Pak301
Spring 2011
Assignment # 01 / Total Marks: 10
Due Date: April, 20, 2011
Objectives:
To asses students’ knowledge of the subject and to motivate them towards conceptual knowledge and practical application of the subject.
Instructions
1. Late assignments will not be accepted.
2. If the file is corrupt or problematic, it will be marked zero.
3. Plagiarism will never be tolerated. Plagiarism occurs when a student uses work done by someone else as if it was his or her own.
4. If any assignment is found copied work, no marks will be awarded and the case may be referred to the head of the academics for disciplinary action.
5. No assignment will be accepted via e-mail.
6. The file should be in Word doc form; the font color should be preferably black and font size can be 12 Times New Roman.
Guideline:
Try to be genuine and impressive in your approach.
Assignment
What were the consequences of the failure of the War of Independence of 1857 with special reference to its effect on the Muslims of South Asia?
Answer:
Prior to the revolt, it is strictly speaking inaccurate to speak of British rule in India. The legal status of the East India Company was as agent of the Mughul Emperor with taxation powers and trading privileges. De facto, however, within the Province of Bengal, they operated as the Government and indeed the senior British official was entitled "Governor-General." Through a series of treaties with surrounding Indian princes and rulers, the Company extended its power throughout huge tracts of Indian territory. One cause of the revolt was the Company's policy of annexing Princely states with which they enjoyed a treaty relationship when they decided that the ruler was corrupt, or because they did not recognize the heir to the throne (such as an adopted son, who could succeed under Hindu law but not British law). There was also a rumor that Britain intended to flood India with Christian missionaries, and that pork and beef grease was being used to oil the new Enfield rifle that had been issued to the Indian troops. The latter appears to have been what motivated both Hindu and Muslim Sepoys (that is, Indian soldiers of the Company) to revolt.
In the year 1857, the British Army inducted a new type of rifle, the Enfield, whose cartridge was said to be greased in cow and pig fat. Hindus consider the cow a sacred animal and refrain from eating beef, while Muslims consider it an offense to consume pork. The entire Indian faction of the British Army rose in rebellion against the British. Soon, the flames spread and it turned into a full-fledged rebellion.
There were two major reasons behind the failure of the war. Lack of unity between the various classes of people in the Indian subcontinent and the enormous strength of the British force. There is no single reason why the war failed to fulfill its goals. The elaborated reasons are as follows.
Lack of unity- The landed aristocracy Opposed the Sepoy and some even fed information to the British regarding the Sepoy's movement. In addition to that, some Landed aristocracy helped the British by providing carts, horses and elephants. Furthermore they even formed anti Sepoy corps to resist the Sepoy s. The British acknowledged this and presented titles such as Khan Sahib to the Landed aristocracy. Seeing this the middle class also sided the British. Moreover the lower class and the peasantry remained apathetic, because, they were the ones who were affected the most by the ongoing war, so the did not want any more trouble.
Strength of the British- Despite all other problems the Sepoy s did give all their effort, however, the british were just too strong for them. Britain was one of the most wealthiest nations at that time and its troops were highly trained for skilled warfare. Moreover the availability of better armaments was another benefit for the British over the Sepoy. The British also implemented its scheme of divide and conquer, by daunting the landed aristocracy, it claimed that the uprising would spell a major threat to the social hierarchy.
Both the reasons stated above contribute equally to the, to the massive failure of the Sepoys. However. If there would be some unity between the different classes, it can be assumed that the British could possibly be defeated.
The war was localised-Many parts of India were not effected by the war at all.Punjab remained absolutely unaffected,rulers like Sindhiya,the Pathans,the Gorkhas and the Nizam of Hyderabad supported the British.Even Sindh,Rajashthan and Bengal remained unaffected.
And at the last i must say that war of independence failed due to the several reasons:
Firstly the lack of unity among the Indian peoples, they were not coordinated in what they hoped to achieve, there was no common platform and different ruler of different region fought for different reasons.
Another reason was that the prince were more interested in restoring their feudal power instead to established a unite India.
The strong reason for the failure of the war of independence was the strength of British. They were well experienced in warfare and highly trained. They had modern equipment tools and had modern method of fighting.Although there were strong uprising againts the British but were uncoordinated.
These reasons contributed towards the failure if war of independence of 1857.
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