4b.

OPPOSITION TO THE BRITISH

 It created serious tension throughoutChittagong and Dhaka and skirmishes at Sylhet, Jessore, Rangpur,
Pabna and Dinajpur.
 The Native Infantry of Chittagong rose in open revolt on November 18, 1857, and released all prisoners
from the jail. They seized arms and ammunition, raided the Treasury, set fire to the Magazine House, and
marched towards Tippera.
 The EIC sent three companies of the 54th Regiment and 100 seamen to Dhaka.
 The EIC sent a Naval Brigade to Jessore, Rangpur, Dinajpur, and other Bangladeshi districts.
 Several sepoys were killed, while others were arrested, and many escaped to Mymensingh. 11 of the
accused sepoys were sentenced to death, while the others received life sentences.
 Both Delhi and Lucknow had been regained by September 1857, and the British eventually put down the
last pockets of resistance at the end of August 1858.
 In 1852, Governor-General Dalhousie introduced the Doctrine of Lapse. This said that when a ruler died
without a natural heir, his territory would become British.

 5 marks Questions:-

Q. Write about the Fakir-Sannyas’s movement?

 Around 1770, The Fakir-Sanyasi resistance movement was planned and led by Majnu Shah, a Muslim Sufi saint
from the Madaria sect. Majnu Shah formed an alliance with Bhabani Pathak, a Bhojpuri Brahmin who also led
the Sanyasi rebels. They targeted British-aligned zamindars and used guerilla tactics, including surprise
attacks on company soldiers. Villagers provided information about the company's military movements to the
rebels. The number of fakirs and sanyasis had climbed to over 50,000 by the 1770s. Because the rebels were
far more mobile than the British troops and could seek refuge in inhospitable terrain when threatened, the
EIC found it impossible to defeat them. The EIC army quickly learned that stationing an army in one location
was unsuccessful in preventing guerrilla raids in other regions. Between 1767 and 1786, rebels attacked EIC
posts in Rangpur, Rajshahi, Kuch Bihar, Jalpaiguri, Comilla, and Dhaka. If the Fakir-Sanyasis hadn't come
across a British force on December 8, 1786, the raids would have lasted forever. The rebels lost practically all
of their soldiers, and there were several losses. The rebellion's ember had finally died out. Minor assaults had
place until 1812. However, after Majnu Shah's death, the movement lost its purpose. The rebel attacks were
finished by the late 1790s, and the British had firmly established rule over all of Bengal.

Q. What were the causes of failure? / Why do you think the 1857 war failed?

 The 1857 war failed for various reasons. firstly, The aristocrats opposed the sepoys, and helped the British by
supplying carts, carriages, and elephants, informing them of the sepoys' actions and creating local volunteer
corps to resist them. Such efforts were rewarded with titles like Nawab, Khan Bahadur, Khan Shaheb, Rai
Bahadur, Rai Shaheb, and others, as well as cash prizes. The middle class, followed them too. The ordinary
people and peasantry as a whole were uninterested and unaffected by the sepoy revolt, but they did suffer
greatly from the higher prices that followed war. Second, the British were one of the world's most powerful
 nations, and its forces were well-versed in battle and modern warfare techniques. They puzzled everyone
and caused them to fight amongst themselves while establishing social hierarchy.

Q. Write about the political and economic cause of 1857 war.

 POLITICAL:-
Following the battle of Palashi, the EIC's power grew rapidly, putting pressure on neighbouring Indian rulers.
By 1818, when the last Peshwa was ousted, practically all kingdoms had accepted humiliating treaties with
the British. In 1852, Governor-General Dalhousie created the Doctrine of Lapse. The British would take over a
monarch's empire if he died without a natural heir, and the British often used this as an excuse to take land.
Cornwallis' administrative reforms, imposed at the close of the 18th century, meant to prevent external
Indians, notably Muslims, from high posts. Because they were mourning their king, and couldn't be trusted.
The British decision to relocate the royal family from Delhi's Red Fort to the less well-known Qutub Sahib was
also disrespectful.
ECONOMIC:-
The EIC's agricultural programme outraged the land-holding elites. Many landowners have lost their
properties due to a lack of documentary proof of their rights. Zamindars and talukdars have lost both their
hereditary estates and social standing. Excessive taxes, which devastated both landowners and peasants,
compounded the land-holding classes' frustrations. British merchants profited handsomely from their trade
in textiles, while local businessmen were denied access to a large portion of the market.

