Modern India 9 - 1857 Revolt

Question 1

Economic causes

Answer 1

1. Heavy taxation led the farmers to borrow money from money lenders and many of them couldn’t pay back
2. Desi artisans and handicrafts men were neglected and foreign artists were encouraged
3. Plantation workers, miners were exploited to the maximum

Question 2

Political causes

Answer 2

1. Unchecked expansion of British empire against the will of the people and by using unjust means
2. Policies such as Doctrine of Lapse , Subsidiary alliance and effective control
3. Annexation of many territories unjustly

Question 3

Social causes

Answer 3

1. Racial discrimination and arrogance displayed by the British.
2. Various socio religious reforms brought by them like abolition of sati , widow remarriage and new marriage laws

Question 4

Military causes ( immediate cause)

Answer 4

1. Abolition of foreign travel allowance called “ batha” to Indian soldiers.
2. Lower salaries and very minute chances of promotion to higher posts
3. Introduction of ‘Enfield rifles’

Question 5

Which controversial arm did Lord Canning introduce which is the considered an immediate cause for the rebellion

Answer 5

Greased cartridges to be used in Enfield rifles

Question 6

Why were Enfield rifles causing problems?

Answer 6

The Enfield rifles had cartridges which had greased paper that had to be bitten off before use. The grease was allegedly obtained from cow and pig fat which terribly hurt the sentiments of both Hindus and Muslims alike.

Question 7

Which incident took place at Berhampur

Answer 7

Soldiers of 19th native infantry refused to use the enfiled rifles in Feb 1857 and were disbanded in March 1857

Question 8

What happened at barrackpore?

Answer 8

Mangal Pandey , a soldier of the 34th native infantry refused to use the greased cartridges and shot the officer in charge . He was executed later.

Question 9

What was the major incident that occurred at Meerut that triggered off the Sepoy mutiny

Answer 9

April 24 ,1857
90 members of the 3rd native cavalry refused to use the new cartridges.
May 9 ,1857
85 of them were dismissed from service and sentenced to long periods of imprisonment
May 10,1857
Colonel Bakthawar Khan led a rebellion against the British and killed all Europeans and captured the Meerut Cantonment . The sepoys then marched on towards Delhi

Question 10

What happened at Delhi

Answer 10

Colonel Bakthawar Khan reached Delhi and captured the Delhi Cantonment and then marched on towards the Red Fort and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar II as ‘ Shahenshah i Hindustan’

Question 11

Under whose compulsion did Bahadur Shah Zafar II accept the request

Answer 11

Begum Zeenat Mahal and colonel Bakthawar Khan

Question 12

What happened at Awadh( Lucknow)?

Answer 12

The rebellion was led by Begum Hazrat Mahal who reinstalled her son Bijris Qadri as the Nawab and administration was being run
Maulvi Ahmadullah was also a part of this rebellion.

Question 13

Which particular feature was peculiar regarding Awadh rebellion

Answer 13

Participation of masses in huge numbers

Question 14

What happened at Kanpur

Answer 14

The rebellion was led by Nana Saheb and his secretary Tantia Tope. These two later fled to Gwalior after Kanpur was captured

Question 15

Who led the rebellion at Jagadishpur in Bihar?

Answer 15

Zamindar of Jagadishpur Kunwar Singh. He nursed a grudge against the British who had deprived him of his estates

Question 16

Who was known as the hero of Jagadishpur

Answer 16

Kunwar Singh

Question 17

Who led the rebellion at Baraeily

Answer 17

Bahadur Khan

Question 18

Who led the rebellion at Jhansi and Gwalior

Answer 18

Rani Laxmibai led the rebellion at Jhansi.
She later met up with Nana and Tope at Gwalior where there was battle between the British forces and the rebels. Rani Laxmibai died a martyr while Nana and Tope fled as usual.

Question 19

Which British officer praised Rani Laxmibai for her Bravery?

Answer 19

Sir Huge Rose said “there lay the woman who was the only man among the rebels”.

Question 20

What subsequently happened to Nana Saheb and Tope?

Answer 20

Nana Saheb settled in Nepal and was never to be found again while Tantia Tope was executed in 1859

Question 21

The British appointed which Officer to suppress the mutiny?

Answer 21

Commander Colin Campbell

Question 22

Causes for failure of the rebellion

Answer 22

1. Regional nature of the rebellion without spreading to entire part of the country
2. Vested interests of the native rulers except Bakthawar Khan
3. No proper co ordination
4. Inferior military
5. Lack of resources at disposal when compared to the British

Question 23

With what event did the revolt of 1858 come to a end with?

Answer 23

Tantia Tope’s death in 1859

Question 24

Meerut

Answer 24

Colonel Bakthawar Khan - rebel