How was the revolt of 1857 suppressed by the british?
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Answer:
The Revolt of 1857 lasted for more than a year. It was suppressed by the middle of 1858. On July 8, 1858, fourteen months after the outbreak at Meerut, peace was finally proclaimed by Canning.
The British’s attempts to supress the revolt were not slow in coming and were characterized by ferocity and vengeance. It is clear from all accounts of the revolt that repression was not an easy task for the British. However, after enacting a number of laws and dealing out severe retribution, the British managed to reduce and subdue the Sepoy Mutiny (as the British referred to it). Troops were sent from the British end to the major places of unrest alongside the passing of Acts and Laws viewing the rebels as criminals. Some of the main steps that were taken to supress the revolt are as follows: -
Delhi was captured back
Delhi held a symbolic value of power which the British recognized. They began attempts to recapture the region in June. This siege was led by John Nicholsan who was badly wounded and later succumbed to his injuries. Many Indian leaders who had come to defend Delhi during this time also lost their lives.
The British mounted a double attack. One was a peaceful one that moved from Punjab and the other moved from Calcutta into North India.
On 20th September, 1857, after prolonged and bitter fighting, the British managed to recapture Delhi. Bahadur Shah Zafar was taken in as a prisoner and his throne was taken away. He was exiled off to Rangoon (Burma) where he died 5 years later. The royal princes too were captured and killed.
Help received by Indian groups as well
Not all sections of society participated in the Revolt of 1857. The British Imperialists had the support of most of the Indian princes and chiefs and others didn’t want to express dissent fearing what the British were capable of doing as a consequence. The British Empire was indeed very powerful and no concrete ideas of viewing India as a ‘nation’ had come up yet. This paved way for the British to exploit the support of many rulers. The same was true with Zamindars, moneylenders and some of the middle class as well. The help received by these groups helped in the suppression of the revolt.
One example of this is seen in places where British tried to break up unity of peasants and Zamindars by promising the Zamindars big estates in return for compliance. Rebellious ones had their lands evicted or faced unfortunate deaths while the loyal were rewarded. This Divide and Rule- as often is the case- worked well for the British.
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The defeat of the major players in the war
The real slowdown of the revolt took place once the rebels who had managed to mobilise the rest were defeated at the hands of the British. These rebels were: -
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Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi died on field of battle on 17 June 1858
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Nana Sahib defeated at Kanpur, escaped to Nepal in 1859
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Tantia Tope escaped into jungles of Central India from where he carried on guerrilla warfare until April, 1859 when he was betrayed by a Zamindar friend & captured & put to death after hurried trail on 15th April 1859
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By 1859 - Kunwar Singh, Bakht Khan, Khan Bahadur Khan of Bareilly, Rao Sahib & Maulavi Ahmadullah were all dead
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Begum of Awadh was compelled to hide in Nepal
These defeats were carried out because of superior technology that the British possessed and the reinforcements that they’d received from Britain. The military power outnumbered that of Indians.
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Enactments of Laws
The British passed a number of laws to make it easier to the curb the freedom with which people were participating.
By the beginning of June 1857, Delhi, Meerut, Rohilkhand, Agra, Allahabad and Benares divisions had been put under Martial Law. The definition of this Martial Law was especially beneficial to the British who no restrictions on the use of power. The Britons could take Indian lives without any due process of law. Any form of rebellion from the smallest to biggest were punished with the same thing- death. Often this killing was done publicly as in the case of Mangal Pandey to create fear in the minds of any who dared to join the movement.
One officer wrote to The Times: 'We have the power of life and death in our hands; and I assure you we spare not. A very summary trial is all that takes place.'
In the process of repression, there was heavy loss of life from both sides. Commoners were shot and hanged while more and more families were left incomplete. Villages were burnt and misery was inflicted upon many. It was through these cruel methods that tyranny confronted rebellion.
It took nearly 2 years by the British to suppress the revolt. They could not rule india by the same policies. They changed their policies and initiated new policies. They recaptured Delhi in 2858 and lucknow in 1859. Rani Lakshmi bai was killed in June 1858. Tantia tope was killed in 1859....