Hamaara 1857

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“Oh! These sad scenes of death and sorrow,when are they to come to an end?”

~ A Widow's Reminiscence on the siege of Lucknow

OTL and context

In Indian history, the revolt of 1857 (also known as the Indian Mutiny, the First Indian War of Independence, etc) was a failure and those who committed it met terrible fates.

First of all how did this revolution start?

Well, the East India Company had controlled India for years and had many soldiers from there serving in their army. In fact, when the British fought Indian kings, often it would be Indians fighting alongside the British, seemingly in want of their own kings to submit to colonial rule!

The problem arose when the British got the new Enfield rifles. These soldiers were not Christians like the British, but they were Hindus and Muslims. Hindus were forbidden from eating cows, and Muslims were forbidden from eating pigs. The British,t o cut costs, used cow and pig fat to make grease for these rifles. They also revolted as they were made to serve in distant lands, were payed very little, and because of the way the British essentially took control of small Indian kingdoms. Thus, with the support of some Indian rulers, the soldiers rebelled.

Images( from top to bottom) Indian rulers Bahadur Shah Zafar of Delhi, Nana Saheb of Bithur, Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh, and Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, all of whom played a prominent role in the revolt.

ATL and consequences

In this timeline, the revolt succeede, thanks to help from the large kingdoms who did not help them in OTL (such as Nepal and Travancore) and Bahadur Shah was crowned Emperor of Hindustan (OTL parts of Pakistan), and Shahenshah-i-Lahore. The other rulers too were made to rule over territories of theirs, while some sepoys set up republics known as 'Sipaahi Ganas'. The large kingdoms/empires would likely westernize and unify their regions, European-style, while the small ones would end up being annexed by the larger ones. Bombay, Madras,and Calcutta might have still had western influence because they were colonized pre-1857 but by large the region will not have English influence.

What would the reaction of the world be? What would the consequences of this be? Welcome to...Hamaara 1857!

Timeline

Main article:Timeline (Hamaara 1857)

Ah,the 1880s.Years have passed since the first cries of rebellion came out of the sepoys' mouths.As the old generation of men and women who fought that war passes on,so does the Mughal Imperial crown to far-away nephew of Mirza Mughal and former heir to the throne of the other Mughal state,Delhi,Mirza Abu Bakr.Russia,in the meanwhile,has mostly shrugged and left Afghanistan to itself,relieving the Emperor,who dies a bit later than he would have.

1882

The First Oriental War ends in an Afghan/Indian victory.For the first time since 1857,the British help Indians,not out of support for them but out of the fear of Russia.

1885

In response to Maratha authoritarianism under Tatya Tope,the Maratha Congress is founded by Dinshaw Edulji Wacha and Dadabhai Naoroji,while in Delhi,another party with the same goals is formed by Motilal Nehru,known as the Nehruvi Party