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Due to nationalistic feeling, people from all the sections of the society ignored their mutual conflicts and without any discrimination, they made joint efforts to throw the British out of India. That’s why this revolt has been considered as a national revolt.

The revolt of 1857 was clearly a war of independence because the people of each class, religion, people caste and group participated in it.

Dr Tarachand and Dr Vishveswar Prasad considered this revolt war as independence.

East India company had come into India and started economic exploitation and political interference in the country. Terror and dissatisfaction increased among Indians due to their unethical objectives. This dissatisfaction of the Indians was being exposed in the form of revolts in various parts of the country.

Among these, the revolt of Vellore in 1806, revolt of Barrackpore in 1824, revolt of the 34th regiment in Firozpur in 1842, revolt of seventh Bengal Cavalry in 1849 and Santhal rebellion in 1855 – 56, the revolt of Bareilly in 1816, Kol rebellion from 1831 to 1833, Kangra revolt in 1848 etc. took place due to political, economic and social reasons. The fire spread up gradually and intensified in 1857 and it shook the roots of British empire.

Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru is the writer of ‘Discovery of India’

1. Santhal revolt in 1855 – 56, 

2. The revolt of the 34th Regiment in Firozpur.

That book is War of Indian independence.

The Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar led the revolt of 1857.

Four major centres of revolt of 1857 in southern India were Tanjor, Malabar, Madurai, Cochin

Sir James Outram and W. Taylor are those historians who have called the revolt of 1857 to be a result of Muslim Conspiracy. Mollison and Copeland also support this view.

Ali Muhammad Khan established his rule in Rohilkhand

Awadh accepted Subsidiary Alliance in 1801 CE.

1. Lucknow 

2. Delhi, 

3. Jhansi 

4. Kanpur 

5. Awadh

In 1856, Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh in British empire.

Ahamadulla led the revolt from Rohilkhand.

Correct Answer is: (a) Nana Sahib

Rani of Jhansi Laxmi Bai, Begum Hazrat Mahal are two such names.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh died on 27 June, 1839 CE.

Rani Laxmibai died in June 1858 while confronting the Britishers.

Rani Laxmibai led the revolt from Jhansi.

The Peshwa was defeated last in February 1818 in the Battle of Asti.

Although the revolt of 1857was not successful yet its consequences proved to be unprecedented, widespread and permanent. The revolt opened the eyes of the British and they were forced to amend their policies in context to administration, military and the Indian rulers.

End of Company Rule:

 On 1st November 1858, through a Charter declared by the Queen, the British government transferred the rule of India from the hands of the East India Company and handed it to the British Emperor through the Government of India Act of 1858.

Board of Control and Board of Directors were ended and a 15 member All India Council was formed for the purpose of handling the administration of India, in which the chairman was called as the secretary of state of India. The post of the Governor General was renamed as Viceroy.

Reorganization of the Army: 

The start of the revolt was in the form of a military rebellion, therefore it was important to reorganize the army. According to the Army Amalgamation Scheme of 1861, the European army of the Company was transferred to the government.

According to the report of the Peel Commmission in 1861, now the number of British soldiers was increased in the army. The important posts of army and ordinance were reservd only for the Europeans. It was also ensured that the Indian soldiers from a particular community or religion were not employed together in the army battalions.

Change of policy towards the Indian rulers: 

According to the declaration made by the Queen, “Policy of extension of boundaries of the regions” was ended, and rights, pride and honour of the rulers were ensured to them. The Indian rulers were now allowed to adopt their successors.

Promotion to the Policy of ‘Divide and Rule’:

 The Britishers were terrified by the communal harmony exhibited during the revolt of 1857. So, they started promoting the narrower tendencies of communalism, casteism, regionalism etc. and divide and rule’ became the major basis of their policy.

Beginning of Economic Exploitation: 

After the revolt of 1857, the British renounced their policy of regional extension and diverted their attention towards procurement of wealth. The entire financial burden of crushing the revolt was put on the Indians. Drainage of wealth from India towards England started in the form of interest overheads on public loan and even in the form of dividend and the profit earned by the Company from the country was transferred to England.

