How can we explain why so many Indian people decided to fight against the British in 1857? 

 

## Contents

Rationale 
 
Page 4 
Lesson Plan 
 
Page 7 
Document - PRO 30/29/21/7 (11 pages) 
 
Page 15 
 
Page 24 
Copy of a memorandum by Francis Horsby Robinson, former member of the Board of Revenue, North West Provinces, on attitudes to the British Government in India, 1857. 
Transcript - PR0 30/29/21/7  
 
Page 25 
Copy of a memorandum by Francis Horsby Robinson, former member of the Board of Revenue, North West Provinces, on attitudes to the British Government in India. 1857. 
Document - PRO 30/29/21/7 
 
Page 27 
 
 
Copy of the Calcutta Gazette containing the Governor General's 
proclamation to the Bengal army of May 16th 1857. 
Document - ZPER 34/31 
 
Page 28 
 
 
Article in the London Illustrated News reporting on the Mutiny in 
India, 4th July 1857 
Document - HO 45/6857 (2 pages) 
 
Page 29 

A Church of England pamphlet: form of prayer and thanksgiving in suppressing the Indian rebellion 
Document - PRO 30/29/23/10 
 
Page 31 
 
 
Supplement to The Calcutta Gazette containing notification of restrictions on printing and publishing in the vicinity of Calcutta  
Document - PRO 30/29/23/10 (2 pages) 
 
Page 32 
 
 
Extract from a secret letter of June 9th 1830 from the directors of the 
East India Company to the Governor General. 
Transcript - PRO 30/29/23/10  
 
Page 35 
Extract from a secret letter of June 9th 1830 from the directors of the 
East India Company to the Governor General.  
Document - PRO 30/29/23/10 
 
Page 36 
 
 
Newspaper article quoting extracts from Irish papers on the Indian mutiny November 1857 
Document - PRO 30/29/23/10 (4 pages) 
 
Page 37 
 
 
Extracts from the Simachur Soodhartoursun, a Calcutta newspaper, 
May 28-June 11 
Transcript - PRO 30/29/23/10  
 
Page 42 
Extracts from the Simachur Soodhartoursun, a Calcutta newspaper, May - June 1857  
Document - DO 35/9144  
 
Page 44 
 
 
The President"s message on the Hundredth Anniversary of 1857, as 
reported in "India News" 
Document - DO 35/9144 
 
Page 45 
 
 
Article in the Times about why the Sepoys rose against the East India Company 1957 
Activity Sheet 1 - Homework Questions on Caste and Mutiny 
 
Page 46 
Activity Sheet 2 - Thought Bubble Worksheet 
 
Separate 
file 
Activity Sheet 3 - Scale of Certainty and Cards 
 
Separate file 
Presentation 1 - How can we help students recognise arguments - therefore and because 
 
Separate file 
Presentation 2 - Scale of certainty 
 
Separate file 

## Rationale

The school I am currently teaching in is an 11-18 selective boys grammar, that accepts girls at sixth form. This school presents many opportunities, such as the fact that many students are interested in learning in general, and often in history in particular, indicated in a relatively high uptake of history at A level (since I have been teaching here we have had two or three classes of 20 students each, every year). The school"s intake and ethos mean that there are few behaviour management issues and that the students have the capability to take on new ideas. However, due to the fact that the majority of students stay on at sixth form, and we also take additional external students, the ability range at A level can be quite wide. Also due to the selective nature of the school there is a focus on exam grades, and this can lead to teaching and learning which fails motivate or interest students, and also that closely follows the exam board syllabus, rather than exploring the nature of history in the wider sense.   I teach a lot of A level and so chose this age group for my lesson sequence. I was particularly interested directing this lesson sequence at my A2 classes who complete a Historical Enquiry throughout the school year, which is essentially a piece of coursework. There were a number of reasons why I chose to focus on this particular year group and module. First of all I felt that working with The National Archives was an excellent opportunity to gain access to primary evidence which would be invaluable for students" 
understanding of our particular historical enquiry - India and the British Empire. Secondly the historical enquiry"s focus on students" ability to, "analyse and evaluate a range of appropriate source material with discrimination, and to assess how, "aspects of the past have been interpreted and represented in different ways," (AQA 2007, p.61) in a 3500 word essay required a different approach to the relationship between sources, evidence, claims and accounts from AS studies, and that designing an enquiry with The National Archives could help foster this new approach. Finally this module, due to time allocated and the nature of the assessment, allowed for more opportunities to deal with the nature of historical evidence than at AS (a problem recognised by other practitioners such as Laffin 2009).  
 
