The Indian army began to rebel on a large scale against the British rule in May 1857, which is 90 years before India got its independence. Before May 1857, there was evidence of small-scale rebellions in towns of northern and central India, which were of strategic importance to the British Raj (rule).
This event, which historians call the 'Sepoy Mutiny' (Indian soldiers were called sepoys during the British times; it comes from the Hindi word 'sipahi', which means foot-soldier) or India's First War of Independence, altered the course of Indian history, not only in political terms, but also economically and socially. The highly controversial Enfield rifle incident united Indians, belonging to both the Hindu and the Muslim faiths, against the British, who ordered them to load their rifles with cartridges that contained the fat of cows and pigs this created resistance as cows were considered holy by Hindus and pigs were considered un-holy by Muslims. One of the leaders who rebelled against the British during that period, and later became a revered martyr, after his trial and subsequent hanging to death, was Mangal Pandey.
This event, which historians call the 'Sepoy Mutiny' (Indian soldiers were called sepoys during the British times; it comes from the Hindi word 'sipahi', which means foot-soldier) or India's First War of Independence, altered the course of Indian history, not only in political terms, but also economically and socially. The highly controversial Enfield rifle incident united Indians, belonging to both the Hindu and the Muslim faiths, against the British, who ordered them to load their rifles with cartridges that contained the fat of cows and pigs this created resistance as cows were considered holy by Hindus and pigs were considered un-holy by Muslims. One of the leaders who rebelled against the British during that period, and later became a revered martyr, after his trial and subsequent hanging to death, was Mangal Pandey.
