'Angrez Bahadur ain, mulk lai linho.'
The aforementioned is a word of lament for the people of Awadh who lost their Nawab, their father figure in the State.
This article shall have a setting up of a year preceding the 'First War of Independence' or more popularly known as the 'Revolt of 1857'. Although, the Revolt was localized in the country at various centers such as Jhansi, Kanpur, Bihar and the tribals and the peasants together.
AR Desai, a prominent Marxist Sociologist remarks that this Revolt was a battle between declining feudalism and rising capitalist mode of production that came with the advent of colonial powers in India.
Political landscape of Awadh in the pre-British era:
Awadh, today known as Uttar Pradesh existed as an autonomous province. The Asiatic mode of production by Karl Marx would better explain its status which means that provinces in the Mughal period enjoyed autonomy as long as they accepted the suzerainty of Emperor and paid tribute to him regularly.
Mughals ruled the capital and resided in Delhi, the capital while these provinces were governed by some kings or prince who were appointed on some good trust by the Emperor. They had their own territory, forts, palaces, army to govern and had flexibility of governing themselves. There were instances when these autonomous rulers started to cultivate wild dreams of building their independent kingdom within the Empire. On scrutiny, if the claim was found to be true, the Emperor used to crush these advances on the integrity of the Empire as a whole.
Similarly, a Nawab was appointed to govern these kingdoms. The decision was prudential as division of powers helped manage the administration of the country easily and to maintain the efficiency of work as well. In the case of Awadh, the Nawab that lost his territory to the British was Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.
Was it only Awadh's Annexation in the subcontinent?
No, the British powers had started their rule in India with their victory in Battles of Plaasey (1757) and the Battle of Buxar (1764). Various Governors-General came for yet another 100 years and conquered different territories of the country. By 1813, British adopted a policy of 'Paramountcy' and wanted to become the supreme power in the country.
They officially gained as the real power in the country when they captured Delhi during the period of a Later Mughal. Later, after stripping off Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor and exiling the latter to Rangoon in Myanmar, British ultimately assumed all the powers.
The Company's Rule (1757-1857) was really a period of hell for the Indians. The Company always profit-oriented rarely cared for the welfare of people. Ever since it came into power it was busy looting India. The officers of EIC were busy filling their pockets with the Indian riches. Systems of oppression and exploitation of the British against the Indians was developing an insurgent behavior in the natives of the community.
They saw British as alien people who did not belong to their indigenous land. Realized how cunning and shrewd they were. Still were being pressed under their demands as wey were in the position of that a slave.
So in general..we all know that India was in chains of death and imprisonment as long as the dark shadow of British imperialism loomed before the country.
Coming particularly to Awadh where the outrage against the British was really strong and continued for the longest. The British found it difficult to suppress the Revolt here.
Why Awadh?
Lord Dalhousie is said to have remarked a few years before the annexation of Awadh that 'It is like a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day.'
Awadh was eyed by the British for the riches it had.
- This is that very region which is the home of the fertile alluvial soil found in the Indo-Gangetic plains. It was ideally good for them as the state would fetch them with huge revenue rates and they could easily grow successfully various cash crops like cotton or indigo here.
- As India was a market for the manufactured goods of the British. Awadh would serve as a principal market in the North Indian region.
- Annexation of Awadh would have completed the process of territorial annexation that had begun with the conquest of Bengal, a century earlier and other territories like the Maratha lands, regions of Punjab and Sindh and Doab region including the Central Provinces.
Conquest of Awadh in Stages: Not an Immediate Act of British:
The conquest of Awadh happened in 1856, a year before the Revolt of 1857.
In the first place, Subsidiary Alliance, a policy introduced by one of the Governor Generals in India, Lord Wellesley in 1798.
This was a Pact actually and the ruler who subscribed to it had to accept certain terms and conditions which were as follows:
- The British would be the decisive ones when it would come to take steps regarding the domestic and foreign policy of the State.
- In the territory of the state, a British armed contingent would be stationed. The expense for maintaining it would be on the ruler itself.
- A British Resident, as a representative of Governor General would be there in the court of the ruler and the rulers will have to act in accordance with the advice of that British official.
This Policy of Subsidiary Alliance was also imposed on Awadh in 1801. Clearly, the clauses of this alliance tilt the scales of politics completely in favor of the British.
It sealed the fate of Awadh.
The Nawab after becoming entirely powerless and became a puppet in the hands of British. The official stamp was of Nawab but the stamping authority was of British.
Nawab with time got highly vulnerable to the political affairs of his state and became increasingly dependent on the British for even the slightest of matters. He could no longer claim or exercise power over rebellious chiefs in the State.
All he knew was to act as per British. The British world was ultimate for the ruler and thus with time the influence of Nawab started to wither away.
But the game wasn't over.
Why?
After meddling so much into the affairs of Awadh just on the basis of the clauses of Subsidiary Alliance, British had only sparked fire. The entire drama was still to unfold.
What was that?
Seeking opportunity in the situations created by oneself can be best learnt from British.
The Final Card:
Nawab of Awadh after entering into alliance with British got utterly helpless. He became dependent on the British even for the breath that he was exhaling or inhaling.
The situation seemed to be depressing. The Nawab, the father-figure for his praja was suffering at the hands of alien powers.
British came into picture finally.
Keeping the Nawab as a puppet in their hands also couldn't be tolerated by them instead they wanted more.