I was aware that some of the students I teach would be applying to study history at University and are genuinely interested in the process by which an historian constructs an argument, on the other hand I was also aware that many of my students would be studying other subjects at University, or would not be attending University at all, and I therefore wanted to design a sequence of lessons that developed an understanding about the nature of evidence which would be useful to all my students As one Year 8 
student put it recently "History stops people believing rubbish," (Ofsted 2010, p.56) and I 
hoped that by enabling students to understand how claims could be made from evidence and the varying weight that could be placed on these claims students would not only develop their historical thinking, but their thinking skills generally, allowing them to think critically when faced with claims in the "real world." I was also aware that the Historical Enquiry was a daunting task for many of my students, and therefore wanted to design a sequence of lessons where, "the concepts that lie at its [the discipline"s] heart can be tackled from the beginning in their simplest form, then in increasingly complex ways." (Cooper 2009, p.149) Finally, I was aware that many students in my A2 class held misconceptions about the role of evidence in history and knew that it was important to address these misconceptions, if my students were to truly develop their thinking about evidence through the use of sources from The National Archives. (Donovan *et al* 1999, Bain 2005) Based on the work of Lee and Shemilt, and informal observations and discussions with my prospective A2 classes during their AS year of studies, I gathered that most students" understanding about evidence was relatively undeveloped. Most of my students saw, "evidence as information," where sources could give direct answers to the questions we pose in history. This meant that when, "Given statements to test against evidence, students match [ed] information or count [ed] sources to solve the problem." 
(Lee and Shemilt 2003, p.21) My aim was to develop students" understanding of "the evidential relationship between a source and the claim it is testing or supporting," 
(Ashby 2004, p.32) and that the weight and certainty that could be placed on a claim depended not just on the content of the source, but also the context in which that source was produced. (Wineburg 2001) I also wanted to cultivate, "A Lego view of history… where the evidence available… can be put together in different, but perfectly valid ways," (Ashby 2011, p.139) and demonstrating that because evidence is, "something that can be read in a number of ways… we must argue probabilistically and contextually," (Cooper 2009, p.154) about the weight we can place on the claim we are making. Above all I wanted to students to see the point of evidence in history - that, "it is only through the use of evidence that history becomes possible," (Lee 2005, p.54) and that their best way of being able to explain the actions and motives of people in the past, was by reference to evidence. Being given access to The National Archives seemed like an excellent opportunity to broaden my students understanding of the event which is often termed the "Indian Mutiny." This is still a controversial topic today and therefore gave them the opportunity to use original document to engage in a real historical debate. I wanted my students to understand that the motives of the "mutineers," although often given as based in beliefs about their religion being under attack - symbolised in the issue of the "greased cartridges," were actually much wider than this single issue. The documents that I 
discovered in The National Archives gave the opportunity to discuss the complexities of these motives, including opportunity provided by the complacency of the British, a desire of at least some elements to remove British rule completely, the role played by the press in India, and the deteriorating relationship between officers and Sepoys. These documents not only gave students to opportunity to explore the variety of motives, but also how explanations about motives changed between commentators, and time periods, hence inclusion of some documents relating to the centenary celebrations of the Mutiny in India in 1957. The activities I have designed have been built around the enquiry question, "How can we explain why so many Indian people decided to fight against the British in 1857?" I deliberately included the "how" to focus students learning on the nature of evidence, the 
 
