The causes of political dissatisfaction during the revolt of 1857 were as following: 

(i) Misbehaviour of Britishers towards Mughal Emperor – The Indian Muslims were annoyed with the British because the British used to behave offensively with Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

After the death of Bahadur Shah, declaration made by Lord Canning to end the post of the emperor, discontinuation from presenting grants to the emperor and removing his name from the coins and Lord Dalhousie making the Red fort vacant etc. increased and frustration of the Muslims even further against the British.

(ii) The Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie Under the Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie, Jhansi, Nagpur, Udaipur, Satara, Baghar, Nizam, Mysore, Maratha etc. were annexed in the British empire and after that, under pretext of maladministration, the merger of Awadh, which had always remained loyal towards the British, largely infuriated the soldiers of Awadh.

(iii) Discrimination with Indians in Public facilities – In the Charter Act of 1833, it was clearly mentioned that in all the military and non – military recruitments, appointments would be done without any discrimination on grounds of religion, caste, colour, creed etc. But the British did not follow this policy. Higher posts were reserved only for the British.