MILITARY CAUSES

The East India company was formed with the help of Indian soldiers. Instead of giving them due credit, the Indian soldiers were made victims of ridiule. Disregarding the fact that the Indian soldiers were efficient, the British officials paid them poorly and they lived in total squalor. Indian soldiers who had formerly held high offices in the times of the native princes found themselves in low ranks. All the higher ranks were reserved for white men irrespective of their capacity to perform. The future of the soldier were doomed and bleak. There was no hope of receiving any allowance also. The Bengal army lacked discipline. The sepoys were unhappy as they were for the most of the times sent overseas to fight, which was not desirable at all. There was no retirement age. The Bengal army had Hindustani sepoys of the higher caste who disliked menial jobs and dreaded overseas fighting as it meant loss of caste. The bitter feeling and anger reached its highest point with the emergence of the Enfield Rifles. The cartridges of these rifles were greased with cow and pig fats. The sepoys had to remove the cartridge with their teeth before loading them into the rifles. Both the Hindus and Muslims were discontented as it was sacriligious for both of them. Hindus consider cow sacred and Muslims consider pigs. Thus, both refused to use this cartridge and they was disharmony everywhere.