of modern industry

Traditional landed aristocracy of zamindars & taluqdars destroyed their estates

confiscated , condemned to penury

Awadh , storm center of revolt 21,000 taluqdars estates confiscated & were left without
any source of income

Political causes

British expansion policies

Effective control

Subsidiary alliance

Doctrine of lapse

Right of succession was denied to Hindu princes

Mughal prince Faqirrudin was forced to renounce regal title

Led to collapse of Indian rulers and erstwhile aristocracy

Administrative causes
Rampant corruption in company administration

Socio religious causes

Activities

of Christian missionaries

Socio

religious reforms s.a. sati , widow re-marriage, womans education were considered
as the interference in their socio religious life by the people
Change in the inheritance laws & other customs by legislations like Religious disabilities act
1856.

External events
First

Afghan war

1838-42

Punjab

wars

1845-49

Santhal

rebellion

1855-57

Sepoys discontentment/ spark

Service

conditions in companys army in conflict with their religious belief, Racial

discrimination in promotion and privileges
Lord

Cannings General services enlistment act 1856 made it compulsory to serve anywhere
outside India for new recruits to army, Hindus considered crossing sea against their caste
system
Unhappy
No

with emoluments compared to their British counterparts

more foreign service allowance (bhatta)to be given

Annexation

of Awadh, home of many sepoys (peasant in uniform) led to resentment in them

Beginning the spark

Introduction

of enfield rifles whose cartridges made of beef &pig fat to be bitten off
before loading , served as the spark of the revolt
Revolt

began at Merrut on 10th may,1857as the mutiny in Indian soldiers, it became

epicenter of revolt
Before

Merrut also incidents occurred like mutiny in feb 1857 at Berhampur, in april
1857 Mangal Pandey kills sergeant major in Barrakpore, may 3 Awadh regiment defied its
officers .
Merrut

mutiny soldiers killed their officers & set off for Delhi, local infantry in Delhi
joined them & killed political agent Simon Fraser
Bahdur

Shah Zafar aged & powerless last Mughal emperor was proclaimed the emperor
of India and leader

Participation of all
Delhi

became the centre of great revolt

Mughal

dynasty the traditional symbol of Indias political unity, Zafar made supreme
leader of the revolt
Bengal,Awadh,Rohilkhand,Doab,Bundelkhand,

Central India, large part of Bihar, east

Punjab center of the revolt

Revolt

of the sepoys accompanied by civil population rebellion in north west province

and Awadh
Peasants

, artisans , shopkeepers , day laborers , zamindars, religious mendicants,

priests, civil servants joined the revolt
Peasants
Of

attacked moneylenders & destroyed their debt records

1,50,000 who died fighting the English in Awadh over 1,00,000 were civilians

Revolt centers & leaders

Delhi

,Bhahadur Shah , general Bakht Khan led Barreily troops to Delhi

Kanpur,Nana

saheb adopted son of last peshwa Baji rao II , was refused family title and
banished from poona, proclaimed him peshwa acknowledged Bahadur shah as emperor of India
, sir Hugh Wheeler commanding the station surrenders
Lucknow,

Begum Hazrat Mahal of the deposed Nawab took reins of revolt

Barreily,

Khan Bahadur descendant of former ruler of Rohilkhand , resentment over meagre

pension given by British

Bihar, Kunwar Singh ,zamindar of jagdishpur , Arrah , was deprived off his estates

Faizabad,

Maulvi Ahmadullah

Jhansi,

Laxmibai , Lord Dalhousie refused to allow her adopted son to succeed to throne after
her husband Raja Gangadhar rao died & her state was annexed through Doctrine of lapse
Tantia

tope close associate of Nana Saheb joined Rani Laxmibai after loss of Kanpur

Suppression of revolt
Delhi was captured on Sept 20,1857
Bahadur Shah taken as prisoner,exiled to Rangoon where he died
Nana Saheb defeated in Kanpur escaped to Nepal
Tantia tope was captured and killed
Laxmibai died in battlefield , Jhansi was recaptured by Sir Hugh Rose
By 1859 Kunwar singh,Bakht Khan, Khan Bahadur Khan,Rao Saheb(brother of Nana saheb) &
Maulavi Ahmadullah were all dead, by the end of 1859 British authority over India was fully
re-established

Causes of failure of revolt

Limited

territorial spread, north & middle India

Big

Zamindars,Taluqdars , rulers, middle class intelligential did not participate

Not

more than one fourth of total area and one tenth of population participated

Indian

soldiers poorly equipped

Poor

organization & coordination

Lack

of unity among Indian as no nationalism at this time

Hindu Muslim Unity Factor

Bahadur

Shah was Muslim , complete cooperation at all

levels
Everyone
People

accepted Mughal as emperor

& politics before 1858 was not communal in India

Nature of Revolt
Was

it mere sepoy mutiny? As per British historian

Military

outbreak . Dr K.Datta

Planned

war of national independence.. V.D. Savarkar in his book First war of

Indian independence

Consequence
British

crown took direct responsibility of administration , company rule was abolished

Lord

canning announced it at Allahabad durbar in Queens proclamation issued on

nov 1, 1858
British

ended era of annexation & expansion

Indian

states to recognize paramountcy of British crown

British

followed divide & rule policy

Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856)

Second

Anglo Sikh war 1848-49

Annexation

of Burma 1852

Introduction

of Doctrine of Lapse & annexation of Satara (1848), Jaipur ,&

Sambhalpur(1849), Udaipur(1852), Jhansi(1853), Nagpur(1854), Awadh(1856)
Woods
1st

Dispatch 1854 & introduction of Anglo Vernacular schools & colleges

Railway line connecting Bombay & Thane 1853

Post

office act 1854 & reforms

Telegraph

lines to connect Calcutta with Bombay, Madras with Peshawar

Ganges

canal opened 1854

Widows

remarriage Act 1856