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in Rebels and the Raj: The Revolt of 1857 and its Representations by (48.9k points)
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Rumours and predictions played a big role in the 1857 Revolt. Explain with examples. Why did people believe in the rumours?

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Rumours and predictions did play a big role in the 1857 Revolt. They worked as a propelling force for the rebels to be more active. The immediate cause of the Revolt was the rumour about the new cartridges for the Enfield rifles. A rumour spread that these cartridges were smeared with cow and pig fat. This news spread among the North Indian sepoys like wild fire. The sepoys of Meerut went to Delhi. They told the Emperor Bahadur Shah about this. The covers of the new cartridges were to be opened by using teeth. The use of cow and pig fat would thus pollute both the Hindus and Muslims. They felt their religions were in danger. Although the British tried to show that this was just a rumour, people refused to believe them.

The origin of this rumour was later found out. Captain Wright, who was the Commander of the Rifle Instruction Depot, had reported an Incident. In the 3rd week of January 1857, a khalasi from a lower caste asked a Brahmin sepoy to give him some water from his container of water. The sepoy refused to give him his container saying that touch by a lower caste would pollute the water. The angered Khalasi then told him that soon he would have to use cartridges smeared with cow and pig fat and then he would lose his caste. We don’t know the truth of this story. But this rumour spread fast, creating great unrest among the sepoys of both religions. The British failed to explain things in time.

Another rumour quickly followed. It said that the British government was deliberately panning to destroy the Hindu and Muslim faiths. The rumour mongers also said that the bones of both cows and pigs were ground and mixed with the our sold in the market. People then refused even to touch this our. There was also a feeling that the British were trying to convert Hindus and Muslims into Christianity. This increased the fear and anxiety of the followers of these religions. Although the British official tried to remove their fear, they did not believe them. All these rumours played havoc.

The British also took steps to take over the small kingdoms or principalities in the land. They annexed Awadh on the pretext of maladministration. They took Jhansi and Satara using laws of succession and heredity. In all the regions taken by them, the British enforced their own administration, laws, tax systems and means of tax collection. All these things made the people of North India worried. They felt that their religious, social and economic ideas were being destroyed by the British. The activities of the Christian missionaries made their doubts stronger. In such uncertain circumstances, rumours spread like wild fire.

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