I.   Answer the following questions in one sentence each:

1.  Whose power eroded in the mid of eighteenth century?
Ans:
In the mid – eighteenth century, nawabs and rajas had seen their power erode.

2.  How was Awadh annexed?
Ans:
In 1801, a subsidiary alliance was imposed on Awadh and in 1856 it was taken over. Governor –General Dalhousie declared that the territory was being misgoverned and British rule was needed to ensure proper administration.

3.  Who was the last Mughal king in India?
Ans:
Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last mughal king in India.

4.  Name the British Governor General in India who decided that Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the last Mughal king in India.
Ans: Governor General Canning decided that Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the last mughal king.

5.  In 1824, why were the sepoys severely punished?
Ans:
Many people in the country in those days believed that if they crossed the sea they would lose their religion. So when in 1824 the sepoys told to go to Bumma by sea route to fight for company, they refused to follow the order, though they agreed to go by the land route. They were severely punished.

6.  In 1856, which new launch was passed?
Ans:
In 1856, the company passed a new law which stated that every new person who took up employment in the company’s army had to agree to serve overseas if required.

7.  What steps did the British take to reform the Indian society?
Ans:

i) Laws were passed to stop the practice of Sati.
ii) They also passed a law to encourage widow remarriages.
iii) English language education was actively promoted.

8.  What do you mean by Mutiny?
Ans:
When group of soldiers disobey their officers in the army is known as mutiny.

9.  From where did the sepoy mutiny begin in 1857 against the British in 1857?
Ans:
The first sepoy mutiny in India against the English East India Company began at Meerut in 1857.

10.  Which armed revolt was regarded by some as the bigger armed resistance to colonialism in the nineteenth century in the world?
Ans:
The sepoy mutiny of 1857 in India was regarded by some as the biggest armed resistance to colonialism in the nineteenth century in the world.

11.  Why was Mangal Pandey hanged?
Ans:
Mangal Pandey was hanged for attacking his officers in Barrack pore.

12.  Why did many small rulers and chieftains in India join hands with Bahadur Shah Zafar to fight against the British rule?
Ans:

i) Most of the smaller rulers and chieftains controlled different territories on behalf of the mughal ruler during the Mughal dynastry.
ii) They were threatened by the expansion of the British rule.
iii) They felt that if the Mughal emperor could rule again, they would be able to rule their own territories once more.

13.  Whose decision to bless the rebellion changed the entire situation dramatically?
Ans:
Bahadur Shah Zafar’s decision to bless the rebellion changed the entire situation dramatically.

14.  How were the muslims in India treated by the British after the rebellion of 1857?
Ans:

i) The land and property of the Muslims was confiscated on a large scale.
ii) They were treated with suspicion and hostility.

15.  What important role did Bakht Khan play in the Mutiny of 1857?
Ans:

i) He took charge of a large force of fighters who came to Delhi.
ii) He became the key military leader of the rebellion.

16.  What was the demand of Nana Saheb?
Ans:
He demanded that he should be given the pension of his father Peshwa Bajirao II, as the latter had died.

17.  What was the demand of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi?
Ans:
Her demand was to recognize her adopted son as the heir to the kingdom after the death of her husband.

18.  Why were Muslims in India treated with suspicion and hostility by the British?
Ans: The British believed that the Muslims in India were responsible for the rebellion of 1857 in a big way, so they were treated with suspicion and hostility.

19.  How were Indian rulers made subordinate to the British crown?
Ans:
The Indian rulers were made to acknowledge the British Queen as their sovereign paramount.

20.  How was the power of the East India Company in India transferred to the British Crown?
Ans:
The British Parliament passed a new Act in 1858 and transferred the powers of the East India Company in India to the British crown.

21.  Name the Indian who followed guerilla warfare against the British in 1858?
Ans:
Tantia Tope followed guerilla warfare against the British in 1858.

