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Q.1. What was the demand of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi that was refused by the British?
Ans. The demand of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi that was refused by the British was that she wanted Company to recognize her adopted son as the heir to the kingdom after the death of her husband.
Q.2. What did the British do to protect the interests of those who converted to Christianity?
Ans. Following were the steps that the British did to protect the interest of those who converted to Christianity:
After 1830, the Company allowed Christian missionaries to function freely in its domain and even own land and property.
In 1850, a new law was passed to make conversion to Christianity easier.
Q.3. What objections did the sepoys have to the new cartridges that they were asked to use?
Ans. The sepoys had raised the following objections when they were asked to use new cartridges:
The cartridges used for new rifles were greased with the fat of cows and pigs. It is a great insult to the regions of Indian sepoys—the Hindus as well as the Muslims.
It appeared to the Indian soldiers that the great aim of the English was to turn all the sepoys into Christians, and they had therefore introduced the cartridge in order to bring this about, since both Mohammedans and Hindus would be defied by using it.
Q.4.How did the last Mughal emperor live the last years of his life?
Ans. The last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II (or Bahadur Shah Zafar) lived a miserable life in his last time. When the British captured Delhi in September 1857 A.D. Bahadur Shah left Lucknow, from there he continued his fight against the British. At last his sons along with some other rebels were captured by the English. His two sons and a grandson were shot dead before his old eyes. Their dead bodies were hanged at the Khooni Darwaja, Delhi to create terror among the rebels. Bahadur Shah himself was deported to Rangoon where he died in 1862 A.D. His last words were “Zafar was really unfortunate for he could not get six feet grave in the street of his beloved country.”
LET’S DISCUSS
Q.5. What could be the reasons for the confidence of the British rulers about their position in India before May 1857?
Ans. The reasons for the confidence of the British rulers about their position in India before May 1857 were:
The Indian nawabs had gradually lost their power, authority and honour.
The British Governor Generals posted their residents in several courts, the freedom of the rulers reduced, their armed forces disbanded and their revenue and territories taken away stage by stage.
The Company was confident of its military powers.
In 1856, Governor General Canning decided that Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the last Mughal king and after his death none of his descendant would be recognized as king. They would just be called prince.
Q.6. What impact did Bahadur Shah Zafar’s support to the rebellion have in the people and the ruling families?
Ans. Bahadur Shah Zafar’s decision to bless the rebellion changed the entire situation and it had the following impacts:
People felt inspired and enthused. It gave them courage, hope and confidence to act.
Regiment after regiment mutinied and took off to join other troop at nodal points like Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow.
Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the late Peshwa Baji Rao gathered armed forces and expelled the British garrison from the city. He declared himself that he was a governor under Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Birjis Qadr, the son of the deposed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was made the new Nawab in Lucknow. He too acknowledged the suzerainty of Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Q.7. How did the British succeed in securing the submission of the rebel landowners of Awadh?
Ans.
The victories against the British had earlier encouraged rebellion, the defeat of rebel forces including landowners of Awadh encouraged desertions.
The British also tried their best to win back the loyalties of the people. They announced rewards for those who would remain faithful to them.
They crushed the revolt with a heavy hand.
The British military generals also tried to recapture those places which once felt to the rules.
Q.8. In what ways did the British change their policies as a result of the rebellion of 1857?
Ans. The British had regained control of the country by the end of 1859, but they could not carry on ruling the land with the same policies any more. Following were the changes introduced by the British as result of the rebellion of 1857:
The British Parliament passed a new act in 1858 and transferred the powers of the East India Company to the British Crown in order to ensure a more responsible management of Indian affairs.
A member of the British Cabinet was appointed Secretary of State for India and made responsible for all matters related to the governance in India.
All ruling chiefs of the country were assured that their territory would never be annexed in future. They were allowed to pass on their kingdoms to their heirs, including adopted sons. However, they were made to acknowledge the British Queen as their sovereign paramount.