Promotion to National Movement: 

The joint efforts of the revolt of 1857 provided momentum to the national movement in India. The heroes of the revolt – Kunwar Singh, Laxmibai, Tantya Tope, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Nana Saheb and Rangaji Bapu Gupte etc. became the inspiring ambassadors of national movement.

Queen of Jhansi, Rani Laxmibai – Rani Laxmibai was the leader of the revolt of 1857 from Jhansi. Due to the Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie the there was no permission to adopt a heir if the ruling person did not have his natural son. But after the death of king Gangadhar Rao, Rani Laxmi Bai adopted a song Damodar Rao. When it was rejected by the British, war was declared by the Queen of Jhansi.

In 1858 CE, British commander General Hurose invaded Jhansi and occupied it. After being defeated, Rani Laxmibai reached Kalpi and occupied Gwalior with the assistance of Tatya Tope. In June 1858 the British reoccupied it and Rani Laxmibai bravely received matrtyrdom while confronting the Britishers.

Nana Sahib – During 1857 revolt, Nana Sahib was the main leader of Kanpur. He was a brave Maratha and adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II. In June 1857, he declared himself as Peshwa in Kanpur but the British rejected it. Besides this, his 80,000 pound pension was also stopped by the British. So Nana Sahib stood against the British and led the revolt of 1857 from Kanpur.

With the assistance of his capable companions Tantya Tope and Azimullah, Nana Sahib freed Kanpur from the clutches of the British on 5th June 1857. Under the leadership of Sir Colin Campbell, the British reoccupied it in December. Nana Sahib had to flee away to Nepal.

Correct Answer is: (c) Faruukhsiyar

In Rajasthan, Thakur Kushal Singh of Auwan blew the trumpet of revolt in British millitary contoments of Nasirabad, Neimuch and Erinpura. He cutt off the head of a British Resident Monck Mason and hanged it on the gate of the fort of Auwan but shortly after the British occupied Auwan.

In Mewar, the people supported the reovolutionaries, in Kota the revolt took a violent form and two sons of Major Burton were killed. Common people showed extreme courage in this revolt but due to the lack of good leadership and lack of cooperation from the rulers, the revolt could not be regulated properly and it became unsuccessful.

The treaty of Salbai was signed in 1782 CE between the British and the Peshwa of Sindhiya.

India had been a prosperous country from ancient time. The cultural heritage, economic prosperity and intellectual progress of India attracted the world. That’s why in 17th century, many European companies were attracted towards India. The major

objective of the colonial traders was not only earning profits by purchase and sale of commodities but their interest also lay in increasing their production by using their capital and technology and to make goods by procuring raw material in large quantity as far as possible.

In the beginning, Europeans had only the purpose of obtaining wealth, increasing trade and propagating Christianity but later it transformed into political propagation and colonialism. As a result of colonisation, fundamental damage was done to the social, economic and cultural system of India.

Correct Answer is: (b) Almeda

Correct Answer is: (a) Surat

Vasco – de – gama was the first European to discover the direct sea route from Europe to India. He reached Calicut on 17th May 1498. Here the Hindu ruler Zamorin welcomed him following the tradition of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ and provided him with certain facilities. After staying for around three months, he returned. In 1502 Vasco – de – gama visited India for the second time and established trading centres at Kannanor, Calicut and Kochin.

The Dutch established their trading centres in Machhallipatnam and Nizam pattanam.

In 1856, the British government decided to use the new Enfield rifles which were better in equality. The cartidge used in this rifle had to be torn off using the mouth. The news spread among the soldiers of the Bengal army that the fat of cow and pig has been used in the cartidges of the new rifles.

John Kayee and Lord Roberts have also accepted this fact. Due to this incident, the soldiers got infuriated and they formed the belief that the Britishers were inclined to destroy the religion of both the Hindus and the muslims. They refused to them. The incident of fat plated cartidges infused a spark and the explosion occuring due to this shook the roots of British empire in India.

Social causes of the 1857 revolt were as following:

1. British were inspired by the feeling of racism and they looked down upon the Indians as inferior to them. 

2. Their behaviour towards the Indians was offensive. 

3. There was a ban on travel of Indians in first class in the railways and they were not allowed to participate with the British on any type of social occasions. 

