An Indian soldier serving in the army of the British East India Company or later the British Indian Army. These troops formed the backbone of British military power in India but also led major rebellions against colonial rule.
From Persian 'sipahi' (soldier), borrowed through Urdu into English. The term originally referred to any soldier but became specifically associated with Indian troops under British command, highlighting the colonial practice of using local forces to maintain imperial control.
Sepoys were the ultimate imperial contradiction - Indian soldiers who conquered India for Britain! By 1857, there were 300,000 sepoys compared to only 40,000 British troops, yet these same soldiers launched the greatest challenge to British rule in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, showing how colonial military systems could become instruments of resistance rather than control.
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