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1857 Indian War of Independence: Causes & Consequences

On April 27, 1857, eighty-five soldiers of a Bengal regiment of British East India Company, posted in Meerut, disobeyed the command of their senior British officer, to use the new cartridges for newly introduced Enfield rifles, allegedly encased in cow and pig grease. Harsh punishment meted out to the disobedient soldiers, and that too in front of their colleagues, resulted in the mutiny of several regiments and ultimately became a general uprising of the Indian people. It was ruthlessly quelled by the British with the help of their superior technology and support of local elites. However, like any cataclysmic event, it gave birth to different social, political and economic trends which are still shaping the course of events in the post-colonial states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries of the Indian Subcontinent. This short book attempts to describe the nature, causes and consequences of this very important milestone in the history of struggle of Indian people for independence. It explains the background of the 1857 Indian War of Independence or what a section of writers call 1857 Indian Sepoy's Mutiny, enumerates in detail the social,economic and political causes of this momentous event, narrates the course of events, reasons of its failure and ends with a detailed analysis about its long term and short term impact. Lastly, it argues that many of the present day trends in India,Pakistan and Bangladesh have their roots in the policies adopted by the British administrators in the aftermath of this uprising.Read more

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