Early Uprisings & Revolt of 1857: previous-year questions

Answer: (B) Chapati

In the early months of 1857 chapatis were passed from village to village across North India, usually by village watchmen, each village baking more and sending them on; British officers took this unexplained circulation as a sign of coming trouble. The other symbol associated with the revolt is the red lotus, said to have been passed among sepoy regiments. Swords, scarves and coins are not recorded as such symbols. Key facts: the immediate cause was the greased cartridge of the Enfield rifle; Mangal Pandey's outbreak took place at Barrackpore (Bengal) on 29 March 1857 and the revolt proper began at Meerut on 10 May 1857, with Bahadur Shah Zafar proclaimed emperor at Delhi.

Answer: (B) Ratan Mani

The Reang (Bru) uprising of 1942-43 in the princely state of Tripura was led by Ratanmani Noatia, a religious teacher with a large following among the Reangs, against heavy taxes, forced levies during the Second World War and the oppression of state-appointed chiefs. It was put down by the forces of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya (option D), the ruler from 1923 to 1947 who is remembered as the architect of modern Tripura. Parikshit Jamatia (A) led the earlier Jamatia revolt of 1863 in Tripura, and Birsa Munda (C) belongs to Chotanagpur. The Reangs are Tripura's only Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.

Answer: (A) Lord Canning

Lord Canning was Governor-General when the revolt broke out in 1857 and became the first Viceroy in 1858. Cornwallis served in the 1780s–1800s, and Curzon and Minto came decades later.

Answer: (A) Munda uprising

Ulgulan, meaning 'the Great Tumult', is the name of the Munda uprising of 1899-1900 led by Birsa Munda ('Dharti Aba') in the Ranchi-Khunti region of Chotanagpur against dikus (outsiders), landlords, missionaries and the British, aiming at Munda Raj; Birsa died in Ranchi jail in June 1900, and the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (1908) followed. The Santhal rebellion (1855-56) is called the 'Hul', and the Kol uprising (1831-32) was led by Buddhu Bhagat. Birsa's birthday, 15 November, is observed as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.

Answer: (C) Santhal rebellion

Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, with their brothers Chand and Bhairav and sisters Phulo and Jhano, led the Santhal Hul of 1855-56, which began at Bhognadih in the Damin-i-Koh (Rajmahal hills) against moneylenders and traders (dikus), zamindars and Company officials; afterwards the separate district of Santhal Parganas was created. 30 June is observed as Hul Diwas. The Chuar rebellion (Jungle Mahals, 1798-99) had leaders like Durjan Singh and Rani Shiromani; the Sannyasi-Fakir rebellion (1763-1800) - Majnu Shah, Bhabani Pathak, Devi Chaudhurani; the Kol uprising (1831-32) - Buddhu Bhagat.

Answer: (D) Alluri Sitha Rama Raju

The Rampa (Manyam) Rebellion of 1922-24 in the Godavari Agency of present-day Andhra Pradesh was led by Alluri Sitarama Raju, who organised the Koya and other hill tribes against the Madras Forest Act, the ban on podu (shifting) cultivation and forced labour, and raided police stations for arms; he was captured and shot in May 1924 and is remembered as 'Manyam Veerudu' (Hero of the Jungle). T. Prakasam, 'Andhra Kesari', was the first Chief Minister of Andhra State; Tiruppur Kumaran died holding the national flag in 1932 ('Kodi Kaatha Kumaran'); Puli Thevan was an 18th-century Tamil poligar who resisted the Company.

Answer: (C) Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

V.D. Savarkar's "The Indian War of Independence 1857" was the first major work to describe the 1857 revolt as a war of independence rather than a mere mutiny.

Answer: (B) The Nawab of Oudh

Birjis Qadr, son of the deposed Wajid Ali Shah, was proclaimed Nawab of Oudh (Awadh) by rebels in Lucknow during the 1857 revolt.

Answer: (A) 1 November 1858

Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1 November 1858 transferred control of India from the East India Company to the British Crown.

Answer: (C) Nana Sahib

Nana Sahib (Dhondu Pant), the adopted heir of the last Peshwa, led the rebellion at Kanpur (Cawnpore) in 1857, with Tantia Tope acting as his key military commander in the campaign.

Answer: (A) Amritsar

On 13 April 1919, British troops under General Dyer fired on an unarmed crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, killing hundreds — a pivotal event that hardened nationalist sentiment across India.

Answer: (D) Begum Hazrat Mahal

At Lucknow the revolt was led by Begum Hazrat Mahal, who proclaimed her minor son Birjis Qadr as Nawab of Awadh. Other centres and leaders: Delhi - Bahadur Shah II with General Bakht Khan; Kanpur - Nana Sahib with Tantia Tope and Azimullah; Allahabad - Maulvi Liaquat Ali; Jhansi - Rani Lakshmibai; Jagdishpur (Bihar) - Kunwar Singh; Bareilly - Khan Bahadur Khan; Faizabad - Maulvi Ahmadullah.

Answer: (C) Travancore

Velu Thampi Dalawa, Dewan of Travancore, led a rebellion against British paramountcy in 1808-09, one of the earliest major armed resistances to Company rule.

Answer: (C) Lord Canning

Lord Canning was Governor-General (and subsequently the first Viceroy) of India when the 1857 revolt broke out.

Answer: (D) 1919, Amritsar

British troops under General Dyer opened fire on an unarmed crowd at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on 13 April 1919.

Answer: (B) Punjab

Punjab remained comparatively unaffected by the 1857 uprising, partly because Sikh soldiers had little sympathy for the Mughal dynasty, and partly because the British had recruited many Punjabis who had recently been defeated in the Anglo-Sikh Wars. Bengal and Awadh saw significant rebel activity, particularly in Chittagong and Lucknow respectively.