what is the reason for the rebellion of 1857?

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 had diverse political, economic, military, religious and social causes.

The sepoys, a generic term used for native Indian soldiers of the Bengal Army, had their own list of grievances against the Company Raj, mainly caused by the ethnic gulf between the British officers and their Indian troops. The British had issued new gunpowder cartridges that were widely believed to be greased with cow or pig fat, which insulted both Hindus and Muslims. Other than Indian units of the British East India Company's army, much of the resistance came from the old aristocracy, who were seeing their power steadily eroded under the British.

CAUSES OF THE REVOLT

POLITICAL CAUSES

1. Lord Dalhousie caused widespread resentment among the Indian rulers and their subjects by aggressively expanding his state and annexing native Indian states

2. He annexed states of satara nagpur and jhansi by applying the doctrine of lapse

3. NANA SAHEB was denied a pension after his father's death. He was the son of Peshwa Baji rao II

4. Bahadur Shah's successor was denied the right to live at the red fort

5. He annexed Awadh, accusing the government of maladministration and shocking the nawab who was a faithful ally and the people of India

6. The British did not obey the treaties sometimes and they were broken according to the need of the British and the nawabs at that time could not trust any treaty at all.

ECONOMIC CAUSES

The policy of economic exploitation by the British and widespread destruction of the traditional economic structure caused widespread resentment among Indian society.

1. The zamindari(land lord) system was introduced by the British and the peasants were exploited by them. They were often tortured or jailed when the peasants failed to pay the taxes

2. The landlords also were insecured and jagirs(lands) were confiscated when the taxes did not match the assigned goals.

3. The interests of India were not the first priority of the government. They came in India for economic profit, which was the main priority. The traditional industries collapsed under the pressure of industrialized fields. No measures were taken to improve the conditions of the peasants and the artisans.

4. The annexation of Indian states was followed by large scale unemployment and economic distress as a large number of court officials and other lost their means of earning. All the poets, artisans etc working under these rulers lost their jobs.