The REVOLT of 1857

The Revolt of 1857 was a product of the policies and the intent of the British Raj in India. The cumulative impact of the expansionist intent of the British Raj, the economic exploitation and the administrative changes over the years affected the entire population - rulers of the small kingdoms, sepoys, zamindars, traders, peasants, artisans, pundits, maulvis etc. The strong discontent resulted in a violent storm in the year 1857 that shook the British Empire in India to its very foundations.

The causes are discusses below-

ECONOMIC CAUSES
The colonial policies of the East India Company destroyed the traditional economic fabric of the Indian society. The peasantry could never really recover from the disabilities imposed by the new and a highly unpopular 'Revenue Settlement'. Impoverished by the heavy taxation, they often resorted to loans from moneylenders/traders at usurious rates, the latter in most cases evicting the former in case of non-payment of the debt. These moneylenders emerged as the new landlords, while the scourge of the indebtedness has continued to plague the Indian society to this day.
British Rule also meant misery for the Indian hand loom and the handicrafts men. The annexation of the Indian states cut off their major source of patronage. Added to this, the policies discouraged the Indian handicrafts and promoted British goods. The highly skilled Indian craftsmen had to look for alternate source of employment that hardly existed, given that the destruction of the Indian industry was not accompanied by development of the modern industries. Karl Marx remarked in 1853,'It was the British intruder who broke the Indian handloom and destroyed the spinning wheel. England began by depriving the Indian cotton from the European market; it then introduced a twist into Hindustan and in the end inundated the very mother country of cotton with cottons.'

Zamindars, the traditional landed aristocracy, often saw their land rights forfeited with the frequent use of a quo warranto by the administration. This resulted in a loss of status for them in the villages. In Awadh, the storm centre of the revolt, 21,000 taluqdars had their estates confiscated and they suddenly found themselves without a source of income,'unable to work, ashamed to beg, condemned to penury'. These dispossessed taluqdars seized the opportunity presented by the sepoy revolt to oppose the British Rule and regain what they had lost.

The destruction of the Indian industry increased the pressure on the land and agriculture, the lopsided development which resulted in the pauperisation of the country in general.

POLITICAL CAUSES
The East India Company's greedy policy of aggrandizement accompanied with false and broken promises resulted in a loss of political prestige for it, on one hand. And caused suspicion in the minds of almost all the ruling Kingdoms in India, on the other hand, with the use of policies such as 'Effective Control', 'Subsidiary Alliance' and 'Doctrine of Lapse'. The right to succession was denied to the Hindu princes. The Mughals were humbled when on Prince Faqiruddin's death in 1856, whose succession had been recognized constitutionally by Lord Dalhousie, Lord Canning announced that the next prince on succession would have to renounce the regal title and the ancestral Mughal palaces, in addition to the renunciations agreed upon by Prince Faqiruddin. 
The collapse of the rulers, the erstwhile aristocracy - also adversely affected those sections of the society which derived their sustenance from cultural and religious pursuits.

ADMINISTRATIVE CAUSES
Rampant corruption in the Company's administration, especially among the police, low ranking officials, low order courts imparted a foreign and an alien look to the British rule in the eyes of the Indians.

SOCIO-RELIGIOUS CAUSES
Racial overtones and a superiority complex characterized the attitude of the British rule towards the native Indian population. The activities of the Christian missionaries, who followed the British flag, were looked upon with suspicion by Indians. The attempts at socio-religious reforms such as the abolition of sati, support to widow remarriage and women's education were seen as an interference in the social and the religious domain of the Indian society by the outsiders. These fears were further compounded by the Government's decision to tax the land belonging to Mosques and Temples and the legislative measures, such as the Religious Disabilities Act, 1856, which modified the Hindu customs, for instance, declaring that a change of religion did not debar a son from inheriting the property of his heathen father.

INFLUENCE OF THE OUTSIDE EVENTS
The Revolt of 1857 coincided by many events in which the British suffered heavy losses - the First Afgan War(1838-42), Punjab Wars(1845-49), Crimean Wars(1854-56), Santhal Rebellion(1855-57). These had obvious psychological repercussions.

DISCONTENT AMONG SEPOYS
The conditions of service in the Company's Army and cantonments increasingly came into conflict with the religious beliefs and prejudices of the sepoys. Restriction on wearing caste and sectarian marks, secret rumors of proselytizing activities of the Chaplin(often maintained on Company's expenses) were interpreted by Indian sepoys, who were generally conservative, as interference in their religious affairs.
To the religious Hindu of the time, crossing the seas meant the loss of caste. In 1856, Lord Canning's Government passed the General Service Enlistment Act which decreed that all future recruits to the Bengal Army would have to give an undertaking to serve anywhere where the service might be required. 
The Indian sepoy was also unhappy with his emoluments compared to his British counterpart. A more immediate cause of the dissatisfaction was the order that the Indian sepoy would not be given the foreign service allowance 'bhatta' when serving in Sindh or in Punjab. The annexation of Awadh, home to many of the sepoys, further agitated the feelings.
The Indian sepoy was made to feel a subordinate at every step and was discriminated against racially and in matters of promotion and privileges. Finally, there had been a long history of revolts in the British Indian Army - in Bengal(1764), Vellore(1806), Barrakpore(1825) and during the Afgan Wars(1838-42) are a few to mention.

