First War of Indian Independence
The Indian rebellions of 1857 (also known as the Sepoy Mutiny) as known to the British or The First War Of Indian Independence as known to the Indians was a period of uprising in northern and central India against British rule in 1857-1858. It is also known as the Sepoy Rebellion, the Great Mutiny, and the Revolt of 1857. It is widely acknowledged to be the first-ever united rebellion against colonial rule in India. Mangal Pandey, a Sepoy in the colonial British army, was the spearhead of this revolt. Other main leaders were Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and Tantia Tope
Causes of the Revolt
The establishment of the British rule in India had Political, Social and Military consequences. The Indians had no say in the Government of their own country.They were exploited by the British East India Company, which ignored the miserable conditions of the Indian peasants, while exploiting the rich natural resources of the country to pursue other imperialistic ventures. Although the Indians formed a great part of the British Army,they were given lower positions and payscales than their British counterparts. In the year 1857, the British Army inducted a new type of rifle, the Enfield, whose cartridge was said to be greased in cow and pig fat. Hindus consider the Cow a sacred animal and rerain from eating beef, while Muslims Consider it an offense to consume pork. The entire Indian faction of the British Army rose in rebellion against the British. Soon, the flames spread and it turned into a full- fledged rebellion.
Failure of the Revolt
The Revolt of 1857 proved to be a failure, as it was confined only to the Northern Part of the country, and was not well synchronised. However, it did shake up the British, who then brought India directly under the Queen's rule, and introduced several reforms.
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
