India - 1858 - Political Map of the Aftermath of the Sepoy Rebellion

In 1857 the British East India Company sparked the Sepoy Mutiny, also known as the Great Rebellion. While no single factor was solely to blame, the mutiny itself began when ammunition for the new Enfield Pattern 1853 muskets was issued, having been greased with beef and pig fat which the native Indian Sepoy soldiers would have to bite to open, in the process breaking the laws of both Islam and Hinduism. This insult, combined with the local farmers being over- taxed and starving due to food shortages being forced to grow cash crops like tea and opium rather than food, led to overt rebellion in Bengal, soon spreading to Delhi. During the war, atrocities were committed against civilians and soldiers alike by both sides, notably the massacre of thousands of Indian mutineers and suspected sympathisers by General Neill. Following the conclusion of the war, India saw a mass reorganisation, with the final remnants of the Mughal dynasty fading and Company rule over India also being put to an end. With the dissolution of the British East India Company, India became part of the British Empire, and Queen Victoria took up the title of Empress of India. Under the new administration of the Empire of India, attempts at Westernisation ceased and religious tolerance was decreed, and finally native Indians were allowed to enter the Indian Civil Service, albeit in subordinate positions. India remained as the Jewel in the Crown of the British Empire until 1947, Where India and Pakistan were granted complete independence.