Question

Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow:

“The sepoys are now enjoined to display communal harmony and exhorted to pray to their respective gods.... They are now called sipah-i-Hindostan (the Armу of India), and there are appeals now to fellow countrymen “ahl-i watan”, dear compatriots “aziz ham-watan” with specific exhortations for a united rallying of Hindus and Muslims.” − The Dehli Urdu Akhbar (the first Urdu weekly newspaper), June 1857

1. What was the policy that the British followed to dispel ‘the communal harmony’? Briefly explain how the British unwittingly led to the ‘united rallying of Hindus and Muslims’ by introducing the Enfield Rifle.
2. How was the British army reorganised to avoid another uprising of this kind?
3. How did the end of the East India Company’s rule bring in grave economic perils in India?

Answer 1

1. The British pursued a “divide and rule” policy, encouraging and exploiting religious and social differences between Hindus and Muslims, so they would not unite against British rule. The new Enfield rifle (adopted 1856) required soldiers to bite open greased cartridges. Rumours spread that the grease used was cow fat and/or pig fat, offensive to Hindus (cow sacred) and Muslims (pig unclean). Refusal to use the cartridges and the attempt to force them to do so united sepoys of both communities in protest, becoming the immediate spark of the 1857 uprising.
2. After 1857, the army was restructured to reduce the risk of a united rebellion: the proportion of British troops was increased; more senior posts were kept for British officers; Indian regiments were mixed/segregated by caste/region and often stationed far from their home districts; recruitment policies favoured so‑called “martial races”; and greater reliance was placed on British-controlled units and technology.
3. With the transfer of power to the British Crown, India’s economic exploitation became deeply systematic. The entire financial burden of suppressing the 1857 revolt, amounting to roughly 40 million, was imposed on India as a public debt. India was reduced to an agrarian colony that served merely as a source of cheap raw materials for British industries and a market for their manufactured goods, wiping out local artisans. Additionally, Indian taxpayers had to fund London-based administrative expenses (Home Charges) and guaranteed profits for British railway investors, causing a massive, continuous Drain of Wealth.