Rebels and the Raj — The Revolt of 1857 and its Representations
Class 12 History · Themes in Indian History Part III · Chapter 2
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Summary
The chapter studies the great uprising that began on 10 May 1857, when sepoys in the Meerut cantonment mutinied, were joined by townspeople and villagers, and marched to Delhi, where they proclaimed the aged Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar their leader. The immediate trigger was the new greased cartridge believed to be coated with the fat of cows and pigs, which offended both Hindu and Muslim sepoys, but deeper causes lay in resentment at British policies — annexations under the Doctrine of Lapse, the takeover of Awadh, the decline of landed groups, and fears for religion and custom. The revolt spread through the Gangetic plains and central India, with leaders such as Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope and Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh. Rebels attacked symbols of British power, issued proclamations appealing to people of all faiths, and tried to restore older forms of authority. The British eventually crushed the revolt with great force, recapturing Delhi and other centres, and Bahadur Shah was exiled to Rangoon. The chapter pays special attention to how the events were represented — in British accounts, paintings and reports that portrayed heroic Britons and demonised rebels, and in Indian memory and nationalist writing that celebrated the rebels — and shows how historians read these contrasting sources to understand both the rebellion and its many afterlives.
The outbreak at Meerut and DelhiCauses: cartridges, annexation and discontentLeaders and the spread of the revoltSuppression and its aftermathRepresenting the revolt in image and memory
Key terms
Sepoy
An Indian soldier in the Company's army, whose mutiny at Meerut began the revolt.
Greased cartridge
The cartridge believed to be coated with cow and pig fat, a trigger for the sepoy mutiny.
Bahadur Shah Zafar
The last Mughal emperor, proclaimed symbolic leader of the 1857 revolt and later exiled to Rangoon.
Doctrine of Lapse
A British policy of annexing states without a natural heir, resented by many rulers.
Rani Lakshmibai
The ruler of Jhansi who became a celebrated leader of the revolt.
Awadh
The kingdom annexed by the British in 1856, whose loss fed deep discontent in 1857.
Extra questions & answers
Try one from this chapter
Where did the revolt of 1857 begin on 10 May?