The main cause of the uprising against British rule in India are as follows
(i) There were many important causes for the uprising of the British rule, so there is no one main cause.
(ii) Of course, one of the main causes was the disciplinary action taken by the company on the sepoys who refused to use the new greased cartridges.
(iii) All the other problems which had been caused by the Company's actions then came to the fore in a mass rebellion.

Changes in the policies of the British after the suppression of the rebellion of 1851 were:
(i) The British Crown took over the control of administration with the British Parliament passing an Act in 1858 under which the powers of the East India Company were transferred to the British Crown.
(ii) They provided a sense of security to the local rulers by assuring them that their territories would never be annexed by the British in future.
(iii) They abolished the Doctrine of Lapse so that rulers could pass on their kingdoms to adopted sons also.
(iv) They provided a sense of security to landowners by making policies to protect landlords and zamindars, as well as the security of rights over their lands.
(v) They reorganised the Army by reducing the proportion of Indian soldiers and increasing the proportion of European soldiers.

The British secured the submission of the rebel landowners by carrot and stick policy in the following ways:
(i) They tried and hanged a number of rebel leaders who had challenged their authority and could do so again in the future.
(ii) On the other hand, they tried their best to win back the loyalty of the people by announcing rewards for loyal landowners. They were assured that they would be allowed to continue to enjoy traditional rights over their lands.

The reasons are given below:
(i) Since the mid-18th century, Nawabs and Rajas had gradually lost their authority and honour. Residents had been stationed in many courts, the freedom of the rulers reduced, their armed forces disbanded and their revenues and territories taken away by the stages.
(ii) The Company decided to end the Mughal dynasty. In 1849 Governor-General Dalhousie announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar the family of the king would be shifted out of the Red Fort. In 1856, Governor-General canning decided that Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the last Mughal emperor and after his death, his descendants would be recognised as princes.

In 1850, the British passed a law to allow Indians who converted to Christianity to continue to inherit the property of their ancestors. In this way, this law protected the interests of those who converted to Christianity.

I would take the following steps to keep my plans of fighting a top secret:
(i) I would discuss my plans with the British Officers personally
(ii) I would do personal meetings with the British officers at a very secret place, so that no one would be able to know about the meeting.
(iii) All the decisions that had been taken in the meetings would be conveyed through Britishers only to the concerned officers.
(iv) I would convey all the important messages to the concerned authorities only through Englishmen.
(v) I would avoid Indians at each and every stage. It would prevent the chance of leaking the plan.
(vi) I would keep close watch on all of those Indians who were in the British army.

The revolt of 1857 had a popular character due to two reasons.
These are:
(i) The revolt was started by the Indian sepoys employed by the East India Company and continued by them all over North India. These sepoys were mostly ordinary people from peasant families in rural areas and so it was a popular uprising.
(ii) The leaders of the revolt were the local rulers and chieftains, most of whom were well-liked by the populace due to their treatment of the people under their control. Thus most of them, with a few exceptions, were popular rulers. All the above people disliked the British officials, whom they felt was interfering in their normal way of life. Due to this, the revolt developed a popular character.

The British did not need to justify the takeover of India to themselves, as it was part of their policy of colonialism.
To the outside world, they justified it by saying that they were civilising the natives, who were following uncivilised traditions and practices.
As part of their policy, they economically impoverished India by taking away products valued by them at throwaway prices or as taxes for governing the people.
This policy was not justified because India lost much of its resources to the British, resulting in the poverty which we see and feel even today. Further, there were many loopholes in the policy which could be used by individuals for their personal gain and enjoyment at the cost of the country.