Immediate causes of the Sepoy Rebellion?

Answer 1

The Sepoy Rebellion, also called the Indian War of Independence, was started to rid the peoples of India of their British conquerors. Indian troops called sepoys worked for the English East India Company that ruled India on behalf of the British Empire. The British generally ignored Indian traditions of religion and caste, and the sepoys learned that their rifle cartridges were greased with the fat of cows (sacred to Hindus) and pigs (untouchable by Muslims). Eighty-five sepoys who refused to use the cartridges were convicted of mutiny, sentenced to prison, beaten and dishonored. The Sepoy Rebellion started in response to this treatment when other sepoys revolted on May 10, 1857. They freed the imprisoned sepoys along with hundreds of political prisoners, and the mob killed forty British officers and civilians. Other Indian regiments, along with Indian princes and their followers, then joined the mutiny in an attempt to restore their culture and rid themselves of British rule. The rebellion quickly spread throughout much of India.