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Indian Mutiny (1857): Popular Revolts Against British Imperialism

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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism

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Synonyms

Agrarian Rebellion; Anti-colonialism; British colonialism; Indian independence; Indian Rebellion of 1857; Land settlement policy; Sepoy mutiny

Definition

This essay examines the Indian Rebellion, or ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ of 1857, a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company in the country. Rather than viewing the Indian National Rebellion of 1857 as a momentary outburst, and so limiting its significance within a short historical time frame, the essay locates the ways in which the rebellion was preceded by and influenced other anti-colonial protest movements. It is suggested that in order to have a ‘holistic’ reading of the Rebellion, it is necessary to explore the period from the 1830s to the 1870s, one which witnessed colonialist expansion and also the challenges posed to British rule by a number of peasant and tribal movements in the context of exploitative and oppressive British land settlement policy. The 1857 Mutiny carried different...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Commerce, Serampore College, Serampore, West Bengal, India

    Arup Kumar Sen

Authors
  1. Arup Kumar Sen
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Correspondence to Arup Kumar Sen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Center for Worker Education, Brooklyn College, New York, NY, USA

    Immanuel Ness

  2. Independent Scholar, Belfast, UK

    Zak Cope

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Kumar Sen, A. (2020). Indian Mutiny (1857): Popular Revolts Against British Imperialism. In: Ness, I., Cope, Z. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_228-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_228-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-91206-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-91206-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference HistoryReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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