4. Indians were not allowed to enter the hotels and clubs run by the European merchants. 

5. Western education policy destroyed the Indian education system. The objective of their education policy was to obtain clerks and prepare black Britishers for the sake of administration. 

6. In order to develop the mentality of slavery in local people, they wrote history as per their discretion. They created various odds such as Aryan invasion, native residents, Arya Dravidans etc.

The third Battle of Panipat was fought on 14 January, 1761 between Ahmadshah Abdali and Marathas. 

The causes of this battle were as following:

1. Ahmad Shah Abdali, the ruler of Afghanistan regarded the Indian regions occupied by Nadir Shah in the east to be under his dominion. 

2. Various Rohila and Afghan Pathans also inspiried Abdali to invade upon India. 

3. Raghunath Rao removed Najib – ad – Daulah, the respresentative of Abdali from Delhi and proceeded towards Punjab in 1758 where Abdali’s son was ousted and Sabaji Sindhiya was made the Governor of Punjab. Now Lahore came under his dominance.

(a) 31st May 1857

In 1764, Battle of Buxar was fought between Britishers and joint forces of Mughal Emperor Shal Alam, Nawab of Bengal Mir Quasim and Nawab of Awadh Shuja – ud – Daula. The British won this battle.

The Battle of Buxar was fought in 1764 between the British and the joint army of Shah Alam the Mughal Emperor, Mir Qasim Nawab of Bengal and Shuja – ud – Daula the Nawab of Awadh.

The treaty of Surat was signed between Bombay government and the deposed Peshwa for gaining the post of Peshwa.

This statement was given by Smith.

Correct Answer is: (c) Barrackpore

(c) British and Nawab Siraj – ud – Daula

In 1761, Hyder Ali seized the throne from Nandraj of Mysore and became a protagonist. The British became concerned due to his increasing power and were annoyed also due to the friendship between Hyder Ali and the French. Hyder Ali occupied the region of Malabar which was a friend of the British due to which the British became more annoyed. As a result of this controversy, Anglo-Mysore wars were fought between British and Mysore rulers (Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan).

First Anglo – Mysore War: The British joined the Marathas and Nizam and formed a ternary union against Hyder Ali. Diplomatic Hyder gained the favour of Nizam by tempting him with regional grant. In 1767, the joint armies of Hyder Ali and Nizam invaded Karnataka. But they were defeated by the British. In 1769 CE, Hyder Ali invaded Madras and surrounded it. The helpless British were forced to sign the treaty, of Madras with him on 4th April 1769. According to the provisions of this treaty, both of them returned the regions occupied from one another.

Second Anglo – Mysore War: This time Hyder Ali formed a ternary union against the British in which he himself, the Nizam and the Marathas were included. Hyder Ali invaded Karnataka in July 1780 and surrounded Akart. The Nawab was defeated and he went in the haven of the British. Hyder Ali started to achieve success but unfortunately he died in 1782. His son Tipu Sultan continued the war and the war ended with the treaty of Manglore on 11th March 1784 between them.

Third Anglo – Mysore War: Tipu wished to buy the Dutch fort situated in Cochin for the protection of Malabar but the king of Travancore who had the support of the British bought it and angered Tipu. This was the immediate reason of Third Anglo Mysore war which was fought between 1790 – 92 CE. Tipu could not sustain in the fight for long and signed the treaty of Seringapatnam in 1792. According to the provisions of this treaty, half of Tipu’s kingdom was annexed and provided to the British and their supporters.

Fourth Anglo Mysore War: Lord Wellesley wanted to annex Mysore in British Empire, so he declared war on February 1799 CE. Tipu Sultan confronted the massive British army in a very courageous manner and was killed. In July 1799, a treaty was signed with the new appointed ruler of Mysore and it was annexed in British Empire.

The Battle of Plassey was nothing more than a conflict between the soldiers. This was such a deal in which the rich seths of Bengal and Mir Zafar sold the Nawab off in the hands of the British. After this battle, Bengal was occupied by the British. After this battle. Mir Zafar was made the Nawab of Bengal who was a puppet in the hands of the British.