It was decided that the proportion of Indian soldiers in the army would be reduced and the number of European soldiers would be increased. It was also decided that instead of recruiting soldiers from Awadh, Bihar, Central India and South India, more soldiers would be recruited from among the Gurkhas, Sikhs and Pathans.
The Land and property of Muslims was confiscated on a large scale and they were treated with suspicion and hostility. The British decided to respect the customary religions and social practices of the people of India.
Policies were made to protect landlords and zamindars and give them security of rights over their lands.
Q.9 Find out more about Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. In what wasps would she have been an unusual woman for her times?
Ans. Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi: The Raja of Jhansi had been originally a vassal of the Peshwa. After the defeat of Baji Rao II, Lord Hastings in 1818 had concluded a treaty with the Raja on terms of ‘subordinate co-operation’. After Company recognized a granduncle, Raghunath Rao to succeed to the throne. After his death, his successor Gangadhar Rao was recognized as the ruler in 1838. But he died in November 1853 without leaving a male heir and the state was declared annexed by Lord Dalhousie. The claims of the adopted son were disregarded. So the Queen of Jhansi Rani Lakshmibai joined to revolt to protest against the annexation of Jhansi by the English.
When the Rani joined the revolt, General Sir Huge Rose attacked Jhansi in March 1858, but the brave Rani Lakshmibai kept the British General unnerved for quite some time. When she found that she could not able to hold the English for a long time she appealed to Tantia Tope for help which brought Tantia Tope rushing to Jhansi. But by the time he reached Jhansi her troops were severely defeated by the British on the banks of the river Betwa. Now the Rani had to hold on to her fortress above. The British also knew it would be difficult for them to enter into the fortress. So the British resorted to deceit and treachery and bribed the guards to open the gates of the fortress. Even then the British were unable to capture the Rani who slipped out of the fort and reached Kalpi. Here she was joined by Tantia Tope the great general of Nana Sahib, who fled to Kalpi. Now the Rani of Jhansi and the great General Tantia Tope joined together and fought many wars with the British. While fighting they had to leave Kalpi.
The ruler of Gwalior Jayaji Rao Sindhia was a dependent ruler of the British Company who was paying lots of tribute and he was also very loyal to the Company. Now the Company had the responsibility to protect their independent i.e. the ruler of Gwalior. A fierce battle was fought between the British and the revolutionaries under Rani Lakshmibai and Tantia Tope from June 11-18, 1858 A.D. Even though the Rani and Tantia Top were able Generals, their personal valour was not at all a good match the resources at the command of the British. Gwalior was recaptured by the British in June 18, 1858. The Rani of Jhansi died fighting clad in soldier’s uniform on the ramparts of the fort. Tantia Tope escaped southward. In April 1859 he was captured by one of the Sindhia’s feudatory, who handed him over to the British to be hanged on April 18, 1859.
Sir Huge Rose paid a tribute to the valour of Rani Lakshmibai by saying, “Lakshmibai was the bravest and the best of military leaders of the rebels”.
LET’S IMAGINE
Imagine you are a British officer in Awadh during the rebellion. What would you do to keep your plans of fighting the rebels a top-secret?
Ans. I would have used a code word Kamal (Lotus) to convey about my future plans. I knew that Kamal was being used by the rebellion, just to create confusion in the minds of the Indians.
I used to wear Indian dress of the area. I would keep a large number of troops, judging their loyalty. I would have asked the Muslim soldiers to take an oath of Holy Quran of loyalty to the British and same oath by the Hindu soldiers, telling them to put their hands on Holy Bhagwat Gita.
I would have used all four tactics of Sam, Dam, Dand and Bhed to loyalty among the rebels of the Awadh. I would have sent some loyal females to know future plans of the higher British officers.
Find pdf of NCERT Solutions for class 8 History Chapter 5 - When People Rebel
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