The Civil Uprisings Prior To 1857
Introduction
Whatever is unrelated to the military or the defense industry is referred to as "civil." Before 1857, uprisings were commonly led by overthrown kings or their heirs, uprooted and destitute zamindars, landowners, and poligars (landed military magnates in South India), as well as former retainers and representatives of vanquished Indian States. The demobilized troops, insolvent artisans, and rack-rented peasants made up the rebels' core, giving them a broad base and decisive power.
Social Foundations of Uprisings
• The East India Company's political clout increased after the Battle of Plassey in 1757, and by the end of the eighteenth century, the British had established themselves as India's dominating force.
• It became important to develop and put into effect policies for land tax, law and order, and administration as the Company advanced politically.
• Such rules' application caused turmoil in Indian society and forced changes.
• The Company's main objective was to leverage India's wealth to further England's prosperity.
• These upheavals affected the sociocultural, economic, and political lives of people.
• A rebellion started to spread across the nation as a result of the instability.
• The insurrection of 1857 was the culmination of a series of rebellions that occurred throughout the British Empire, not just in its closing years.
• Two key factors that contributed to these revolutions were the demise of old institutions of authority and increased economic pressure.
• Traditional segments of society rebelled at a time when the newly formed elite of urban intellectuals was enjoying the benefits of British rule because their livelihoods had been almost utterly transformed for the worse.
• Political-religious movements like the Faqir and Sanyasi revolutions were led by religious mendicants, whose religious ceremonies were challenging for the British to understand.
Civil Uprisings' Characteristics
• Even though they took place at various dates and locations, these revolutions largely mirrored common conditions.
• The semi-feudal leaders of civil uprisings had a conventional outlook and were regressive in thought.
• Their principal objective was to reinstate the old systems of social and political organization.
• These revolutions had similarly regional effects because they were sparked by regional issues and grievances.
Major Factors
• During the Company's rule, there were quick changes to the administration, land revenue system, and economy, all of which were bad for the populace.
• Many zamindars and poligars harbored personal animosities towards the new rulers since they had been deprived of their control over their properties and income by the colonial government.
• When they were degraded in stature by government officials and a new class of merchants and moneylenders developed, the egos of traditional zamindars and poligars were wounded.
• Colonial policies that devastated India's handcraft industries left millions of artisans penniless.
• The loss of their traditional patrons and customers princes, chieftains, and zamindars made their plight worse.
• The traditional landed and bureaucratic elite supported the religious orators, priests, pundits, maulvis, and others, the priestly classes encouraged enmity and opposition to foreign rule.
• The overthrow of zamindars and feudal lords had an immediate effect on the priestly class.
• The native population's pride was damaged by the British rulers' foreign nature, which was always strange to this area, and their contemptuous behavior towards them.
Important Civil Uprisings
Civil Uprisings |
|
Time Period |
|
Significance |
Sanyasi Revolt |
|
1763–1800 |
|
|
Revolt in Midnapore and Dhalbhum |
|
1766–74 |
|
|
Revolt of Moamarias |
|
1769–99 |
|
|
Civil Uprisings in Gorakhpur, Basti, and Bahraich |
|
1781 |
|
|
Revolt of Raja of Vizianagaram |
|
1794 |
|
|
Civil Rebellion in Awadh |
|
1799 |
|
|
Kutch or Cutch Rebellion |
|
1816–32 |
|
|
Parlakimidi Outbreak |
|
1813–34 |
|
|
Rising at Bareilly |
|
1816 |
|
|
Paika Rebellion |
|
1817 |
|
|
Upsurge in Hathras |
|
1817 |
|
|
Waghera Rising |
|
1818–20 |
|
|
Ahom Revolt |
|
1828 |
|
|
Surat Salt Agitations |
|
1840 |
|
|
Wahabi Movement |
|
1830-61 |
|
|
Kuka Movement |
|
1840 |
|
|
Meaning of The Uprisings
• The rebels' behavior shows that they were aware of their goals and foes.
• Numerous times, local issues could have been what ignited the insurrection. But as time went on, the movement's goals grew increasingly broad.
• Although a movement may have begun as a response to local landowner persecution, it soon evolved into a demonstration against the British Raj.
• Rebels frequently drew inspiration from their own idealized pasts in order to reclaim those pasts.
• For earlier rebels, the past stood for liberation from exploitation and unjust treatment.
• The ruling class made an effort to portray the uprisings as a problem with law and order and a criminal offence.
• The peasants' awareness of their problems and right to demonstrate is being completely denied by this.
• It's important to comprehend peasant and tribal activity in its own right since the rebels, on the other hand, lacked a long-term objective beyond restoring the status quo.
• Despite having constrained objectives and a narrow worldview, the rebels were successful in demonstrating how unpopular colonial rule was.
Limitations
• Despite being localized and taking place at various times and locations, these revolutions attracted a significant crowd.
• They usually developed as a result of local residents' objections.
• The opposition had a semi-feudal history, a conventional worldview, and there were no workable alternatives to the current social system.
• Many of these uprisings appeared to share a desire to overthrow foreign power, but this was not because of any 'national' urge or planned effort rather, it was because they were all battling against the same problems.
• In terms of both form and ideological/cultural content, these uprisings spanned centuries.
• The administration's concessions appeased those who weren't as challenging or obstructionist.
• The soldiers' abilities and equipment were essentially outmoded throughout these revolutions in comparison to the tactics, strategy, deception, and chicanery employed by their adversaries.
Conclusion
In pre-colonial India, protests by the populace against the rulers and their officials were common. The State's high land revenue demands, corrupt practices, and harsh attitude of the authorities were among the motivating factors. On the other hand, the development of colonial power and its policies had a much bigger annihilative impact on Indians as a whole. The colonial legal system and judicial system served to defend the government and its allies, including the landlords, merchants, and moneylenders. As a result, individuals who had no other choice but to pick up guns decided to do so in order to defend themselves.