Causes for Revolt for 1857

Causes for Revolt of 1857:

1. Oppression of peasants by high land revenue and eviction on non-payment
2. Oppression of zamindars by high revenue demands and lose of zamindari on failure
3. Middle and upper class were not given high salaried jobs in administration
4. Nobles, artisans, people pursuing culture and religious preachers lost their livelihood
5. Foreignness of British rule - who had come enrich themselves and not settle in India
6. British army suffered setbacks in Afghan Wars, Punjab Wars and Santhal tribe uprising
7. Policies of annexation and subordination of Indian states, egs - 
• Annexation of Awadh on grounds of preventing people from mismanagement of Nawab
• Annexation of Jhansi and not allowing adopted son of Rani Lakshmibai to rule
• refusing Baji Rao II 's pension to his adopted son Nana Sahib and forcing him to live in Kanpur
• Successors of Bahadur Shah II abandoned from Red Fort and sent to Qutab
• Successores of Bahadur Shah II not be called Kings but mere Princes
8. Christian Missionaries 
• tried to convert Indians to Christianity
• ridiculed and attacked Hinduism and Islam
• were provided police protection
9. Govt. propagated Christianity by:
• passing act that allows Christian Indians to inherit ancestral property
• maintains chaplains in army
• British officials encouraged christian propaganda
10. Govt.'s interference in religious affairs:
• abolition of custom of SATI
• legalization of widow remarriage
• taxing holy places and land belonging to priests and religious charitable institutions
11. Sepoy grievances:
• forbidding of  wearing religious, caste & sectarian marks, beards and turbans
• act passed by govt. to make compulsory for newly recruited sepoys to even serve overseas which was forbidden at that time by Hindu religion
• sepoys were treated with contempt by British officers
• dissolution of Nawab's administration and army created unemployed
• little prospect for rise - Indians could only rise to Subedar post
• foreign service allowance (BATTA) denied to sepoys serving in Sindh and Punjab
12. Sepoy mutiny:
• in 1764, sepoy mutiny broke out in Bengal
• in 1806, sepoys of Vellore mutinied
• in 1824, 47th Regiment at Barrackpore refused to go to Burma
• in 1844, sepoys in Afghanistan almost revolt during Afghan War
13. MOST IMPORTANT CAUSE: greased(composed of beef and pig fat) cartridges for new Enfield rifle which had to be bitten off before loading into the rifle enraged both Hindu and Muslim sepoys