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Indian Freedom Struggle (1707–1947 A.D.)

Notes officers in the army, most of whom were employed in administrative posts in the newly annexed
states and the frontier. The distribution of the troops was also faulty, Moreover, disasters in the
Crimean war had lowered the general moral of the British soldiers. All these factors made the
Indian soldiers feel that if they had struck at that hour, they had reasonable chances of success. So
they were waiting only for an occasion which was provided by the ‘greased cartridge’ incident.
The greased cartridges did not create a new causes of discontent in the army, but supplied the
occasion when the underground discontent came out in the open. In 1856 the Government decided
to replace the old-fashioned musket, ‘Brown Bess’ by the ‘Enfield rifle’. The training for the use of
the new weapon was to be imparted at Dum Dum, Ambala and Sialkot. The loading process of the
Enfield rifle involved bringing the cartridge to the mouth and biting off the top paper with mouth.
In January 1857 a story got currency in the Bengal regiments that the greased cartridge contained
the fat of pig and cow. At once a denial was issued by the military authorities without investigating
into the matter. Subsequently enquiries proved that “the fat of cows or oxen really had been used
at Woolwich arsenal” (V. A Smith). Assurances of superior officers and slight concessions proved
of no avail. The sepoys become convinced that the introduction of greased cartridges was a deliberate
move to defile their religion. It was argued that the East India Company was playing the part of
Aurangzeb and it was but natural that sepoys should play the part of Shivaji.
7.2 The Beginning of Spread and Suppression on the Revolt

The refusal of the sepoys to use the greased cartridges was regarded by the authorities as an act
of insubordination and punished accordingly. On 29 March 1857 the sepoys at Barrackpore refused
to use the greased cartridge and one Brahmin sepoy, Mangal Pandey, attacked and fired at the
Adjutant. The 34 N. I. regiment was disbanded and sepoys guilty of rebellion punished. At Meerut,
in May 1857, 85 sepoys of the 3rd Cavalry regiment on their refusal to use the greased cartridge
were court-martialled and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. On 10th May the sepoys
broke out in open rebellion, shot their officers, released their fellow sepoys and headed towards
Delhi. General Hewitt, the Officer Commanding at Meerut, had 2,200 European soldiers at his
disposal but did nothing to stem the rising tide.
Delhi was seized by the rebels on 12th May 1857. Lieutenant Willoughby, the officer-in-charge of
the magazine at Delhi, offered some resistance, but was overcome. The palace and the city were
occupied. Some European inhabitants of Delhi were shot dead. Bahadur Shah II was proclaimed
the Emperor of India. The loss of Delhi was a serious loss of prestige to the English.
Very soon the rebellion spread throughout Northern and Central India at Lucknow, Allahabad,
Kanpur, Bareilly, Banaras in parts of Bihar, Jhansi and other places. Fortunately for the English,
the Indians rulers remained loyal and rendered valuable services in the suppression of the rebellion.
India south of the Narbada remained practically undisturbed.

Descriptive note on the Spread of Mutiny and Civil Rebellion during 1857-58.
2 February 1857 — Mutiny of the 19th Native Infantry at Berhampur.
10 May 1857 — Mutiny of Sepoys at Meerut.
11–30May 1857 — Outbreaks in Delhi, Ferozepur, Bombay, Aligarh, Etawah,
Bulandshahr, Nasirabad Bareilly, Moradabad,
Shahjehanpur and other stations in U.P.
The Mughal Emperor proclaimed as the Emperor of India.
June1857 — Mutinies at Gwalior, Bharatpur, Jhansi Allahabad,
Faizabad, Sultanpur, Lucknow etc.,
The civil rebellion spreads through the Indo-Gangetic
plain, Rajputana, Central India and some parts of Bengal.

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