1. Rewrite the statements by choosing the appropriate options.
(Umaji Naik, War of Independence, Lord Dalhousie, Secretary of State, Tatya Tope)
(1) V.D.Savarkar named the struggle of 1857 as War of Independence
(2) Umaji Naik united the Ramoshis to rebel against the British.
(3) After the struggle of 1857 the post of Secretary of State was created in the British
Government to look after the affairs of India.
(4) Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General who annexed the princely states.
2. Explain the following statements with reasons.
(1) The Paikas made armed rebellion against the British.
Ans. (i) In 1803, the English conquered Odisha. (ii) They took over the hereditary rent free lands granted to the Paikas. (iii) This made the Paikas angry. Similarly, common man’s life had also become miserable because of rise in salt price due to tax imposed on it by the British. (iv) This resulted in an armed rebellion of Paikas against the British in 1817. Bakshi Jaganbandhu Bidyadhar led this revolt.
(2) There was discontent among the Hindu and Muslim sepoys.
Ans. (i) In 1856. the British provided long enfield rifles to the Indian sepoys. (ii) The sepoys were required to bite the end of the cartridges. (iii) The news spread out that these cartridges were smeared in the fats of cow and pig. (iv) Due to this the religious sentiments of Hindu and Muslim sepoys were hurt and made them unhappy.
(3) The Indian sepoys could not keep stand in front of the British army.
Ans. (i) The Indian rebels had limited armed supply. The British had economic strength, disciplined army, enough stock of latest arms and experienced army generals. (ii) Since transport and communication was in the hands of British, their movements were swift. (iii) Due to this the Indian sepoys could not keep stand in front of the British army.
(4) After the struggle, Indian army was divided on the basis of caste.
Ans. (i) After the struggle, proper care was taken to avoid Indians to unite and rebel again against the British. (ii) Hence, there was division of military on basis of caste.
(5) The British imposed heavy taxes on Indian industries.
Ans. (i) The British introduced new revenue system to increase their income. (ii) Taxes were forcibly extracted from the farmers. To sell the British goods in India and enjoy profit was the policy of the British. (iii) Hence, they imposed heavy taxes on the local industries.
3.Answer the following question in brief.
(1) What were the social causes behind the struggle of 1857?
Ans. (i) The Indians felt that the Britishers were interfering in the culture, tradition and customs of India. (ii) Sati prohibition, widow remarriage act were correct from social point of view, but the Indians thought that it is an interference in their lifestyle and hence they were dissatisfied.
(2) Why did the Indians fail in the struggle of 1857 ?
Ans. The struggle of 1857 became unsuccessful due to the following reasons:
(i) The struggle was not comprehensive : The struggle did not take place simultaneously all over India. Its intensity was more severe in North India, but Rajputana, Punjab, some parts of Bengal and North west India remained aloof.
(ii) Lack of central leadership : There was no commonly accepted leader to fight against the British. Due to this there was no uniformity in the struggle against British.
(iii) Most of the feudatory princes remained aloof: The princes also were suffering. But except a few others remained faithful to the British.
(iv) Lack of military tactics : Indian soldiers captured Delhi but could not retain it. Indian rebels had limited armed supply. While the British had economic strength, disciplined army, enough stock of latest arms and experienced army generals. Since transport and communication was in the hands of British, their movements were swift. Due to this the Indian sepoys could not succeed.
(v) International situation favourable for Britishers: They had trade relations with different countries in the world. The naval strength of British was vast. Whereas the Indian rebels were isolated.
(3) Write down the consequences of struggle of 1857.
Ans. (i) Due to the Company rule there was growing dissatisfaction among the Indians and the British rule had to face the struggle of 1857. (ii) It forced the British Parliament to end the rule of the Company and instead take over the responsibility of ruling over the people of India through the Government of India Act 1858. (iii) The Governor General was now designated as the Viceroy of India. Lord Canning happened to be the last Governor General and the first Viceroy of India. (iv) A new post called Secretary of State was created in the British Government to look after the affairs of India.
(4) What were the changes in British policy after the struggle of 1857?
Ans. (i) The British accepted the policy of non-interference in social and religious aspects of Indians. (ii) They also started taking care that the Indian society will not be united on social grounds. (iii) They saw to it that there will be constant conflicts on grounds of caste, religion, race, territory etc. They adopted the policy of polluting the minds of Indians by following the ‘Divide and Rule policy’. (iv) The freedom struggle of 1857 became an inspiration of Indian freedom movement.