The greased cartridges in the newly introduced Enfield rifles was the immediate Cause of the Revolt of 1857’. Justify the statement.
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Explanation:
The greased cartridges in the newly introduced Enfield rifles was the immediate Cause of the Revolt of 1857’. Justify the statement.
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 had diverse political, economic, military, religious and social causes.
An uprising in several sepoy companies of the Bengal army was sparked by the issue of new gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle February, 1857. Many sepoys believed that the cartridges were greased with cow and pig fat. Loading the Enfield required tearing open the greased cartridge with one's teeth. This would have insulted both Hindu and Muslim religious practices; cows were considered holy by Hindus, while pigs were considered unclean by Muslims. Underlying grievances over British taxation and recent land annexations by the British East Indian Company (BEIC) were ignited by the sepoy mutineers, and within weeks, dozens of units of the Indian army joined peasant armies in widespread rebellion. The old aristocracy, both Muslim and Hindu, who were seeing their power steadily eroded by the BEIC, also rebelled against British rule. Another important source of discontent among the Indian rulers was that the British policies of conquest had created unrest among many Indian rulers. In the decade prior to the rebellion, the BEIC imposed a 'doctrine of lapse' (of Indian leadership succession), and the policy 'subsidiary alliance' both of which deprived Indian ruler.