It is possible that by withdrawing the enfield rifles, the East India might have been able to curtail an uprising in British India.
The pattern Enfield rifle-musket of 1853 were issued to British East India army and proved to be highly controversial.
The army was made up of mostly local conscripts, who were either Hindu and Muslims. A rumor quickly spread that the grease use in these rifles was either made of Beef Tallow, Pig Tallow or both.
For both, strict Hindus and Muslims, this was seen as a direct offense to their religious beliefs.
While the rifle alone was not a cause of the 1857 Indian rebellion, it did help in further igniting tensions between the occupiers and the local population.