![]() Under the "Doctrine of Lapse" policy of Lord Dalhousie (Governor-General 1846-1856) many kingdoms like Jhansi, Awadh or Oudh, Satara, Nagpur and Sambalpur were annexed turning the heirs of these kingdoms into 'pensioners' overnight. ![]() Soon, the flames spread and it turned into a full-fledged rebellion. The entire Indian faction of the British Army rose in rebellion against the British. Hindus consider the cow a sacred animal and refrain from eating beef, while Muslims consider it an offense to consume pork. 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. The latter appears to have been what motivated both Hindu and Muslim Sepoys (that is, Indian soldiers of the Company) to revolt. There was also a rumor that Britain intended to flood India with Christian missionaries, and that pork and beef grease was being used to oil the new Enfield rifle that had been issued to the Indian troops. One cause of the revolt was the Company's policy of annexing Princely states with which they enjoyed a treaty relationship when they decided that the ruler was corrupt, or because they did not recognize the heir to the throne (such as an adopted son, who could succeed under Hindu law but not British law). De facto, however, within the Province of Bengal, they operated as the Government and indeed the senior British official was entitled "Governor-General." Through a series of treaties with surrounding Indian princes and rulers, the Company extended its power throughout huge tracts of Indian territory. The legal status of the East India Company was as agent of the Mughul Emperor with taxation powers and trading privileges. Prior to the revolt, it is strictly speaking inaccurate to speak of British rule in India. In British memory, novels and films romanticize the event extolling the bravery of their soldiers, while in Indian memory rebels such as Rani Lakshmi Bai and Nana Sahib enjoy the status of a Joan of Arc or of a William Wallace, fighting injustice. India's eventual partition into India and Pakistan, based on the "two nation" theory that her Hindus and Muslims represented two distinct nations whose people could not live together in peace, may be seen as another long-term result of the uprising. However, Muslims especially would find themselves less favored following this incident, with a few exceptions. The rebellion was widely perceived to have been a mainly Muslim uprising, although prominent Hindus also participated. Afterwards, fewer officials saw value in anything Indian and many developed a sense of racial superiority, depicting India as a chaotic and dangerous place where the different communities, especially Muslim and Hindu, were only kept from butchering one another by Britain's exercise of power. ![]() These officials had a sympathetic knowledge of Indian languages and culture. Prior to the revolt, some British officials in India saw Indians as equals and dreamed of a long-term partnership between Britain and India to the benefit of both. The British East India Company, which had represented the British Government in India and which acted as agent of the Mughals, was closed down and replaced by direct control from London through a Governor-General. The Mughal Emperor was banished and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom was declared sovereign. The result of the uprising was a feeling among the British that they had conquered India and were entitled to rule. The British cruelly put down the uprising, slaughtering civilians indiscriminately. Other main leaders were Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and Tantia Tope. The uprising grew into a wider rebellion to which the Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah, the nominal ruler of India, lent his nominal support. Mangal Pandey, a Sepoy in the colonial British army, was the spearhead of this revolt, which started when Indian soldiers rebelled against their British officers over violation of their religious sensibilities. It is widely acknowledged to be the first-ever united rebellion against colonial rule in India. The British usually refer to the rebellion of 1857 as the Indian Mutiny or the Sepoy Mutiny. The First War of Indian Independence was a period of rebellions in northern and central India against British power in 1857–1858. An engraving entitled Sepoy Indian Troops Dividing the Spoils after Their Mutiny against British Rule gives a contemporary view of events from a strictly British perspective.
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