21 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markOn what date, and where, did the mutiny of 1857 begin?
(A) 11 May, Delhi(B) 10 May, Meerut(C) 30 May, Lucknow(D) 10 May, Kanpur - 1 markWhat did Bahadur Shah show in his first reaction to being asked to lead the revolt?
(A) Enthusiastic acceptance of leadership(B) A demand to punish the sepoys(C) Horror, and reluctance to accept leadership(D) A declaration of support for the British - 1 markShah Mal is known for organising the headmen and cultivators of which region against the British land revenue system?
(A) Pargana Barout, Uttar Pradesh(B) Awadh(C) Chotanagpur(D) Jhansi - 1 markGonoo, who led the Kol tribals, was a tribal cultivator from where?
(A) Bundelkhand(B) Awadh(C) Singhbhum, Chotanagpur(D) Punjab - 1 markThe widespread rumour about market flour was connected to what supposed British conspiracy?
(A) Creating a flour shortage to control trade(B) Bankrupting farmers(C) Simply raising taxes(D) Destroying Hindu and Muslim religion and forcing conversion to Christianity - 1 markWhat phrase did Governor General Lord Dalhousie use for Awadh in 1851?
(A) ‘The nursery of the Bengal Army’(B) ‘A house made of cards’(C) ‘A cherry that will drop into our mouth one day’(D) ‘A golden opportunity’ - 1 markThe Summary Settlement of 1856 treated Awadh’s taluqdars as what?
(A) Legitimate hereditary landholders(B) Mere interlopers with no legitimate stake in land(C) Independent rulers(D) Religious trustees - 1 markWhy did Awadh and eastern UP earn the nickname ‘the nursery of the Bengal Army’?
(A) Most Bengal Army sepoys, many of upper caste, came from there(B) It held the largest cantonment(C) It had the main military training centre(D) It was army headquarters - 1 markWhen did the British retake Delhi?
(A) June 1857(B) June 1858(C) March 1858(D) Late September 1857 - 1 markWho painted ‘Relief of Lucknow’ (1859)?
(A) Joseph Noel Paton(B) Thomas Jones Barker(C) Felice Beato(D) William Hodges - 1 markHow did twentieth-century Indian nationalism reclaim 1857?
(A) As the ‘First War of Independence’(B) As a ‘sepoy mutiny’(C) As a ‘civil war’(D) As a ‘religious conflict’
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The Azamgarh Proclamation addressed every social group with one undifferentiated appeal.
Reason (R): The proclamation separately addressed zamindars, merchants, public servants, artisans and religious leaders, each according to their own specific grievance.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I : 1) Nana Sahib 2) Rani Lakshmi Bai 3) Kunwar Singh 4) Birjis Qadr
List II : a) Arrah, Bihar b) Kanpur c) Jhansi d) Awadh
(A) 1-a, 2-d, 3-c, 4-b(B) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a, 4-d(C) 1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c(D) 1-c, 2-b, 3-d, 4-a - 1 markMatch List I with List II. (NCERT’s own ‘Books for Additional Reading’ list.)
List I : 1) Gautam Bhadra 2) Rudrangshu Mukherjee 3) Tapti Roy 4) Eric Stokes
List II : a) Peasants and the Raj b) Awadh in Revolt, 1857-58 c) Four Rebels of Eighteen-Fifty-Seven d) Raj of the Rani
(A) 1-d, 2-b, 3-a, 4-c(B) 1-a, 2-c, 3-d, 4-b(C) 1-c, 2-b, 3-d, 4-a(D) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c, 4-d
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: The revolt of 1857 was especially deep and long-lasting in Awadh.
Statement II: Annexation, taluqdar dispossession and being a sepoy-recruiting centre all came together there.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true - 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: By the 1840s, officer-sepoy relations had become marked by racial distance and suspicion.
Statement II: Officers of the 1820s wrestled and hunted with sepoys and were fluent in Hindustani.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following events of 1857 in chronological order.
1. The Azamgarh Proclamation
2. The mutiny at Meerut
3. The Battle of Chinhat
4. The British recapture of Delhi
(A) 1-2-3-4(B) 3-1-2-4(C) 4-3-1-2(D) 2-3-1-4 - 1 markArrange these events of 1857 in chronological order.
1. The Azamgarh Proclamation
2. The Illustrated London News publishes images of executions at Peshawar
3. Punch publishes its ‘Justice’ cartoon
4. Punch publishes ‘The Clemency of Canning’
(A) 1-2-3-4(B) 3-1-4-2(C) 1-3-2-4(D) 4-2-1-3
6 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich of the following was NOT connected to a pre-British ruling family?
