RBSE Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 5 Colonial Invasions

Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 5 Colonial Invasions

RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 5 Textual Questions

RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 5 Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1.
First European who discovered the direct sea route from Europe to India was:
(a) Zamorin
(b) Columbus
(c) Thomas Roe
(d) Vasco – de – gama
Answer:
(d) Vasco – de – gama

Question 2.
The Battle of Plassey was fought in:
(a) 1764
(b) 1857.
(c) 1864
(d) 1757
Answer:
(d) 1757

Question 3.
In Bengal, the East India Company obtained special facilities in 1717 by:
(a) Jahangir
(b) Shah Alam
(c) Faruukhsiyar
(d) Bahadur Shah
Answer:
(c) Faruukhsiyar

Question 4.
In Punjab, the Misl Sukarchakia was associated with:
(a) Gulab Singh
(b) Ranjit Singh
(c) Duleep Singh
(d) Rani Jinda
Answer:
(b) Ranjit Singh

Question 5.
At which time was the revolt of 1857 to be started as per the pre – plan?
(a) 31st May 1857
(b) 10th May 1857
(c) 31st January 1857
(d) 10th June 1857.
Answer:
(a) 31st May 1857

Question 6.
On 10th May 1857 from where did the freedom struggle begin?
(a) Meerut
(b) Delhi
(c) Barrackpore
(d) Kanpur
Answer:
(c) Barrackpore

Question 7.
The Governor General who implemented the Doctrine of Lapse was:
(a) Lord Dalhousie
(b) Warren Hastings
(c) Lord Wellesley
(d) Cornwallis
Answer:
(a) Lord Dalhousie

Question 8.
The hero who provided momentum to the revolt of 1857 in south India was :
(a) Kunwar Singh
(b) Ranga Bapuji Gupte
(c) Tatya Tope
(d) Kushal Singh
Answer:
(b) Ranga Bapuji Gupte

RBSE  Class 12 History Chapter 5 Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Between whom was the Battle of Buxar fought in 1764 ?
Answer:
In 1764, Battle of Buxar was fought between Britishers and joint forces of Mughal Emperor Shal Alam, Nawab of Bengal Mir Quasim and Nawab of Awadh Shuja – ud – Daula. The British won this battle.

Question 2.
What was Blue Water Policy?
Answer:
De Almeda, the first Viceroy of regions of India occupied by the Portuguese increased his naval power which is known as Blue Water Policy.

Question 3.
Who is regarded as the Plato of Jat community ?
Answer:
Jat ruler king Surajmal is known as the Plato of Jat community.

Question 4.
When and between whom was the Third Battle of Panipat fought?
Answer:
The Third Battle of Panipat was fought on 14 January 1761 CE between Ahmedshah Abdali and Marathas.

Question 5.
Through which treaty did the First Anglo – Maratha war end?
Answer:
The First Anglo – Maratha war was ended through the treaty of Salbai in 1782.

Question 6.
Who were included in the ternary formed against Hyder Ali in the first Anglo-Mysore war?
Answer:
The British joined the Marathas and Nizam and formed a ternary union against Hyder Ali in the first Anglo Mysore war.

Question 7.
Which Governor General implemented the Doctrine of Lapse ?
Answer:
Doctrine of Lapse was implemented by Governor General Lord Dalhousie.

Question 8.
On which basis was the state of Awadh merged into British Empire ?
Answer:
Awadh was merged into British Empire under the pretext of maladministration and corruption.

Question 9.
Write the names of two major revolts which took place against the British before 1857.
Answer:

1. Santhal revolt in 1855 – 56,
2. The revolt of the 34th Regiment in Firozpur.

Question 10.
Who led the revolt of 1857? ..
Answer:
The Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar led the revolt of 1857.

Question 11.
Write the names of historians who have called the revolt of 1857 to be a result of Muslim conspiracy.
Answer:
Sir James Outram and W. Taylor are those historians who have called the revolt of 1857 to be a result of Muslim Conspiracy. Mollison and Copeland also support this view.

