Rumours in 1857
Topic: The Revolt of 1857 · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Rebels and the Raj"
Meaning
In 1857, rumours spread about greased cartridges, flour mixed with bone dust, and a British plan to convert Indians to Christianity. People believed them because they matched real fears. From the late 1820s, Governor-General Bentinck brought in Western education and abolished sati. Then came a law allowing widows to remarry, the takeover of states like Awadh, Jhansi and Satara, new land-revenue systems and the work of missionaries. Historians do not ask whether the rumours were true. They study what the rumours show about people's minds.
Example
The rumour that the cartridges of the new Enfield rifle were greased with cow and pig fat began at Dum Dum in January 1857. It spread quickly through the sepoy lines because many sepoys already feared that their religion and caste were under attack.
Related concepts
- Greased cartridges
- Enfield rifle
- Dum Dum khalasi rumour
- Bone-dust flour rumour
- Plassey centenary prophecy
- Chapatti movement
- Francois Sisten