List of top History Questions on The Great Revolt of 1857

Two statements labelled as Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Read them carefully and choose the correct option :
Assertion (A) : The Sepoys proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader in the Revolt of 1857.
Reason (R) : Bahadur Shah Zafar’s acceptance gave legitimacy to the Revolt of 1857.
Two statements labelled as Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Read them carefully and choose the correct option:
Assertion (A): In the 1850's Awadh was called the ‘nursery of the Bengal Army'.
Reason (R): Here a large number of sepoys were recruited from entire India.

Which of the following regions was not a major centre of the Revolt of 1857 ?

Two statements labelled as Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Read them carefully and select the correct option:
Assertion (A): The British easily put down the Revolt of 1857.
Reason (R): The British passed a series of laws to quell the insurgency.
Choose the correct pair regarding the local leaders during the Revolt of 1857.
Why was the Revolt of 1857 viewed as a serious threat by the British? Choose the most appropriate option:

What taluqdars thought

The attitude of the taluqdars was best expressed by Hanwant Singh, the Raja of Kalakankar, near Rae Bareli. During the mutiny, Hanwant Singh had given shelter to a British officer, and conveyed him to safety. While taking leave of the officer, Hanwant Singh told him:

Sahib, your countrymen came into this country. You sent your officers round the districts to examine the titles to the estates. At one blow you took from me lands which from time immemorial had been in my family. I submitted. Suddenly misfortune fell upon you. The people of the land rose against you. You came to me whom you had despoiled. I have saved you. But now – now I march at the head of my retainers to Lucknow to try and drive you from the country.

Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow:
The Revolt of 1857
Late in the afternoon of 10 May 1857, the sepoys in the cantonment of Meerut broke out in mutiny. It began in the lines of the tive infantry, spread very swiftly to the cavalry and then to the city. The ordiry people of the town and surrounding villages joined the sepoys. The sepoys captured the bell of arms where the arms and ammunition were kept and proceeded to attack white people, and to ransack and burn their bungalows and property. Government buildings — the record office, jail, court, post office, treasury, etc. — were destroyed and plundered. The telegraph line to Delhi was cut. As darkness descended, a group of sepoys rode off towards Delhi.
The sepoys arrived at the gates of the Red Fort early in the morning on 11 May. It was the month of Ramzan, the Muslim holy month of prayer and fasting. The old Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, had just finished his prayers and meal before the sun rose and the fast began. He heard the commotion at the gates. The sepoys who had gathered under his window told him: “We have come from Meerut after killing all the Englishmen there, because they asked us to bite bullets that were coated with the fat of cows and pigs with our teeth. This has corrupted the faith of Hindus and Muslims alike.” Another group of sepoys also entered Delhi, and the ordiry people of the city joined them. Europeans were killed in large numbers; the rich of Delhi were attacked and looted. It was clear that Delhi had gone out of British control. Some sepoys rode into the Red Fort, without observing the elaborate court etiquette expected of them. They demanded that the emperor give them his blessings. Surrounded by the sepoys, Bahadur Shah had no other option but to comply. The revolt thus acquired a kind of legitimacy because it could now be carried on in the me of the Mughal emperor.

What the sepoys thought

This is one of the arzis (petition or application) of rebel sepoys that have survived:

A century ago the British arrived in Hindostan and gradually entertained troops in their service, and became masters of every state. Our forefathers have always served them, and we also entered their service … By the mercy of God and with our assistance the British also conquered every place they liked, in which thousands of us, Hindostani men were sacrificed, but we never made any excuses or pretences nor revolted …

But in the year eighteen fifty seven the British issued an order that new cartridges and muskets which had arrived from England were to be issued; in the former of which the fats of cows and pigs were mixed; and also that atta of wheat mixed with powdered bones was to be eaten; and even distributed them in every Regiment of infantry, cavalry and artillery …

They gave these cartridges to the sowars (mounted soldiers) of the 3rd Light Cavalry, and ordered them to bite them; the troopers objected to it, and said that they would never bite them, for if they did, their religion and faith would be destroyed … upon this the British officers paraded the men of the 3 Regiments and having prepared 1,400 English soldiers, and other Battalions of European troops and Horse Artillery, surrounded them, and placing six guns before each of the infantry regiments, loaded the guns with grape and made 84 new troopers prisoners, and put them in jail with irons on them … The reason that the sowars of the Cantonment were put into jail was that we should be frightened into biting the new cartridges. On this account we and all our country-men having united together, have fought the British for the preservation of our faith … we have been compelled to make war for two years and the Rajahs and Chiefs who are with us in faith and religion, are still so, and have undergone all sorts of trouble; we have fought for two years in order that our faith and religion may not be polluted. If the religion of a Hindoo or Mussalman is lost, what remains in the world?

