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Summary Reasons for Indian mutiny
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Causes of Indian mutiny - social/cultural friction, economic grievances, Enfield Rifle trigger
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Explain the most important cause of the 1857 Indian Mutiny.(12 marks - 25 minutes)
In 1857 a large part of the Indian army rebelled against the British authorities; the ensuing bloodshed
sent shockwaves throughout colonial Britain. There were number of longer-term causes such as
grievances over how India was being ruled by the East India Company, economic disagreements, and the
fact the British were taking over land that belonged to Indians. But the short-term trigger was the
rebellion of Indian soldiers against their British officers over religious disagreements.
A highly important cause of the Indian Mutiny was the Enfield Rifle incident. The uprising was sparked
by the issue of new gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle in February 1857. Loading the Enfield often
required tearing open the greased cartridge with one's teeth, and many soldiers believed that the
cartridges were greased with cow and pig fat. This would have insulted both Hindu and Muslim religious
practices; cows were considered holy by Hindus, while pigs were considered unclean and forbidden by
Muslims. This was significant because it contributed to religious insecurity in the military of the British
East India Trading Company that was already unstable with British missionaries in India attempting to
convert Hindu and Muslim people. The soldiers had many grievances regarding the practices and
regulations within the military for which they served, however, many of these grievances went
unacknowledged. However, this incident was not only insulting but degrading to their religious beliefs- it
acted as a catalyst event for the mutiny to occur and therefore was a major causal factor.
An underlying cause for the Mutiny was the economic strain on the Indian people. Underlying
grievances over British taxation and recent land annexations by the British East Indian Company (BEIC)
also contributed to the anger of the soldier mutineers, and within weeks, dozens of units of the Indian
army joined peasant armies in widespread rebellion. The old aristocracy, both Muslim and Hindu, who
were seeing their power steadily eroded by the BEIC, also rebelled against British rule. Many Indians felt
that the company was asking for heavy and rigorous tax from the locals. This included an increase in the
taxation on land. This seems to have been a very important reason for the spread of the rebellion,
keeping in view the speed at which many villages in northern India joined the mutiny, where farmers
rushed to get back their unfairly grabbed title deeds. The BEIC’s relentless aim at seizing political power
and increasing revenue caused many Indian people to face chronic, economic hardships. Thus, an
overwhelming cause for the Indian mutiny was down to economic retaliation and was largely the most
significant reason for discontent.
Another somewhat important cause for the Indian mutiny was due to the culture clash. The British
interpreted the distinct Indian culture of independent beliefs and cultural practices as disorganised, and
uncivilised. It was because of this interpretation that the British felt a sense of superiority in their own
culture, and even a sense of duty to assimilate the people of India into their own culture. With the BEIC
growing its territory and the imperialist control over India, its power was extended to that of being the
governing body in India. In addition, the implementation of Christian missionaries threatened the
religious and cultural practices of India and reaffirmed the fears that the BEIC, in expanding its territory,
was actively trying to conquer all of India. However, this was not the most important factor- in the mid
19th century India was not a united country, but rather groups and tribes of people with differing cultures,
practices, religions and ideals. Therefore, the cultural difference was not a necessary cause for the
outbreak but rather a contributing cause.
Overall, the most important factor was the economic distress that the BEIC imposed on the Indian
people, causing long-term resentment against the British authorities. The harsh taxations and land
seizures caused the Indian people to long for an alternative rule- thus creating an uprising. The Enfield
rifle incident was the trigger that sparked the discontent and was the reason why the outbreak occurred
when it did; the military practice differences in combination with the religious offences definitely caused
significant upset. The social differences caused unrest among the Indian people but was not a strong
enough reason for rebellion- it merely contributed to the other grievances.
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