BEGINNING AND SPREAD
The reports about mixing of the bone dust in wheat flour(atta) and the introduction of the new Enfield rifle only enhanced the sepoys' growing disaffection with the Government. The cartridge of the new rifle had to be bitten off before loading and the grease was made of pig and beef fat. The administration did nothing to address the concerns of the sepoys. They felt their religion was in grave danger.
The greased cartridges did not create a new cause of discomfort but surely added to the discontent. The revolt began at Meerut, 58 km from Delhi, on the 10 May 1857, and soon covered wide areas from the Punjab in the North and Narmada in the south to Bihar in the east and Rajputana in the west.
Even before the revolt began there were rumblings of resentment in various cantonments. The 19th Native Infantry at Behrampur refused to use the greased cartridges and broke out in mutiny in Feb 1857, it was disbanded in March. A young sepoy of the 34th Native Infantry, Mangal Pande, went a step further, he shot his sergeant major in Barrackpore. He was executed on April 6 while his regiment was disbanded in May.
On 24th April, 90 men of the 3rd Native Cavalry stationed in Meerut refused to use the cartridges, on 9 May, 85 of them were dismissed, sentedced to 10 years imprisonment. This sparked off general mutiny among the Indian sepoys stationed at Meerut. The very next day, on the 10 May, they released their imprisoned comrades, killing their European officers in the process. They set off for Delhi after the sunset. In Delhi, the local infantry joined them, the aged and the powerless, Bahadur Shah Zafar was proclaimed the 'Emperor of India'.
The spontaneous rise of the Mughal King to the leadership of the country was a recognition of the fact that the long reign of Mughal dynasty had become the traditional symbol of India's political unity. Bahadur Shah Zafar after initial vacillation, wrote letters to the smaller rulers and chiefs of India urging them to fight together against the British regime.
The revolt of sepoys was accompanied by a rebellion of the civil population. They destroyed the account books belonging to the moneylenders who had displaced them from their lands, the British established law courts, revenue offices(tehsils) and police stations.
According to one estimate, of the total of about 150,000 men who died fighting the British in Awadh, over 100,000 were civilians.

STORM CENTRES AND LEADERS OF THE REVOLT
At Delhi, the nominal and the symbolic leadership belonged to the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, but the real command lay with a court of soldiers headed by General Bhakt Khan who led the revolt of the Bareilly troops and brought them to Delhi. The court consisted 10 members, 6 from the Army and 4 from the civilian departments, the court conducted the affairs of the state in the name of the emperor. But the emperor, because of his weak personality, old age and lack of leadership qualities, proved to be the weakest link in the chain of leadership of the revolt.
At Kanpur, the natural choice was Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the last Peshwa, Baji Rao II. He was refused his family title and banished from Poona, he was living near Kanpur. He proclaimed himself Peshwa, after expelling the English from Kanpur and acknowledged Bahadur Shah as the emperor of India.
Begum Hazrat Mahal took over the reigns in Lucknow where the rebellion broke out in June and popular sympathy was in the favour of the deposed Nawab.
At Bareilly, Khan Bahadur, a descendent of the former ruler of Rohilkhand, was placed in command.
In Bihar, the revolt was led by Kunwar Singh, the zamindar of Jadishpur.
Maulvi Ahmadullah of Faizabad was another outstanding leader of the revolt.
The most outstanding leader of the revolt was Rani Laxmibai, who assumed leadership of the sepoys in Jhansi. Lord Dalhousie, had refused to allow her adopted son to succeed to the throne after the death of her husband, Raja Gangadhar Rao and had annexed the state by the application of the very unpopular 'Doctrine of Lapse'.

CAUSES OF THE FAILURE OF THE REVOLT
Limited territorial spread was one factor, there was no all-India veneer about the revolt. The eastern, the southern and the western parts of the country were largely untouched. Certain classes, groups did not join the revolt and instead sided with the British.
Big zamindars, taluqdars backed off once land restitution was spelt out. Money lenders saw their class interests better protected under the British patronage. Modern educated Indians saw the revolt as backward looking.
The Indian soldiers were poorly equipped, mostly fighting with the swords and spears and had few guns and muskets. The British soldiers, on the other hand, were equipped with the latest war weapons, like the Enfield rifle. The electric telegraph kept the British leadership always at the advantage and informed about the latest movements and strategy of the rebels.
The revolt was poorly organised with no coordination or a strong central leadership. The rebels represented diverse elements with differing sorrows and concepts of current politics.
Modern nationalism was still unknown in India, the revolt infact, played an important role in bringing the people together and fight for a common cause of a unified country.

