THE REVOLT OF 1857

Question 1

What was the Religious disabilities Act of 1856?

Answer 1

It modified the Hindu customs, declaring that a change of religion did not debar a son from inheriting the property of his heathen father.
Was one of the socio religious cause for 1857 revolt.

Question 2

Influence of outside events on the revolt of 1857?

Answer 2

• British suffered serious losses in
  1. The first Afghan war (1838-42).
  2. Punjab wars (1845-49).
  3. Crimean wars (1854-56).

Question 3

Reasons for discontent among sepoys during 1857 revolt?

Answer 3

1. Restrictions on wearing caste and sectarian marks and secret rumours of proselytizing activities of chaplains (often maintained on the Company’s expenses which meant at Indian expenses).
2. In 1856, Lord Canning’s government passed the General Service Enlistment Act which decreed that all future recruits to the Bengal Army would have to give an undertaking to serve anywhere their services might be required by the government.
3. Sepoys would not be given the foreign service allowance (bhatta) when serving in Sindh or Punjab. The annexation of Awadh, home of many of the sepoys, further inflamed their feelings.
4. Indian sepoys was made to feel a subordinate at every step and was discriminated against racially and in matter of promotion and privileges.

Question 4

1. Mixing of the bone dust in atta (flour) and the introduction of the Enfield rifle enhanced the sepoys growing disaffection with the government.
2. The greased cartridges created a new cause of discontent in the Army.
   True/False?

Answer 4

1. True
2. False– The greased cartridges did not create a new cause of discontent in the Army, but supplied the occasion for the simmering discontent to come out in the open.

Question 5

1. The spontaneous raising of the last Mughal king (Bahadur Shah) to the leadership of the country was a recognition of the fact that the long reign of Mughal dynasty had become the traditional symbols of India’s political unity.
2. Though religion was a factor, the broad outlook of the rebels was not influenced by religious identity but by the perception of the British as the common enemy.
   True/false?

Answer 5

1. True
2. True.

Question 6

Did the civilians joined the revolt of 1857?

Answer 6

The revolt of the sepoys was accompanied by a rebellion of the civil population, particularly in the north-western provinces of Awadh.

Question 7

Who was the weakest link in the chain of leadership of the 1857 revolt?

Answer 7

Emperor Bahadur Shah.

Question 8

Why Nana Saheb revolted against British in 1857 revolt?

Answer 8

• At Kanpur, the natural choice was Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the last peshwa, Baji Rao 2.
• He was refused the family title and banished from Poona and was living near Kanpur.
• Nana Saheb expelled the English from Kanpur, proclaimed himself the peshwa, acknowledged Bahadur Shah as the emperor of India and declared himself to be his governor.

Question 9

Why Khan Bahadur revolted against British in 1857 revolt?

Answer 9

At Bareilly, Khan Bahadur, not enthusiastic about the pension being granted by the British, he organized an army of 40,000 soldiers and offered stiff resistance to the British.

Question 10

Why Kunwar Singh revolted against British in 1857 revolt?

Answer 10

In Bihar, the revolt was led by Kunwar Singh, the zamidar of Jagdishpur.
He was deprived of his estates by the British.

Question 11

Why Rani Laxmibai revolted against British in 1857 revolt?

Answer 11

• Rani Laxmibai at Jhansi.
  Lord Dalhousie, the governor general, had refused to allow her adopted son to succeed to the throne after her husband Raja Gangadhar Rao died, and had annexed the state by Doctrine of Lapse.
• She was joined by Tantia Tope, a close associate of Nana Saheb, and they both marched towards Gwalior.
• The Sindhia, the local ruler, however, decided to side with the English and took shelter at Agra.

Question 12

People who backed out of revolt of 1857?

Answer 12

1. Big zamidars acted as “break-waters to storm”; even taluqdars backed off once promises of land restitution were spelt out.
2. Educated Indians viewed this revolt as backward looking, supportive of the feudal order and as a reaction of the traditional conservative forces to modernity.
3. Rulers who did not participate included the Sindhia of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, the rulers of Patiala, Sindh and other Sikh chieftains and the Maharaja of Kashmir.

Question 13

According to ________, “Two facts stand out clearly in the midst of the tangled story of the Rising of 1857. The first is the remarkable sense of unity among the Hindus and Muslims of India in this period. The other is the deep loyalty which the people felt for the Mughal Crown.

Answer 13

Maulana Azad.

Question 14

“The Indian War of Independence, 1857” is written by?

Answer 14

V.D. Savarkar. He called it as a planned war of national independence.

Question 15

“Eighteen Fifty Seven” is written by?

Answer 15

Dr N.N Sen. He said it begun as a fight for religion but ending as a war of independence.

Question 16

Who considered the revolt of 1857, as neither the first, nor national, nor a war of independence?

Answer 16

Dr R.C. Majumdar.

Question 17

1. After the revolt of 1857 the people of India were promised freedom of religion without interference from British officials.
2. The proclamation also promised equal and impartial protection under law to all Indians, besides equal opportunities in govemnment services irrespective of race or creed.
3. It was promised that old Indian rights, customs and practices would be given due regard while framing and administering the law.
   True/false?

Answer 17

1. True
2. True
3. True.

Question 18

What was the Army Amalgamation scheme?

Answer 18

• The army Amalgamation Scheme, 1861 moved the Company’s European troops to the services of the Crown.
• Further, the European troops in India were constantly revamped by periodical visits to England, sometimes termed as the ‘linked-battalion’ scheme.
• All Indian artillery units, except a few mountain batteries, were made defunct.
• All higher posts in the army and the artillery departments were reserved for the Europeans.
• Till the first decade of the twentieth century, no Indian was thought fit to deserve the king’s commission and a new English recruit was considered superior to an Indian officer holding the viceroy’s commission.

Question 19

What was the conservative brand of liberalism approach?

Answer 19

Many liberals in Britain began to believe that Indians were beyond reform. This new approach— conservative brand of liberalism, as it was called by Thomas Metcalf—had the solid support of the conservative and aristocratic classes of England who espoused the complete non-interference in the traditional structure of Indian society. Thus the era of reforms came to an end.

Question 20

Significance of the 1857 Revolt?

Answer 20

1. For the British the Revolt of 1857 proved useful in that it showed up the glaring shortcomings in the Company’s administration and its army, which they rectified promptly.
2. For the Indians, the 1857 Revolt had a major influence on the course of the struggle for freedom. It brought out in the open grievances of people and the sepoys, which were seen to be genuine. However, it was also obvious that the primitive arms which the Indians possessed were no match for the advanced weapons of the British.

Question 21

Centres of 1857 Revolt and Leaders.
1. Delhi–
2. Kanpur–
3. Lucknow–
4. Bareilly–
5. Bihar–
6. Faizabad–
7. Jhansi–
8. Baghpat–

Answer 21

1. Delhi– General Bakth Khan
2. Kanpur– Nana Saheb
3. Lucknow– Begum Hazrat Mahal
4. Bareilly– Khan Bahadur
5. Bihar– Kunwar Singh
6. Faizabad– Maulvi Ahmadullah
7. Jhansi– Rani Laxmibai
8. Baghpat– Shah Mal.