Vellore Mutiny

Meantime, the rebels proclaimed Futteh Hyder, Tipu’s first son, as their new ruler and hoisted tiger-striped flag of Tipu Sultan. But the uprising was swiftly crushed by Col. Gillespie. 800 Indian soldiers were found dead in the fort alone. Six hundred soldiers were imprisoned in Tiruchi and Vellore. Some rebels were hung, some shot dead. The uprising was thus brought to a bloody end. Tipu’s son was sent to Calcutta. The commander-in-chief and the governor were recalled.

Vellore Mutiny failed. There was no proper leadership. The rebellion was also not well organized. But it is the starting point of a new era of the resistance of the sepoys to the British rule. The 18th century was marked by the resistance of the local chieftains. The first six decades of 19th century was marked by the resistance of sepoys.

K.K. Pillai rejects the thesis that Vellore Mutiny led to the 1857 revolt. V.D. Savarkar calls the Vellore Mutiny of 1806 as the prelude to the first War of Indian Independence in 1857. N. Sanjivi proclaims that the Tamils had taken the real lead in the Indian freedom struggle. K. Rajayyan argues that this mutiny was a continuation of the Marudu Brothers’ resistance movement against the colonial rule.

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