Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
- The revolt began at Meerut on 10 May 1857 and soon spread to Delhi, where the rebels proclaimed Bahadur Shah II as their symbolic leader.
- The immediate cause of the revolt was the introduction of the permanent settlement in Bengal.
- The revolt was confined entirely to the city of Delhi and did not spread to other regions.
- The sepoys at Barrackpore were the first to use the new Enfield rifle willingly without any objection.
The revolt erupted at Meerut on 10 May 1857, and the rebellious sepoys marched to Delhi, where they proclaimed the aged Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II (Zafar) as their nominal leader. The Permanent Settlement (1793) was an unrelated revenue policy—the immediate spark was the greased cartridge controversy. The revolt spread across northern and central India, including Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, Bareilly, Arrah, and beyond, so it was never confined to Delhi alone. At Barrackpore, Mangal Pandey rebelled against the use of the Enfield rifle cartridges, which is the opposite of accepting them willingly.
- Kanpur — Nana Saheb
- Jhansi — Rani Lakshmibai
- Lucknow — Begum Hazrat Mahal
- Bareilly — Kunwar Singh
Nana Saheb led the revolt at Kanpur, assisted by Tantia Tope, making the first pair correct. Rani Lakshmibai led the heroic resistance at Jhansi, correctly matching the second pair. Begum Hazrat Mahal spearheaded the rebellion at Lucknow on behalf of her young son, confirming the third pair. The fourth pair is incorrect—the leader at Bareilly was Khan Bahadur Khan, not Kunwar Singh. Kunwar Singh led the revolt in Bihar at Arrah and Jagdishpur, which is the critical distinction to remember.
Reason (R): The Government of India Act, 1858 transferred the powers of the Company to the British Crown.
Both Assertion and Reason are correct. A major consequence of the Revolt of 1857 was the termination of East India Company rule in India. The Government of India Act, 1858 abolished the Company, transferred its territories and powers to the British Crown, and created the office of the Secretary of State for India. Since the Reason provides the mechanism by which Assertion occurred, the Reason correctly explains the Assertion, making option (a) the correct answer.
- Indian historians and leaders such as V.D. Savarkar described the revolt as the "First War of Indian Independence."
- After the revolt, the British policy of annexation through the Doctrine of Lapse was vigorously expanded across India.
Statement 1 is correct. V.D. Savarkar, in his book, famously characterised the 1857 uprising as the "First War of Indian Independence," though interpretations of its nature remain debated among historians. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Doctrine of Lapse (associated with Lord Dalhousie) was effectively abandoned after 1857, not expanded. The Crown's 1858 Proclamation assured Indian princes that their rights and dignity would be respected, marking a reversal of the annexation policy.
- The introduction of the greased cartridges for the new Enfield rifle was the immediate cause of the revolt.
- The Doctrine of Lapse, which annexed states like Jhansi and Satara, was a major political cause of resentment.
- The revolt received widespread and active support from most of the major Indian rulers and princely states.
- Educated middle-class Indians and most merchants largely remained aloof from the revolt.
Statements 1, 2, and 4 are correct. The greased cartridges—rumoured to be smeared with cow and pig fat, offending both Hindu and Muslim sepoys—were the immediate trigger for the uprising. The Doctrine of Lapse annexed states such as Satara, Jhansi, and Nagpur, generating deep political resentment among dispossessed rulers. The educated middle class, big merchants, and moneylenders largely stayed away, with the revolt drawing strength mainly from sepoys, peasants, and dispossessed landed elites. Statement 3 is incorrect because most major princes—like the Scindias, Holkars, the Nizam, and the rulers of Patiala and Kashmir—did not support the revolt. Several actually aided the British, contradicting the claim of "widespread active support from most rulers."
