Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-09-08
NV CAUSES OF TIE INDIAN REyoLT.

THE CACEEe OE IhE 1ADlAN hhfS@%-
The belief seems to be gaining ground In well n;
formed circles in England that the revolt IN bengst
was instigated By Mohammedan intrigue, ana .nas
the story Of the cartridges was cunniney -
scheme to excite the fanatical preJudiees oI ING
high caste (Brahmin) soldiers, and, py mus
the only class with arms in their hahos anu
of making stand to fcrsake their coor., - ess-s
a temporary junction between the Mohammeuans
and Hndoos The ayowed object of which is TO break
the voke of the foreigner, while the real OBJECT is
- ros.ora the ancient dominion Of the Mogul EN-
re-ors Apart from the mutiny Of the soldiers anu
he axeesses of which they were guilty, there mas
been no act of the Hlndoos which Indicates any set
tIed purpose so far as they concerned while the
only really revolutionary acts that have been COM
mitted denote an attempt to restore the Mogul dy-
nasty in the person ofthe King of Delhi and aVenge
the wrongs of the King Of Dude aud other Moslem
princes whose territory has been annexed by tue
British Government. Next TO Delhi, the ancient seat
of the Mogu Empire, therallying point OF the reo-
els is Lucknow, the capital of Dude, the most re-
Gently annexed Mohammedsn territory. The time
chosen for this attempted restoration OF Moslem
rule is the hundreth anniversary Of ChYeis great
victory at Plassy; and il these leading facts are
viewed in connection with the tradition which is said
to prevail in Bengal, that the Koompane S0kt6 Shall
reign for one hundred years and then be ovsrbrown
and with the mysterious distribution of cakes and
flowers among the villagers and the native SOL
diers and the suspected completely Of the dethroned
King of Dude and his Minister, as well as that OF
other Mohammedan princes, and the Mussulman con-
spirscy at Calcutta and Alahabsd-it does not APP
pear violent presumption to suppose that the Mo-
bammedans are the chief instigators Of the revolt,
although the Hindoo soldiery have been the most
prominent actors in it.
If this view of the question be accepted 1t would
also explain in great measure the cartridge excite
ment, and how so apparently trihing pretext mas
produced such mighty results Among people so
Il, f,po iaalo caste
Hindoos, in oil that relates TO their social dlstlne,
tions and religious observances, no more eifeetuat
means to excite them to revolt could have been "a
KEN than to convince them that it was the design Of
| the British Government TO force them 70 become
Christians by making them violate one OF the most
sacred of their religious obserVances ana thus re-
duce them from their high social position as priests
to the wretcbed condition of Parahs or Outcasts-
| To comprehend the terror with which high caste
Hndoos regard this degradation, 1t should be known
| that, from the moment Hindoo becomes Farlan'
he is denied the common rights Of humanity he Is
deserted and loathed by his wife, parents children,
and friends his property is forfeited; he is exelu-
ded from all the charities and social connections OF
life and his very touch is considered contamination
IL matters not that the offence was voluntary or the
reverse the punishment s the same, and no subse-
uuent sct of the SLENDER. no amount OF contrlton,
can ever restore him to his former position To use
for vile purpose any part of the revered idol OF
Hindoo worship,-the cow,-would be visited with
this fearful punishment, and be considered one OF
the greatest acts Of sscrilege that Hindoo could
commit 1t would appear almost incredible that
this reported attack their religious belief by the
British officials should obtain such universal Gre
denee among the Sepoys; but the impression that
il was the design of the British to overthrow their
faith-does not date from the alleged discovery of
the offensive substance in the cartridges The abo
lition of the Suffice self immOlation of widows,
the per mission of widows to re-marry, the establish
ment of French schools for native children and the
rapid spread of European ideas and institutions
which have taken place within few years, have
generated deep-seated dstrust of the designs of
the governments and rendered it much more easy for
interested intriguers to persuade the Sepoys, who
are brought most Immediately IN connection with
the government that it the intention OF the lat
ter to coerce them into breach of the laws Of caste
as preliminary step to the total overthrow of their
idSs and religious institutions. To make the rumOr
more creditable and at the same time establish a
community offeeling between the HindOos and their
Musselman comrades the latter pretended that pig
| fat which they hold in religious adherence, was
mixed with their cartridges for the same purpose as
bullocks fat was mixed with those of the Hincoos.
In the absence of positive evidence, therefore,
to the real cause of the revolt it is probable that it
originated with the Mohammedans, the former mas
tiers of India until dispossessed by the British If
such prove be the case it may add to the difficulty
the British army will have in subduing the outbreak,
but it will by no means add to the danger to the
British dominion in India The Mohammedans con-
stitue but small portion of the population of Ben
gal. The non-military Hindoos of that Presidency
continue well affected, and when once the Sepoy
rebels have been brought to justice and punished,
there is little chance that the HindoO population
will be induced to aid in their subsection to
their most grievous and yrauucal foes or they will
forget what they had to suffer under the Mohamme-
den dominion, when they were constantly prey to
every lawless Mahratta chief or Musselman ieuten-
ant of the MOgul tyrant Their present lot may be
hard and oppressive, but it is ineomparably better
than that which they had to endure before the es-
adjustment of British dominion.
". Y Journal Of Commerce,