short note queen victoria’s proclamation of 1858
In her famous proclamation, Queen Victoria had promised Indians that the British Crown would pay attention to their welfare. However, despite this official proclamation, the attitude of the British officials remained unchanged. India had been conquered for economic gain of the British capitalist economy, and it continued to be exploited thus. The Indian peasantry continued to pay extremely high revenue and was forced to cultivate cash crops to suit the British needs. This often led to horrible famines in different parts of the country. All sections of the society felt resentment against this blatant exploitation and found themselves gradually converging into a nationalist whole against the imperialist government.