Read the passage and answer the questions:
Petitions of Sepoys and Images of Revolt
They gave these cartridges to the sowars (mounted soldiers) of the 3rd Light Cavalry, and ordered them to bite them; the troopers objected to it, and said that they would never bite them, for if they did, their religion and faith would be destroyed ... upon this, the British officers paraded the men of the 3 Regiments and having prepared 1,400 English soldiers, and other Battalions of European troops and Horse Artillery, surrounded them, and placing six guns before each of the infantry regiments, loaded the guns with grape and made 84 new troopers prisoners, and put them in jail with irons on them. The reason that the sowars of the Cantonment were put into jail was that we should be frightened into biting the new cartridges. On this account, we and all our country-men, having united together, have fought the British for the preservation of our faith. ...On 25 September James Outram and Henry Havelock arrived, cut through the rebel forces, and reinforced the British garrisons. Twenty days later, Colin Campbell, who was appointed as the new Commander of British forces in India, came with his forces and rescued the besieged British garrison. In British accounts, the siege of Lucknow became a story of survival, heroic resistance and the ultimate triumph of British power. Barker’s painting celebrates the moment of Campbell’s entry. At the centre of the canvas are the British heroes – Campbell, Outram and Havelock. The gestures of the hands of those around lead the spectator’s eyes towards the centre. The heroes stand on a ground that is well lit, with shadows in the foreground and the damaged Residency in the background.
Why did the troopers object to the biting of the cartridges for use?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The cartridges were coated with the fat of cows and pigs.
The troopers refused to bite the cartridges because, if they did, their religion and faith would be destroyed. The full arzi gives the reason: the new cartridges that had arrived from England were ones in which the fats of cows and pigs were mixed. The sepoys who reached Delhi from Meerut said the same thing: the bullets they were asked to bite were coated with the fat of cows and pigs, and this corrupted the faith of Hindus and Muslims alike.
Note: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
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NCERT (2026-27): “…He heard the commotion at the gates. The sepoys who had gathered under his window told him: ‘We have come from Meerut after killing all the Englishmen there, because they asked us to bite bullets that were coated with the fat of cows and pigs with our teeth. This has corrupted the faith of Hindus and Muslims alike.…”
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