Asked by d
A small force from home will be sufficient [to divide and conquer India], as we are always sure to have any number we please of Indian troops, who, being both much better paid and treated by us than by their own country's powers, will very readily enter our service.
—Robert Clive
Letter to the prime minister
1759
How did the Sepoy Rebellion disprove the claims made in Clive’s letter?
Few Indian troops ever joined to serve with the British.
Indian troops fought against the British because they felt poorly treated.
Indian troops refused to fight a battle that would have won India for Britain.
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Answer: Indian troops fought against the British because they felt poorly treated.
Why: The Indian (Sepoy) Rebellion of 1857 showed that sepoys were not guaranteed to be loyal to British commanders. Widespread grievances — low pay, racial discrimination, loss of traditional rights and commands (and immediate catalysts like the greased cartridge issue that violated Hindu/Muslim religious practices) — led many Indian soldiers to mutiny and fight the British. That directly contradicts Clive’s claim that Indian troops would “very readily enter our service” because they were better paid and treated.
Why: The Indian (Sepoy) Rebellion of 1857 showed that sepoys were not guaranteed to be loyal to British commanders. Widespread grievances — low pay, racial discrimination, loss of traditional rights and commands (and immediate catalysts like the greased cartridge issue that violated Hindu/Muslim religious practices) — led many Indian soldiers to mutiny and fight the British. That directly contradicts Clive’s claim that Indian troops would “very readily enter our service” because they were better paid and treated.
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