Here are the must-know historical events from the month of May to help you in your UPSC preparation. (AI-generated image)
Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget on important historical events of May today.
The month of May has witnessed several events that shaped Indian history. From the birth of India’s first Nobel laureate in Literature, Rabindranath Tagore, to the outbreak of the Revolt of 1857 and the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, the month holds enduring historical significance.
Let’s revisit five important historical events from May that left a lasting imprint on Indian history.
— The rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Indian Independence, began on May 10, 1857. In the revolt, Indian sepoys rose up against the might of the British officers of the East India Company. This revolt witnessed an extraordinary amount of violence unleashed by both sides.
— The introduction of the newly Enfield rifle became the immediate cause of the outbreak of the Revolt. The cartridges had a covering that was believed to be made of animal fat (beef and pork), and which had to be bit open before the cartridges could be used.
— This was viewed by the soldiers as a direct assault on their religious beliefs by the British who intended to bring an end to their religion and propagate Christianity.
— Along with economic exploitation in the form of increased rents, illegal acquisitions of land, and decline of traditional handicrafts, several other factors contributed to the outbreak of the Revolt.
— The increased interference of the Britishers in Indian affairs, Doctrine of Lapse, the annexation of Awadh by Lord Dalhousie on the grounds of alleged misgovernance of Awadh and failing to introduce reform had an adverse effect on the Bengal Army, leading to the outbreak of the revolt.
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Doctrine of Lapse The ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ was introduced by Lord Dalhousie, who was the governor-general of India (1848–56). The adopted heir to the throne was not allowed to acquire the state, and the state automatically ‘lapsed’ into British dominion if the ruler died without any natural, biological heir. This was applied to annex the territories of Satara (1848), Sambalpur (1850), and Jhansi and Nagpur (1854). |
— The Revolt ended the rule of the East India Company in India by an Act of Parliament known as the Queen’s Proclamation of 1858. With this, the rule of the Indian empire was taken over by the British crown.
— The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War culminated on May 4, 1799, after the British managed to finish off Tipu Sultan, the 18th-century ruler of Mysore. Tipu died while defending his capital, Srirangapatnam, in the Battle of Srirangapatnam.
— With Tipu gone, Wellesley imposed the Subsidiary Alliance on the reinstated Wodeyar king, and Mysore became a client state of the East India Company.
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Subsidiary Alliance Story continues below this ad Governor-General Lord Wellesley (1798–1805) is credited for the Subsidiary Alliance. According to the terms of this alliance, Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces. They were to be protected by the Company, but had to pay for the “subsidiary forces” that the Company was supposed to maintain for the purpose of this protection. If the Indian rulers failed to make the payment, then part of their territory was taken away as penalty. |
— Tipu was the son of Haider Ali, a professional soldier who climbed the ranks in the army of the Wodeyar king of Mysore, and ultimately took power in 1761. Tipu was born in 1750 and, as a 17-year-old, fought in the first Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69) and subsequently, against the Marathas and in the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84). Haider died while this war was on, and Tipu succeeded him in 1782.
— Tipu reorganised his army along European lines, using new technology, including what is considered the first war rocket. He devised a land revenue system based on detailed surveys and classification, in which the tax was imposed directly on the peasant, and collected through salaried agents in cash, widening the state’s resource base.
— He modernised agriculture, gave tax breaks for developing wasteland, built irrigation infrastructure and repaired old dams, and promoted agricultural manufacturing and sericulture.
— He built a navy to support trade, and commissioned a “state commercial corporation” to set up factories. As Mysore traded in sandalwood, silk, spices, rice and sulphur, some 30 trading outposts were established across Tipu’s dominions and overseas.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
— On 3 May 1939, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose announced the formation of the All India Forward Bloc at a public meeting in Calcutta, in order to bring the radical-left elements of the party together. The seed for this action was sown way before.
— It was in February 1938 that Bose became the President of the Indian National Congress for the first time. This moment became defining in creating his political profile as a Congressman and in drawing the rift with Gandhi and Nehru.
— At the Haripura session (1938) of the Congress, Bose made his presidential address, which is known to be the lengthiest and most important speech he ever made to the party. He made it clear that he stood for unqualified Swaraj.
