This popular print from the 1900s imagines a scene during 1857 from Barrackpore. The text on top identifies the main character as ‘Mangalsingh Pandey’. Mangal Pandey is symbolic of the many infantrymen in the Company’s armies in India who rebelled. By forcing soldiers to bite into rifle cartridges greased in cow or pig fat (banned to Hindus and Muslims for different reasons), the British upset Company troops from both communities.

Published by the London Printing and Publishing Company, this etching presents a dramatic moment from the Revolt of 1857. The quotation in the caption, “One of their leaders waving his sword, shouted, ‘Come on my braves’” from Vide Reese’s narrative, echoes the language of sensational accounts which circulated during the war. This image uses the techniques of realism—detailed costumes and facial expressions—to make it look like an authoritative representation of the event. But images of the revolt, which featured widely in British accounts of the war, not only stereotyped Indians as incapable of military prowess but also fabricated incidents to suit the colonial propaganda against the mutineers.

Self-taught artist Chittaprosad is famous for his impactful portrayals of the Bengal Famine of 1943. He was also an avid caricaturist. He often meticulously documented political developments in India that had an impact on the marginalised. This woodcut by Chittaprosad depicts ‘The Santhal Rebellion’, which broke out in 1855. The Santhals got their land rid of landlords, moneylenders and policemen, fighting with self-created weapons like the bow and arrow against the British government for a year until they gave them concessions in terms of administration of the area. The Santals received a self-governing district named ‘Santal Pargana’ where they could follow their traditional social structures, and their revenue was collected by Santal majhis (headmen).