Question 12.
Write the names of four major centres of revolt of 1857 in southern India.
Answer:
Four major centres of revolt of 1857 in southern India were Tanjor, Malabar, Madurai, Cochin

Question 13.
Mention the immediate reason for the revolt of 1857.
Answer:
In 1857 – CE, soldiers were given the enfield rifles to use in Meerut Cant. The rumour spread that the fat of cow and pig has been used in cartridges which had to be torn off using the mouth. So the soldiers became infuriated and forbade to use them and this incident infused a spark and the explosion occuring due to this shook the roots of British Empire in India.

Question 14.
Write the names of two women who led the revolt of 1857.
Answer:
Rani of Jhansi Laxmi Bai, Begum Hazrat Mahal are two such names.

RBSE   Class 12 History Chapter 5 Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What was the objective of the Europeans, coming to India ?.
Answer:
During the 17th century, India was one of the most prosperous countries of the world. India had cultural and trade relations with Rome and countries of western Asia. The cultural heritage, economic prosperity and intellectual progress of India had always attracted the Europeans. The primary objective of Europeans’ visiting India was to obtain’wealth, increase trade and propagate Christianity which later transformed into political power and colonialism.

Question 2.
What was the prison incident of Calcutta ? Or Describe the black hall accident.
Answer:
In contemporary Calcutta in a small closet which was 18 feet long and 14 feet 10 inch wide, Siraj-Ud-Daulah imprisoned 146 British prisoners at the night of 20th June, and on the next day, only 23 people were found alive.

123 peple died due to suffocation. J. Z. Holwell who was one among the survivors, is considered to be the composer of this story which appears to be fictitious because is such a small closet, it was not possible to imprison 146 persons in one instance. It is said that the story of the black hall was composed only to induce the anger of the British in India. This incident is known as Black hall accident also.

Question 3.
What is the meaning of Dastak system ? How was it misused ?
Answer:
In 1717 CE Faruukhsiyar, the Emperor of Bengal gave a firman exempting the company goods in Bengal from custom duty in exchange of an annual amount of 3000 rupees and allowing to issue Dastak – a special letter for exemption from toll tax.

Question 4.
Write the meaning of subsidiary alliance and also mention its acutal objective.
Answer:
In 1798 CE, Lord Wellesley adopted a new method of signing treaties with the princely estates, annexing them and establishing their sovereignty in India, which is known by the name of subsidiary alliance. Its main objectives were

1. The states which accepted this alliance had to deploy a British army for security and peace. It used to be under complete control of the British officers and its expense had to be borne by the state themselves.
2. Only after the permission of the company, the states were allowed to employ any European in the service of the state.
3. One British resident was to be deployed in the state’s capital.
4. Without the permission of the company, the state was not allowed to establish foreign relations.
5. In exchange of this, the company took the responsibility of protection of the state.
6. The company assured the states that it would not interfere in their internal matters.

Question 5.
Write a note on Doctrine of Lapse implementd by Lord Dalhousie.
Answer:
In order to establish British sovereignity in India, Lord Dalhousie adopted other methods of annexing the states in the name of maladministration and by supplanting the long established right of an Indian soveregin without an heir to choose a successor which is known as Doctrine of Lapse. According to this policy, the states of Satara, Sambhalpur, Jhansi, Nagpur, Jaitpur, Udaipur, Baghar, Tanjore and Awadh were annexed in British Empire.

Question 6.
Mention the reasons of defeat of the Marathas in the third Battle of Panipat.
Answer:
Ahmad Shah Abdali, the ruler of Afganistan regarded the Indian regions occupied by Nadir Shah in the east to be under his dominion. Various Rohila and Afghan Pathans were also inspiring Abdali to invade upon India. On the other hand, Maratha power had expanded in Northern India.

In the end of 1759, Abdali ousted the Maratha representative from Punjab and reached near Delhi. The Peshwa sent a massive army under the leadership of his cousin Sadashivrao Bahu and his son Vishwas Rao against Abdali which occupied Delhi and reached the battlefield of Panipat where on 14th January 1761, the third Battle of Panipat was fought and Marathas were defeated in the end.

Causes of Marathas’ Defeat in the war:

1. The defective military organization and lack of discipline in Marathas.
2. Lack of unity between the Indian kings and chieftains.
3. The Marathas were deprived of assistance from Jats, Rajputs and other Indian powers as they lacked in unity.
4. Several traitors supported Abdali, so the Marathas were forced to fight alone.

