Immediate Causes of the War of Independence 1857–58

Political Causes

The British mistreated the Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. By 1857, the Emperor had little power left, but was an important symbolic figure, especially for the Muslim community in the subcontinent. Lord Dalhousie’s decisions to move the Emperor’s Royal Family from the Red Fort to the more obscure Qutub Sahib was seen as a sign of disrespect.

Social Causes

The British treated the Indians as an inferior race. Indians and British did not generally mix as social equals and the British societies regarded themselves as small oases of culture in a largely uncivilized world. This arrogant attitude, coupled with the introduction of a new way of life with its railways, roads and telegraph, was unacceptable to many Indians.

Economic Causes

The British merchants made substantial profits from their trading in goods, such as textiles. The British also followed a practice of imposing high taxation to ensure that they exploited India’s wealth to the full. Peasants and small landowners, in particular, found it difficult to pay the increasing taxes and resentment grew. It is also true that some tax collectors were corrupt and kept some of the tax money for themselves. At the same time, as they were imposing high taxes on India, the British were also keeping the salary of sepoys low, causing more resentment.

Military Causes

Most of the soldiers in the East India Company’s army were Indians. The sepoys (infantry) and sowars (cavalry) were almost exclusively Indians, but the officer class was almost exclusively British. There were also regular rumors that Muslims, Hindu and Sikh soldiers would be forced to convert to Christianity and that they might be sent to fight abroad, which was unacceptable to the Hindus. The use of Indian troops in Afghanistan had also proved unpopular as Hindu soldiers did not want to leave ‘Mother India’.

Greased Cartridge Incident

In January 1857, the British announced that they were introducing a new rifle with a paper cartridge covered in grease to keep the powder dry. Before the cartridge could be loaded, the end had to be bitten off. However, it was rumored that the grease on the cartridge was made from the fat of both cows and pigs. Cow is a sacred animal in Hinduism, while pig is prohibited in Islam; thus, it was not acceptable to both the communities to use these cartridges. The sepoys were so angered by that that they refused to use the new cartridges.