Using the pretext of 'misgovernance', the fact that the removal of Nawab of Awadh was necessary because of his malfunctioning. They accused him to be not able to take care of his subjects and their interests.
And yet again citing the same 'White Man's Burden', they took over Awadh in their control for the betterment of Awadh province.
Annexation of Awadh: Entry of British into Jungles of Thorns:
Oudh was annexed in 1856. And with its annexation, the Nawab was displaced and deported into exile to Calcutta again referencing that the region was being misgoverned.
British had wrongly assumed that Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was an unpopular ruler.
On the contrary, he was widely loved and when he left his native state, the whole country bemoaned on account of his loss. People sang songs of lament.
The grief expressed by the people of Awadh was recorded by some of the contemporary observers:
One of them remarked that the departure of the Nawab was similar to the process of death where after when the soul departs only the body remains.
'The life was gone out of the body and the body of this town had gone lifeless.' - anonymous observer.
Everybody was crying due to the pain of separation of Jan-i-Alam (referring to the Nawab of Awadh).
One folk song also lamented at the loss of Nawab and said that the powerful British came and took the country which was translated as 'Angrez Bahadur Ain, Mulk Lai Linho.'
With the displacement of Nawab came the dissolution of the court culture - artisans, poets, musicians and dancers lost their livelihood.
Chained Grievances and Culminating Revolt:
Different sections of Awadh rooted in against the British during the Revolt of 1857.
The coming of British Raj seemed to them as the end of their world.
The rebellion maintained it's strongest front in Awadh as multiple factors here aggravated the entire scenario.
Dispossesion of Taluqdars:
Awadh was dominated by the taluqdars. Taluqdars were the big landlords who were the owners of a taluka which comprised 200-300 villages under it. They had their own armed force and lived in forts. They enjoyed autonomy within the state as long as they accepted the supremacy of Nawab and paid him tribute regularly.
The British couldn't tolerate these powerful landlords when they annexed Awadh and hence decided to cripple them of their power. Their armies and forts were destroyed. They were termed as interlopers (someone who acquires land through force and fraud.)
Introduction of a New Land Settlement:
A new type of land revenue arrangement was introduced known as the 'Summary Settlement'. This settlement ultimately worked out to stripp off the Taluqdars from the picture. In the pre-British period, Taluqdars had control over more than 68% of land but now the figures have gone down to 38%. They lost all the villages which were once in their control.
British sought to remove the Taluqdars to directly enter into a agreement with the actual owners of the soil.
They wanted to eradicate the exploitation faced by the peasants at the hands of Taluqdars. Practically, nothing of it was realized. The revenue demand was increased drastically. The burden of revenue demand did not decline actually. Areas were overassessed for the purpose of revenue collection.
Neither the Taluqdars nor the peasants had reasons to be happy with the annexation.
Breakdown of an Entire Social Order:
It was true that many of the Taluqdars were oppressors but some appeared to be as father-figures too. They used to exact revenue from the peasants but used to cancel it in times of emergency.
Under the British, peasants couldn't escape huge revenue collection. In the times of hardship, they couldn't expect to leave or support through loans. The revenue demand was not postponed either and flexibility was out of norm now.
Grievances of Sepoys:
The British army was nurtured by the people who were recruited as army men from Awadh. In fact, Oudh was the nursery of Bengal army. It was the Indian soldiers who were at the help of British to help them consolidate themselves in the British Empire.
The relationship with the sepoys underwent a significant change in the years preceding the Revolt of 1857.
In the 1820's, white officers maintained a friendly relationship with the sepoys. They would take part in their leisure activities - they wrestled with them, fenced with them and went out hawking with them. Many of them were well-versed with the Hindustani culture. These officers sometimes appeared as parental figure for the sepoys.
But in the 1840's, scene started to reflect a different dynamics. A sense of superiority and inferiority started to dominate the British minds. Began to discriminate the Indian sepoys on the basis of race. Abuse and physical violence became the order of the day. Trust relations were dominated by suspicion
The Greased Cartridges Incident speaks volumes about this.
Thus, mistreatment with one army unit at a specific place was transmitted to other units too as there were close links between sepoys coming from different regions. Hence, the peasants, soldiers and the Taluqdars together with the Nawab's family rose up in Awadh against the British forces.
During the Revolt of 1857, in Awadh, peasants and taluqdars largely maintained themselves on battle front.
The Nawab of Awadh's wife (Begun Hazrat Mahal) & adopted son of Nawab (Birjis Qadir) organized the rebel forces in Lucknow to fight against British.
Aftermath:
The British ultimately were successful at the repression of revolt but it took them for than a year (1858) to restore the law and order completely.
In Awadh, the resistance against the British was longest. In many places, the alternative authority established by the rebels was broken down with the onslaught of British.
The 'Relief of Lucknow' and the 'Battle of Chinhat' are still regarded as the celebrated events in Oudh during the Revolt of 1857.
Note for Readers:
In this article, I have brought up the discussion of Awadh largely - As a Centre of Revolt in 1857.
As keeping it transparent for my community, I will like to mention that 'Lucknow' which was and is still the capital of Awadh had its own history of heroic resistance against British.
Do let me know your views on this one and if I should come up with the article on 'The heroic resistance offered by Lucknow'.
Thanks for your time reading this!
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Reference:
- Themes in Indian History - Class XII (Part-III), NCERT.