Question 7.
Mention the social reasons of the revolt of 1857.
Answer:
Social causes of the 1857 revolt were as following

1. British were inspired by the feeling of racism and they looked down upon the Indians as inferior to them.
2. Their behaviour towards the Indians was offensive.
3. There was a ban on travel of Indians in first class in the railways and they were not allowed to participate with the British on any type of social occasions.
4. Indians were not allowed to enter the hotels and clubs run by the European merchants.
5. Western education policy destroyed the Indian education system. The objective of their education policy was to obtain clerks and prepare black Britishers for the sake of administration.
6. In order to develop the mentality of slavery in local people, they wrote history as per their discretion. They created various odds such as Aryan invasion, native residents, Arya Dravidans etc.

Question 8.
Why did the Indian soldiers protest against the fat plated cartridges ?
Answer:
In 1856, the British government decided to use the new Enfield rifles which were better in equality. The cartidge used in this rifle had to be torn off using the mouth. The news spread among the soldiers of the Bengal army that the fat of cow and pig has been used in the cartidges of the new rifles.

John Kayee and Lord Roberts have also accepted this fact. Due to this incident, the soldiers got infuriated and they formed the belief that the Britishers were inclined to destroy the religion of both the Hindus and the muslims. They refused to them. The incident of fat plated cartidges infused a spark and the explosion occuring due to this shook the roots of British empire in India.

Question 9.
Write the names of major centres of revolt in northern India and the persons who led it.
Answer:
The names of main centres of 1857 revolt and their leaders are as following-

Centres	Leaders
Delhi	Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar
Awadh	Begum Hazrat Mahal
Kanpur	Nana Sahib and Tantya Tope
Jhansi	Rani Laxmi Bai
Bihar	Kunwar Singh
Aauan	Thakur Khushal Singh
Rohilkhand	Ahmadulla
Mewat	Sadruddin

Question 10.
Mention two major reasons for the failure of the revolt of 1857.
Answer:
Two main causes of the failure of 1857 revolt were

1. According to the planning 31st May 1857 was fixed for starting the revolt but the revolt started before scheduled time, and at different times at different places, so the British became successful in crushing the revolt.
2. There was lack of skilled and capable leadership who could organize the revolt in appropriate manner. Bahadur Shah was an old and weak ruler. The command of the revolutionaries was in the hands of Nana Saheb, Rani Laxmi Bai, Wajid Ali Shah, Hazrat Mahal, Kunwar Singh, Bakht Khan, Azimullah and several others, but they were unyielding towards their objectives. They lacked mutual coordination and leadership capability.

Question 11.
Why has the revolt of 1857 been considered as a national revolt?
Answer:
Due to nationalistic feeling, people from all the sections of the society ignored their mutual conflicts and without any discrimination, they made joint efforts to throw the British out of India. That’s why this revolt has been considered as a national revolt.

Question 12.
Mention the changes which took places in army structure after the revolt of 1857.
Answer:
The beginning of the revolt was in the form of a military rebellion, therefore it was important to recórganize the army. So after this revolts, the following changes were done to reorganize army.

1. According to the Army Amalgamation Scheme of 1861, the European army of the company was transferred to the government.
2. According to the report of the Peel Commission in 1861, now the number of British soldiers was increased in the army.
3. The important posts of army and ordinance were reserved only for the Europeans.
4. It was also ensured that the Indian soldiers from a particular community or religion were not employed together in the army battalions.

RBSE Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 5 Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
“The Battle of Buxar completed the unfulfilled task of the Battle of Plassey.” Elucidate this statement.
Answer:
The Battle of Plassey was nothing more than a conflict between the soldiers. This was such a deal in which the rich seths of Bengal and Mir Zafar sold the Nawab off in the hands of the British. After this battle, Bengal was occupied by the British. After this battle. Mir Zafar was made the Nawab of Bengal who was a puppet in the hands of the British.

When he could not provide money to the British, Mir Qasim was appointed as the new Nawab of Bengal, Mir Qasim wished to check the power of the British from increasing any further. For this, he tried to reorganize the administration but due to corruption and British interference, he could not succeed. Now differences began to increase between both in context of financial matters and other facilities which resulted into the Battle of Buxar of 1764.

