Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
Option (c) is correct — the immediate trigger was the cartridge controversy: greased Enfield rifle cartridges, believed to use cow and pig fat, deeply offended Hindu and Muslim sepoys' religious sentiments, since loading required biting off the cartridge tip. Mangal Pandey's revolt at Barrackpore (March 1857) and the subsequent Meerut mutiny (10 May 1857) both stemmed directly from this issue. Option (a) is wrong — Awadh's annexation (1856) was a significant underlying grievance but not the immediate trigger at Meerut. Option (b) is wrong — the General Service Enlistment Act (1856) angered sepoys over caste and overseas travel taboos, but wasn't the specific Meerut flashpoint. Option (d) is wrong — no such formal abolition announcement preceded the revolt; Bahadur Shah Zafar was instead declared the revolt's symbolic leader once fighting began.
- 1. Nana Saheb — Kanpur
- 2. Rani Lakshmibai — Jhansi
- 3. Kunwar Singh — Arrah, Bihar
- 4. Begum Hazrat Mahal — Delhi
Pairs 1, 2 and 3 are correctly matched. Nana Saheb led the revolt at Kanpur, seeking to restore Peshwa rule. Rani Lakshmibai led the defence of Jhansi against Sir Hugh Rose's forces. Kunwar Singh, an elderly zamindar, led the uprising in Arrah, Bihar. Pair 4 is incorrect — Begum Hazrat Mahal was the leader at Lucknow (Awadh), not Delhi; the Delhi centre was instead associated with the aged Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was declared the nominal leader of the revolt.
Option (a) is correct — the Government of India Act, 1858, ended Company rule, transferring administration directly to the Crown, with the Governor-General now additionally styled Viceroy (Lord Canning being the first). Option (b) is wrong — princely states were not granted self-governance; instead, the Doctrine of Lapse was abandoned, and existing rulers were guaranteed their territories with rights to adopt heirs. Option (c) is wrong — annexationist policy was reversed, not intensified, as the Crown sought princely loyalty rather than absorption. Option (d) is wrong — the European-to-Indian soldier ratio in the army was actually increased significantly post-1857, precisely to prevent recurrence of a similar uprising.
Reason (R): The revolt was confined exclusively to soldiers of the Bengal Army and did not receive any support from civilian populations, taluqdars, or displaced rulers.
A is correct — there is genuine, long-standing historiographical debate, with V.D. Savarkar terming it the "First War of Indian Independence" while colonial historians like it framed as a limited "Sepoy Mutiny." R is incorrect — the revolt drew substantial civilian participation, including taluqdars in Awadh, displaced rulers like Nana Saheb and Rani Lakshmibai, peasants, and artisans, spreading well beyond the Bengal Army sepoys alone, precisely the evidence cited by those arguing for the "War of Independence" characterisation.
Option (b) is correct — the Doctrine of Lapse, applied by Governor-General Dalhousie, annexed Satara (1848), Jhansi (1854), and Nagpur (1854), among others, denying adopted heirs the right to inherit in absence of a natural heir, generating deep resentment among princely families. Option (a) is wrong — economic causes were broader, including the systematic destruction of Indian handicrafts due to British trade policy and cheap machine-made imports. Option (c) is wrong — the greased cartridge controversy was fundamentally a religious grievance touching core Hindu and Muslim beliefs. Option (d) is wrong — sepoys faced genuine grievances over pay, discriminatory promotion (racial ceiling on ranks), and the overseas service requirement under the General Service Enlistment Act.