When he could not provide money to the British, Mir Qasim was appointed as the new Nawab of Bengal, Mir Qasim wished to check the power of the British from increasing any further. For this, he tried to reorganize the administration but due to corruption and British interference, he could not succeed. Now differences began to increase between both in context of financial matters and other facilities which resulted into the Battle of Buxar of 1764.

This battle took place between the British and the joint armies of all the three (Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal Shujaud – Daula the Nawab of Awadh and Mughal emperor Shah Alam) in which British get victory. This battle fixed a permanent seal on the decisions of Plassey. Its importance is more in context to political and military point of view. Now there was nobody who could challenge the sovereignty of the British.

Now the new Nawab was their puppet, while the Nawab of Avadh was their obligor and the Mughal Emperor was their pensioner. Through this battle, the region upto Allahabad came under the dominance of the British and the way to Delhi also opened for them.

Through the treaty of Allahabad, the Divani rights of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa also went in the hands of the British. This battle transformed the British into an all India power. Now they started to claim upon entire India. So the statement of Smith that “The Battle of Buxar completed the unfulfilled task of Plassey.” is quite true.

(d) 27 September, 1760.

The Britishers were terrified by the commune harmony exhibited by the revolt of 1857. So they started promoting the narrower tendencies of communalism, casteism, regionalism etc. and divide and rule’ became the major basis of their policy.

(c) Hastings and Peshwa Raghoba

The treaty of Salbai was signed in 1782 CE between Peshwa and the British. As its result, the first Anglo Maratha war came to end. 

The major provisions of this treaty were as following:

1. Providing recognition to Madhav Rao (II) as the Peshwa and giving annual pension to Raghoba. The British promised not to provide assistance to Raghoba. 

2. British dominance upon Salsette was accepted and all the rest of the regions were returned to the Marathas by the British. Among these, the regions of Scindia situated in the west part of Yamuna were obtained back by Sindhiya. 

3. Fateh Singh Gaekwad was recognized as the ruler of Baroda and all his regions were returned to him.

Consequences: Due to this treaty, peace prevailed between the British and the Marathas for about 20 years, but the British get an opportunity to evaluate the strength of the Marathas through this treaty and they get enough time to increase their own strength. Difference between Nana Fadnavis and Sindhiya emerged out in the open.

Hyder Ali was born in 1722 in the house of Fath Muhammad who was the Faujdar of Mysore and the Jagirdar of Budikote. After the death of his father, he became the faujdar of Dindigal due to his capability.

King Krishna Raj, the ruler of Mysore, was a ruler merely in name. The entire power there vested in the hands of ministers – Devraj and Nandraj. In 1761, Hyder Ali seized the throne from Nandraj of Mysore and became a protagonist. The British became concerned due to his increasing power.

In 1778, the united army of the Marathas defeated the British army of colonel Ingturn. As a result, an offensive Treaty of Wadgaon was signed between the Marathas and the British on 29th January 1779, in which it was decided that

1. The British would return the regions won from the Marathas back to them. 

2. The British would give 41000 rupees as war remuneration to the Marathas. 

3. Raghoba would be handed over to the Peshwa. 

4. The income from Bahruch district would be given to Sindhiya.

5. In the form of prisoners, two British officers, Former and Stewart were retained by the Marathas.

To appoint Mir Qasim as the future Nawab of Bengal, Governor General Vansittart signed a secret treaty in 27th September 1760 which is known as treaty of Vnsittart. 

Following were its major provisions:

1. Mir Qasim would provide the districts of Burdwan, Midnapur and Chatgoan in the form of military expenses to the company. 

2. For three years, half of the part of lime trading of Sylhet would be that of the company. 

3. Mir Qasim would regard the enemies or friends of the company to be his own enemies or friends. 

4. Mir Qasim would give five lakh rupees to the company for its southern campaign. 

5. Mir Qasim accepted to give 50,000 pounds to Vansittart, 27,000 pounds to Holwell and 25,000 pounds to each member of Calcutta Council.