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The British Raj was introduced into India due to the large uproar caused the Sepoy Rebellion, but the rebellion itself was caused by the ongoing oppression the Indian people had faced from British East India Company for the past 100 years. The British Raj was the British rule in India that spanned from 1858-1947. Prior to 1858, the British East India Company represented the British control in India, and they were chartered by the British so they could control India’s trade and have their own private army. The British East India Company gained control over India in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey. The company took India so easily because of their strong army and the lack of strong leadership from the Mughal rulers in India at that time. The British East India Company’s army was mainly composed of 25% British soldiers and 75% sepoy soldiers. A sepoy was an Indian soldier serving under British command. The Sepoy Rebellion occurred in May of 1857 because of a small change made by the British East India Company to a new weapon called Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle. This new rifle utilized greased paper cartridges that were lubricated in animal fat primarily composed of pork and beef. To operate the rifle a soldier had to bite the cartridge and get the animal fat in one’s mouth. The sepoy soldiers refused to do this because they were all Hindu or Muslim, and this was against the rules of their religions. This was only the spark for the Indian Revolt of 1857 or Sepoy Rebellion which was led by the sepoys and later joined by Indian residents of all castes. The people of India had multiple other reasons to be outraged with the British East India Company, including the company’s forbidding of certain religious acts such as the ancient custom of widow-burning called Sati. The British officers of the company also were attempting to preach Christianity to the Hindu and Muslim sepoys, and the Indians believed that their religions were under assault from the British. The company had also began to undermine the caste system, a long existing Indian system of separating class based on occupation. Regardless of one’s caste, the British believed they were superior to all of the Indians because of their Social Darwinist ideas. The British officers would be cruel and unjust to the Indians by paying them less for the same work. The Indian revolt of 1857 resulted in the deaths of millions, as well as, the disbandment of the British East India Company’s control over India. The British government then appointed a viceroy to control India instead of the British East India Company. This rebellion was the key cause for the introduction of the British Raj into India, but the rebellion itself was a product of the British East India Company’s unjust rule over the people of India.
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Bibliography:
Top Right Picture:
"Coat of arms of the East India Company" by TRAJAN 117 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_East_India_Company.svg#/media/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_East_India_Company.svg
Information:
"Causes and Effects of British Rule in India." Section Note Taking Transparency.
Pearson Education. N. pag. PDF file
Szczepanski, Kallie. "What Was the Indian Revolt of 1857?" About Education.
About.com, 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.
"British Rule in India." World History. N.p.: Glencoe, 2007. 704. Print.
Top Right Picture:
"Coat of arms of the East India Company" by TRAJAN 117 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_East_India_Company.svg#/media/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_East_India_Company.svg
Information:
"Causes and Effects of British Rule in India." Section Note Taking Transparency.
Pearson Education. N. pag. PDF file
Szczepanski, Kallie. "What Was the Indian Revolt of 1857?" About Education.
About.com, 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.
"British Rule in India." World History. N.p.: Glencoe, 2007. 704. Print.