Question

Many Indians began to feel that the British were destroying their religion, social customs and traditional way of life. Justify your statement. (3 marks) (50-60 words)

Answer 1

Dear Student Reason for discontent with Britishers are as follows- (1) Rajas and Nawabs: Nawabs and rajas had gradually lost their power and authority. Company and the British government reduced their freedom, disbanded their armed forces, and took away their tax revenues and territories. Many ruling families, such as Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi tried to negotiate with the Company to protect their interests, but they were mostly defeated and murdered. The name of the Mughal king was removed from the coins minted by the Company to bring an end to Mughal dynasty. (2) Peasanst and zamindars: The peasants and zamindars were pushed by the British to produce more to appropriate revenue. They disliked the high taxes and rigid methods of revenue collection of the British. They had to lose the ownership of the land due to the non-payment of taxes. A large number of zamindars were dispossessed of their lands due to this policy. Peasants were also forced to grow indigo on the lands which made them resentful as this reduced the quality of the land. (3) Social change: Some reforms were introduced by British but response to the changes the British brought about in the Indian society was not very positive. British passed laws to stop the practice of sati (burning of widowed women), to encourage the remarriage of widows, and to actively promote education using English as the medium of instruction A new law was passed in 1850 to make conversion to Christianity easier. People felt that British were harming and destroying their religion and social customs and heritage. (4) Sepoys- It was the sepoys who began the 1857 mutiny or revolt. There were several reasons for their discontent. Some of them are stated below: They got rough treatment at the hands of European Officers. They were paid much less compared to the British soldiers. They were provided with inferior kind of food and shelter. They had very little prospects for promotion. No Indians could rise higher than a Subedar. They were not allowed to use any religious symbols. Religious sentiments of the soldiers were also attacked with the introduction of new cartridges which were greased with the fats of pigs and cows and it had to be removed with teeth before loading in the rifle. Regards