History & Civics
How did the introduction of Greased Cartridges become an immediate cause of the War of Independence in 1857.
Answer
The cartridges to be used for the Enfield rifles were greased with the fat of cows and pigs. The loading process of the Enfield rifle involved bringing the cartridge to the mouth and biting off the top greased paper with the teeth. The cow is sacred for the Hindus and the Muslims consider pigs as unclean. The information about the greased cartridges spread like wild fire. The whole Bengal army was seized with panic. The soldiers refused to use these cartridges and staged an uprising when they were forced to use them.
Related Questions
Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow:
"The sepoys are now enjoined to display communal harmony and exhorted to pray to their respective gods…. They are now called sipah-i-Hindostan (the Army of India) and there are appeals now to fellow countrymen "ahl-i watan", dear compatriots "aziz ham-watan" with specific exhortations for a united rallying of Hindus and Muslims."
— The Dehli Urdu Akhbar (the first Urdu weekly newspaper), June 1857(a) What was the policy that the British followed to dispel 'the communal harmony'? Briefly explain how the British unwittingly led to the 'united rallying of Hindus and Muslims' by introducing the Enfield Rifle'
(b) How was the British army reorganised to avoid another uprising of this kind?
(c) How did the end of the East India Company's rule bring in grave economic perils in India?
(I) The British introduced modern innovations like railways and telegraph in India in the mid-19th century.
(II) The British introduced these innovations to modernise India.
- (II) contradicts (I)
- (II) is the reason for (I)
- (I) is true but (II) is false
- (I) and (II) are independent of each other
India gained independence from the British rule 90 years after the First War of Independence. Why, do you think, it took so long for us to become an independent nation?
Which of the following events of the Uprising of 1857 and their leaders is not correctly matched?
- Lucknow-Begum Hazrat Mahal
- Kanpur—Nana Saheb
- Meerut-Tantia Tope
- Bareilly-Khan Bahadur