The Revolt before 1857: The Vellore Mutiny

India’s freedom struggle is full of rebellious moments that brought institutions to a standstill. One such episode that of the Vellore Mutiny which is also considered by some, a precursor to the Revolt of 1857. Although people contend this fact, what is certain is that the Vellore Mutiny was the first full-fledged revolt against the British.

The Vellore Mutiny was the first full-fledged revolt against the British. Image source: India Today

The British regime had successfully managed to control all spheres of administration. Barring a few exceptions here and there, one could say that the word of the English officer was the law. In a country as diverse as India, where people’s religious identities define them, taking that away or forbidding them from wearing religious symbols is nothing short of catastrophic.

In the November of 1805, a new dress code was implemented for the sepoys of the Madras regiment. This forbade them from wearing any religious symbols and men were told to shave their beards and moustaches. This generated a lot of hue and cry. The discontentment further deepened when there were talks about replacing the turban with a leather cockade.

Of course, the sepoys did not rebel immediately. They went to the military board and reasoned with them. They also mentioned that implementing this new dress code would only have grave repercussions for the officials because this was an issue that all sepoys were worried about.

The argument given in return by the officials was that these new changes were brought to make soldiers look more refined and that the new dress code was not offensive to anyone. Indian soldiers were deeply hurt. After all, wearing their religious marks was a matter of pride for them.  At the beginning of 1806, two sepoys expressed dissent and protested against the new laws. To instil a sense of fear amongst the sepoys, the two soldiers were sent to Fort Saint George, where they were struck with ninety lashes each.

The idea was to make an example of these two sepoys so no other soldier would dare to go against the official orders. But when the sons of Tipu sultan also instigated the sepoys against the policies of the British, they were successful in sparking the revolt.

Thus in the July of 1806, the sepoys from the Madras regiment plotted and rebelled against the new policies. The soldiers who had been sleeping at the fort woke up in the wee hours of the night and managed to slaughter fourteen European officials. Colonel john Fancourt was one of the officials who had been murdered. The bloodshed continued till help arrived from Arcot.

Sir Robert Rollo Gillespie arrived and found nearly sixty European soldiers who were still alive. They took matters into their hands and charged against the rebels, and all those who had taken refuge in the fort were dragged outside and shot. According to him, had there been even a five-minute delay, the British would have lost everything.

After the bloodshed and chaos of the mutiny, Sir John Craddock withdrew the order for the new headgear. William Bentinck was summoned by the court and it was expressed that had Bentinck shown a little more care and respect to the feelings of the sepoys, this would have never happened. It was decided that there would be no more meddling with the sepoys’ social and religious lives.

The Vellore mutiny of 1806 was the first major uprising against the British and a strong act of disobedience that later paved way for bigger rebellions.