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AyushGautam1317801
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We cannot understand the power of rumors and prophecies in history by checking whether they are factually correct or not. We need to see what they reflect about the minds of people who believed them - their fears and apprehensions, their faiths and convictions. Rumors circulate only when they resonate with the deeper fears and suspicions of people. The rumors in 1857 begin to make sense when seen in the context of the policies the British pursued from the late 1820. As you know, under the leadership of Governor General Lord William Bentinck, the British adopted policies aimed at "reforming" Indian society by introducing Western education, Western ideas and Western institutions. With the cooperation of sections of Indian society they set up English-medium schools, colleges ans universities which taught Western sciences and the liberal arts.
The British established laws to abolish customs like sati and to permit the remarriage of Hindu widows. In a variety of pleas, like misgovernment and the refusal to recognize adoption, the British annexed not only Awadh, but many other kingdoms and principalities like Jhansi and Satara, Once these territories were annexed, the British introduced their own system of administration, their own laws and their own methods of land settlement and land revenue collection. The cumulative impact of all this on the people of North India was profound. It seemed to the people that all that they cherished and held sacred - from kings and socio-religious customs to patterns of landholding and revenue payment - was being destroyed and replaced by a system that was aggravated by the activities of Christian missionaries. In such a situation of uncertainty, rumors spread with remarkable swiftness. To explore the basis of the revolt of 1857 in some detail, let us look at Awadh, one of the major centers where the drama of 1857 unfolded. Governor General Lord Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh.