The tension in the minds of the Indians had been growing ever since the The British step foot in India. However it was through the different measures introduced by the British government that the Indians reached their limit. Now all that was needed was a spark and a rebellion was inevitable.
This spark took the shape of the greased cartridges that were to be used for the newly introduced Enfield Rifles for the infantry.
The cartridge was covered with a greased paper cover which had to be bitten off before it could be loaded into the rifle.
However, these newly introduced rifle and cartridges did not come without their own set of related rumours.
Rumour had it that the cartridge was lined with grease made of the fat of cows and pigs.
As the Hindus consider the cow sacred and the Muslims do not eat its meat, both these communities were enraged at such a blatant attempt to harm their religion.
This incident came to be known as the Greased Cartridges Incident and was the last straw before the outbreak of the revolt,
Mangal Pandey was the first Indian soldier to protest against the use of these cartridges. He refused to use them.
When his adjutant Lt. Baugh came out to investigate the unrest, Pandey opened fire, hitting his horse.
General John Hearsey ordered a Jemadar Ishwari Prasad to arrest Mangal Pandey, but the Jemadar refused.
The whole regiment, with the single exception of a soldier called Shaikh Paltu, drew back from restraining or arresting Mangal Pandey.
Shaikh Paltu restrained Pandey from continuing his attack. Mangal Pandey, after failing to incite his comrades into an open and active rebellion, tried to take his own life by placing his musket to his chest, and pulling the trigger with his toe.
He only managed to wound himself, receiving a court-martial on April 6.
He was given the verdict of being hanged
As the news of Mangal Pandey's hanging spread, the soldiers in the other regiments were angered.
More and more sepoys started refusing the usage of the greased cartridges.
Such an incident at Meerut took place on 9th May 1857, following which the seopys were punished for their act.
On 10th May, the soldiers killed their British officers, released the imprisoned soldiers and hoisted the flag of the revolt.
This marked the start of the Great Rebellion of 1857.