The first war of Independence.

By 1857, the British were the masters of almost the whole of India. 1857 is an important year in the history of our country. For the first time, an attempt was made by Indians to themselves from British. That is why it is called the First War of Independence. it is also called the ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ because Mangle Pandey, a young Sepoy ( from the Indian word siphi or ‘foot solder’) posted in the company’s army at Meerut, fired the first shot of this revolt. the reason for this revolt was a curious incident. 

A new rifle , the ‘Enfeild’, had recently been introduced. A rumour spread that these cartridges were greased with fats obtained from carcasses  of cows pigs. even worse – for the pious Brahmins and the equally devout Muslims in the

ranks –was the new that the paper covering cartridges had to be bitten off before the cartridges could be interested in the breech of the new rifle. The Hindus regard cows as holy and Muslims regard pigs as unclean. The rumors hurt the sentiments of the soldiers and the revolt started among the Indian soldiers at Meerut on 10^th May 1857. From Meerut the moved to Delhi. At Delhi, the people got together and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor as their leader. Other prominent leader were nana sahib, tantai tope,Rani laxmibai, kunwar singh, liaquat ali and begum Hazrat  Mahal of Awadh.

Despite the brave efforts of the indian people, they were no match for the british who had superior weapons and trained soldiers. Moreover, the Indians were disorganized, and hence they lost.

By
Rushalli