Article Originally published in The Scroll on 15 Jun, 2018.
The colonial state not only bribed Punjab’s former aristocrats but created a religious divide among soldiers to quell the mutiny.
Article Originally published in The Scroll on 15 Jun, 2018.
The colonial state not only bribed Punjab’s former aristocrats but created a religious divide among soldiers to quell the mutiny.
The war of 1857 had caught the colonial officers in Punjab by surprise. John Lawrence, the chief commissioner of Punjab, had heard about the sepoys’ disgruntlement in North India and Bengal but without giving it much thought, he left for Rawalpindi from Lahore, on his way to the hill station of Murree. He believed that Punjab was far away from Bengal and would not be impacted by the war. Like several other British officers, he had severely miscalculated the situation. A couple of days later, news of the sepoys reaching Delhi and setting European homes on fire reached him in Rawalpindi, spurring him into action.
There was deep concern in colonial circles that Punjab was precariously positioned. The British had annexed the province only eight years ago after some fierce battles with Sikh soldiers. Soon after the annexation, the proud Khalsa soldiers had been rendered unemployed. Many of them had reportedly been reduced to beggars in the outskirts of Lahore. Thus, there was a sizable body of disempowered Sikh soldiers who would have liked to see the overthrow of a new state.
To read the rest of the piece click here.