With the passage of time, the Indian rulers, soldiers and peasants started to express their resentment of British domination. Some of the causes that caused unhappiness among Indians are:

Political causes

Social causes

Economical causes

Immediate causes

Political causes : Indian soldiers, sepoys and armies were replaced by British armies and soldiers leading to unemployment.

Social causes : The British were treating the Indians as second-rate citizens in their own country.

Economical causes : As the British took control of the Indian market, they were forcing their policies on the traders.

Immediate causes : The British had introduced a new Enfield Rifle in the Indian army. The cartridges of these Rifles were greased with animal fat. Since the covering of the cartridges was supposed to be bitten off, using the Enfield Rifles hurt the sentiments of both Hindu and Muslim soldiers.

The Portugues were the first Europeans to step in India. They came through waterways which made it easy for other Europeans to come to India. They asked permission from the emperor of India to come and trade goods. They were allowed. But it was a trick to rule India.

The Britishers introduced the Enfield Rifles to the Indian Army. Its cartridges were supposed to be bitten through mouth (as told in immediate causes) and then be filled in Rifles. The Army refused to use them because they were told that the cartridges' covering was greased with animal fats. The Britishers promised that the Rifles are not greased with it. Then only Mangal Pandey came up and used the Rifle. But then they found out that the the cartridges were actually greased with animal fat which led to Revolt in 1875.

Some of the leaders of the Revolt of 1857 are:

Nana Sahib

Rani Lakshmibai

Tanya Tope etc.

The revolt failed because:

The leadership in India was weak.

The people living in Western and Southern India didn't participate as their province was not being ruled.

Some Indians were at the Britishers' side.

The Britishers had better weapons.

After the Revolt Queen Victoria was declared the empress of India.

Though the Revolt failed, a nationalist feeling rose in the Indians.

After the Revolt, in 1885, the first political party, the Indian National Congress (INC) was formed. It was the first step towards freedom struggle. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Dadabhai Naroji and Lala Lajpat Rai were a part of INC. The objective of forming INC was to voice the opinions of the Indians. Its first session was held in 1885.

In 1907, the party was divided into two parts : the Extremists and the Moderates.

The Extremist, (Garam Dal/hot faction) was led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal, who believed in immediate action. They wanted the common people to be a part of the freedom movement too.

The Moderate, (Naram Dal/soft faction) was led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Surendranath Bannerjee and Dadabhai Naoroji who believed in bringing the change through prayers and petitions.

The INC was turned into a mass movement by Surendranath Bannerjee and Sir Henry Cotton during the division of Bengal. The province of Bengal was too large for the British Governer to control. On 16 October 1905, Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India from 1899-1905, decided to divide Bengal into Muslim East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and Hindu West Bengal, known as 'Divide and Rule' It caused protests among the people. The day was named 'Day of Mouring' in Kolkata. It helped to spark off Swadeshi Movement. To bridge the growing divide between Hindus and Muslims and give a platform for Muslim concerns, Salimullah Khan found the Muslim League in Dhaka, the Capital of Bangladesh.