![]() Under Lord Dalhousie the Punjaub and Oude had been annexed, and it might well seem to an Indian mind that the English were bent on entirely subduing the whole of Hindostan, regardless of the dictates of faith or justice. In the deposed King of Delhi, Bahadur Shah, there was an ever-festering canker of rebellion and center of disaffection which was rendered more dangerous than ever by Lord Dalhousie's (1848-56) threat of removing the Mogul's family from its old seat at Delhi. The second was the British blunder in using cartridges for the Lee-Enfield rifle that were allegedly greased with animal fat, which was offensive to the religious beliefs of Muslim and Hindu sepoys. First, was the annexation in 1856 of Oudh, a wealthy princely state that generated huge revenue and represented a vestige of Mughal authority. Until the rebellion, the British had succeeded in suppressing numerous riots and "tribal" wars or in accommodating them through concessions, but several events triggered the violent explosion of wrath in 1857. Undoubtedly, it was the culmination of mounting Indian resentment toward British economic and social policies over many decades. Precisely what led to the great Mutiny will perhaps never be determined. The uprising, which seriously threatened British rule in India, has been called many names by historians, including the Sepoy Rebellion, the Great Mutiny, and the Revolt of 1857 many people in South Asia, however, prefer to call it India's first war of independence. The rebels marched to Delhi to offer their services to the Mughal emperor, and soon much of north and central India was plunged into a year-long insurrection against the British. Overall, the sepoy muting played a major role in British ruled India.On May 10, 1857, Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army, drawn mostly from Muslim units from Bengal, mutinied in Meerut, a cantonment eighty kilometers northeast of Delhi. After the rebellion tensions settled down and eventually India became independent from the Imperialistic rule of Britain in 1947. The rebellion brought not only the death of soldiers, but of women and children also. This shows that the rebels were valiant and even though they lost the war they fought hard. In the words of Lord Krishna, we will, if we are victorious, enjoy the fruits of victory if defeated and killed on the field of battle, we shall surely earn eternal glory and salvation."(Hibbert 383). The revolt only lasted for one year but the rebels fought hard and were determined,"We fight for independence. This shows that tension had been growing between the British and the Indians but the cartridges were the final push to make them truly revolt against the empire. But the cartridges were only the catalyst for a revolt that was based on long standing grievances." (Indian Voices). ![]() The sepoys were required to bite open the cartridges, and would come into direct contact with the cow and pig grease, which was insulting to Hindus and Muslims respectively. ![]() Many native infantrymen (sepoys) believed that these new cartridges introduced in early 1857 had been greased by cow and pig fat. ![]() The sepoy mutiny was started for a number of reasons," The traditional explanation of the offensive rifle cartridges causing the initial outbreak of mutiny is only part of the story. The Sepoy Mutiny, or The 1857 Indian Rebellion was the largest rebellion against British Imperialism ever. ![]()
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