question_answer

Examine the participation of the Taluqdars of Awadh in the Revolt of 1857.

Answer:

1. The Taluqdars of Awadh, for many generations had conrolled the lands and power in the country side and had maintained armed retainers, built forts and enjoyed a degree of autonomy as long as they accepted the suzerainty of the Nawabs and paid the revenues of their Taluqas but British were unwilling to tolerate the power of the Taluqdars. The Taluqdars were disarmed and their forts were destroyed.

2. The British land revenue policy also hit the position of Taluqdars. In Southern Awadh, the Taluqdars lost more than half of their total villages they previously held.

3. British revenue flows for the state increased and the burden of demand on the peasants did not decline, the increase in the revenue demand increased from 30 to 70 percent. Thus, neither the Taluqdars nor the peasants had any reason to be happy with the annexation of Awadh.

4. The loyalty of the peasants to the Taluqdars was lost by the dispossession of the taluqas by the Taluqdars, in the time of crops failure as the hardships of the peasants were not supported by the Taluqdars.