CONSEQUENCES
The revolt led to many administration changes and the policy of governance. 
(i)The direct responsibility for the administration of the country was assumed by the British crown and the Company rule was abolished.
(ii)The era of annexations and expansion ended, the British promised respect the dignity and rights of the native princes.
(iii)The Indian states were henceforth to recognize the paramountcy of the British Crown.
(iv)The Army, which was at the forefront of the rebellion, was thoroughly reorganized and the British military policy cae to be dominated by the idea of 'divide and counterpoise'.
(v)Racial hatred and suspicion between the Indians and the English was aggravated.

Credit : Spectrum's 'A Brief History Of Modern India'

World's Highest Battle Field

Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayan Mountains. The glacier is the most prominent feature of the Saltoro mountain range, which lies at the extreme northwest of India's Karakorum region.

On the edge of the glacial moraine soldiers live in igloos called Bana or Bhim in Hindi and are served an extravagant menu whilst clothed in the expensive high altitude gear. Supplying troops with a loaf of bread costs two rupees (four U.S. cents) in the plains and 200 rupees on Siachen because it has to be taken by a helicopter. Not any ordinary helicopter but indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) that can generate lift in the extremely thin air at this altitude. The world's highest helipad also exists here at Sonam, at a height of 21,000 feet. We have also installed the world's highest telephone booth on the glacier.

Ironically, the strategic importance of the glacier, where neither side had troops until 1984, is debatable. After partition in 1947, neither India not Pakistan bothered to extend the line of control between Pakistan and India up to Siachen because no one thought it was worth bothering about.

The Siachen Glacier, located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains, is one of the five largest glaciers in the Karakoram, situated at an average altitude of 18,000 feet above sea level. At 78 km long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world's non-polar areas. Most of the Siachen Glacier falls under the LoC (Line of Control), a hotly contested territory between Pakistan and India. Since 1984, both countries have been fighting intermittently for sovereignty over this region, because of which the Siachen glacier is sometimes called the highest battleground on earth.

The conflict in Siachen stems from the incompletely demarcated territory on the map of this region. After the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971, an agreement was signed between the two countries in 1972, which came to be known as the Shimla Agreement, but it failed to clearly mention who controlled the glacier. UN officials presumed there would be no dispute between India and Pakistan over such a cold and barren region. They were wrong.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, in the pretext of climbing the high peaks on this glacier, Pakistan sent expeditions with permits issued by the Government of Pakistan. The idea was to reinforce claim on the area, as these expeditions arrived with a permit obtained from the Government of Pakistan. In 1984, when the Pakistan army attempted to move into the region, India launched a successful military operation and has since maintained control over all of the Siachen Glacier and its tributaries. Between 1984 and 1999, frequent skirmishes took place between India and Pakistan. However, more soldiers have died in Siachen from harsh weather conditions than from enemy firing. Both India and Pakistan maintain permanent military presence in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft), and continue to deploy thousands of troops in Siachen.

It is the world's highest battlefield, with troops stationed higher than the most North American, European or African mountains. At 6,300 meters (20,700 feet) India controls these breathless heights at an estimated cost of up to $1 million a day and is reluctant to back off for fear Pakistan might walk in. Yet, there is no doubt the logistical and physical challenge of supplying troops at sub-zero conditions beggars belief. 

However, the 75-km (47-mile) glacier, one of the longest outside of the poles has come to represent a lot more. Here soldiers are left to stare and shoot at each other across the line of control in a complex of trenches and bunkers. Frozen eatables, blurred speeches, frostbites and chilblains are common and plummeting temperatures leave scores dead. Yet plenty of volunteers file along the roads of Jammu and Kashmir up to Siachen in the belief that after serving -- and surviving -- a three-month stretch on the high front line they can expect a boost to their military career.

The fact is the human body continuously deteriorates above 18,000 feet and with winter temperatures of 70 degrees below zero, the inhospitable climate in Siachen has claimed more lives than gunfire. But nothing seems to shake the resolve of governments in the warm capitals far away.

Any talk of a mutual withdrawal from the crippling environment is always referred to in the context of pulling back from the entire line of control -- something both nuclear-armed powers are unlikely to do, say observers.At these dizzying heights, breathing can also be a huge effort and many soldiers suffer from high-altitude pulmonary and cerebral edema, headaches and hypertension. Unlike mountaineers, who usually  climb during the best weather, Siachen soldiers endure the worst the mountains can throw at them, year-round. Avalanches are frequent and terrifying; their  thunder is so great that it's often impossible to distinguish from shelling. Blizzards can last 20 days. Winds reach speeds of 125 miles per hour; temperatures can plunge to minus 60 degrees. Annual snowfall exceeds 35 feet.  During storms, two or three men have to shovel snow at all times. If they stop,  they will never catch up and the post will be buried alive.   