reason why it is important, and how it can strengthen the status of the claims they want to make. The first lesson is designed to illustrate the ways in which historians and others substantiate the claims they make with relation to evidence, and why evidence is important. By deconstructing these claims, and testing them using Chapman"s "therefore and because," (2010) exercise, students are encouraged to see both the limits of claims, and how they can be strengthened. The next lesson focuses on the context in which the document (a Memorandum from F. H. Robinson) was produced. The aim of this is for students to develop a "sourcing heuristic," (Wineburg 2001, p.76), where students are encouraged to use the provenance of a source to understand its subtext, and use this understanding to, "work things out that," the source was, "not intended to show and thus using the sources as evidence." (Pickles 2010, p.50) I hope that this will allow students to make claims from both the text *and* the subtext of the Memorandum when asked to do so in Lesson Three.  This lesson is based on a scaffold suggested by Chapman to explain motive, which, he proposes, "we can neither fully explain, nor begin to understand without considering their (the historical actors) aims or intentions and their beliefs." (Chapman 2011, p.32) By making claims about the Indian people"s actions, beliefs and feelings, and aims, students are enabled to make claims from the evidence they find, and then are encouraged to assess the certainty they can have of this claim, based on the evidence available in the source, based on the context in which it is produced, and finally based on evidence from other sources, and their provenance. In this way I hope that students are able to build up a process by which they can make "weighty" claims, but also to develop their understanding of evidence and its relationship with the claims the can make. This can then be assessed in students" response to the final question, which asks them to test a deliberately controversial statement, which will challenge their understanding as its asks them to reconsider the knowledge and understanding they have gained in relation to the enquiry question which is more open. (Laffin 2009) AQA (2007) *GCE AS and A Level Specification: History* accessed online at http://web.aqa.org.uk/subjects/history-specifications.php on 29th July 2011  
Ashby, R (2004b) "Students" Approaches to Validating Historical Claims," in Understanding history : recent research in history education International review of history education Vol. 4 Routledge: London Ashby, R. (2011) "Understanding historical evidence: Teaching and learning challenges," in Davies, I (ed.) *Debates in History Teaching* Routledge: London Chapman, A. (2010) "Taking the Perspective of the Other Seriously? Understanding Historical Argument," in *Euroclio Bulletin 28* accessed online at http://www.euroclio.eu/new/index.php/resources-publications-a-websites/bulletin-biannual-journal-about-history-education/cat_view/199-euroclio-bulletins/642-bulletin-
28/643-articles On 29th July 2011  
Chapman, A. (2011) "Time"s arrows?: Using a dartboard scaffold to understand historical action," in *Teaching History 143* Historical Association 
 
Cooper, H. (2009) "Afterword," in Cooper, H. and Chapman, A. (eds.) Constructing History 11-19 Sage: London Donovan, S. Bransford J. and Pellegrino (eds.) (1999) How People Learn: Expanded Edition 

## National Academy Press: Washington

Laffin, D. (2009) *Better Lessons in A level History (History in Practice)* Hodder Education Lee, P. and Shemilt, D. (2003) "A Scaffold not a Cage: progression and progression models in history," in *Teaching History 113* Historical Association Lee, P. (2005) "Putting Principles into Practice: Understanding History," in How Students Learn National Academies Press: Washington Ofsted (2011) *History for All: History in English Schools 2007/10* accessed online at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/ on 29th July 2011 
Pickles, E. (2010) "How can students" use of historical evidence be enhanced," in Teaching History 139 Historical Association Wineburg, S. (2001) Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the future of teaching the past Temple University Press: Philadelphia 
 
  

