Question

The Enfield Rifle Cartridge was rumored to be greased with the fat of _________.
a. Cows
b. Pigs
c. Both A and B
d. None of these

Answer 1

Hint:
The Enfield rifle caused many diverse religious and social differences between the Indian soldiers (sepoys). The phrase ‘Bite the cartridge' was used during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Complete step by step solution:
A new rifle, the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled musket, was provided to the sepoys. The increasing sepoy companies in Bengal led to the issuing of a variety of gunpowder cartridges for the Enfield rifle in 1857. For loading the old and the new Enfield, the paper cartridge containing gunpowder was required to be teared off with teeth and then loaded into the rifle. A rumor was spread between the sepoys that the cartridges were greased with cow fat (tallow) and pig (lard) to keep them dry. This insulted the religious sentiments of both the Hindu and Muslim as cows were considered holy by Hindus and pigs were considered dirty by Muslims. Hence, refusing to "bite the cartridge" was the phrase which was used by the Indian soldiers who were believed to be mutinied by this tradition. The phrase is thought to have later emerged as the more familiar phrase "bite the bullet". This angered the Hindus and Muslims and the sepoys refused to bite into the cartridges to keep their religious purity. The British officers dispersed the issues as rumors, and suggested a new sample to be made of fresh cartridges which was supposed to be greased with pig and cow fat. This confirmed the belief that the originally issued cartridges were certainly greased with lard and tallow. Within weeks, a rebellion was started by the units of the Indian army and peasant armies. The old nobility of both Muslim and Hindu, whose power was slowly taken up by the British East Indian Company, also rebelled against British rule.
Hence, the correct answer is option C.

Note:
The taxation system by the British East Indian Company acted as a fuel to the fire. This refusal was also one of the immediate causes of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.