Reasons for their discontentment:

1. The Indian sepoys were given poor salaries and allowances.
2. The conditions of service also made them unhappy.
3. Some of the new rules even violated their religious sentiments and beliefs.
4. Those were the days when many people in the country believed that if they crossed the sea they would lose their religion and caste.
5. So when in 1824 the sepoys were told to go to Burma by the sea route to fight for the Company, they refused to follow this order.
6. As a result they were given severe punishment. What is more, in 1856, the Company passed a new law which stated that every new person who took up employment in the Company’s army had to agree to serve overseas if required.