Chapati Movement 1857: Why were the British afraid of the Roti?

Chapati is a staple dish of Indian cuisine and has been a part of the culture since time immemorial. It is eaten and relished across India and is even paired with a variety of dishes like dal, sabzi and curries. Made with just two simple ingredients- wheat flour and water, Chapati is packed with the goodness of fiber and carbohydrates. But do you know that our humble Chapati once terrorized the British and left them with a puzzle, they were never able to solve? Read on to know all about the Chapati Movement of 1857 that solely circled around chapatis. (all image credits-istock)

Chapati Movement of 1857 emerged in Mathura, near Agra. It started when protesters began making and distributing chapatis to people far and wide. The distribution of chapatis usually used to take place at night or early morning. The distribution was carried out by village chowkidars and local policemen. The movement grew rapidly, and in no time more than ninety thousand police constables too joined too. The chapatis were delivered at night to households throughout India. Thousands of chapatis were delivered to homes and police outposts across India, and those who received them made more chapatis and further passed them on to neighboring villages. This sudden disturbance puzzled the British authorities and made them investigate it further.

An inquiry conducted by Mark Thornhill, a magistrate in Mathura, revealed that some of the chapatis were being transported up to 300 kilometers every night! These chapatis can from all directions- north, south, east and west. The sudden and widespread distribution of such a large number of chapatis aroused Thornhill's suspicion that something unusual was happening. But even after investigating, nobody was able to find out the real reason behind it.

Some said that these chapatis had secret codes which were used to convey messages and confidential information. But since no codes or symbols were found on the chapatis, this theory was falsified.

Some say that the Chapati Movement was just a way to mobilize the people and unite them to revolt against the Britishers. It is believed that the foundation of the Revolt of 1857, which started on May 10 in Meerut was actually laid by the Chapati Movement.

JW Sherer, who was the collector of Fatehpur back then, wrote in his book ‘Daily Life during the Indian Mutiny’- “the objective behind the chapati movement was to create an atmosphere of mysterious restlessness, the experiment had been very successful.”

According to another theory, the Chapati movement of 1857 was an attempt to prevent a cholera outbreak in central India. The spread of cholera was linked to the movements of the East India Company's army, and some Indians held the British responsible for the outbreak.

Kim Wagner, a Danish-British historian of colonial India and the British Empire, argued that the movement initially aimed to protect people from cholera. He dismissed the notion that the chapatis were a sign of an impending rebellion and further wrote "The chapatis were not ‘harbingers of a coming storm. They were what people made them into, and the significance attributed to them was a symptom of the pervasive distrust and general consternation amongst the Indian population during the early months of 1857.”

For scrumptious recipes, videos and exciting food news, subscribe to our free Daily and Weekly Newsletters.