Political causes of the revolt were the British policy of expansion through the Doctrine of Lapse and direct annexation. A huge number of Indian rulers and chiefs were deposed, instilling dread in other leading families who feared a similar fate. Because of British expansionist ambitions, most Rajas, Nawabs, and zamindars were either dispossessed of their states or became subservient to the British. This article will explain to you the Political Cause of the Revolt of 1857 which will be helpful in Modern Indian History preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Political Causes

• The East India Company's greedy policy of aggrandizement, followed by unfulfilled vows and promises, resulted in disdain for the Company via policies such as 'Effective Control,' 'Subsidiary Alliance,' and 'Doctrine of Lapse.'
• And the loss of political status, as well as distrust in the minds of practically all of India's reigning lords.
• The power of succession was denied to Hindu princes.
• Following Prince Faqiruddin's death in 1856, Lord Canning ruled that in addition to the renunciations agreed to by Prince Faqiruddin, the next prince in succession would have to give up the royal title and the ancient Mughal palaces.
• The collapse of rulers - the ancient nobility - had a severe influence on parts of Indian society that relied on cultural and religious activities for a living.

Wars and Conquests

• By invasion, the East India Company caused a great deal of unhappiness and disaffection among the dispossessed reigning families and their descendants.
• A vast number of dependents on ruling families who had lost their means of subsistence, as well as other common people, were disillusioned and dissatisfied with the alien rule.
• Lord Dalhousie conquered Punjab, further humiliating the reigning family.
• Dalip Singh, Ranjit Singh's minor son and the founder of the Sikh Kingdom of Punjab was ousted and banished to England.
• The Lahore Darbar's properties were auctioned off.

Subsidiary Alliance

• The British policy of territory acquisition resulted in the displacement of many rulers and chiefs.
• The strong implementation of Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse policies enraged the ruling classes.
• Lord Wellesley's subsidiary alliance played a significant role in British expansion in India.
• Indian rulers were not permitted to have their own armed forces under the terms of this alliance.
• They were to be safeguarded by the firm, but they had to pay for the subsidiary troops' that the company was supposed to have for this reason.
• As a result, several Indian kings who were under British protection relinquished control of their foreign affairs to the British.
• Most subordinate armies were abolished, with British troops stationed within their territories to safeguard them from assault.
• Discontent and unhappiness were especially prominent in regions seen to have lost their independence.
• As a result of the Subsidiary Alliance, lakhs of soldiers and officers lost their hereditary livelihood, spreading despair and degradation throughout the country.
• With the development of the Subsidiary Alliance System under Lord Wellesley, the East India Company's policy of 'Effective control and progressive extinction of the Indian native governments acquired solid shape.

Doctrine of Lapse

• The actual execution of Lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse caused extraordinary resentment in the states immediately impacted.
• As a result, a lot of kings were prohibited from adopting any son for religious rites after their death.
• The British were seen as infringing directly on their religious customs.
• The British Empire conquered and annexed the Punjab, Pegu, and Sikkim.
• Dalhousie seized the kingdoms of Satara, Jaipur, Sambalpur, Bhagat, Udaipur, Jhansi, and Nagpur using the Doctrine of Lapse.
• Lord Dalhousie seized the kingdom of Oudh in 1856 solely on the grounds of mismanagement.
• Wajid Ali Shah's dethronement sparked a wave of hatred and indignation across the country.
• The kingdom was economically abused, and the Nawabs were relegated to a position of administration of the state, which Dalhousie used as a justification to unite it with the British Empire.
• The dignities and royal titles of the rulers of Carnatic and Tanjore were confiscated, and Nana Sahib, Bajirao II's adoptive son, was denied the stipend originally awarded to Peshwa Bajirao II.
• Thus, in the perspective of the Indians, all of the governing princes were in jeopardy, and the annexation of all of India's states was just a matter of time.
• The native states were often believed to be gobbled up by the Indian people.
• All of these activities demonstrated the British's insensitivity to the Indian rulers.

Humiliating and Rush Policy

• The British never maintained their written or verbal promises.
• Consequently, it was inevitable to result in hatred and revolts. Since 1803, the Mughal rulers have been protected by the British.
• His claims to honor and authority were acknowledged.
• The words humble servant appeared on the seal of the Governor's General.
• The relationship between the Mughal emperor and the governors-general, on the other hand, gradually shifted.
• Made it clear to the emperor that his Kingship was only ceremonial; he was called King only out of respect.
• Lord Dalhousie said in 1849 that his successor would have to abandon the Red Fort and stay near the Qutub Minar.
• By this time, Bahadur Shah, the Mughal emperor, who had grown elderly and was about to die, was not in favor of the construction of an imperium imperio; yet, he had recognized Fakir Uddin as the Mughal emperor's successor under extremely tight terms.
• Fakruddin died in 1856, pleasantly or sadly. On his death, Viceroy Lord Canning declared that Fakiruddin's successors would be stripped of their nominal dignity and shadow of sovereignty in Delhi and that they would not be permitted to sit in the royal palaces.
• This meant that the Mughals' title sovereignty was also coming to an end.
• Lord Canning's statement dealt a devastating blow to the Indian Muslims' goals, and they grew panicked.
• They came to the conclusion that the British were hell-bent on humiliating the princes of the Timur dynasty.
• As a result, they regarded the destruction of the British administration in India as a holy obligation that they wished to fulfill in honor of their predecessors as well as their faith.
• As a result of the Muslims and Hindus' resentment at the nominal Mughal emperors' humiliation in India as a result of Dalhousie, Canning, and the East India Company's attitude, they chose to form an alliance with the rebels.

Governed from Foreign Land

• India was ruled by a foreign nation, which meant that the rulers of India were administering the country hundreds of miles away; this was another major political issue that infuriated Indians against the British.
• The Turkish and Mughal empires had established themselves in India and had settled down.
• They used the money they gathered from the people in India to fund administration, the military, public works, and the construction of monuments, all of which produced jobs for Indians.
• As a result, any fortune they accumulated over time was squandered in India.
• The British, on the other hand, dominated India from England and siphoned India's resources into their own nation.
• India's riches were being used to benefit the English people in both England and India.
• As a result, the Indians could not help but feel irritated by the Britishers, and as a result, they joined the rebels in the Mutiny of 1857.

Suspension of Pension

• The company's directors wanted their dividends to rise, and they wanted the company's management in India to follow the economy.
• As a result, several Indian chiefs' pensions were reduced or suspended, and the firm was forced to sell them.
• Rani Jindan, Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Queen, has had her annual pension lowered from 15,000 pounds to 1,200 pounds. Nana Sahib's and Lakshmi Bai's pensions in Jhansi were suspended.
• The Nawab of Carnatic and Tanjore's nominal sovereignty was likewise dissolved. As a result, they began to oppose the British.

Conclusion

The policy of Doctrine of Lapse was the fundamental political reason of the Great Revolt of 1857. Any princely state or area under the British East India Company would be automatically annexed if the king died without a male successor, according to an annexation strategy supposedly implemented by Lord Dalhousie. Most Rajas, Nawabs, and zamindars were dispossessed of their states or became British subjects as a result of the British expansionist policy.