Revolt of 1857 and ‘Awadh’: Reappraisal

With the advent of British rule in India, several early British administrators made attempts to reconstruct India's past mainly due to administrative exigencies. However some of them were keenly interested in historical pursuits, as such they provide different source-materials both literary and archaeological. The main thrust of these early authors of historical works was a dynastic account of deferent ruling dynasties and their system of administration. This approach continued for a long time till the freedom movement of India gained momentum in late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, it is an uncountable fact that the Awadh sector of India had played a very important role in first revolt against Britishers. In 1857, Awadh was a large land of Nawabs synonymous with lavish extravogenure and is well known for its ‘tehzeeb’ of extreme delicacy and culivated manners. The present paper deals with the reappraisal of the revolt of 1857 and public reaction of Awadh based on the secondary sources of data collection.