Rebels and The Raj Class 12 History Exam Questions

Question. What were the major causes of the revolt?
Answer : 
Administrative Policies and its causes
(a) Imperialist policy of the British administrators.
(b) Doctrine of Lapse
(c) Abolition of pensions and Titles.
(d) Disrespect to the Mughal Emperor.
(e) Annexation of Awadh
(f)Misuse of Subsidiary alliance.
Economic Causes
(a) Drain of wealth
(b) Destruction of Indian industries, trade & commerce.
(c) Exorbitant rate of land revenue.
(d) Resumption of Inami or rent-free lands.
(e) Unemployment and poverty among the masses.
Social Causes: –
(a) Maltreatment of the Indians.
(b) Interference in the social life of Indians.
(c) Spread of Western Education.
(d) propagation of Christianity.
Military Causes or the discontent among the soldiers
(a) Unrest among the Indian soldiers.
(b) Increase ratio of Indian soldiers.
(c) faulty distribution of troops.
(d) General Service Enlistment Act.
(e) Greased cartridges.
Immediate Cause
The Greases cartridge incident

Question. What was Subsidiary Alliance system?
Answer :
Subsidiary Alliance was a system devised by Lord Wellesley in 1798. All those who entered into such an alliance with the British had to accept certain terms and conditions:
(a) The British would be responsible for protecting their ally from external and internal threats to their power.
(b) In the territory of the ally, a British armed contingent would be stationed.
(c) The ally would have to provide the resources for maintaining this contingent.
(d) The ally could enter into agreements with other rulers or engage in warfare only with the permission of the British.

Question. How discontent among the sepoys was a major factor in the outbreak of the Revolt of 1857?
Answer :
In the 1820s, white officers were friendly with the sepoys and maintained a good rapport
But after the 1840s, this began to change. The officers developed a sense of superiority and started treating the sepoys as their racial inferiors
Abuse and physical violence became common and thus the distance between sepoys and officers grew.
Trust was replaced by suspicion.
The episode of the greased cartridges was a classic example of this.
At the same time, there was a close link existed between the sepoys and the rural world.
The large majority of the sepoys of the Bengal Army were recruited from the villages of Awadh and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Many of them were Brahmins or from the “upper” castes. Awadh was called the “nursery of the Bengal Army’’.
In turn, the fears of the sepoys about the new cartridge, their grievances about leave, their grouse about the increasing misbehavior and racial abuse on the part of their white officers were communicated back to the villages.
When the sepoys defied their superior officers and took up arms they were joined very swiftly by their brethren in the villages.

Question. How the revolt symbolized the vision of unity?
Answer : 
The rebel proclamations in 1857 appealed to all sections of the population.
The rebellion was seen as both Hindus and Muslims had an equal share
It was remarkable that during the uprising religious divisions between Hindus and Muslims were hardly noticeable.
In Bareilly in western Uttar Pradesh, in December 1857, the British spent Rs 50,000 to incite the Hindu population against the Muslims. But their attempt failed.
The people were urged to come together and fight to save their livelihood, their faith, their honour, their identity.
In many places, the rebellion against the British widened into an attack on all those who were seen as allies of the British or local oppressors

Question. What were the causes of the failure of the 1857 Revolt?
Answer : 
(a) Breaking out before of the fixed date.
(b) Co-operation of the native states to the British.
(c) Lack of co-operation from the Elite.
(d) Limited resources of the Rebels.
(e)Absence of a common ideal.
(f) Diplomacy of the British.

Question. Why did people believe in the rumours?
Answer : 
We cannot understand the power of rumours and prophecies whether they are factually correct or not. Rumours circulate only when they resonate with the deeper fears and suspicions of people.
British oppressive policies and systems were the main causes of belief in the rumours from the time of Lord William Bentinck, the British adopted policies for “reforming” Indian society by introducing Western education, Western ideas and institutions.
On a variety of reasons like misgovernment and the refusal to recognize the adoption, the British annexed Awadh, Jhansi, Satara etc. Once these territories were annexed, the British introduced their own system of policies.
Indians felt that their faiths, socio-religious customs, patterns of landholding and revenue payment – was being destroyed and replaced with more oppressive. The situation was further aggravated by the activities of Christian missionaries. The people believed that the Indians were forced to convert in to Christianity. All the political and social actions of the British were treated with more suspicion.

Question. Who were the Leaders and Participants in the Revolt of 1857?
Answer : 
I. The Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah agreed to be the normal leader of the rebellion.
II. In Kanpur, the sepoys and the people of the town agreed to support Nana Sahib.
III. In Jansi the rani was forced to assume the leadership of the uprising
IV. Kunwar Singh a local Zamindar in Arrah in Bihar.
V. The local leaders emerged, urging peasants, zamindars, and tribals to revolt eg- Shah Mal mobilized the villagers of Pargene, Baroutin UttarPradesh, Gonooa tribal cultivator of Singhbhum in Chotanagpur.