II.     Answer the following questions to four sentences each:

1.  How did the British East India Company erode the powers of the Nawabs and Rajas in India?
Ans:

i) The British stationed residents in their courts.
ii) The freedom was reduced .
iii) The armed forces were disbanded .
iv) Their revenues and territories were taken away by stages.

2.  How did the British East India Company try to bring the Mughal dynasty to an end?
Ans:

i) The name of the Mughal king was removed from the coins minted by the company.
ii) In 1849, Governor general Dalhousie announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar the family of the king would be shifted out of the red fort and given another place in Delhi to reside in.
iii) In 1856, governor general Canning decided that Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the last Mughal king.
iv) After the death none of his descendants would be recognized as kings they would just be called princes.

3.  Why were the Indian peasants and Zamindars discontented with the British East India Company?
Ans:

i) They were burdened with high taxes.
ii) There was rigid method of revenue collection.
iii) Many peasants failed to pay back their loans to the moneylenders.
iv) Many peasants lost their lands which they had tilled for generations.

4.  Why were the Indian sepoys in the British army discontented?
Ans:

i) They was unhappy about their pay, allowances, and conditions of service.
ii) Some of the new rules violated their religions, sensibilities and beliefs.
iii) In 1824 the sepoys were asked to go to Burma by the sea route to fight for the company which was against their religious beliefs.
iv) They were severely punished for refusing to cross the sea.

5.  Why did Indians feel that Britisher’s were destroying their religion and traditional way of life?
Ans:  

i) In 1850, new law was passed to make conversion to Christianity easier.
ii) This law allowed an Indian who had converted to Christianity to inherit the property of his ancestors.
iii) Many Indian began to fees that the British were destroying their religion, their social customs and their traditional way of life.

6.  What factors were necessary for the people to rise up against British rule?
Ans:

i) For such situation to develop people have to organize.
ii) To communicate.
iii) To take initiative.
iv) To display confidence to turn the situation around.

7.  The East India Company faced a massive rebellion. Explain?
Ans:

i) After the hundred years of conquest and administration, the English East India Company faced a massive rebellion that started in May 1857 and threatened the company’s very presence in India.
ii) Sepoys mutinied in several areas beginnings from Meerut and a large number of people from different sections of society rose up in rebellion
iii) Some regard it as the biggest armed resistance to colonialism in the nineteenth century.

8.  Why were the sepoys of the Meerut regiment sentenced to ten years in jail on 9th May 1857?
Ans:

i) Some sepoys of the regiment at Meerut refused to do the army drill using the new catridges.
ii) They refused to use the new cartridges as they suspected them of being coated with the fat of cows and pigs.

9.  What happened on 9th May 1857?
Ans:

i) On 29th March 1857, a young soldier Mangal Pandey was hanged to death for attacking his officers.
ii) Some sepoys of the regiment at Meerut refused to do the army drill using the new cartridges,which were suspected of being coated with the fat of cows and pigs.
iii) Eighty five sepoys were dismissed from service and sentenced to ten years in jail for disobeying their officers. This happened on 9th May 1857.

10.  How were soldiers determined to bring an end to the British rule?
Ans:

i) On 10th May 1857, the soldiers marched to the jail in Meerut and released the imprisoned sepoys.
ii) They attacked and killed British officers .
iii) They captured guns and ammunition and set fire to the buildings and properties of the British . and declared war on the firangis.
iv) The soldiers were determined to bring an end to their rule in the country.

11.  How did the sepoys stationed in Delhi revolt against the British?
Ans:

i) The sepoys of Meerut rode all night of 10th May 1857 to reach Delhi in the early hours.
ii) The British officers were killed, arms and ammunition seized, building set on fire
iii) They then gathered around the walls of the red fort where the Badshah lived, demanding to meet him, and proclaimed Bahadur shah Zafar as their leader.

12.  How did Nana sahib rebel against the British?
Ans:

i) He gathered armed forces.
ii) He expelled the British garrison from the city of Kanpur.
iii) He declared that he was a governor under Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
iv) He proclaimed himself as peshwa.