| Lesson Title                                       |
|----------------------------------------------------|
| 1.                                                 |
| What's the                                         |
| point of                                           |
| evidence?                                          |
| 1. To understand that                              |
| evidence strengthens an                            |
| argument                                           |
| 2. To be able to identify                          |
| claims and supporting                              |
| evidence                                           |
| 3. To analyse the                                  |
| relationship between claim                         |
| and evidence                                       |
| Reading about the                                  |
| basic events of the                                |
| Indian Mutiny and also                             |
| about the issue of                                 |
| caste. Tim Leadbeater                              |
| Access to History India                            |
| 1845-1957 good here.                               |
| Use attached data                                  |
| capture to direct                                  |
| reading                                            |
| Paragraph on causes of                             |
| Indian Mutiny e.g.  Extract                        |
| from Lawrence James 'Raj'                          |
| p.236-7                                            |
| Card and Pens                                      |
| Arthur Chapman's                                   |
| therefore / because PPT                            |
| Magazine / Newspaper                               |
| Articles                                           |
| http://www.youtube.com/w                           |
| atch?v=teMlv3ripSM -                               |
| Monty Python Clip                                  |
| Starter - Show students Monty Python Clip          |
| 'Argument Clinic,' discuss whether this is a       |
| good argument (it isn't!) and what is missing      |
| that would make it better (evidence!)              |
| Main (Small Groups) - Use paragraph from a         |
| Historian on the causes of the Indian Mutiny,      |
| students to identify claim (s) and evidence,       |
| and to write each on a separate piece of card.     |
| Use Arthur Chapman's 'therefore and                |
| because' (see attached slides) exercise (draw      |
| them on cards too)                                 |
|                                                    |
| to show students how to                            |
| test claims and evidence. Discuss Findings         |
| regarding relationship between claim and           |
| evidence.                                          |
| Plenary - Provide newspaper / magazine             |
| articles (or get students to bring in for previous |
| homework) that make claims. Get them to            |
| repeat exercise. Ask students if they are          |
| happy that the evidence supports the claim.        |
| Have assumptions been made? Could                  |
| different claims be made from the evidence?        |
|                                                    |
| Would students' change anything to make            |
| claim stronger / less open to challenge. This is   |
| a good opportunity to discuss issue of             |
| certainty of claims.                               |
| Lesson Title                                       | Aims                     |
|----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|
|                                                    | Copies of F. H. Robinson |
| Memorandum                                         |                          |
| Thought Bubble Handouts                            |                          |
| 2.                                                 |                          |
| What can                                           |                          |
| one                                                |                          |
| memorandum                                         |                          |
| tell us about                                      |                          |
| why the                                            |                          |
| Indians fought                                     |                          |
| the British in                                     |                          |
| 1857? (Part 1)                                     |                          |
| 1. To study the                                    |                          |
| provenance of an original                          |                          |
| document                                           |                          |
| 2.  To use provenance to                           |                          |
| understand the context in                          |                          |
| which F. H. Robinson's                             |                          |
| Memo was written in                                |                          |
| 3. To begin to understand                          |                          |
| how this knowledge can                             |                          |
| be used to help make                               |                          |
| infrerence from a source.                          |                          |
| Starter - Quick feedback on homework to            |                          |
| check understanding (this will help with source    |                          |
| comprehension) and introduce the over-             |                          |
| arching enquiry question  "How can we explain      |                          |
| why so many Indian people decided to fight         |                          |
| against the British in 1857?"                      |                          |
| Main -                                             |                          |
| 1. Provide the whole document (F. H.               |                          |
| Robinson Memo), with description of                |                          |
| provenance to each student, along with the         |                          |
| thought bubble handout. Ask students to use        |                          |
| this document information, as well as the          |                          |
| language, tone, and any comments it makes          |                          |
| to fill in the '5Ws' around the speech bubble.     |                          |
| Allow students to dicuss in pairs, and then        |                          |