This battle took place between the British and the joint armies of all the three (Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal Shujaud – Daula the Nawab of Awadh and Mughal emperor Shah Alam) in which British get victory. This battle fixed a permanent seal on the decisions of Plassey. Its importance is more in context to political and military point of view. Now there was nobody who could challenge the sovereignty of the British.

Now the new Nawab was their puppet, while the Nawab of Avadh was their obligor and the Mughal Emperor was their pensioner. Through this battle, the region upto Allahabad came under the dominance of the British and the way to Delhi also opened for them.

Through the treaty of Allahabad, the Divani rights of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa also went in the hands of the British. This battle transformed the British into an all India power. Now they started to claim upon entire India. So the statement of Smith that “The Battle of Buxar completed the unfulfilled task of Plassey.” is quite true.

Question 2.
Describe the struggle of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan against the British.
Answer:
In 1761, Hyder Ali seized the throne from Nandraj of Mysore and became a protagonist. The British became concerned due to his increasing power and were annoyed also due to the friendship between Hyder Ali and the French. Hyder Ali occupied the region of Malabar which was a friend of the British due to which the British became more annoyed. As a result of this controversy, Anglo-Mysore wars were fought between British and Mysore rulers (Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan).

First Anglo – Mysore War:
The British joined the Marathas and Nizam and formed a ternary union against Hyder Ali. Diplomatic Hyder gained the favour of Nizam by tempting him with regional grant. In 1767, the joint armies of Hyder Ali and Nizam invaded Karnataka. But they were defeated by the British. In 1769 CE, Hyder Ali invaded Madras and surrounded it. The helpless British were forced to sign the treaty, of Madras with him on 4th April 1769. According to the provisions of this treaty, both of them returned the regions occupied from one another.

Second Anglo – Mysore War:
This time Hyder Ali formed a ternary union against the British in which he himself, the Nizam and the Marathas were included. Hyder Ali invaded Karnataka in July 1780 and surrounded Akart. The Nawab was defeated and he went in the haven of the British. Hyder Ali started to achieve success but unfortunately he died in 1782. His son Tipu Sultan continued the war and the war ended with the treaty of Manglore on 11th March 1784 between them.

Third Anglo – Mysore War:
Tipu wished to buy the Dutch fort situated in Cochin for the protection of Malabar but the king of Travancore who had the support of the British bought it and angered Tipu. This was the immediate reason of Third Anglo Mysore war which was fought between 1790 – 92 CE. Tipu could not sustain in the fight for long and signed the treaty of Seringapatnam in 1792. According to the provisions of this treaty, half of Tipu’s kingdom was annexed and provided to the British and their supporters.

Fourth Anglo Mysore War:
Lord Wellesley wanted to annex Mysore in British Empire, so he declared war on February 1799 CE. Tipu Sultan confronted the massive British army in a very courageous manner and was killed. In July 1799, a treaty was signed with the new appointed ruler of Mysore and it was annexed in British Empire.

Question 3.
Describe the political situation of India during the eighteenth century.
Answer:
After the decline of Mughal empire, the situation of instability crose in the politics of India. In this situation, various regional powers declared themselves independent and the European powers get a chance to get established here. In 18th century, the following regional powers emerged in India.

Mughals – After the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire go weakened and eventually ended. After the invasion of Nader Shah in 1739 and the invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761, the Mughal Empire almost ended. Till 1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar was the emperor just for name.

Marathas – During 18th century, the Marathas extended their power under the leadership of Peshwas in North India. But this empire came to decline after the defeat in the third Battle of Panipat in 1761. Lack of unity was also a reason behind its decline.

Awadh – In 1728 CE, Saadat Khan established an independent rule in Awadh. But after the defeat in the battle of Buxar in 1764, Awadh became a dependent state of the British through the treaty of Allahabad.

Bengal – In 1740, Murshid Kuli Khan established an independent rule in Bengal but after the battle of Plassey in 1757, the British rule was established in Bengal.

Mysore – In 1761 CE, Hyder Ali became the ruler of Mysore. Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan fought a long struggle against British. In 1799, Mysore was annexed in British empire through subsidiary alliance.

Jat – Jats established their rule in Agra, Etah, Dholpur, Chambal, Mathura, Aligarh, Lakshmangarh, Punjab and Haryana. The Jat kingdom was at its height during the reign of Maharaja Surajmal.

