The cause of the mutiny of 1857 can be traced back to some well-intentioned but ill-timed measures introduced by successive Governors general. These measured adversely affected all classes, ranging; from princes and landowners to peasants and most of all sepoys. However, the situation on the eve of the mutiny in Punjab was’ different from that rest of India. The Sikhs, who might have gambled with the chance of recovering power were leaderless. Sher Singh Attariwala was living under surveillance at Calcutta on a pension; Bhai Maharaj Singh and Raja Dina Nath were dead. Bedi Bikram Singh was interned in his village Una.
Sikh soldiers did not share the grievances of the Hindu sepoy. They were allowed to wear turbans and beards and) observe the; practices of the Khalsa. The Punjab peasantry was content because the harvest had been very good and the share demanded by the’ government as revenue was modest. The Rajas of Sind, Patiala, Nabha and Kapurthala volunteered for service to help the British.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 3, 1987
