4. Repression

It is clear from all accounts that we have of that the British did not have an easy time in putting down the rebellion. Before sending out troops to reconquer North India, the British passed a series of laws to help them quell the insurgency. By a number of Acts, passed in May and June , not only was the whole of North India put under martial law but military officers and even ordinary Britons were given the power to try and punish Indians suspected of rebellion. In other words, the ordinary processes of law and trial were suspended and it was put out that rebellion would have only one punishment – death.

Armed with these newly enacted special laws and the reinforcements brought in from Britain, the British began the task of suppressing the revolt. They, like the rebels, recognised the symbolic value of Delhi. The British thus mounted a two-pronged attack. One force moved from Calcutta into North India and the other from the Punjab – which was largely peaceful – to reconquer Delhi.

British Map The map shows the important centres of revolt and the lines of British attack against the rebels. Villagers as rebels An officer reporting from rural Awadh (spelt as Oude in the following account) noted: The Oude people are gradually pressing down on the line of communication from the North … the Oude people are villagers … these villagers are nearly intangible to Europeans melting away before them and collecting again. The