| feedback as a class                                |                          |
| 2. Ask students to use this information to fill in |                          |
| the thought bubble to suggest what F. H.           |                          |
| Robinson might have been thinking whilst he        |                          |
| wrote the Memorandum, what he might have           |                          |
| been trying to do, what sort of person he is       |                          |
| etc. Students may want to accompany this           |                          |
| with a  picture of F. H. Tomlison to provide a     |                          |
| visual reminder!                                   |                          |
| Plenary - Directed Q and A on students'            |                          |
| thuoghts about Tomlison, and how this might        |                          |
| help them make claims from the source.             |                          |
| Lesson Title               |
|----------------------------|
|                            |
| 3.                         |
| What can                   |
| one                        |
| memorandum                 |
| tell us about              |
| why the                    |
| Indians fought             |
| the British in             |
| 1857? (Part 2)             |
| Copies of F. H. Robinson   |
| Memorandum                 |
|                            |
| Post its (3 colours)       |
| PPT (instructions and      |
| scale of certainty)        |
| A4 scale of certainty and  |
| Cards  (Certain, probably, |
| possible etc.) for desk    |
| scales                     |
| Digital Camera?            |
| 1. To be able to make      |
| claims about the actions,  |
| beliefs and aims of the    |
| Indian Mutineers based on  |
| a piece of primary         |
| evidence                   |
| 2.  To understand that the |
| level of certainty about a |
| claim can change           |
| dependant on the type of   |
| claim being made and the   |
| evidence available         |
| 3. To summarise the        |
| motive/s identified in the |
| source and analyse how     |
| certain students are that  |
| these were motives         |
Starter - Organise students into 5 mixed ability groups and allocate each group 2 pages of the 
document. They can read beyond these 2 pages, but they must cover at least these 2 pages. Provide each student with 3 blocks of different coloured post it notes. Instruct students that as they read though they should be trying to identify the Mutineers' actions, beliefs and feelings and aims, all of which will help to explain why they acted against the British. Each colour of post it should relate to a different type of claim. 
Main - 1. Students should read through their section of the document individually first, making claims on the post-its, and then be given time to discuss claims discovered with others in their group. Students should be encouraged to infer from the source and its subtext, as well as look for direct references to the three types of claim. 2. Introduce students to 'scale of certainty' (PPT) and ask them to place their post its on their table on a scale of certainty, justifying and discussing with the group the position of each claim. 3. Ask each group in turn to place a claim on the board's scale of certainty and to explain their decision. Students can write this down on 
their own A4 scale of certainty. This can happen for as long as productive / required. Ask students what they notice about the types of claims (hopefully they will be more certain about actions than beliefs / aims). 
Plenary
Ask students to write a short
| Lesson Title                                    | Aims                    |
|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------|
|                                                 | Thought bubble handouts |
| A4 scales of certainty                          |                         |
| Digital pictur of scale of                      |                         |
| certainty from last lesson                      |                         |
| 1. To understand how we                         |                         |
| can become more certain                         |                         |
| about claims                                    |                         |
| 2. To use provenance to                         |                         |
| help build certainty about                      |                         |
| claims                                          |                         |
| 4.                                              |                         |
| How can we                                      |                         |
| become more                                     |                         |
| certain about                                   |                         |
| the motives of                                  |                         |
| the Indian                                      |                         |
| 'mutineers'?                                    |                         |
| (part 1)                                        |                         |
| Starter - Show picture on IWB of the scale      |                         |
| from last lesson, and ask some students to      |                         |
| share their claims about the motives of the     |                         |
| Indian Mutineers. Directed questioning on how   |                         |
| they could become more certain about the        |                         |
| motives of the Mutineers (take into account     |                         |
| provenance, cross reference with other          |                         |
| sources etc.) Point out that these can make     |                         |
| you more certain about what the motives         |                         |
| weren't                                         |                         |
| as well as what they were.                      |                         |
| Main -                                          |                         |
| 1 - Refer students back to their thought bubble |                         |
| handouts for the Memo and ask them to use       |                         |
| the information of who, what, where why and     |                         |
| when the source was produced to consider the    |                         |
| certianty of their claims.                      |                         |
| Feedback one claim this provenance makes        |                         |
| them more certain of, and one it makes them     |                         |
| less certain of. Mark this on A4 scale of       |                         |
