A new plantation system introduced in the year 1833 resulted in incalculable misery for the Indian peasants. This was the result of permitting Englishmen to acquire land plantations in India. The hard hit were the peasants on the indigo plantations in Bengal and Bihar.

Social Causes

The Englishmen showed an arrogant attitude towards the Indians. Indiscriminate assaults on Indians by Englishmen became quite common. Also, a general alarm was raised among the Hindus and Muslims by the activities of the Christian missionaries. The educational institutions established by the missionaries inculcated western education and culture in the place of oriental learning. The native population felt that were losing their social identity.

Military causes

Discontent against the British Raj was widely prevalent among the Indian soldiers in the British army. The Indian sepoys in the British Indian army nursed a sense of strong resentment at their low salary and poor prospects of promotion. The British military officers at times showed least respect to the social values and religious sentiments of Indian sepoys in the army. Thus, although generally faithful to their masters, the sepoys were provoked to revolt.

The Vellore mutiny of 1806, a precursor to the 1857 Great Revolt, was the outcome of such tendencies on the part of the military authorities.

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