Punjab – In Punjab, Ranjit Singh united 12 Misls and formed an independent state. In 1849 CE, Punjab was annexed in British empire.

Rajput Kingdom – When the centralized power weakned during the Mughal period, the Rajput kings of Malwa, Amer etc. made efforts to become independent.

Rohilkhand – In Rohilkhand, Ali Muhammad Khan established his independent power and made Andla (Bareilly) as his capital. Thus in 18th century, these new regional powers divided India into small sections and they always engaged in fighting with one another. As a result, one by one they became part of the British Empire.

Question 4.
Mention the major circumstances of the Anglo – Maratha wars?
Answer:
In the eighteenth century, Maratha power had established itself in the form of a major power in India but the third battle of Panipat fought on 14 January, 1761 gave a serve set back to their power as the Marathas stood defeated in the battle against Ahmad Shah Abdali and British get a chance to challenge them. Three Anglo – Maratha wars were fought between 1775-1818. As a result of these wars, Marathas were finally destroyed. The main circumstances of these was were

1. The mutual fractions between Maratha chieftains provided the opportunity to the British to attack the Marathas.
2. The ambition of Raghunath Rao to become the Peshwa and the treaty of Surat signed by the British with him made the struggle inevitable.
3. The deprived peshwa Baji Rao second signed the treaty of Bassein on 31st December 1802 and this ended the Maratha independence.
4. First Anglo-Maratha (1775-1782 CE) war started because Raghunath Rao wanted the post of Peshwa and British accepted the treaty of Surat and decided to support Raghoba.
5. However the British were defeated on January 1773 in Wadgaon but they continued the war till the treaty of Salbai (May 1782 CE) with Marathas.
6.  In 1798 CE, Lord Wellesley came to India after becoming the Governor General with the major objective of expansion of the British Empire in India.
7. According to the treaty signed on 13th June 1817, the Peshwa renounced the post of chairman of the Maratha Union.
8. In the third Anglo-Maratha war, Holkar and Bhonsle favoured the Peshwa while Sindhiya and Gayakwad remained separate from the war.
9. In February 1818 CE, the Peshwa was defeated for the last time in the battle of Asti. He was sent to Bithoor (Kanpur) along with a pension of one lakh rupees. The British defeated Bhonsle in the battle of Sitabuldi and Holkar in the battle of Mahidpur. Alongwith the treaty of Mandsaur between the British and Holkar, British dominance was established in India.

Question 5.
Write a note on Anglo-Sikh relations.
Answer:
In the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh as a political power, Sikh Kingdom had · emerged. The Sikh chieftains had divided entire Punjab into 12 misls. Ranjit Singh united these misls and formed an independent state. Now he wanted to submerge the regions situated in the east of river sutlej, over which the British also wished to establish their dominance. For this issue, the treaty of Amritsar was signed between the British and Ranjit Singh in April 1809.

According to this treaty, dominance of the British was established upto Sutlej, and they became free from the terror of the Sikhs in the north. This made a negative impact on the stability of Sikh Kingdom. According to the tripartite agreement (Ranjit Singh, the British and Shahshuja) performed in 1838, Ranjit Singh accepted the mediation of the British in the issue of Sindh.

After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839 and controversial atmosphere among the Sikh chieftains, the imperialistic ambitions of the British get strengthened. From 1845 to 1846, the first Anglo-Sikh war was fought and the result remained in favour of the British. Interference in politics and diplomatic nature of the British created anger among Sikhs, which resulted in the form of Second Anglo-Sikh war in 1848-49 CE. Sikhs were defeated in this war also.

Dalhousie made a declaration on 29th March 1849 and merged Punjab in the British Empire. Maharaja Dilip Singh was given pension. Kohinoor diamond and the state of Punjab were handed over to the British by Maharaja Dilip Singh and his security council.

Question 6.
Mention the major reasons of the revolt of 1857.
Answer:
As soon as the East India company came into India, it started economic exploitation and political interference in the country. Their aim of procurement of wealth and extension of the empire created terror and dissatisfaction among the Indians. This fire spread up gradually and intensified in 1857 and shook the roots of British Empire.

