Many factors led to the First War of Independence. In this context explain the following:

(a) The attitude of the British towards the people of India with regard to their religious customs.

Answer.

British interference in the religious and social life of Indians created deep resentment among them.

The preaching of the Christian missionaries convinced the Indians that the British government was determined to convert them to Christianity.
Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India by the Charter Act of 1833.
The East India Company provided financial support to them for their promotion in India.
Policemen were always with them for their security. Company offices, hospitals, educational institutions and jails became their main centers of propaganda.
Christian missionaries also preached in temples and mosques. They used to pour venomous abuse against Hindus and Islam.
Special privileges were given to those who converted to Christianity.

Thus the fear of losing religion alarmed the Indians and they decided to raise the flag of rebellion against the British.

The dissatisfaction among the Indian soldiers was growing over a number of policies of the British Company.

Disparity in Salary: The Indian Sepoy were getting 8 times less salary than the English one.
The Indian Sepoys were considered inferior and inefficient. They were humiliated, insulted and assaulted also. This made them feel infuriated.
The General Enlistment Act: It bounded the sepoys to serve the English in foreign countries if any war to be fought there. This was against Hindu Sepoys religious belief.
There was no chances for higher promotions. The Indian soldiers could get a promotion up to Subedar only.
There were no fellow feelings. The relation between the two races the Indian and the English were not cordial.
The immediate cause was the use of greased cartridges. These cartridge were greased by the fats of cow and pig. The Sepoys of both the communities Hindu and Muslim refused to use them as these were to be bitten before filling them into the rifle. Mangal Pandey, a sepoy, was the first one to refuse to bite the cartridge with his teeth. He was hanged to death for this act. His death enraged the sepoys who were already infuriated. Soon a revolt of sepoy erupted engulfing a large region.

The landed aristocracy, including talukdars and hereditary zamindars, were deprived of their properties due to British rule.

Under the provisions of the British Commission (1852), 20,000 estates were confiscated when landowners failed to produce evidence such as title-deeds of possession of their land.
These confiscated lands are sold to the highest bidders through public auction. Such properties were usually purchased by merchants and moneylenders who did not understand the tenants and exploited them completely.
This drove the landed elite into poverty, without benefiting the peasants who were burdened by excessive land revenue. The landowning elite of Awadh faced many hardships after the annexation of Awadh as they were deprived of their properties.

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