Revolt of 1857

By: MG Jayasankar (20+ Years Teaching Experience)

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Practice Problems with Solution

Question 1: The state of Jhansi was made a part of the British empire in India through A: Doctrine of Lapse B: Policy of Subsidiary Alliance C: War against Rani Lakshmi Bai D: Partition of Bengal

Question 2: Who was the Nawab of Awadh when Dalhousie annexed the princely state in 1856? A: Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah B: Wajid Ali Shah C: Shuja-ud Daula D: Alivardi Khan

Question 3: Who among the following British personalities stated the Revolt of 1857 as a National Revolt? A: Lord Dalhousie B: Lord Canning C: Lord Ellenborough D: Benjamin Disraeli

Question 4: Mangal Pandey fired the first shot of the Revolt of 1857 at ______A: Barrackpore B: Meerut C: Kanpur D: Jhansi

Question 5: The administrative consequence of the revolt of 1857 was transfer of power from A: East India Company to the British Crown B: British Crown to the East India Company C: East India Company to the Governor General D: British Crown to the Board of Directors

Question 6: Which among the following places was not an important centre of the Revolt of 1857? A: Agra

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B: Kanpur C: Jhansi D: Lucknow

Question 7: Who among the following analysed the causes of the uprising of 1857 advocating reconciliation between the British and the Muslims? A: Syed Ahmed Brelvi B: Shah Waliullah C: Syed Ahmed Khan D: Syed Amir Ali

Question 8: Begum Hazrat Mahal led the 1857 Revolt from ______A: Lucknow B: Kanpur C: Banares D: Allahabad

Question 9: Where was the Royal Durbar held on 1st November 1858 to issue the Queen's proclamation? A: Lucknow B: Allahabad C: Delhi D: Kanpur

Question 10: The Revolt of 1857 failed mainly because ______A: of the superior resources of the British Empire B: it was poorly organised and the rebels had no common ideal C: it had very little nationalist sentiment D: it was localised, restricted and scattered

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Answers and Solutions

1:- A Solution: The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy devised by the British. As per the doctrine, any Indian state under the direct influence and protection of the British East India Company would automatically lapse or get annexed by the British, if the ruler died without a natural male heir. The East India Company under Lord Dalhousie annexed the state of Jhansi in 1854 using this rule. Other states annexed suing this method were Satara [1848], Nagpur, Sambhalpur and Baghat [1850] and Udaipur [1852]. 2:- B Solution: In 1856, the state of Awadh was annexed by the British East India Company under the Doctorine of Lapse and the then Nawab, Wajid Ali Shah, was exiled to Calcutta. In the subsequent revolt of 1857, his son from a second wife, Begum Hazrat Mahal, was crowned ruler. But his reign was short-lived as the British recaptured the kingdom within 18 months.

3:- D Solution: Benjamin Disraeli, the leader of the Conservative Party in England termed the revolt of 1857 as a National Revolt. 4:- A Solution: Mangal Pandey was a sepoy of the 34 th Native Infantry stationed at Barrackpore near Calcutta. He fired the first shot of the revolt on 29 th March, 1857 and killed two British officers. The Indian soldiers present refused to obey the orders to arrest Mangal Pandey. However, he was subsequently arrested and hanged to death. 5:- A Solution: The first and immediate result of the revolt was the liquidation of the English East India Company. The power to govern India was transferred from the Company to the Crown and the British reorganised the army, financial system and administration of India. A new government depart called the India Office was created in England to handle the administration of India. A Secretary of State for India was appointed for formulating Indian Policy. The Governor General of india got a new title as Viceroy and he was entrusted with the implementation of policies devised by the India Office. Lord Canning was the first Viceroy of the British government in India. 6:- A Solution: The Revolt of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the East India Company's army on 10 th May 1857 in the town of Meerut and soon escalated into other mutinies and civil rebellions largely in the upper gangetic plains and central India. The major hostilities were led by Nana Saheb in Kanpur, Rani Lakhsmi Bai in Jhansi and Begum hazrat Mahal in Lucknow. Agra was not an important centre of the Revolt of 1857.

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7:- D Solution: Aligarh Movement was formed by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to educate the muslims of south Asia, after the defeat of the rebel forces in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The most significant achievement of the Aligarh Movement was the establishment of Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College at Aligarh, which later became Aligarh Muslim University. 8:- A Solution: Begum Hazrat Mahal was the second wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh whose kingdom was annexed by the British under the Doctorine of Lapse in 1856. She ruled from Lucknow on behalf of her minor son Brijis Qadar and she led the 1857 Revolt from Lucknow. 9:- B Solution: A Grand Durbar was held at Allahabad on 1 st November 1858 in which Lord Canning announced the Royal Proclamation that the British Queen has assumed charge of the administration of India. The document was called "The Magna Carta of the People of India". 10:- B Solution: The main reason for the failure of the Revolt of 1857 was the lack of cohesion, coordination and understanding between the various rebel forces. There was no unifying common ideal among the rebel units and hence no cooperation to achieve a common goal.

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