(A) Bahadur Shah(B) Nana Sahib(C) Birjis Qadr(D) Shah Mal
7 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
“It is well known to all, that in this age the people of Hindostan, both Hindoos and Mohammedans, are being ruined under the tyranny and the oppression of the infidel and treacherous English. It is therefore the bounden duty of all the wealthy people of India, especially those who have any sort of connection with the Mohammedan royal families, and are considered the pastors and masters of their people, to stake their lives and property for the well-being of the public. … be it known to all, that the ancient works, both of the Hindoos and Mohammedans, the writings of miracle workers, and the calculation of the astrologers, pundits, … all agree in asserting that the English will no longer have any footing in India or elsewhere.”
— the Azamgarh Proclamation, 25 August 1857 (Source 5)
— the Azamgarh Proclamation, 25 August 1857 (Source 5)
- 1 markAccording to the passage above (the Azamgarh Proclamation), who is called upon to stake their lives and property for the well-being of the public?
(A) Peasants only(B) Sepoys only(C) All the wealthy people of India, especially those linked to Muslim royal families(D) Zamindars only
8 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) Bahadur Shah’s blessing of the revolt gave it legitimacy far beyond a single cantonment’s mutiny.
(ii) Once word spread, cantonment after cantonment across the Gangetic valley rose.
(A) Both are true(B) Only (i) is true(C) Only (ii) is true(D) Both are false
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) The revolt began at Meerut on 10 May 1857 when sepoys mutinied; they reached the Red Fort in Delhi the next morning.
- (C) The old Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah, initially horrified, was pressured into blessing the revolt, which gave it legitimacy far beyond a single cantonment’s mutiny.
- (A) Shah Mal was a Jat cultivator of pargana Barout with kinship ties across chaurasee des (84 villages); he moved village to village by night mobilising headmen and cultivators.
- (C) Gonoo was a tribal cultivator of Singhbhum in Chotanagpur, showing leadership was not confined to the elite.
- (D) The rumour held that bone dust from cows and pigs was mixed into market flour, part of a supposed British plot to destroy caste and religion and force Christian conversion.
- (C) Dalhousie used this phrase for Awadh in 1851; the kingdom was formally annexed in 1856.
- (B) The Summary Settlement assumed taluqdars were mere interlopers with no legitimate stake in land, and stripped them wherever it could.
- (A) Most Bengal Army sepoys, many Brahmin or ‘upper’ caste, came from Awadh and eastern UP, so grievances flowed both ways between village and barracks.
- (D) The British mounted a two-pronged attack from Calcutta and Punjab but did not retake Delhi until late September 1857, after heavy losses on both sides.
- (B) Thomas Jones Barker’s painting places Colin Campbell, Outram and Havelock centrally, well lit.
- (A) Twentieth-century nationalism reclaimed 1857 as the ‘First War of Independence’, uniting all communities against imperial rule.
Assertion-Reason
- (D) A is false, but R is true: R’s fact is correct, and it is exactly why the proclamation deliberately targeted each group separately rather than with a single undifferentiated appeal, as A wrongly claims.
Match the Following
- (B) Nana Sahib was linked to Kanpur (1-b), Rani Lakshmi Bai to Jhansi (2-c), Kunwar Singh to Arrah, Bihar (3-a), and Birjis Qadr to Awadh (4-d).
- (C) Gautam Bhadra wrote ‘Four Rebels of Eighteen-Fifty-Seven’ (1-c, 1987), Rudrangshu Mukherjee wrote ‘Awadh in Revolt, 1857-58’ (2-b, 1984), Tapti Roy wrote ‘Raj of the Rani’ (3-d, 2006), and Eric Stokes wrote ‘Peasants and the Raj’ (4-a, 1980), per the chapter’s own ‘Books for Additional Reading’ list.
Statement-Based Questions
- (A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I: it is exactly this layering of grievances in Awadh that explains the depth and duration of resistance there.
- (B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I: Statement II describes an earlier, independent period (the 1820s atmosphere) and is a contrasting comparison point, not an explanation of the change described in Statement I.
Chronological Ordering
- (D) Meerut mutinied on 10 May, the Battle of Chinhat was fought on 30 June, the Azamgarh Proclamation came on 25 August, and Delhi was retaken by late September: order 2-3-1-4.
- (C) The Azamgarh Proclamation came on 25 August, ‘Justice’ on 12 September, the Illustrated London News images of the Peshawar executions on 3 October, and ‘The Clemency of Canning’ on 24 October 1857: order 1-3-2-4.
Odd One Out
- (D) Bahadur Shah, Nana Sahib and Birjis Qadr were all linked to pre-British ruling families; Shah Mal was a local, non-elite Jat cultivator-leader.
Passage-Based Questions
- (C) The proclamation says it is the bounden duty of all the wealthy people of India, especially those with any connection to the Mohammedan royal families, to stake their lives and property for the well-being of the public.
True / False
- (A) Both are true: Bahadur Shah’s nominal acceptance of leadership gave the revolt wider legitimacy, and it did spread across the Gangetic valley.
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