India marks uprising anniversary

[Neo]

Monday, 7 May 2007
India marks uprising anniversary

Thousands of Indians have started a march to commemorate the 150th anniversary of a revolt against British colonial rulers.
The rally was seen off by Indian Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar in the northern garrison town of Meerut, about 80km (50 miles) from Delhi.

Participants will retrace the steps of Indian soldiers who marched from Meerut to capture Delhi.

Grand celebrations are planned at the city's historic 17th Century Red Fort.

The uprising - known as the first Indian War of Independence - was eventually crushed by the British.

'Freedom fighters'

Singing patriotic songs, thousands of Indians marked the anniversary by taking part in a colourful procession.

Around 10,000 people retraced the march 150 years ago by dozens of mutinous Indian soldiers from Meerut in a bid to capture Delhi.

Monday's marchers dressed like Indian soldiers and British officers and staged mock fights with swords and muskets on top of colourful floats.

They carried huge banners and posters with messages referring to the revolt, which left hundreds of British and Indians dead.

'Unclean bullets'

"The march has the same spirit as that of the freedom fighters of 1857 but Gandhi's message of truth and non-violence should not be forgotten," said Mr Aiyar, before flagging off the procession.

The marchers will reach Delhi on 11 May, exactly 150 years after the mutinous Indian soldiers stormed the walled city and attacked British officers and their families.

The Indian soldiers refused to use rifle bullets reputed to be greased with beef and pork fat - considered unclean by Hindus and Muslims.

Although their uprising was crushed, historians say it laid the seeds of a popular revolt against British occupation which culminated in full independence.

After suppressing the revolt, the British captured Delhi and exiled the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, to Rangoon in Burma.

He died in captivity five years later.

The revolt ended the British East India Company's rule in India, making way for direct rule by the British government until 1947, when the country gained independence.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6632961.stm

 

[Adux]

Is there any rally's in Pakistan,

 

[Neo]

No, not that I'm aware of. The Sepoy Munity isn't very popular in Pakistan, instead we celebrate March 23rd.

Its widely regarded as the day that Pakistan came into being, only to be recognised and granted souvereignity seven years later.

 

[Neo]

Btw, have you seen the movie Mangal Panday with Amir Khan in the leading role?

 

[Adux]

Why!!!!!!!!!Sepoy Mutiny, had a lot of Muslim soldiers. The Mughal Empire was to be restored. It was the first movement against the british empire and it has nothing to do with India.

I have seen the Mangal Pandey, I have no clue why the British Film council decided to finance it, especially since it gives such a bad account of history, and thoroughly too bollywood. It shows britons more devlish than they were. I am the greatest Amir Khan Fan, but that movie was total waste, thank god I had my UGC(cine world) Membership

 

[Neo]

I thought it was a good movie and portrayed the Brits as they were.

If they can make a movie like 'The Queen' and criticise the Crown they can certainly reveal their past. Its a tribute to press and media freedom in England.

 

[Neo]

The Sepoy Mutiny — India, 1857
Sources: Christopher Hibbert, The Great Mutiny of 1857 (Viking, 1978); Michael Edwards, Battles of the Indian Mutiny (Macmillan, 1963); misc. Internet sites.

A Western View in a Nutshell

Expansion of British East India Company control in India in the first half of the century leads many Indians to fear subjugation of social and religious customs, causing growing resentment to the British presence. In the Bengal Army, with more competent officers taking administrative positions, morale declines. In 1857 the British introduce the new Enfield Rifle, and its cartridge, greased with beef or pig fat (or both), must be bitten open before loading — a requirement seen by the Hindu and Muslim troops as a religious defilement. Some troops refuse its use and at their punishment the garrison revolts, killing all Britons.

The mutiny spreads to Delhi with Europeans soon being killed mercilessly throughout Bengal. All British troops are hastily assembled assisted by still loyal Punjab and Bombay troops. Delhi is recaptured, a mutineer siege of the British residents of Lucknow is lifted and finally the Rani of Jhansi, the most capable leader in the mutiny, is defeated in Central India.

The mutiny over, avenged with as much ruthlessness as it began, the British government seizes administration of India from the East India Company and reorganizes the Army to increase the ratio of British to Indian troops.

An Indian View

England's East India Company prospered from 1751 to 1856. State by state, it took control over almost all of India. With the profitable trade, the Indian businessmen were not so unhappy till then. In fact, Indians had come to accept the presence of the East India Company. But 1857 sow the seeds of national uprising. And it was very unexpected and sudden. For though there had been a number of revolts against the English, it was restricted to small groups. Nevertheless, it had sparked discontentment within the masses. Furthermore, the interference by the English in the basic traditional Indian way of life in social causes like prohibition of the Sati (permission of widow remarriage) was seen by many as a threat to their religion. Also by then, the British had taken to forcible annexation of Avadh, Jhansi, Nagpur, etc. This was again perceived as a threat.

