COLONIALISM AND IMPERIALISM
IMPERIALISM IN ASIA
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
Most Sepoys were Muslim or Hindu and their religions had specific rules about cows and pigs
|
|
|
The grease stained their uniforms, which were expensive to replace
|
|
|
The Sepoys were pacifists and did not believe in war
|
|
|
The Sepoys invented the new weapons and were not paid for their use
|
Detailed explanation-1: -The new cartridges were suspected of being coated with the fat of cows and pigs. Both Hindus and Muslim sepoys were offended by the introduction of these cartridges. Their religious sentiments were affected, and this was the reason they refused to use the cartridges.
Detailed explanation-2: -To ease its passage down the gun barrel, each cartridge was heavily greased with beef or pork fat. This horrified the Hindu and Muslim sepoys. They would have to bite into beef or pork fat to use the new cartridges. This act, they believed, would violate their religions.
Detailed explanation-3: -There was a rumour that the grease in the rifle cartridges was the fat of cows and pigs. The Hindus worshipped the cows, and the Muslims detested pigs. This raised a furore among the Indian Sepoys, and they refused to use the newly introduced rifles.
Detailed explanation-4: -Many sepoys believed that the victory was the destruction of cartridges that were standard issue with the new rifle were greased with lard (pork fat) which was regarded as unclean by Muslims and tallow (cow fat) which angered the Hindus as cows were equal to a goddess to them.
Detailed explanation-5: -Matters came to a head following the introduction of the Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle. Rumours spread that the cartridges for the new rifle were greased with pig and cow fat. This made them offensive to both Muslims and Hindus, and added weight to existing concerns about forced conversion to Christianity.