Royal Enfield, the world-renowned motorcycle brand, uses the slogan "Made like a Gun" to emphasize the durability and strength of its motorcycles. While this phrase is commonly understood to reference the unbeatable performance and build quality of Royal Enfield bikes, it also has deeper historical roots connected to the Sepoy Rebellion in India.

In this article, we will explore the reasons, significance, and unknown history behind the "Made Like a Gun" slogan.

Made Like A Gun - Royal Enfield's Slogan And Sepoy Rebellion

In the 1850s, the Enfield P-53 rifle, produced by the Royal Small Arms Factory, became a regular service weapon in the British Army. This rifle was advanced for its time, featuring lightweight design and narrow barrel, making it popular among British soldiers both in the UK and across the Commonwealth including the Indian subcontinent. The rifle was a muzzle-loading type, soldiers needed to bite to open the lubricated cartridges to load it.

According to historical accounts by British writer George Dodd and Bengali writer Promod Sengupta, communal riots arrived when a lower-caste Hindu worker asked a high-caste soldier for a water pot and be refused due to caste restrictions during that period. In frustration, the worker mentioned with anger that British cartridges were lubricated with pig and cow fat, which soldiers had to bite for opening. The purity of their caste is already ruined for that. This statement quickly spread as a rumor, eventually reaching soldiers across undivided India.

Since both Hindu and Muslim soldiers were much religious, the cartridges were offensive to their religious beliefs. They became angry and decided to contribute themselves to the Sepoy Rebellion. Although there remains debate among historians about whether pig or cow fat was actually used or not, the British Army and the Royal Small Arms Factory insisted that the cartridges were not haram and could be opened by hand. For the controversy and much chaos, the Royal Arms Factory introduced the Lee-Enfield MK series rifles, an improved version of the Enfield P-53 model. These new rifles were adopted without further controversy and served as reliable service weapons in various armies until the mid-19th century.

In the late 19th century, the Royal Small Arms Factory acquired The Enfield Cycle Company as a new business venture and focused on manufacturing motorcycles under the Royal Enfield name. Although Royal Enfield’s motorcycle production started 50 years after the Enfield rifles, the advanced, powerful, and research-based engineering of the subsequent versions of the Enfield rifles, along with Royal Enfield’s ancient cannon-like logo and the robust build quality of its motorcycles, led to the proud adoption of the slogan "Made like a Gun" to emphasize the military-grade reliability of their motorcycles.

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