Which of the following regions was not a major centre of the Revolt of 1857?
Which of the following regions was not a major centre of the Revolt of 1857 ?
Two statements labelled as Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Read them carefully and select the correct option:
Assertion (A): The British easily put down the Revolt of 1857.
Reason (R): The British passed a series of laws to quell the insurgency.
Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow :
What the sepoys thought
This is one of the arzis (petition or application) of rebel sepoys that have survived :
A century ago the British arrived in Hindostan and gradually entertained troops in their service, and became masters of every state. Our forefathers have always served them, and we also entered their service ... By the mercy of God and with our assistance the British also conquered every place they liked, in which thousands of us, Hindostani men were sacrificed, but we never made any excuses or pretences nor revolted ...
But in the year eighteen fifty seven the British issued an order that new cartridges and muskets which had arrived from England were to be issued; in the former of which the fats of cows and pigs were mixed; and also that attah of wheat mixed with powdered bones was to be eaten; and even distributed them in every Regiment of infantry, cavalry and artillery ...
They gave these cartridges to the sowars (mounted soldiers) of the $3^{\text{rd}}$ Light Cavalry, and ordered them to bite them; the troopers objected to it, and said that they would never bite them, for if they did, their religion and faith would be destroyed ... upon this the British officers paraded the men of the 3 Regiments and having prepared 1,400 English soldiers, and other Battalions of European troops and Horse Artillery, surrounded them, and placing six guns before each of the infantry regiments, loaded the guns with grape and made 84 new troopers prisoners, and put them in jail with irons on them ... The reason that the sowars of the Cantonment were put into jail was that we should be frightened into biting the new cartridges. On this account we and all our country-men having united together, have fought the British for the preservation of our faith ... we have been compelled to make war for two years and the Rajahs and Chiefs who are with us in faith and religion, are still so, and have undergone all sorts of trouble; we have fought for two years in order that our faith and religion may not be polluted. If the religion of a Hindoo or Mussalman is lost, what remains in the world ?
How did the rebel proclamation of 1857 show unity ? Explain.
Which of the following was not a major centre of the Revolt of 1857 ?
How did the rebel proclamation of 1857 show unity ? Explain.
Two statements labelled as Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Read them carefully and choose the correct option :
Assertion (A) : The Sepoys proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader in the Revolt of 1857.
Reason (R) : Bahadur Shah Zafar’s acceptance gave legitimacy to the Revolt of 1857.
Which of the following was not a major centre of the Revolt of 1857 ?
Who was Shah Mal?
Who led the revolt of 1857 in Awadh?
How has Indian imagery preserved Rani Laxmibai’s contribution during the Revolt of 1857? Explain.
Choose the correct option from the following to fill in the blank regarding the leaders of the Revolt of 1857.
Arrah (Bihar) : Kunwar Singh; _______ : Birjis Qadr

Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Two rebels of 1857
Shah Mal

Shah Mal lived in a large village in pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to a clan of Jat cultivators whose kinship ties extended over chaurasee des (eighty-four villages). The lands in the region were irrigated and fertile, with rich dark loam soil. Many of the villagers were prosperous and saw the British land revenue system as oppressive: the revenue demand was high and its collection inflexible. Consequently cultivators were losing land to outsiders, to traders and moneylenders who were coming into the area.

Shah Mal mobilised the headmen and cultivators of chaurasee des, moving at night from village to village, urging people to rebel against the British. As in many other places, the revolt against the British turned into a general rebellion against all signs of oppression and injustice. Cultivators left their fields and plundered the houses of moneylenders and traders. Displaced proprietors took possession of the lands they had lost. Shah Mal’s men attacked government buildings, destroyed the bridge over the river, and dug up metalled roads – partly to prevent government forces from coming into the area, and partly because bridges and roads were seen as symbols of British rule. They sent supplies to the sepoys who had mutinied in Delhi and stopped all official communication between British headquarters and Meerut. Locally acknowledged as the Raja, Shah Mal took over the bungalow of an English officer, turned it into a “hall of justice”, settling disputes and dispensing judgments. He also set up an amazingly effective network of intelligence. For a period the people of the area felt that firangi raj was over, and their raj had come.

Shah Mal was killed in battle in July 1857.

How did the rebellion led by Shah Mal challenge the authority of the British?

Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Two rebels of 1857
Shah Mal

Shah Mal lived in a large village in pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to a clan of Jat cultivators whose kinship ties extended over chaurasee des (eighty-four villages). The lands in the region were irrigated and fertile, with rich dark loam soil. Many of the villagers were prosperous and saw the British land revenue system as oppressive: the revenue demand was high and its collection inflexible. Consequently cultivators were losing land to outsiders, to traders and moneylenders who were coming into the area.

Shah Mal mobilised the headmen and cultivators of chaurasee des, moving at night from village to village, urging people to rebel against the British. As in many other places, the revolt against the British turned into a general rebellion against all signs of oppression and injustice. Cultivators left their fields and plundered the houses of moneylenders and traders. Displaced proprietors took possession of the lands they had lost. Shah Mal’s men attacked government buildings, destroyed the bridge over the river, and dug up metalled roads – partly to prevent government forces from coming into the area, and partly because bridges and roads were seen as symbols of British rule. They sent supplies to the sepoys who had mutinied in Delhi and stopped all official communication between British headquarters and Meerut. Locally acknowledged as the Raja, Shah Mal took over the bungalow of an English officer, turned it into a “hall of justice”, settling disputes and dispensing judgments. He also set up an amazingly effective network of intelligence. For a period the people of the area felt that firangi raj was over, and their raj had come.

Shah Mal was killed in battle in July 1857.

How did Shah Mal’s leadership contribute to the spread of the rebellion?

Which one of the following policies by the British led to discontent among Indian soldiers, contributing to the Revolt of 1857?