TOEFL iBT Integrated Writing Task

Reading
The First War of Independence, or the Indian Mutiny as it is known in Britain, began on May 10th 1857, when sepoys (Indian soldiers serving in the armies of the British in India) attacked their British officers in the town of Meerut. This rebellion soon spread to cover most of northern and central India.

There were many reasons behind this attack on British rule, but three stand out above the rest. Firstly, the Indian people had come to believe that the British wished to make them Christians and would force them to give up their own religions of Hinduism and Islam. Secondly, a British policy called the Doctrine of Lapse was deeply unpopular. The Indians saw this policy as a way for the British to unfairly take control of the few states left in India that were ruled by native princes. Finally, the sepoys themselves were very discontented with their salary and service conditions in the British Indian armies. They felt that they were not paid enough and that the British asked them to do things forbidden by their religion, such as going overseas.

Once the sepoys had risen up against their foreign masters, they marched to Delhi, where Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal Emperor was living. Bahadur Shah was a very old man and Emperor in name only. He was actually completely controlled by the British. The sepoys killed his British advisors and made him their leader, hoping that under this leadership the British could be driven out of India for ever.

The sepoys, however, could not effectively unite and after 15 months of heavy fighting the British were able to re-establish their control over all of India.


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Listening
Although called the First War of Independence by many Indian historians, to many people the events of 1857 were not really a war of independence. If we accept that a war of independence should be defined as a “war fought all over a nation and cutting across regional lines” then what happened in India in that year cannot be classed as a war of independence.

The first point in favor of this view is that the concept of India as a nation did not exist at that time. People did not see themselves as Indians but as inhabitants of the state that they lived in. They had a local, not a national view.

Another important point is that the fighting was not nationwide. The British had divided India into three administrative areas, Bengal, Madras and Bombay. It was only in the first of these, Bengal, that fighting occurred. There was no fighting in either of the two other areas. Even in north and central India, where the fighting took place, there were many native Indian princes and maharajas that did not fight against the British. Some remained neutral and others even actively supported the European power.

Most importantly, however, many of the troops the British used to regain control were actually Indian. The number of British soldiers and civilians in India in 1857 was extremely small. There were around 50,000 British and other European people in the whole of the Indian subcontinent in 1857, of whom about 40,000 were soldiers. The number of Indian sepoys was about 230,000 in a native Indian population of about 150 million. It would have been impossible for the British to hold on in the face of the united hostility of such a large number of people, if they had not been supported by many of the Indian population.

Because there was no Indian nation, because the fighting was very localized and because the British were supported by a large part of the population, we would be wrong to call this a war of independence.

Sepoy Reading notes
Main Idea: First War of Independence (aka Indian mutiny)
MP1 --- First War of Independence was rebellion against British rulers of India
              -- began May 10 1857, Meerut
              -- sepoys (Indian soldiers in British army) attacked British officers
              -- rebellion spreads all over N. and Cent. India
MP2 --- three main reasons for FWI
             -- Indians think Brits will make them Christian
                      - forced to give up islam and Hinduism
             -- Doctrine of Lapse v. unpopular
                     - unfair way for Brits to take more land from Indians
             -- sepoys unhappy with
                    - salary
                    - conditions of service (go overseas)
MP3 --- what happened
             -- sepoys march to Delhi, make old emperor leader
             -- hoped to make Brits leave India
             BUT
             -- sepoys unable to unite
                   - after 15 months beaten by Brits

Sepoy Listening notes
Main Idea: First War of Independence not a war on independence
MP1 ---Definition of war on independence
             -- fought all over a nation
             -- cuts across regional lines
MP2 --- Why was not war of independence
             -- no concept of India as nation
                 - people had local not national view
             -- fighting not nationwide
                 - three Brit admin. areas, 1 Bengal, 2 Bombay, 3 Madras
                 - only fighting in 1 Bengal
                 - many Indian princes neutral or support Brits
             -- impossible for Brits to win without Indian support
                 - 1857, 50,000 Europeans (40,000 soldiers) in all India
                 - 150 million Indians, 230,000 soldiers


(Do NOT try to include all of the notes above in your essay. These notes are very complete. You will not have time to reproduce them in your essay. Write only what you think is most important.)


Sample Essay
In this set of materials the reading passage describes the causes and course of what some historians call the First War of Independence and the listening passage informs us that other historians think that it was not really a war of independence.

The reading passage gives us a brief description of the Indian Mutiny, in which sepoys, Indian soldiers in the British army in India, attacked the British and tried to drive them out of the country. The rebellion began in Meerut in 1857 and spread across north and central India. The causes of the rebellion were threefold: Indian fears that their religions were in danger from the British, unhappiness with a British policy called the Doctrine of Lapse and sepoys’ complaints about their salary and service conditions. They sepoys made the old emperor in Delhi their leader, but they were unable to unite and in just over a year the British were able to defeat them.

In the listening passage we are told that some historians disagree with calling the Indian mutiny the First War of Independence. In this view a war of independence is defined as a conflict that takes place all over a nation, not just in one part. The Indian Mutiny does not qualify as such a war because at the time there was no sense of an Indian nationality. Indians only had a local view of themselves. In addition, of the three administrative areas in British controlled India, fighting occurred in only one, Bengal. There was no fighting all over the nation. Finally, the British were hopelessly outnumbered by the Indians. They could never have succeeded without the support of large numbers of Indians, so it is obvious that not all Indians were prepared to fight for independence. If thses facts are accepted then clearly the First War of Independence was misnamed. (307 words)

Sample Essay

In this set of materials the reading passage details what some historians call the First War of Independence, but the listening passage informs us that other historians think that it was not really a war of independence.

The reading passage describes the First war of Independence, or Indian Mutiny, of 1857, in which Indian sepoys, tried to drive the British out of the India. The causes of the rebellion were threefold: Indian fears that their religions were in danger from the British, unhappiness with a British policy called the Doctrine of Lapse, and sepoys’ complaints about their salary and service conditions. They sepoys made the old emperor in Delhi their leader, but they were unable to unite, and in just over a year the British were able to defeat them.

In the listening passage, we are told that some historians disagree with calling the Indian Mutiny the First War of Independence. A war of independence is defined as a conflict that takes place all over a nation. The Indian Mutiny does not qualify as such a war because at the time there was no sense of Indian nationality. In addition, of the three administrative areas in British-controlled India, fighting occurred in only one.. There was no fighting all over the nation. Finally, the British were hopelessly outnumbered by the Indians. They could never have succeeded without the support of large numbers of Indians, so it is obvious that not all Indians were prepared to fight for independence. If these facts are accepted then clearly the First War of Independence was misnamed. (259)