The British occasionally showed disrespect to the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah. The Muslims had yet another grievance against the British. Many of them distrusted the British rule and many others could not tolerate the disrespect of their rulers and the members of their families at the hands of the foreigners. The people of the states which were annexed to the British territory were also resentful. Therefore, it can be assumed that the native rulers, in turn, might have desired to uproot the British rule in India. Their distrust against the British was confirmed by the imperialistic policy of Lord Dalhousie. They feared that, sooner OF later, their kingdoms would be snatched away from them by the British. The expansionist policy of the British created distrust among the rulers of the then existing Indian States. Because of all these reasons Kings, Princes, their courtiers and disbanded soldiers and tenants were enraged with the British. The policy of Doctrine of Lapse was applied not only to Princes but also big Zamindars. The subsidiary alliance and the Doctrine of Lapse of Dalhousie angered Indian Princes. The Company interfered in the internal matters of Indian States and followed the policy of divide and rule. The imperialist policy of the East India Company was an important factor. Let’s us discuss about the causes and nature of the 1857 revolt. The British historians called it “Sepoy Mutiny”, whereas the nationalists termed it as the “First war of Indian Independence”. It was the end result of the already simmering discontent of Indians against the policies of East India Company. This was the first joint revolt against the British. This event is known by different names such as, “the Sepoy Mutiny”, “The Indian rebellion” and the “First war of Indian Independence”. Overall, the sepoy muting played a major role in British ruled India.The revolt of 1857 has a extraordinary place in the history of India. After the rebellion tensions settled down and eventually India became independent from the Imperialistic rule of Britain in 1947. The rebellion brought not only the death of soldiers, but of women and children also. This shows that the rebels were valiant and even though they lost the war they fought hard. In the words of Lord Krishna, we will, if we are victorious, enjoy the fruits of victory if defeated and killed on the field of battle, we shall surely earn eternal glory and salvation."(Hibbert 383). The revolt only lasted for one year but the rebels fought hard and were determined,"We fight for independence. This shows that tension had been growing between the British and the Indians but the cartridges were the final push to make them truly revolt against the empire. But the cartridges were only the catalyst for a revolt that was based on long standing grievances." (Indian Voices). The sepoys were required to bite open the cartridges, and would come into direct contact with the cow and pig grease, which was insulting to Hindus and Muslims respectively. Many native infantrymen (sepoys) believed that these new cartridges introduced in early 1857 had been greased by cow and pig fat. The sepoy mutiny was started for a number of reasons," The traditional explanation of the offensive rifle cartridges causing the initial outbreak of mutiny is only part of the story. The Sepoy Mutiny, or The 1857 Indian Rebellion was the largest rebellion against British Imperialism ever.
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