Q. Write about the social, religious and military causes of the 1857 war.

 SOCIAL AND RELIGUOUS:-

In the 18th century, the British were friendly to Indian society and religion. As British political power grew,
many British citizens believed it was their duty to spread their'superior' culture, with one British official
declaring in 1835 that "a single shelf of English books is worth more than the entire naïve literature of India
and Arabia." The majority of British were nicer, yet the British treated the locals as inferiors. Their attitude,
along with the arrival of a new way of life with the railway, telegraph, and English educational system,
created distrust in Indian minds. Many Indians were worried that British rule might threaten Islam, Hinduism,
and Sikhism. Locals working with missionaries were asked to give up their religion and follow Christian
teachings at missionary schools. Missionaries were seen at bazaars, hospitals, schools, and even prisons as
missionary activity increased in the 19th century. The abolition of Satidaha and the introduction of widow
remarriage increased people's fears that their ancestral faith and caste would be threatened in the British
hands.
MILITARY:-
The princes lived in fear, the landed aristocracy was unhappy, and the public was dissatisfied. But, if the
Sepoy Army stayed loyal, their discontent might not have turned into revolt. The Bengal Army's Sepoys
mostly came from Oudh and the North-Western Province. They had fought bravely in the face of danger and
had helped the Company win many wars. Regardless, they were not treated fairly. In compared to British
soldiers, their pay was low, and there were little opportunities for growth. They also had issues over the
payment of additional allowances for service in newly captured countries, like as Sindh, which were foreign
to them.
Q. What do you know about Titu Meer and is movement?

 Titu Meer was a short-lived Muslim religious leader who tried to improve Islam's position in Bengal. He was
worried that Muslims were neglecting their religion under British rule. But, he was disturbed by the indigo
planters' and zamindars' harsh treatment of the peasants. Several Hindu zamindars disagreed of his ideas. He
formed a makeshift army and trained them in the use of lathi and other indigenous arms to protect the
exploited peasants. His disciple and nephew, Ghulam Masum, was chosen to lead the force. The zamindars
were worried about Titu Meer's growing strength, so they tried to unite their forces against him by engaging
the English. Titu Meer beat Davis's force, and Gobra-zamindar govindpur's was killed. Titu defeated
Alexander, the Barasat collector. He opposed to the zamindars' treatment of the East India Company during
the time, but his protests were ignored. Titu Meer built a strong fort with bamboo poles at Narkelbaria in
October 1831, recruited almost 5000 mujahids, and gave them with military training. After finishing his
military training, Titu Meer declared himself king and urged the people to join him in a war against the
British. He quickly established control over the districts of 24 Parganas, Nadia, and Faridpur. Titu Meer put a
tax on the Taki and Gobardanga zamindars who had sought British protection. As a result, on November 14,
1831, Lord William Bentinck sent a regular army into Titu Meer, forcing him to take refuge in a bamboo fort.
The English opened fire on the fort, totally destroying it. Many of Titu Meer's supporters died in the battle
(19 November 1831).

Q. Write about the Faraizi / non-violent local resistance movement.

 Haji Shariatullah started the Faraizi Movement to protect peasants from zamindars and European indigo
planters, as well as to rid Muslim worship of what were thought Hindu practises. Unlike Titu Meer, it didn't
use any violent methods. The angry landlords began a propaganda campaign against Shariatullah, accusing
him of trying to establish his own kingdom, similar to Titu Meer's. He was arrested several times in Faridpur
by the police for allegedly causing rural unrest. He was expelled from Nayabari, where he had built his
propaganda centre, by the landlords of Dhaka in 1831. He died in 1840,but his son, Dudu Miyan, continued his
work. As a result of current rivalry with Hindu rulers and European indigo planters, the movement grew into
a socio-economic plan. He united the peasantry against unjust landlords and declared jihad against the British
government. Landowners and indigo planters responded by filing false charges against Dudu Miyan, who was
arrested and held by the British.
After his death in 1860, the Faraizi Movement continued to influence rural life in eastern Bengal under the
leadership of Noa Miyan, Dudu Miyan's son, until the early 1880s, though it lacked the enthusiasm of earlier
years.