As long as Pakistan and India remain at deadlock over Kashmir, troops will remain on the blizzard-blasted Siachen glacier. It is likely that any eventual withdrawal from Siachen, which has claimed so many lives, will be less painful to give up than any other positions. 

source : Internet

The Idea of India and Pakistan

Foreign Country ~ what makes a foreign country ‘Foreign’? A laymen answer can be the measurement of the geographical distance that makes two countries foreign, instead a more strategic statement could be the measurement in terms of the bilateral relations both the nations enjoy. Going by the latter, it is not very difficult to guess the current relationship status between the two Asian Nuclear Powers – India and Pakistan. India is far more closer to North America as compared to its immediate neighbor Pakistan.

Hence, the statement by our PM Modi and I quote, “You can change your friends but you can definitely not change your neighbors” suddenly has become the talk of the town. 

Let me again frame a statement, ‘The idea of India is stronger than the Indian whereas the idea of Pakistan is weaker than the Pakistani.’ 

Now, what does that mean? Let me do the explanation part now, Pakistan was built on the notion that a religion/faith can be a sufficient basis for nationalism. The notion can be further weakened by the fact that there are multiple Arab nations which share a common faith and to an extent the linguistic similarities (which by any measure supersedes the faith as a basis of nationalism as was the case of Europe). Had the notion been of any mettle there should have been a giant of a country. Hence, faith cannot be the basis of nationalism; it can definitely form the basis of brotherhood.

Also, try to imagine what the forefathers of the two newly independent nations were analyzing about, the ‘Democratic’ form of governance. We have at our disposal 60+ years of experience to judge while their list of contemporaries had likes of Hitler was voted to power in Germany, followed by Mussolini in Italy. The rest need not be explained! I am pretty much sure of their dilemma about the animal called ‘Democracy’.

Whereas India was created on the notions of Modernity, briefly summed up as - Democracy, Right to expression; Right to Equality (of faith); Equality of Gender and finally the Economic Equality. Fair amount of progress has been made on the first three fronts but still a lot needs to be done for the economic equity.

Janhit Mai Jaari

Hi All,
Sharing my grotesque experience for today at the Madiwala Police station, went there to file a "complaint" for a case of a bicycle theft (rockrider 5.1) which occurred b/w 10:30 PM dated 09/09/2013 and 7:00 AM dated 10/09/2013 and unfortunately that bike was mine, it would have completed a whole month today but then there is more to share.

When I came back from my friend's today morning, we figured out what has really happened. First I thought, Decathlon(the store from where I bought my bike) might be able to help me out but then they do not provide the tracker in India <fail>, I suggested them to explore this aspect while returning.

And then, the eventful journey begins, recently the H.S.R Police Station because of renovation was temporarily shifted near Sharjapur(you will find it on your left hand side if you are traveling to Marathahalli just before taking the right turn towards Sarjapur). Initially, they just didn't listen to what I was complaining about having heard the "cycle" word and then after all the drama they asked me to go to the Madiwala Police Station, which covers Sector 7 of HSR layout, my place of residence.

When I came to the concerned authority (Madiwala Station), they again were hula-balloing "about me complaining for a theft for a cycle". But for the monetary value of the bike they were not at all taking it seriously and it was only after they
heard price value they entertained my request.

They asked me to write an application for the same which I had to write 4 times just because they did not find it in "the correct format" only after buying papers for the same, they asked me to bring coffee for few of their men from a nearby inn, get 4 sets of the FIR from another place. After all this and nearly 3 hours, they asked me to wait for another hour or so. Again, went to some clerk who copied the whole FIR from a printed form( I didn't understand why they needed 4 sets of FIRs and then suddenly they needed a hand written one ). Finally, around 8:00 pm, I had a copy of the FIR for which I was running halter-scelter since 4 pm.

There goes my not so serene experience. Remember to ~
1)Go to the right Police Station that actually covers your area.
2)U need to have some orating skills in order to persuade the officers to entertain your request.
3)Buy papers to write in your application.
4)Write the same in the correct format, you can ask the officer in advance to avoid re-writing the whole thing again n again.
5)Get photo copies.
6)Get coffee/chai for the entire thana, don't ask for the reason. Just Do It.
7)Get a copy of the invoice of the product lost; a picture, possibly, can be of great help.
8)Wait endlessly!
9)Above all, listen to their gibberish n non-sense talks.

Hail the Indian Police Services!