Sepoy panchayat
Topic: The Revolt of 1857 · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Rebels and the Raj"
Meaning
A sepoy panchayat was a council where sepoys met to decide things together during the 1857 revolt. Sepoys were Indian soldiers in the Company's army. These councils are evidence that the revolt was planned and coordinated. It was not just a string of sudden, separate outbursts. Historians conclude that "the sepoys were the makers of their own rebellion."
Example
Charles Ball wrote one of the earliest histories of the uprising. He recorded that panchayats met every night in the sepoy lines at Kanpur in 1857. In another case, a dispute was settled by a panchayat of native officers drawn from each regiment.
Don't confuse with
- Village panchayat: a council of village elders that handles local affairs. A sepoy panchayat was a council of soldiers inside the army lines.
Related concepts
- Charles Ball
- Nana Sahib
- Azimullah Khan
- Rani Lakshmibai
- Tantia Tope
- Kunwar Singh
- Birjis Qadr
- Begum Hazrat Mahal
- Bakht Khan
- Khan Bahadur Khan