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Originally Posted by nacho
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A number of 1856 Enfields were sent to India for the British East India Company. Sikhs in the British Army rebelled when rumor spread that the paper-wrapped cartridge of the Enfield was coated with animal fat.
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ref:
1857 Sepoy Rebellion
bit of a mixup there, the Sikhs and the Gurkhas supported the British in supressing the mutiny. the sikhs also have no particular aversion to beef or pork*, unlike the islamic and hindu sepoys. the cartridges by the way were greased with vegetable fat, but rumors do not need to be true. the wiki article referenced lists the 1853 enfields as being the ones that provoked the cartridge story....
*- some sikhs believe they should ultimately be vegitarian, but the only prohibition is against eating meat slaughtered in the muslim ritual way:
Sikh Rehat Maryada
— In the Rehat Maryada, section six, it states:
The undermentioned four transgressions (tabooed practices) must be avoided:
1. Dishonouring the hair
2. Eating the meat of an animal slaughtered the Muslim way (Kutha)
3. Cohabiting with a person other than one's spouse
4. Using tobacco.
i found a reference stating sikhs would refrain from eating beef in india out of respect for their hindu neighbours, but would cook up a mess of pig's feet for the muslims they converted to sikhism as a test...
(just noticed this thread when redirected from a more contemporary thread)