Study the picture and answer the following questions:

(a) Who are the persons in the picture? How were they treated by their British counterparts?

(b) State any three grievances they had against the British.

(c) What changes were brought in their status after the Uprising of 1857?

(a) The people in the picture are Indian Sepoys in the British army. The Indian Sepoys were ill-treated by their British counterparts even though they were equally efficient. They were poorly paid, ill-fed and badly housed. British military authorities forbade the sepoys from wearing caste and sectarian marks, beards or turbans and they showed disregard for the sentiments of the sepoys.

(b) Three grievances the Indian soldiers had against the British were —

1. Bleak prospects of promotion — All higher positions in employment were reserved for the British, irrespective of their performance. Indian Sepoys could not rise above the rank of a Subedar.
2. Lower Salaries — The wages of the Indian Sepoys were inadequate to support their families. On the other hand, the British soldiers received more than eight times the salary of the Indian soldiers.
3. Deprivation of Allowances — The Indian Sepoys were required to serve in areas away from their homes without extra payment and additional Bhatta. The Post Office Act of 1854 withdrew the privilege of free postage enjoyed by the sepoys.

(c) The Indian army was reorganised after 1858, to prevent the reoccurrence of another uprising and the status of Indian Sepoys was affected in the following ways:

1. The strength of the 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). The general principle was that the number of Indian sepoys should not exceed twice that of the European troops.
2. The sophisticated weapons and ammunition were never placed under the charge of the Indians. All Indian artillery units, with the exceptions of a few mountain units, were disbanded.
3. Discrimination on the basis of caste and religion was practised in the recruitment of the army.
4. Newspapers, journals and nationalist publications were prevented from reaching the soldiers.
5. In order to discourage nationalism, measures such as introduction of caste and community in most regiments were taken.