But the general unrest advanced greatly with the onset of discontent among the Indian soldiers. Most Indian soldiers in the East India Company’s army came from peasant families, so they were deeply affected by their impoverished status. Even in the army, there was a bias shown toward Indians. Not many Indians held a post higher than that of a Subhedar, and their salary was much less than their English counterparts. All this had made them discontented with the English. Against such a background came the rumours that the new Enfield Rifle cartridges issued to the troops were greased with a mixture of cow and pig fat. Since it was army practice to open the cartridges by biting off a twist of paper at one end, both Hindus and Muslims believed they were being asked to violate religious taboos.
This offence lit the fuse of rebellion and finally on the 29th March, 1857, a soldier Mangal Pande rebelled during a military parade and fired at the officer in command. He was arrested and hanged which was the undoing of the mass rebellion. In April, 1857, Indian soldiers of the cavalry unit of Meerut refused to use the new cartridges, and hence were arrested and thrown into prison. Enraged by this latest act of atrocity, the whole battalion charged to Delhi and were joined on the way by thousands of common people.

Though the "Sepoy Mutiny" began among native soldiers, it spread like fire within the others disaffected by the British rule. Throughout northern India, army units mutinied, killed their British officers – and often their families. The rebels appealed to the 82-year-old Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar to lead the revolt and proclaimed him the Emperor of India. The British called it the Indian Mutiny; later the Indians were to name it the Great War of Independence. But most of India remained loyal. The rebellion was confined to the Ganges plain between Calcutta and Delhi; troops in the south and west continued to serve the British.

Ultimately, the seeming impasse was broken by the arrival of reinforcements from England and the mutiny was crushed after 14 months. A four-month siege broke the rebels’ hold on Delhi. By January 1859, the last of the rebel armies had been hunted down. Everywhere, the British exacted bloody retribution for the massacres that had started the uprising. The mutiny failed due to lack of a leader and proper coordination.

The rebellion was the great watershed in the history of British India. Afterward, there was never any doubt that British rule was ultimately based not on moral superiority but on armed force, ruthlessly wielded. The mutiny’s most immediate consequence was a military reorganisation, expressly designed to keep the proportion of European troops at a safely high level. The mutiny also made the English realize the extent of the Indians' dissatisfaction. Thus, in 1858, the government of India is transferred from the East Indian Company to the British crown. In 1858, the Queen issued a proclamation saying that all were her subjects and that there would be no discrimination, appointments would be made on the basis of merit, and that there would be no interference in religious matters. The British government did not honor the Queen's promises in the succeeding years. After 1857, the nationalist movement started to expand in the hearts of more and more Indians.

http://www.lexicorps.com/sepoy.htm#Sepoy Mutiny - Western View

 

[Adux]

I thought it was a good movie and portrayed the Brits as they were.

If they can make a movie like 'The Queen' and criticise the Crown they can certainly reveal their past. Its a tribute to press and media freedom in England.

Brits also did a lot of good things. Raja Mohan Roy was able to accomplish quite a bit.
I thought it was melodramatic. Queen is a good movie, it is directed by an Indian Shekhar Gupta

 

[Neo]

Yes, Brits have brought a lot of good things to the Subcontinent aswell.

Btw, the English guy who's playing as Panday's friend, forgot his name, played a great role in Kashmir later.
He fought against the Brists!!

 

[Adux]

What are you sure, Captain William Gordon I never knew that.
I was very facinated by the Jhansi Ki Rani, Imagine a Woman with a baby in her saddle fighting..Nice very Nice... Love women like that..lil a bit of power play..lol

 

[Neo]

Nice very Nice... Love women like that..lil a bit of power play..lol

You're wasted man, real pervie!

 

[Adux]

You're wasted man, real pervie!

hehe, tell that to my girlfriend, she likes callin me that...guess i have changed into one;maybe cuz of mental suggestions..not exactly my fault...lool

 

[Bull]

Its not a freedom fight that happened in 1857. But one brahmin who went berserk when his beliefs were hurt by his very own boss. He was till then merrily killing indians and serving the british.

He fought for his beliefs, not for his country.

 

[Adux]

Its not a freedom fight that happened in 1857. But one brahmin who went berserk when his beliefs were hurt by his very own boss. He was till then merrily killing indians and serving the british.

He fought for his beliefs, not for his country.

Never saw it that way, but there was Indian's then, but i still see your point

 

[Bull]

There are so many others who gave up their good lives abroad and in India to come and fight for their country. They are the freedom fighters.