The first war of independence

And this does not refer to the 1857 War of Independence. Blame it on the time of the year, but in recent times I have been doing some reading on the Freedom Movement and the Partition. Such cursory reading brought to my notice a little known fact - one that has never found a place in any of our history books (at least from what I remember), yet is equally important.

This year is the 200th anniversary of this event - one that happened 50 years before what we know as the first war of independence. Also known as the Vellore Mutiny this is considered to be one of the first open revolt against the British East India company. The revolt which took place on July 10, 1806 in Vellore was brief but brutal, as mutineers occupied the Vellore Fort (seen below) and killed as many as 200 British troops from around 370 stationed there. Finally, the mutiny was subdued by reinforcements called in from Arcot.


As with the 1857 War of Independence, the Vellore Mutiny was against the perceived interference of the British in the religious customs of the Sepoys. In November 1805 the commander-in-chief of the Madras Army, Sir John Cradock, ordered a change in Sepoy head-dress from turban to 'round hat'. There was also a prohibition against wearing caste-based marks on their bodies - Hindus were asked not to put religious marks on foreheads, while Muslims were asked to trim their beards and remove their moustaches. These new regulations were seen as an attack on the religious beliefs of the troops. The British who got wind of the simmering dissent against the new regulations publicly lashed a few sepoys - this sent out the wrong signals. These factors, along with instigation by sons of Tipu Sultan who were imprisoned at the Vellore Fort, resulted in the mutiny at Vellore.

According to historian S Muthiah as many as 1500 strong Indian sepoys took part in the uprising, which began at 3 am on July 10. By mid-morning, the Indians had seized the fort and killed the European soldiers on duty. They however made one mistake - they failed to close the fort gates securely, thereby allowing the British troops based at Arcot charge in and subdue the mutineers and recapture the fort. It is said that Indian troops did manage to kill a substantial number of the European soldiers stationed at Vellore at that time (see the picture below).


I do think this is an important event in India's struggle for freedom. A lot of similarities can be seen in the mutiny of 1806 and the mutiny of 1857. Why it probably failed to capture the attention of historians is because of the scope of the revolt itself - in 1857 the revolt spread to many areas such as Awadh, Bundlekhand, Rohilkhand, thereby making it more than just a sepoy mutiny. Whereas the 1806 rebellion did not spread beyond one region. Also, the 1857 War of Independence resulted in the eventual end of the British East India Company rule in India and led to the direct rule by the British government over much of the subcontinent and this lasted for another 90 years.

I believe that one still has to remember the brave soldiers who led the first recognized fight against the Company and laid down their lives. As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of what has been called the First War of Independence it would help to take a moment to pay homage to those that actually were involved in the First Revolt against the British regime. For, they, in their own way, laid the foundation that resulted in the 1857 mutiny as well as the eventual freedom struggle.