Sepoy Mutiny

The Sepoy Mutiny began on 10 May 1857 at Meerut, when Indian soldiers (sepoys) in the Bengal Army of the British East India Company refused orders, killed several British officers, and marched on Delhi. There they proclaimed the elderly Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as the symbolic head of the revolt. The uprising spread across much of north and central India, including major centres at Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Jhansi, and Gwalior, before being suppressed by British and loyal Indian forces by mid-1858.

The immediate trigger was the introduction of the new Enfield rifle, whose paper cartridges were rumoured to be greased with cow and pig fat — offensive to both Hindu and Muslim sepoys, who had to bite them open. Deeper causes included:

• Annexations under the Doctrine of Lapse (e.g., Jhansi, Satara, Nagpur) and the annexation of Awadh in 1856.
• Economic disruption of artisans and landholders by Company revenue policies.
• Religious anxieties about Christian missionary activity and social reforms such as the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856.
• Grievances within the Bengal Army over pay, promotion, and overseas service (the General Service Enlistment Act of 1856).

Notable figures included Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, and Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh. British reprisals were severe, including mass executions at Kanpur and Delhi.

The consequences were structural. The Government of India Act 1858 abolished the East India Company and transferred rule to the British Crown, inaugurating the British Raj. Queen Victoria's Proclamation of November 1858 promised non-interference in religion and recognition of princely treaties. The Bengal Army was reorganised with a higher ratio of British troops, and the Doctrine of Lapse was abandoned.

In Indian historiography the events are often called the Revolt of 1857 or the First War of Indian Independence, a framing popularised by V.D. Savarkar in 1909. British sources traditionally used "Indian Mutiny" or "Sepoy Mutiny."