| certainty                                       |                         |
| 2 - In pairs allocate students another source   |                         |
| and repeat thought bubble exercise from         |                         |
| lesson 2                                        |                         |
| Plenary - ask some students to share the        |                         |
| context of their new source                     |                         |
| Lesson Title                                    |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| Post-its                                        |
| A4 scale of certainty and                       |
| cards                                           |
| Thought bubble handouts                         |
| 5.                                              |
| How can we                                      |
| become more                                     |
| certain about                                   |
| the motives of                                  |
| the Indian                                      |
| 'mutineers'?                                    |
| (part 2)                                        |
| 1. To understand how use                        |
| of multiple sources can be                      |
| used to increase and                            |
| decrease certainty of                           |
| claims                                          |
| 2. To begin to build a                          |
| picture in answer to the                        |
| question  'Why did so                           |
| many Indian people decide                       |
| to fight against the British                    |
| in 1857?"  using sources of                     |
| evidence                                        |
| Students to use                                 |
| Though Bubble                                   |
| handouts on new                                 |
| source to consider                              |
| certainty of the new                            |
| claims they are making                          |
| - add to A4 scale of                            |
| certainty. This would                           |
| be a good opportunity                           |
| to ask students to                              |
| transfer findings to an                         |
| electronic copy, which                          |
| will make future                                |
| changes easier.                                 |
| Starter - Ask students to refer back to thought |
| bubble handouts for their new source and        |
| remind them this will help them think about the |
| subtext of the document                         |
| Main - Repeat first stage of post-it task from  |
| Lesson 3 with new source. Students then         |
| need to sort the cards in reference to their A4 |
| scale of certainty. One pile for claims that    |
| relate to claims made from the first source,    |
| others that are new. Students should then       |
| write (in a different colour) the new claims    |
| directly onto the A4  scale of certainty. The   |
| other post its should be used to move (draw     |
| arrows) previous claims up or down the scale    |
| of certainty, with a written note as to why the |
| claim has been moved                            |
| Plenary - Ask students to write a new short     |
| summary of the motives of the Mutineers from    |
| their A4 scale of certainty, and how certain    |
| they are of this new claim about their motives. |
| Students to present their new ideas to the rest |
| of the class. Provide opportunities to question |
| / debate degrees of certainty                   |
| Lesson Title                                    |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| ICT suite                                       |
| Online / Electronic versions                    |
| of activity sheets and                          |
| documents                                       |
| Students to write an                            |
| answer to the following                         |
| question to the title                           |
| question                                        |
| 1. To construct an                              |
| argument about the                              |
| motives of the Indian                           |
| 'mutineers' based on                            |
| claims from various                             |
| sources of evidence.                            |
| 2. To consider the weight                       |
| that can be placed on                           |
| claims based on multiple                        |
| sources' content and                            |
| context                                         |
| 3.  To test a controversial                     |
| statement based on                              |
| evidence and claims from                        |
| multiple sources.                               |
| Working In pairs or indivually give students    |
| electronic access to all documents and activity |
| sheets. Students should be encouraged to        |
| study as amny documents as they can, but for    |
| each document studied students should           |
| consider provenance first, then the claims they |
| can make, and then the certianty they can       |
| attach to those claims based on the source      |
| itself, the context in which the source was     |
| produced, and comparison to other sources       |
| already studied. Findings should be recorded    |
| on thought bubble sheets and A4 scale of        |
| certainty.                                      |
| Possibility to contribute to online debate on   |
| VLE                                             |
| 6.                                              |
| The reason                                      |
| so many                                         |
| Indians fought                                  |
| against the                                     |
| British is                                      |
| because they                                    |
| believed their                                  |
| religion was                                    |
| being                                           |
| threatened.'                                    |
| Discuss the                                     |
| validity of this                                |
| eplanation of                                   |
| the motives of                                  |
| the Indian                                      |
| 'Mutineers'                                     |
|                                                 |

