Consider the following statements about the Revolt of 1857 There was a constant fear among the high-caste homogeneous sepoys in the Bengal army, that the British were determined to convert them into Christianity. Bengal and Punjab remained peaceful; but entire South India actively participated in the revolt. Awadh, became the hotbed of discontent of the landed aristocrats or talukdars, who joined hands with the peasants to fight the revolt Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Consider the following statements about the Revolt of 1857 There was a constant fear among the high-caste homogeneous sepoys in the Bengal army, that the British were determined to convert them into Christianity. Bengal and Punjab remained peaceful; but entire South India actively participated in the revolt. Awadh, became the hotbed of discontent of the landed aristocrats or talukdars, who joined hands with the peasants to fight the revolt Which of the above statements is/are correct? Correct Answer 1 and 3 only
The correct answer is Option 3, i.e 1 and 3 only.
- The high-caste background of the sepoys in the Bengal army mostly recruited from Awadh gave them a homogeneous character.
- They were nurturing for a long time a number of grievances: their religious beliefs had lately come into conflict with their new service conditions; their salary level dropped; they suffered discrimination in matters of promotion and pension.
- To make matters worse, in 1856 a set of new service rules were introduced, which abolished their extra allowance for service outside their own regions.
- Service abroad was considered to be prejudicial to their caste rules, but the expansion of the British empire made that unavoidable. Their refusal to serve in Burma, Sind, or Afghanistan met with reprisals and dismissal.
- To the discontent with service, conditions were added a constant fear that the British were determined to convert them into Christianity. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
- Bengal and Punjab remained peaceful; entire south India remained unaffected too. Hence, statement 2 is NOT correct.
- On the other hand, those who revolted had two elements among them-the feudal elements and the big landlords on the one end and the peasantry on the other.
- The annexation of Awadh was followed by a summary settlement in 1856, which led to the dispossession of a number of powerful taluqdars.
- As a result, in Awadh the taluqdars lost about half of their estates; they were disarmed and their forts demolished.
- Awadh, therefore, became the hotbed of discontent of the landed aristocrats and so was the North-Western Provinces, where too many taluqdars had lately been dispossessed.
- There were pockets of over-assessment, and here the taluqdars' losses resulted in a "talukdar-peasant complementarity" of interests. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
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Feb 20, 2025