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'?

(b) Briefly explain how the British unwittingly led to the united rallying of Hindus and Muslims by introducing the Enfield Rifle.

(c) How was the British army reorganised to avoid another uprising of this kind?

(a) The policy that the British followed to dispel 'the communal harmony' was 'Divide and Rule'. The British started turning caste against caste and Hindus against Muslims.

(b) The loading process of the Enfield Rifle involved bringing the cartridge to the mouth and biting off the top greased paper with the teeth. There was a rumour that the greased cartridge had the fat of cow or pig. The cow is sacred to the Hindus while the pig is a taboo to the Muslims so both Hindu and Muslim soldiers refused to use these cartridges thinking it was a deliberate move to defile their religion. When the British forced them, they unitedly staged an uprising.

(c) The Indian army was reorganised to prevent the reoccurrence of another uprising, in the following manner:

1. The strength of European troops in India was increased. The ratio of European to Indian troops was fixed at 1:2 (Bengal army) and 2:5 (Madras and Bombay armies). Practically the same ratio was maintained till the First World War. The general principle adopted was that the number of Indian sepoys should not exceed twice that of the European troops.
2. European troops were kept in key geographical and military positions.
3. To desist the Indian soldiers from rising again against the British rule, the sophisticated weapons and ammunition were never placed under the charge of Indians. All Indian artillery units, with the exceptions of a few mountain units, were disbanded.
4. Discrimination on the basis of caste, region and religion was practised in the recruitment to the army.
5. In order to discourage nationalism, measures such as introduction of caste and community in most regiments were taken.
6. Newspapers, journals and nationalist publications were prevented from reaching the soldiers to keep the Indian army separated from the life of the rest of the population.