13.  How did rebellion spread in Lucknow and Jhansi?
Ans:

i) In Lucknow, Birjis Qadr, the son of the deposed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, was proclaimed the new Nawab. He too acknowledged the suzerainty of Bahadur shah  Zafar. His mother Begum Hazrat Mahar took an active part in organizing the uprising against the British.

ii) In Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai joined the rebel sepoys and fought the British along with Tantia Tope, the general of Nana Saheb.

14.  What telegram was sent by lieutenant colonel Tytler to his commander in chief?
Ans:

i) A telegram sent by Lieutenant colonel Tytler to his commander – in-chief expressing the fear felt by British.
ii) He wrote to his commander that “their men were cowed by the numbers opposed to them and the endless fighting.
iii) Every village is held against them, the zamindars have risen to oppose them.”

15.  How was the popular rebellion developed in the region of Awadh?
Ans: 

i) He British were greatly outnumbered by the rebel forces .
ii) They were defeated in a number of battles. This convinced the people that the rule of the British had collapsed for good and gave them confidence to take the plunge and join the rebellion.
iii) The situation of widespread popular rebellion developed in the region of Awadh in particular.

16.  Leaders and fighters from across the land joined the fight.Explain?
Ans:

i) Many of the leaders came up that is Ahmadullah Shah, a maulvi from Faizabad, prophesied that the rule of the British would come to an end soon.
ii) In Delhi, a large number of ghazis or religious warriors came together to wipe out the white people.
iii) Bakht Khan, a soldier from Bareilly, took charge of a large force of fighters who came to Delhi. He became a key military leader of the rebellion.
iv) In Bihar, an old zamindar, kunwar Singh joined the rebel sepoys and battled with the British for many months.

17.  What action was taken by the British against Bahadur Shah Zafar and his family?
Ans:

i) Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried in court and sentenced to life imprisonment.
ii) His sons were shot dead before his eyes.
iii) He and his Begum Zinat Mahal were sent to prison in Rangoon in October 1858.
iv) Bahadur Shah Zafar died in the Rangoon jail in November 1862.

18.  How did the British put down the rebellion of 1857 in India?
Ans:

i) The British recaptured Delhi in September 1857.
ii) Lucknow was taken back in March 1858.
iii) Rani Lakshmibai was defeated and killed in June 1858.
iv) Tanita Tope was captured and killed in April 1859.

19.  How did the British try to win back the loyalty of the Indian people?
Ans:

i) They announced rewards for loyal landholders would be allowed to continue to enjoy traditional rights over their hands.
ii) Those that had rebelled were told that if they submitted to the British and if they had not killed any white people they would remain safe.
iii) Their rights and claims to land would not be denied.
iv) Nevertheless, hundreds of sepoys , rebels, nawabs and rajas were tried and hanged.

20.  What changes were introduced in India by the British with Act of 1858?
Ans:

i) The British parliament passed a new Act in 1858 and transferred the powers of the East India Company to the British Crown.
ii) A member of the British cabinet was appointed secretary of State for India and made responsible for all matters related to the governance of India.
iii) He was given the council to advise him, called the Indian council.
iv) The Governor General of India was given the title of viceroy, that is, a personal representative of the crown.
v) It was decided that the proportion of Indian soldiers in the army would be reduced and number of European soldiers would be increased.
vi) More soldiers would be recruited from among the Gurkhas, Sikhs and pathans.
vii) The land and property of Muslims was confiscated on a large scale and they were treated with suspicion and hostility.
viii) The British decided to respect the customary religious and social practices of the people.
ix) Policies were made to protect landlords and zamindars.

21.  The Indian rulers were to hold their kingdoms as subordinates of the British crown .Explain?
Ans:

i) All ruling chiefs of the country were assured that their territory would never be annexed in future.
ii) They were allowed to pass on their kingdoms to their heirs, including adopted sons.
iii) However they were made to acknowledge the British Queen as their Sovereign paramount.
iv) Thus the Indian rulers were to hold their kingdoms as subordinates of the British crown.