— At this session. Bose tried to push for swaraj as a “National Demand” and opposed the idea of an Indian federation under British rule. He stood for re-election in 1939 and defeated Dr Pattabhi Sitaramayya, the Gandhi-backed candidate.
— Bose tried to set up another working committee, but after being unable to do so, was forced to resign and was replaced by Rajendra Prasad. Within a week, he proposed the creation of the “Forward Bloc”.
— While seeking an alternative leadership to that of the Congress, in March 1940 he organised the All India Anti Compromise Conference in Ramgarh. He urged his audience to act before it was too late.
— Having failed to convince the Congress to go into civil disobedience, Bose organised mass protests in Calcutta for the removal of the Holwell monument that stood in Dalhousie Square as a memorial to those who died in the Black Hole of Calcutta. He was arrested by the British government for the protests, but was released soon after he went into a seven-day hunger strike.
— In 1943, Bose took charge of the Indian National Army (INA), which launched the “Delhi Chalo” campaign in 1944 to liberate India from British rule.
Rabindranath Tagore
— Rabindranath Tagore was born on May 7, 1861, in Kolkata to a zamindar family of Bengal. Tagore was one of the primary crusaders during the pre-independence era to challenge the common perception that India was just a country of snake-charmers and superstitions, and was culturally backward.
— He was the first non-European and first Asian to be acknowledged and rewarded with the Nobel award (for literature) in 1913. The citation praised his “profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West.”
— It was Tagore who honoured Gandhi with the title of ‘Mahatma’. He is credited for influencing the composition of the National Anthems of as many as three countries – India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.,
— After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Rabindranath Tagore expressed the pain and anger of the country by renouncing his knighthood.
— Important works of Tagore: Chandalika (short drama), Char Adhyay (Novel), Ghare Baire(Novel), Gitanjali (Poem), Post-Office (drama), and many more.
— Maharana Pratap, the crowned ruler of Mewar, was born on 9th May 1540, and died on January 19, 1597. The Mewar ruler was regarded as one of the bravest Rajput warriors and was well-known for his memorable fights against the Mughals.
— In 1572, Maharana Pratap took over his father’s throne and ruled Mewar. Unlike the previous Rajput emperors, Maharana Pratap resisted the vast Mughal army that came before him, fighting bravely till his very last breath, according to the Cultural India study.
— According to the NCERT book, “A confrontation against Mughals took place at the Haldighati pass in the Aravallis in 1576, and although the Mughal army had the upper hand, Maharana Pratap escaped and pursued for years guerrilla warfare against the Mughals from the Aravalli hills, living in harsh conditions but firm on his independence.”
1. May 1 is observed as “May Day”, also referred to as “International Workers’ Day” and “Labour Day” in different countries across the world. The day commemorates the contributions of workers, and the labour movement.
2. On May 4, 1886, a labour protest in Chicago turned violent when a bomb was thrown at police, leading to deaths and injuries on both sides. This event became a defining moment in the global fight for workers’ rights. Those who died were hailed as “Haymarket Martyrs”.
3. In 1889, the Second International declared May 1 as International Workers’ Day to honour the Haymarket martyrs and the labour movement.
4. In India it was first commemorated on May 1, 1923, in the city of Madras. The initiative is attributed to M Singaravelu Chettiar, a towering nationalist figure, and an early communist associated with the anti-caste movement.
(1) Who was the Governor-General of India during the Sepoy Mutiny? (UPSC CSE 2006)
(a) Lord Canning
(b) Lord Dalhousie
(c) Lord Hardinge
(d) Lord Lytton
(2) Which one of the following statements does not apply to the system of Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley? (UPSC SCE 2018)
(a) To maintain a large standing army at other’s expense
(b) To keep India safe from Napoleonic danger
(c) To secure a fixed income for the Company
(d) To establish British paramountcy over the Indian State
| Answer key |
| 1. (a) 2. (c) |
(Sources: Why is the Revolt of 1857 important for UPSC?, Remembering Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on Parakram Diwas, NCERT )
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