Political Causes:

Wars and Conquests

o The takeover of the East India Company resulted in great resentment and
disaffection among the displaced royal dynasties and their heirs.
o Foreign rule disillusioned and disgruntled many dependents on the royal
family, who lost their means of subsistence and other common people.
o Punjab was annexed by Lord Dalhousie, further humiliating the ruling dynasty.

Doctrine of Lapse
o The practical execution of Lord Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse resulted in
extraordinary unrest in the states.
o As a result, several emperors were forbidden from adopting any son after they
died for religious rites. This was seen as a clear British intrusion into the
people's religious activities.
o Dalhousie seized the principalities of Satara, Jaipur, Sambalpur, Bhagat,
Udaipur, Jhansi, and Nagpur using the Doctrine of Lapse.
o The state was economically exploited, and the Nawabs were reduced to
administrative positions, which Dalhousie used as a justification to unite it into
the British Empire.

Humiliating Policy towards the Successors of the Mughals

o Because the British never kept their written or verbal commitments, it was
only natural for hostility and revolts to arise. Since 1803, the Mughal rulers
have been protected by the British.
o Lord Dalhousie said in 1849 that his successor would have to abandon the
Red Fort and stay near the Qutub Minar.
o By this time, Bahadur Shah, the Mughal emperor, had become old and
accepted Fakir Uddin as the Mughal emperor’s heir.
o According to Viceroy Lord Canning, the next successor of Fakhruddin would be
stripped of even their titular dignities and shadow of power in Delhi, and they
would be unable to sit on the royal palaces.
o This meant that the Mughals’ title sovereignty was also ending.

India was Governed by Foreign Land

o India was ruled by a foreign country, which meant that the rulers of India were
administering the country hundreds of miles away. This was another major
political issue that infuriated Indians against the British.
o From England, the British governed India and syphoned India’s wealth into
their own country.
o India’s resources were being spent in England for the benefit of the English
people.

Subsidiary Alliance
 o Lord Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance was essential for British expansion in
India. Indian kings were not authorised to have their armed forces under this
agreement.
o They were supposed to be protected by the firm, but they had to pay for the
subsidiary forces’ the company was supposed to have for that purpose.
o A huge number of monarchs and chiefs were displaced as a result of the
British policy of territorial conquest.
o The ruling classes were enraged by the strong implementation of the
Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse programmes.

Suspension of Pension
o The Board of Directors wanted to boost the company’s dividends.
o Some of the company’s deposed Indian leaders had their pensions reduced or
suspended due to this.
o Rani Jindan, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Queen, has lowered her annual pension
from 15,000 pounds to 1,200 pounds.
o Nana Sahib’s and Lakshmi Bai’s pensions in Jhansi were suspended.
o The Nawab of Carnatic and Tanjore’s nominal sovereignty was likewise
abolished. As a result, they began to oppose the British.

Economic Causes:
Economic Drain
o The British government’s colonial control in India had a policy of draining
India’s wealth to England using legitimate or unfair means or tactics.
o British servants and officials enjoyed India’s privileges and used all legal and
illegal ways to amass the country’s wealth.
o The greatest incomes were paid to British soldiers, civil officers, and
employees who worked in India.
o Their savings, pensions, and other profits from India were being sent to
England as wealth.
o In every way imaginable, the drain of Indian wealth was carried to England.
The British’s continuous agenda of economic exploitation had a negative
impact on the average man.

Exploitation of Sections
o The Company’s sole goal was to gather as much money as possible with the
least work.
o Industry, trade, commerce, and agriculture declined due to their colonial
practices of economic exploitation, and India became de-industrialized, poor,
and debt-ridden.
o The annexation of Indian states resulted in the loss of jobs and authority for
Indian aristocrats and their economic and social position and advantages.
o The British colonial strategy shattered Indian society’s conventional economic
framework.
Ruin of the Mercantile Class
o By putting high tariff levies on Indian commodities, the British purposefully
hampered Indian trade and commerce.
o They supported the import of British goods into India on the other side.
o As a result, by the middle of the nineteenth century, Indian cotton and silk
exports had all but disappeared.

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Destruction of Indian Manufacturers

o All Indian producers were devastated by the British policy of pushing the
import of cotton items from England to India.
o India’s villages were self-sufficient in every field prior to British rule. Village
residents used to create their things to meet their needs and requirements.
o When British goods began flooding the Indian market, Indian manufacturers
faced extinction.

Discontent Among the Zamindars

o By removing the middlemen, the British created a new land revenue system.
o The great Talukdars and Zamindars, who had previously collected land
revenue, lost their money and positions.
o Those with land freeships were required to produce the letters of grant they
had received from the government to confirm the legitimacy of their
proprietary rights in the land.
o Those who failed to show documentary proof to support their property rights
had their rights taken away.

Immediate Cause:
The immediate cause of the 1857 revolt was the introduction of the new Enfield rifle
by the British East India Company. The cartridges for this rifle were rumoured to be
greased with animal fat, including beef and pork fat. This created significant
resentment and religious tensions among Indian soldiers, known as sepoys, as the
use of such cartridges violated their religious beliefs. The sepoys' refusal to use the
cartridges led to their rebellion, which quickly spread to various parts of India and
escalated into a larger uprising against British colonial rule.

Military Causes:
Lack of professional status

The Indian military was not considered a professional force. They were referred to as
"Peasants in Uniform."

Adverse policies
Policies implemented by Lord Dalhousie and Lord Canning had a negative impact on
the sentiments of Indian sepoys.

Discrimination in salaries and promotions

The Indian military faced discrimination in terms of salaries, pensions, and

promotions. They were treated unfairly compared to their European counterparts.

Limited promotion opportunities

Indian sepoys had restricted avenues for promotion. They could only rise to the rank
of subedar. The higher positions were reserved for Europeans.

Introduction of Enfield rifles

The introduction of Enfield rifles was seen as interference with the religious beliefs of
the sepoys. This ignited the outbreak of the Revolt of 1857.

During the tenure of Lord Canning, two important acts were passed in 1856.

o General Service Enlistment Act

o Religious Disabilities Act

General Service Enlistment Act

The General Service Enlistment Act was passed in 1856 by the British Parliament. As
per the provisions of the act, any Indian sepoy would have to give the undertaking to
serve overseas. This was not seen by the Indians in a good light. Crossing the sea
meant the loss of one’s caste and was forbidden by one’s religion.

Religious Disabilities Act

The act was introduced in 1850. It changed the Hindu Law of Property and enabled a
Hindu to convert to another religion. This would not forgo his right to inherit the
property of his father. The political situation got highly affected because of this Act.
The Hindus regarded this as an incentive to give up one’s religious faith.