Question

The roots of the revolt of 1857 lay in
(a)Blatantly discriminatory policies
(b)Exploitative land revenue policy
(c)The policy of greased cartridges
(d)All of the above.

Answer 1

Hint: The revolt of 1857 was against the British East India Company. Although it was unsuccessful it was one of the most important uprisings in the history of India’s independence.

Complete answer: The revolt of 1857 was the first rebellion against the British rule. It was an organised movement and secured the support of the masses. The revolt is also known by other names such as the Sepoy Mutiny, the Great Rebellion and the First War of Independence. The main centres of revolts were Awadh, Jhansi, Bareilly, Lucknow and almost all major parts of India. There are several causes which led to this revolt. They are:
(i)The Doctrine of lapse which was initiated by Lord Dalhousie prohibited any Hindu ruler who did not have a successor from owning his land. After the death of such a single ruler, the land would go to the British.
(ii)The Peasants and zamindars had to pay a large amount of taxes which made them angry. The number of British goods that were entering India ruined India’s economy.
(iii)However the immediate cause of the revolt was the greased cartridges. It was the order that the cartridges were greased with the fat of cows and pigs and the soldiers had to tear them off with their mouth. Both the Hindus and Muslims were enraged with this and refused to use those cartridges. In Barrackpore Mangal Pandey who was a sepoy rejected the use of cartridges and attacked his superior officers.
Therefore option D is the correct answer.

Note: The causes mentioned above are some of the root causes of the rebellion. Besides this, there were numerous other causes that led to these struggles. In Kanpur, Nana Saheb led the rebellion. Members of the royal family came out to fight against British rule. While answering this question remember, this rebellion is also known by other names, in that case, the causes will be the same.