Question. Discuss the nature of revolt of 1857.
Answer : 
a) Only a Sepoy mutiny
(i) The main ground for the uprising had been prepared by the soldiers.
(ii) Important and immediate cause of the revolt was the use of greased cartridges.
(iii) The revolt did not spread throughout the country.
(iv) The revolt did not enjoy the cooperation and support of the common people
The first war of Independence – Lakhs of artisans, farmers, and soldiers struggled united against British rule.
(c) Hindu and Muslims took an active part in the movement.
(d) The masses took an active part in the struggle against the British at almost all centers of uprisings.
(e) It had a countrywide presence.

Question. Trace the steps by which Awadh was annexed.
Answer :
1.In 1851 Governor-General Lord Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh as “a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”.
2. Five years later in 1856, the kingdom was formally annexed to the British Empire. The conquest happened in several stages.3.
3. The Subsidiary Alliance had been imposed on Awadh in 1801.
4. By the terms of this alliance, the Nawab had to disband its military force and allow the British to position their troops within the kingdom.
6. Gradually the Nawab became dependent on the British to maintain law and order
7. In the meantime the British were increasingly interested in acquiring the territory of Awadh.
8. They felt that the soil there was good for producing indigo and cotton, and the region was ideally located to be developed into a principal market of Upper India.
9. In 1856 Awadh was annexed

Question. How discontent among the sepoys a major factor in the outbreak of the Revolt of 1857?
Answer :
1. In the 1820s, white officers were friendly with the sepoys and maintained a good rapport.
2. But after the 1840s, these officers developed a sense of superiority and started treating the sepoys as their racial inferiors.
3. Abuse and physical violence became common and thus the distance between sepoys and officers grew.
4. Trust was replaced by suspicion.
5. The episode of the greased cartridges was a classic example of this.
6. At the same time there was a close link existed between the sepoys and the rural world.
7. The large majority of the sepoys of the Bengal Army were recruited from the villages of Awadh and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
8. Many of them were Brahmins or from the “upper” castes.
9 Awadh was called the “nursery of the Bengal Army’’.
10. The fears of the sepoys about the new cartridge, their grievances, etc were communicated back to the villages.
11. When the sepoys defied their superior officers and took up arms they were joined very swiftly by their brethren in the villages

Question. What were the repressive measures adopted by the British to put the rebellion under control?
Answer : 
1. Before sending out troops to reconquer North India, the British passed a series of laws
2. The whole of North India was put under martial law but military officers were given the power to try and punish Indians suspected of rebellion.
3. Only death punishment was given for the rebellion.
4. The British mounted two attacks to capture Delhi. One force moved from Calcutta into North India and the other from Punjab – which was largely peaceful – to reconquer Delhi.
The fighting and losses on both sides were heavy.
In the Gangetic plain to the progress of British reconquest was slow.
The forces had to reconquer the area village by village.
Awadh was brought under control only in March 1858 after protracted fighting.
In large parts of present-day Uttar Pradesh, big landholders and peasants had offered united resistance, the British tried to break up the unity by promising to give back their estates.
5. Rebel landholders were dispossessed and the loyal rewarded Many landholders died in fighting the British or they escaped into Nepal where they died of illness or starvation

Question. How nationalist imageries emerged through the revolt?
Answer :
The national movement in the twentieth century drew its inspiration from the events of 857.
A whole world of nationalist imagination was woven around the revolt.
It was celebrated as the First War of Independence in which all sections of the people of India came together to fight against imperial rule.
Art and literature, as much as the writing of history, have helped in keeping alive the memory of 1857.
The leaders of the revolt were presented as heroic figures.
Heroic poems were written about the valour of the queen who, with a sword in one hand and the reins of her horse in the other, fought for the freedom of her motherland.
Rani of Jhansi was represented as a masculine figure chasing the enemy, slaying British soldiers, and valiantly fighting till her last.
Through the paintings and cartoons, we know about the public that looked at the paintings, appreciated or criticized the images, and bought copies and reproductions to put up in their homes.
They also shaped sensibilities.
On the other hand, nationalist imageries of the revolt helped shape the nationalist imagination.

Question. Discuss the evidence that indicates planning and coordination on the part of the rebels.
Answer : 
The rebellion was not abrupt and sporadic but to a great extent done with planning and care. This is brought out by the following points:
1. The rebels decided to strike when a large part of the British army was in Burma.
2. The time chosen for the rebellion was summer that is a very hostile weather condition for the British. Summer was also the season when the entire countryside would be easy to navigate.
3. To spread the message of rebellion, the rebels used symbols of bread and lotus from village to village.
4. Efforts were made to maintain Hindu-Moslem unity. (Write the eg of 50,000)