I am without value
Unsuited for field labour
Sheik is my name, grimacing in the face of grease
Of pigs in the enemy’s cartridges
A paria spitting cow’s grease into the barrel
Of an Enfield
Sepoy: an indian soldier serving under british or other European orders.
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 had diverse political, economic, military, religious and social causes. Vesharipoogarship
The sepoys, a generic term used for native Indian soldiers of the Bengal Army, had their own list of grievances against the Company administration, mainly caused by the ethnic gulf between the European officers and their Indian troops.
The reports about the introduction of the Enfield rifle enhanced the sepoys growing disaffection with the government. The cartridge of the new rifle had to be bitten off before loading and the grease was reportedly made of beef and pig fat. To load both the old musket and the new rifle, soldiers had to bite the cartridge open and pour the gunpowder it contained into the rifle's muzzle, then stuff the cartridge case, which was typically paper coated with some kind of grease or beeswax to make it waterproof, into the musket as wadding, before loading it with a ball. The sepoys felt their religion was in real danger.
The sepoy was in fact a peasant in uniform. He was made to feel subordinate at every step and was discriminated against racially in matters of promotion and privileges.
The varying stances of the British government, the
