Portal:India/Today's selected article/March 22, 2006



Indian rebellion of 1857 brought about the end of the British East India Company's regime in India, and led to almost a century of direct rule British Raj. Sepoys were native Indian soldiers serving in the Bengal army trained in company's own military school in England. Hindu tradition states that those who 'travel the black waters' will lose their caste and be outside the Hindu community. Sepoys were thus very displeased with their deployment to Burma in 1856. Their pay was relatively low and after the British troops conquered Awadh and the Punjab, the soldiers no longer received extra pay for service there. However, they were not subject to the penalty of flogging as were the British soldiers. There was a rumour that a rifle's cartridge was covered by a greased membrane of cow or pig fat which was supposed to be cut by the teeth before cartridges were loaded into the rifles. This was offensive to Hindu and Muslim soldiers. On March 29, 1857, Mangal Pandey of the 34th BNI attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground, and wounded an adjutant with a sword after shooting at him. He was hanged April 8. The whole regiment was dismissed as a collective punishment, because it was felt that they would harbour vengeful feelings towards their superiors after this incident. (more...)