History & Civics
Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow:
These rebels of Delhi must be made an example to all their countrymen for ages to come of the consequences of such crimes, at the same time that every possible precaution is taken to do away with all temptation or provocation to future offences of a similar character.
— The Guardian, Manchester, June 30, 1857
(a) Who are referred to as 'rebels of Delhi' in the excerpt above? When did they rebel and where?
(b) What was the temptation or provocation being talked about in the excerpt?
(c) What were the consequences of their alleged 'crimes”?
Revolt 1857
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Answer
(a) The 'rebels of Delhi' being mentioned are the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah, the soldiers who came from Meerut, and the local infantry who joined them. They rebelled in Delhi starting from May 11, 1857 when they proclaimed Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of India. They seized Delhi and raised arms against the British.
(b) The temptation or provocation being talked about in the excerpt refers to the causes and motivations behind the Indian rebellion of 1857. Some of the causes being:
- Political causes like policy of expansion by using the doctrine of lapse, by subsidiary alliance and on the pretext of alleged misrule.
- Socio-religious causes like interference with social customs, oppression of the poor and activities of missionaries.
- Economic causes like exploitation of economic resources and decay of cottage industries and handicrafts.
- Military causes like ill-treatment of Indian soldiers and General Service Enlistment Act.
- Immediate cause being introduction of the Enfield Rifle.
(c) The consequences of 'their' alleged 'crimes' being talked about in the excerpt are:
- Emperor Bahadur Shah was found guilty for aiding the movement and as a punishment his two sons were shot dead in front of him and he was sentenced to life imprisonment and deported to Yangon in Myanmar.
- Mass executions were carried out.
- The rebel troops were punished harshly.
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Related Questions
Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow:
"The sepoys are now enjoined to display communal harmony and exhorted to pray to their respective gods…. They are now called sipah-i-Hindostan (the Army of India) and there are appeals now to fellow countrymen "ahl-i watan", dear compatriots "aziz ham-watan" with specific exhortations for a united rallying of Hindus and Muslims."
— The Dehli Urdu Akhbar (the first Urdu weekly newspaper), June 1857(a) What was the policy that the British followed to dispel 'the communal harmony'?
(b) Briefly explain how the British unwittingly led to the united rallying of Hindus and Muslims by introducing the Enfield Rifle.
(c) How was the British army reorganised to avoid another uprising of this kind?
Economic exploitation of the country produced discontent, resentment and resistance among the people that culminated in the Great Uprising of 1857. In this context discuss:
(a) The ruin of trade and handicrafts
(b) Impoverishment of the cultivators
(c) Subordination of Indian economy to British interests (making India an agricultural colony of British capitalism)
Although the First War of Independence of 1857 failed, it had important consequences for India. In this context, answer the following questions:
(a) How did the uprising give rise to nationalism in India?
(b) How did the end of the East India Company's rule bring in grave economic perils in India?
(c) State how the British Government tried to pacify the feelings of Indians with regard to: (i) their religious practices (ii) the Princely States.
Study the picture and answer the following questions:
(a) Who are the persons in the picture? How were they treated by their British counterparts?
(b) State any three grievances they had against the British.
(c) What changes were brought in their status after the Uprising of 1857?