Sepoy Mutiny: An Indian Rebellion

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The purpose of this paper is to understand the cause and effects of Sepoy Mutiny -, an Indian rebellion in 1857-, and understand the processes of rebellion and how it is had affected the fight for Indian independence. It will also compare the mutiny to other rebellions and revolutions of different time periods and regions and how it relates to them their similarities. The Sepoy Mutiny is an example of a class rebellion which shaped Indian society, economy, government, and culture. It will discuss cultural involvement and economic loss caused by Britain to India. The mutiny led to class differences and mostly benefited the upper-class citizens. This also marked the growth of middle class in India and a the birth of nationalism among the mutineers. The religious conflicts among the three major religions of India, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, contributed to the causes of Sepoy Mutiny. Although some changes were beneficial and moral, Indians did not like any sort of inconsistency which can still be reflected in present-day India.

During the reign of East India Company in
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Rudyard Kipling’s The White Man’s Burden describes how Europeans believed that humanizing and taming a society was only possible through the preaching of Christianity. As Great Britain began to colonize India, they sent in missionary officers in order to convert as many people as possible (Crowhurst). Previously, most of the Indian population comprised of Hindus and Muslims from the Mughal era. With the arrival of Christians, the social pyramid under British rule constituted of Christians on top, leaving Hindus and Muslims at the bottom, which angered the natives. This was abnormal for the general population as it was unacceptable for them to be controlled by a foreign group, indirectly pressurized to convert to a pagan religion (for the natives) and subjected to destroy their integral part of Indian

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