Saturday, July 4, 2009

Bangladesh, Comments on 1857 revolution


Mangal Pandey, 1857

Mangal Pandey (centre), 1857

Mangal Pandey,1857
After the end of the great revolution in 1959, comments were available from different sources not only from India but also from ther world, specially from UK. As with any conflict or controversy there were always two sides to the debate, and the events in India during 1857 were certainly no exceptions.
Metcalf in his account cited three indisputable factor behind the,
1. Accumalation of the grievances of the sepoys of the army of bengal,
2. The sepoys were comprised Brhmins and other high caste Hindus who assisted in promoting a focus of sedition,
3. Poor standard of British officers plus the lack of improvementto the overall positionof those men serving in the army also increased the level of tension.
But all these factors alone could not incite rebellion of the army if the threat to the religious conversion was absent.
Disraeli saw the causes was the overall administration lapses by the govt. as having alienated or alarmed almost everyinfluential class in the country.
The British stand point was to regard it as the mutiny of 1857 and to deal with in terms of discipline and command.
The first nationalist interpretation was available by Savarkar in 1909 was the question was not only the making of the grease but it was fight against British rule.

Bengal Army,1857
Bengal Army, 1857
Bengal map, 1857.