Nationalism imagined? Hidden impacts of the uprising of 1857

Abstract

This article challenges the myth that Indian nationalism was a major cause of the Rebellion or Uprising of 1857, arguing rather that nationalism was its ultimate result. But it goes much further, demonstrating that this unsuccessful Uprising of 1857 generated a new consciousness, as it taught Indians about the need to learn to protect and represent themselves better. While the East India Company (EIC) swiftly regained control and transferred sovereignty to the British Crown on 1 November 1858, tightening the noose of colonial subjugation for almost another century, the article argues that significant loss of trust in the feudal lords in 1857 opened the door to a new form of consciousness about the need for more competence in self-rule. The analysis suggests, therefore, that a combination of declining medieval feudalism and growth of modern nationalism in India, guided in due course by better equipped elite members of the middle classes, began to germinate as a largely hidden, unintended consequence of the failure of the 1857 Revolt, a phenomenon noted, but underrated, by historical scholarship.