Revolt of 1857 Quiz

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 had a diverse political, economic, military, religious and social causes.

The sepoys, a generic term used for native Indian soldiers of Bengal Army, had their list of grievances against the British East India Company administration. The spark that led to the mutiny was the issue of new gunpowder cartridges for Enfield rifle in January 1857. There was a widespread belief that the cartridges contain cow or pig fat. This insulted both the Hindu and Muslim religious practices. Underlying grievances like taxation and land annexations by East India company were ignited by the sepoy mutineers, and within weeks dozens of units of Indian army joined the peasant army in widespread rebellion. The old aristocracy, both Muslim and Hindu, who were seeing their power being steadily eroded by the East India company also rebelled against British rule.

Bakht Khan was a Pashtun related to the family of Rohilla Chief Najib-ud-daula. Bakht Khan arrived in Delhi on 1 July 1857 which improve the leadership position of Bahadur Shah Zafar. Bakht Khan’s superior abilities quickly became evident and the emperor gave him actual authority and title of ‘Saheb-e-Alam- Bahadur.

Mangal Pandey was a sepoy of 34th Bengal Native Infantry.

Soldiers denied to use a cartridge of animal fat in Barrackpore
29 March, 1857 and Mangal Pandey murdered his adjutant.
British dissolved 34th N.I. Regiment and punished the culprits.

Soldiers denied to use a cartridge of animal fat in Barrackpore 29 March, 1857 and Mangal Pandey murdered his adjutant. British dissolved 34th N.I. Regiment and punished the culprits.

The inefficiency of the officers was not a cause for the sepoy Mutiny. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 occurred as a result of an accumulation of factors over time, rather than any single event, like an effort of officers to spread Christianity among the soldiers led to interference in the religious matters of the people. The order of the Company to the sepoys to travel on a ship was another reason as in Hinduism it was believed that travelling on the sea can devoid them of their religious status of being a Hindu. A more immediate cause of the sepoy’s dissatisfaction was the recent order that they would not be given the foreign service allowance (Bhatta/ Batta) when serving in Sindh or Punjab and rumours of the use of animal fat in the cartridges of the New Enfield Rifle.

The Company decided to use new Enfield Rifle instead of old Brown Bess gun in December, 1856. The training for the use of this rifle was organized in Dum Dum, Ambala, and Sialkot. The rifle needed an extraordinary kind of loading of a cartridge in the magazine and hence the soldiers while in the ensuing fight, had to bite off the outer covering of the cartridge while loading it down into the rifle’s muzzle. The cartridge was rumoured to have been greased with animal fat (Pig fat and Cow fat). Army Commanders refused rumours without any cross-checking, but the soldiers were of the view that this was an intentional act of the British to besmirch their religion. This became the immediate cause first Independence Struggle of India in 1857.

The Company decided to use new Enfield Rifle instead of old Brown Bess gun in December, 1856. The training for the use of this rifl e was organized in Dum Dum, Ambala, and Sialkot. The rifl e needed an extraordinary kind of loading of a cartridge in the magazine and hence the soldiers while in the ensuing fight, had to bite off the outer covering of the cartridge while loading it down into the rifle’s muzzle. The
cartridge was rumoured to have been greased with animal fat (Pig fat and Cow fat). Army Commanders refused rumours without any cross-checking, but the soldiers were of the view that this was an intentional act of the British to besmirch their religion. This became the immediate cause first Independence Struggle of India in 1857.