Turning Point: The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857
The Indian Mutiny, or Sepoy Mutiny, was an unsuccessful rebellion of Indian soldiers against British rule in 1857. It began in Merrut by sepoys working under the East India Company, then subsequently spread to Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, and Lucknow. Grievances amongst sepoys within the Bengal Army over pay, the lack of promotion opportunities and, for sepoys from Awadh, Britain’s annexation of their province, had developed into serious disaffection. The rumour that cartridges used by the army were being greased with pig and cow fat, offensive to both Hindus and Muslims, sparked a refusal by sepoys in Meerut to use them. As punishment, the sepoys were humiliated and some expelled from the service. This provoked an uprising amongst the sepoys, who killed the British residents of Meerut and marched on Delhi to seek support from Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor. This event stimulated uprisings throughout much of Northern India by disaffected groups of Indians, each with their own personal grievances against the British in India. These uprisings would culminate in a period of intense violence and bloodshed. The uprisings would finally be brutally crushed by the British, the last Mughal Emperor deposed, and a new system of direct governance by the British crown ushered in, known as the British Raj.
The front page of the London News after the rebellion began. It illustrates the looting of the Red Fort in Delhi, residence of the Mughal Emperor for centuries. Most of the jewels, artwork, and furniture were stolen during the Rebellion of 1857 and sold to private collectors or the British Museum.
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The Indian Mutiny is a turning point in the history of the British Raj. After this rebellion, the British government assumed direct control over Indian affairs through the Government of India Act of 1858. This began a new era of the British Raj, one with education, industry, transportation, and cultural reform.
British Officer's account of the mutiny"The signs of incipient mutiny in the native army had been confined, up to this time, to the Presidency of Bengal and to the regiments quartered there. With us at Ferozepore there was little, if any, indication of the coming outbreak. True it was that some of us noticed sullen looks and strange demeanour among the sepoys of the two battalions. They, on occasions, passed our officers without the customary salute, and, if my memory serves, a complaint of this want of respect was forwarded to their Colonels. Our billiard-marker, too, a high-caste Brahmin who had served on our side in the Afghan campaigns of 1839-42 in the capacity of a spy, a man of cunning and intelligence, warned us in unmistakable terms of the increasing disaffection among the sepoys of Ferozepore, and stated his opinion that the spirit of mutiny was rife among them. We laughed at his fears, and dismissed from our minds all alarm, vaunting our superiority in arms to the dusky soldiery of Hindostan, and in our hearts foolishly regarding them with lordly contempt."
–Charles John Griffiths, A Narrative Of The Siege Of Delhi With An Account Of The Mutiny At Ferozepore In 1857 |