The vast upsurge of 1857 was something more than a purely military insurrection, it had more than one source which fed its revolutionary stream, the economic and political motives being no less articulate than the threat to religion which was the immediate cause. The general condition of the Indians during the British rule, was not, on the whole, particularly intolerable, but that was not point at issue. The question is whether their social happiness and personal security were large enough to outweigh the sense of degradation which must always accompany the domination of a foreign race (Chaudhuri 7-8).
Chaudhuri, Sashi Bhusan. “Historical Background.” Civil Rebellion in the Indian Mutinies, 1857-1859. India, World Press, 1957, pp. 1-60.