Copy of a memorandum by Francis Horsby Robinson, former member of the Board of Revenue, North West Provinces, on attitudes to the British Government in India, 1857.  
 

# Transcript Pr0 30/29/21/7 - Copy Of A Memorandum By Francis Horsby Robinson, Former Member Of The Board Of Revenue, North West Provinces, On Attitudes To The British Government In India. 1857.

The English Government is less popular than it has ever yet been in India - it is in fact very much disliked, and looked at with fear and distrust. I am able to speak on this subject from thirty years service and from the nature of my services and my own tastes having led me to see more of the natives and to hear more of their unreserved opinions than most residents in India. The time of the decline of our popularity has been from the termination of Lord W. Benticks administration when it was at its height. The memory of that wise and good man is gratefully cherished by the people of India. In my early service the country was very settled and disturbed, and we had to depend a good deal on natives of power and influence, to keep things tolerably quiet. We were obliged to be civil and kind to the people then - and civility and kindness produced their usual effect. Lord William Bentick openly declared that his policy was to bring forward the natives and efface the galling distinctions of conquest, and when he left us our Government was respected, and the people attached to it. Since his retirement the progress of our strength has increased till we have become perfectly strong - no one dreams of opposing us. We have in consequence ceased to be courteous to the natives or to live at all familiarly with them. Besides, the body of the civil service and many of the military have embraced extreme religious opinions, so that too many look on the natives with increased antipathy as pagans and unbelievers and enemies of God - in addition to the prejudices of color and caste - all kinds of imprudence are committed. I have known a civil officer make the native servants of the Government in attendance on him and his own servants attend family worship, and that to complete the absurdity, in English . An officer commanding a Regiment to prohibit the Hindoos from honoring the colors with Incense and Garlands, a thing as old as the Indian army - that Regiment subsequently mutinied. The fountains in the Government Gardens at Agra - a favourite resort of the natives on Sundays - were stopped from playing on the Sabbath - and made to play on Thursdays. Government have shown a dangerous and marked partiality for the Missionaries. There is a law in full vigor compelling the Board of Revenue to see that all religious endowments are duly administered. The law is unrepealed but there is an order of the Home Government prohibiting their servants from having anything to do with religious trusts not Christian. A Mahomedan Ruler and a Hindu of great wealth who had been a distinguished Soldier in our service both consulted me as to getting Government to take charge of splendid charitable and educational endowments they proposed to make. I had to point out to them that they must strike out respectively an endowment for a temple and a mosque which they had included in the endowments. I shall never forget the surprise, pain, and incredulity with which both at first listened to me. The surprise and incredulity soon ceased, but the pain and anger remained. 

Neither of the charitable and educational endowments were made - the temple and the mosque have been endowed. In a case where a missionary was fined by a Magistrate for contempt of court, Government interfered in spite of my protest that the proper course for the missionary was an appeal to the proper judicial authority. The Home Government also noticed the case - now I have known the Government repeatedly to refuse to interfere, and very properly, even in cases of extreme wrong, with the regular course of justice, but they departed from this wholesome rule in the case of a missionary. [Mr ?] has said that the natives should not be admitted to take part - an equal part in the civil administration till they become Christian. Sir C. Wood openly stated his anxiety for their conversion in the House the other night. These things will find their way to India, and in an exaggerated form. The see that no civil or military servant in India rises to a position of real influence or distinction who does not hold strong religious opinions and act under the religious party. All classes are alarmed. It is a fact that communications have passed among the Mahomedans and pledges have been exchanged to rise if forcible conversion is attempted. The fear is vain, but its existence, however unfounded, is an element of danger. The last Riot at Benares was made under pretence of the authorities striving to do away with the caste of the Prisoners in jail by forcing them to [mess? = eat?] together and this very[ messing?] system has caused outbreaks in different jails in which I think I compute moderately when I say that 100 lives have been taken. There were to my knowledge sanguinary reprisals of mutinies on this score in the jails of Allahabad and Ghazeepoor; and I have heard of others. If by the imprudence of Government a spirit of religious patriotism is once excited in India and if it got into the Army, out power is at an end. Besides, these things defeat their own purpose. The patronage of Government - a Government of Conquerors - will be found fatal to the progress of Christianity. It was while the Missionary was neglected and almost persecuted that he laid the foundation of the success that now begins to show itself. This very success adds to the alarm felt by the mass of the people and calls for more prudence. Our only safe and just policy is perfect impartiality and neutrality in matters of religion. (signed) Francis Horsby Robinson Late member of the Board of Revenue 
8th June 
12 Queen Street Mayfair / N W Provinces Copy of the Calcutta Gazette containing the Governor General's proclamation to the Bengal army of May 16th 1857. 

 

## Document - Zper 34/31

Article in the London Illustrated News reporting on the Mutiny in India, 4th July 1857 

## Document - Ho 45/6857 (2 Pages)

A Church of England pamphlet: form of prayer and thanksgiving in suppressing the Indian rebellion 

## Document - Pro 30/29/23/10

Supplement to The Calcutta Gazette containing notification of restrictions on printing and publishing in the vicinity of Calcutta Extract from a secret letter of June 9th 1830 from the directors of the East India Company to the Governor General. 

## Transcript: Document Pro 30/29/23/10 - Extract From A Secret Letter Of June 9Th 1830 From The Directors Of The East India Company To The Governor General.

Extract Secret Letter to the Governor General in Council at Fort William in Bengal dated 9th June 1830 
Made Public 28th June 1830 
Para 29 
 
It is our wish to respect all the rights of the Native Princes. 

