Scramblin' thru... the Sepoy Mutiny
What'd you do THIS time, Britain?!
Be Aggressive: B-E Aggressive...
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Despite what Americans would like to think, the loss of the 13 U.S. colonies didn't phase Britain. Britain simply shrugged its shoulders, licked its wounds... and then went about conquering the world. By the 1850s, Britain had established control over India.
By way of conquest (or diplomacy - which, you know, isn't as "fun"), they had overrun numerous Indian kingdoms, even reducing the
emperor of the mighty Mughal Empire to
a mere figurehead.
Britain's East India Company controlled British interests in India. As a cost-saving measure, rather than deploy British soldiers from home, they trained local Indian soldiers. Soon, of the 160,000 troops in the Indian-British Army, only 24,000 were from Britain. This saved a ton of money... but posed a serious concern that if the Indian soldiers ever rebelled, the British would be fighting, well, themselves, since they had trained these troops. The Indian troops, called "sepoys", often felt Britain didn't respect their Hindu and Muslim religions and their society's caste system. Annnnd that's not good. Now here's the perfect example of not taking the time to learn about your clientele. in 1853, Britain began greasing the cartridges for their new Lee-Enfield rifles with the fat of cows and pigs. The British found that cow and pig fat was in great abundance in India. (There's a really good reason why there was a plethora of these four-legged animals!) In one swift measure, Britain managed to offend all Hindus and Muslims. Hindus find cows sacred, while Muslims find pigs unclean. Sepoy soldiers feared they'd be ritually polluted when they bit off the end of a cartridge to load the gun. (And being damned to a fiery afterlife or being reincarnated as a stick loses its appeal quickly.) Nice going. As a result, some sepoys refused to load their rifles with the new bullets. They were convicted of mutiny and jailed. In some cases, these sepoys were executed. The sepoys revolted in May 1857, beginning the Sepoy Mutiny (1857-1859). The Indians call it a War of Independence. Britain called it a bad idea. An anti-British revolution soon spread across India. Sadly, religious rivalries between Hindus and Muslims kept them from working together, and the rebellion was crushed by 1859. As a result, Britain abolished the East India Company and assumed direct control of India. (Yea, "Mum" wasn't too happy.) India was now a colony and stayed that way until it gained independence in 1947. 
British vs. India - Part 1! [Click picture for a larger version.]
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A map of British India. [Click picture for a larger version.]
The Lee-Enfield Rifle was a fan favorite of the British Empire (minus India), the Confederacy, and the Union. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Lee-Enfield cartridges. Mmmmm... taste like sin. [Click picture for a larger version.]
The execution of a sepoy soldier. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Dammit! Why'd we train them so good?! [Click picture for a larger version.]
The Sepoy Mutiny video game?! Wow. They really do make one for everything... [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Sepoy soldiers... looking pleased. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Mass execution by firing squad of mutinous sepoy soldiers. [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Sepoys training hard... or hardly training? [Click pictured for a larger version.]
Here's a political cartoon showing the British lion "disagreeing" with the Indian "Bengal tiger"... [Click picture for a larger version.]
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The storming of the Kashmir Gate in 1857 during the Siege of Delhi by British forces was one of the great feat-of-arms of the bloody conflict. [Click picture for a larger version.]
I don't care if it has subtitles, I want to see this movie! [Click picture to read more about it on IMDb!]
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In 1500 BC, the Aryans, a tribe from Central Asia, came to India. After conquest in 800 BC, they introduced the caste system, which is still used today. A caste system pre-determines your status, occupation, and potential. You are born into permanent classes for life. You live, marry, and die all within your own caste.
There are four castes: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers), Vaisyas (traders and merchants), and Sudras (peasants and unskilled workers). Outside the caste is a fifth group, the Harijan, or "untouchables". They are legally discriminated against and live a life of poverty. India's caste system is different from the class system seen in Europe and the U.S. In the class system, a person can, through hard work, inheritance, or marriage, move up the "social ladder" from the lower class to even the upper class during his/her lifetime. In a class system, you aren't forbidden from marrying outside your socio-economic status. While the caste system may seem unfair to Americans today, it provided a means for different kinds of people to live together (although without having to ever actually interact) and avoided the widespread slavery prominent in many other ancient cultures. 
India's caste system.
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An Indian Brahmin. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Indian Kshatriyas. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Indian Vaisyas. [Click picture for a larger version.]
Indian Sudras. [Click picture for a larger version.]
An Indian untouchable. [Click picture for a larger version.]
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The Mughal Empire ruled India from
1526-1858. It is remembered for building the Taj Mahal from 1632-1653. Emperor
Shah Jahan had it built in memory of his wife Arjumand Banu Bagam (known as Mumtaz Mahal), who died in 1631. Situated on the southern bank of the Yamuna River, it is made of white marble. Inside the Taj Mahal (which is Persian and Arabic for "crown of palaces"), the tomb of Mumtaz stands at the center of an octagonal hall, while the somewhat larger tomb of Shah Jahan (who died in 1666) is off to one side. Using current values, the Taj Mahal cost 32 million Rupees to build. (Rupees are the type of currency used in India.) This is $1,292,302.72 in U.S. dollars. (Sorta makes you rethink those roses you bought your girlfriend...)
Jahan and Mumtaz sittin' in a tree... [Click picture for a larger version.]
Bollywood re-casting... [Click picture for a larger version.]
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The Taj Mahal at sunset... setting the bar waaaay too high for Valentine's Day. [Click picture for a larger version.]
This chocolate Taj Mahal is a bit more my speed...
Cute. She's "holding" the Taj Mahal. No wonder people hate Americans... [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Look! The other "Indians" are mad at British tea. Bet that fooled the Crown! [Click picture for a larger version.]
Roar... [Click picture for a larger version.]
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The British East India Company is the same one that had
problems in the 13 colonies. On December 16, 1773, Americans dressed as
Mohawk Indians dumped 342 crates of tea (worth over £10,000 or $2.2 million) into Boston Harbor in the Boston Tea Party.
Is there anything you can't make out of Legos?!! [Click picture for a larger version.]
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Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), who helped
India achieve independence from Britain through nonviolence, is the best-known
Hindu. He lived a life of prayer, fasting, and meditation. Refusing
possessions, he wore the loincloth of the lowliest Indian. He was called
Mahatma, which meant "great soul". He was assassinated in 1948 by a
Hindu fanatic upset with Gandhi's tolerance of Muslims. His death was an
international tragedy.
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Section summary in 140 characters or less:
Hindus and Muslims in India refuse
to use new British bullets and revolt; Britain crushes rebellion and takes complete
control of India.
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