Against the symbols of oppression

The rebels’ proclamations did not merely oppose British rule — they rejected it entirely. Every symbol of the firangi raj was condemned, from land revenue policies to foreign trade, from broken treaties to the threat of religious conversion. The rebellion was framed as a fight to restore a familiar, cherished way of life.

What the proclamations attacked

The British were accused of:

• Annexations and broken treaties — the East India Company had seized kingdoms and violated agreements, making them untrustworthy.
• Land revenue settlements — these dispossessed landholders, both big and small, stripping them of their traditional rights and livelihoods.
• Foreign commerce — the influx of British goods and the destruction of local markets drove artisans and weavers to ruin.
• Destruction of caste and religion — a widespread fear that the British intended to convert Hindus and Muslims to Christianity. This fear fed the rumours that spread rapidly during the revolt.

The call to fight

The proclamations urged people to unite for the “greater public good” — to save their livelihood, their faith, their honour, and their identity. The enemy was not just the British soldier but anyone seen as an ally of the British or a local oppressor.

Attack on local elites and hierarchies

In many places, the rebellion widened into an assault on all forms of oppression:

• In cities, rebels deliberately humiliated the elites — those who had prospered under British rule.
• In villages, they burnt account books and ransacked moneylenders’ houses. …