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The Siege of Lucknow – 1857
Ian Pattison
Background
The Siege of Lucknow, together
with the brutal massacre of Brit-
ish soldiers, women and children
at Cawnpore just weeks earlier in
May 1857, were two de ning inci-
dents of the Indian Mutiny (also
known as the Sepoy Rebellion
and, by Indians today, as the First
War of Indian Independence). The
insurrection lasted from May 1857 until it was nally quashed in July 1859. Both Indian civilians, including many local leaders, and sepoys (Indian infantry soldiers of the East India Company) were involved in the insurrection. After the Mutiny, the British exacted massive and bloody reprisals against both the sepoy mutineers and civilians alike. The East India Company was subsequently disbanded and direct rule over India imposed by Britain. Queen Victoria became Empress of India, although she never set foot in the country.
The state of Oudh (modern day Uttar Pradesh) of which Lucknow was, and remains, the capital city, had been annexed by the British East India Company in 1856. This was the year before the rebellion broke out, and the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (the local Muslim ‘prince’) was exiled to Calcutta. This high-handed action by the East India Company was greatly resented within the state and elsewhere in India. Sir Henry Law-
The Residency main gate today. This entrance is known as the ‘Baillie Guard’ after Colonel Baillie, one of the British Residents in the early 19th Century. Although not clear from this photo, it is pockmarked by cannon and small arms re from the Siege!
rence, a very experienced adminis- trator, had taken up the appointment of British Commissioner (in effect the governor) only six weeks before the rebellion broke out. Before the annexation, the principle British of - cial was ‘The British Resident Gen- eral’, in effect the East India Compa- ny’s Ambassador to the Oudah royal court of the Nawab. Old Lucknow is
built on the southern bank of the Gomti River, itself a tributary of the Ganga River (Ganges).
The sepoys of the East India Company’s Ben- gal Presidency Army (there were three Presi- dencies of the Company: Bengal, Madras and Bombay, each with its own Army) had become increasingly troubled over the preceding years, feeling that their religions and customs were under threat from the rationalising and evange- lising activities of the Company. Lawrence was well aware of the rebellious mood of the Indian troops under his command (which included sev- eral units of Oudh Irregulars, recruited from the former army of the state of Oudh). On 18th April he warned the Governor General in Calcutta, Lord Canning, of some of the manifestations.
The ashpoint of the rebellion, particularly in Luc- know, was the introduction of the En eld Ri e. The cartridges for this weapon were believed to
This high-handed action by the East India Company was greatly resented within the state and elsewhere in India.
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