Modern-indian-history / People’s Resistance Against British Before 1857 / Sepoy Mutinies
Sepoy Mutinies
- A number of sporadic military uprisings took place before the Great Revolt of 1857 in different parts of the country.
Causes
- There was rising discontent among the sepoys against the British rule due to the following reasons:
- discrimination in payment and promotions;
- mistreatment of the sepoys by the British officials;
- refusal of the government to pay foreign service allowance while fighting in remote regions;
- religious objections of the high caste Hindu sepoys to Lord Canning’s General Service Enlistment Act (1856) ordering all recruits to be ready for service both within and outside India.
- Further, the sepoys shared all the discontent and grievances—social, religious and economic—that afflicted the civilian population. Over the years, the upper caste sepoys had found their religious beliefs in conflict with their service conditions. For example, in 1806, the replacement of the turban with a leather cockade caused a mutiny at Vellore. Similarly, in 1844, there was a mutinous outbreak of the Bengal army sepoys for being sent too far away from Sind and in 1824 the sepoys at Barrackpore rose in revolt when they were asked to go to Burma because crossing the sea would mean loss of caste.
Important Mutinies
- The most important mutinies which broke out during the pre1857 period are the following: (i) The mutiny of the sepoys in Bengal in 1764. (ii) The Vellore mutiny of 1806 when the sepoys protested against interference in their social and religious practices and raised a banner of revolt unfurling the flag of the ruler of Mysore.
- (iii) The mutiny of the sepoys of the 47th Native Infantry Unit in 1824. (iv) The revolt of the Grenadier Company in Assam in 1825. (v) The mutiny of an Indian regiment at Sholapur in 1838. (vi) The mutinies of the 34th Native Infantry (N.I.), the 22nd N.I., the 66th N.I. and the 37th N.I. in 1844, 1849, 1850 and 1852 respectively. However, all these mutinies did not spread beyond their locality and were ruthlessly crushed by the British Indian government, often inflicting terrible violence, executing leaders and disbanding the regiments. But the legacy of these revolts proved to be of immense significance later.