Where these Treaties directly authorise, or indirectly involve our interference with their internal administration, not to interfere without necessity nor longer than necessity may require, but misgovernment constitutes that necessity, and in the preeminent situation in which it has pleased Providence to place us, we have not a higher duty that that of securing to all within the sphere of our legitimate influence a beneficent Government. 30 
 
Where our interference in the internal administration of a State is neither directly or indirectly the result of our engagements with it, nothing but the just and reasonable apprehension that its maladministration may endanger the general peace, can justify our authoritative intervention in its affairs. The benefits which in a particular case might attend one intervention would be more than counterbalanced by the danger of violating national law. 

Document - PRO 30/29/23/10 
Newspaper article quoting extracts from Irish papers on the Indian mutiny November 1857 


Extracts  from the Simachur Soodhartoursun, a Calcutta newspaper, May 28-June  

## Transcript: Document - Pro 30/29/23/10 Quotations From The Simachur Soodhartoursun, A Calcutta Newspaper, May - June 1857

Extracts translated from a Calcutta daily paper published in Bengali and Hindu called the Simachur Soodhartoursun dated 5TH June 1857 
"The mutinies at Meerut and Delhi have filled the mind of out Governor with fear. He had therefore added 24 men to his body-Guards and has ordered the principal gate, and all the minor entrances at Government House to be closed punctually at 8 O" 
Clock p.m. After the gates are closed, no one is admitted, no matter who he be, or what his business and he goes every day to Dum Dum, Barrackpore [?] and salaaming to the Sepoys with both hands with great address explains to them with sweet words 
"I will never attempt anything which can injure your religion. Do whatever you religion requires - no-one shall prevent you." The Member of the great Council of Parliament, having understood that the order to bite the Cartridges was at the bottom of all the present mutinies of the Sepoys, have sent a letter of command to Lord Canning - In it this is written "Take means to make the Hindu and Mussulman Sepoys abandon their mutinous conduct, or else it will be much the worse for you." When he got these orders our Governor determined to burn all the Cartridges made of suspected covers /paper?/ in the presence of the Sepoys all over the country, in order that they might lose all suspicion in regards to their religion and return to their allegiance, but it does not seem as if the Sepoys would place any confidence in the words of the Governor" 
26th May In another article after affirming that it has only been constant war that has made us prosper hitherto, and that our constant aggression were not bad policy, the writer proceeds "But now from the way in which they (our Rulers) have attempted to destroy religion, it seems that God is certainly displeased with them, and hence it is not improbable that they will lose their Empire" 
"When a servant gives answer to his master death is not far off." It is clear that the Sepoys have given an answer "to their masters" upon the subject of the loss of their caste. Let our readers consider for themselves what is likely to follow. It was in an unlucky moment that the Governor passed the order for biting the Cartridges, that he will not be able to effect his purpose is a trifle, but he will have difficulty in saving the Empire. Now he takes every kind of oath, but the mutinous soldiers attach no credit to what he says and show no inclination to leave off fighting - on the contrary their rage increases every day and they have induced the people in many places to join them." 
"The Raja of [Rewa?] promised the priests of the Sacred God [hadhur?] at Goya 2 ½ 
[lacks?] of rupees if he should conquer the war with the English, so the Priests are praying God that he may be victorious." "The Emperors of France and Russia have made peace with the British Government upon condition that the country which the British have taken from them [?] respectively is to be restored, but the orders of restoration have not yet issued. They will probably not long be delayed under present circumstances." Government has passed an order that all merchants are to assist in the war. The Merchants are in great trouble about this." 
"All the country people [?] Agra are buying weapons and arms in every direction saying "If we die for it, we will fight with all our might against the English - Let us see what will come of it." 
Document - DO 35/9144 
The President"s message on the Hundredth Anniversary of 1857, as reported in 
"India News" 
 
Document - DO 35/9144 
Article in the Times about why the Sepoys rose against the East India Company 1957 

## Homework - Basic Knowledge Of The Indian 'Mutiny'

 
What was the 
Indian Mutiny? 
 
What were the results of the Indian Mutiny? 
 
What is caste? 
 
How can caste be threatened?