The main causes of 1857 revoļt were as following.
Social Causes:

1. The British feeling of racial discrimination.
2. Misbehaviour of British towards Indians.
3. Discrimination with Indians at public places.
4. The spread of Western education policy.
5. The reforms done by the British.

2. Religious Causes:

1. The British formed a new law in context to paternal properly. Now if a person converted to, christianity he was not deprived from his paternal property. Due to this, both Hindus and the Muslims started to feel that their religion was in danger.
2. The Christian missionaries conducted planned compaign of conversion through financial incitement and various other methods.
3. Under the Act of 1813, Christian priests were allowed to propogate their religion in India.
4. Christian literature was distributed in Cantonments and schools.
5. Britishers started to impose tax on mosques and temples.

3. Political Causes:

1. Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley.
2.  Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie.
3.  The annexation of Awadh in British Empire on the allegation of misgovernance and corruption.
4. Offensive behaviour of Britishers towards the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
5. Corrupt rules and judicial system of British.
6. British did not follow the provision of Charter Act 1833 in which it was clearly said that in all the military and non – military recruitments, appointments would be done without any discrimination on grounds of religion, caste, colour, creed etc.

(4) Economic Causes:

1. The Decline of rural economy due to the exploitation of British.
2. High land revenue and use of army in recovery.
3. High export duty on Indian manufactured goods and goods which were brought from England into India attracted low importy duty..
4. The decline of cottage industries of India due to the use of machines as the result of industrilization.
5. Continuous drainage of wealth and resources from India by Britishers.

(5) Military Causes:

1. Discrimination was done with Indian soldiers in context to wages, allowance, post and promotion.
2. In 1856, Lord Canning passed the General Service Enlistment Act, according to which now the Indian soldiers were forced to go across the seas outside India.
3. In 1854, the Post Office Act was passed by which the facility of free postal service provided to the Indian soldiers was withdrawn.

(6) Immediate Cause
In 1856, the British government provided the new enflied rifles to the soldiers of Meerut Cantt. The cartridges used in these rifles had to be torn off using the mouth. This news spread that fat of cow and pig had been used in the cartridges of the new rifles. The soldiers get infuriated with the feeling of the destruction their religion and got ready for the revolt.

Question 7.
Describe the expanse of the revolt of 1857 in north and south India.
Answer:
Revolt of 1857 was a result of a pre – determined plan which was led by different leaders in different regions. According to the plan, the revolt was to start in the entire country on 31st May, 1857 in a single instance. But due to the incident of fat plated cartridges, the revolt started before the fixed time on 10 May. In Merrut Cantt the soldiers revolted and freed all their companion soldiers and proceeded towards Delhi.

Expansion of Revolt in North India:
Delhi – Mughal Emperor of Delhi, Bahadur Shah Zafar – II accepted to lead the revolutionaries and he was declared the emperor of India. Letters were written to Indian rulers to participate in the revolt.

Awadh – Revolt started in Lucknow on 4th June. Begum Hazrat Mahal declared her adolescent son as the Nawab and started the struggle against the British. The landlords, farmers and soldiers extended their support and set the British Residency on fire in which Henry Lawrence was killed.

Kanpur – With the assistance of his capable companions, Tanya Tope and Azimullah, Nana Sahib freed Kanpur from the clutches of the British on 5th June 1857.

Jhansi – In the beginning of June 1857, the soldiers revolted in Jhansi also. From here, Rani Laxmi Bai led the revolt. She bravely received martyrdom while confronting the Britishers.

Bihar – 80 years old Kunwar Singh, the landlord from Jagdishpur of Bihar led the revolt. He get the nearby regions of Arab’ freed from the clutches of the British.

Rajasthan – In Rajasthan, Thakur Kushal Singh of Auwa blew the trumpet of revolt in British military contonments of Nasirabad, Neemuch and Erinpura.

Rohilkhand – Ahmadulla led the revolt from Rohilkhand and Sadaruddin, a farmer became the leader of revolt in Mewat. Other centrs of revolt wereJalandhar, Ambala, Rohtak and Panipat.

Expansion of Revolt in South India:

1. The effect of revolt was spread in Goa, Pondicherry in South India along with the distant south.
2. In Maharashtra, Ranga Bapu formed a public army against the British and led it at places including Belgaon, Satara, Kolhapur and various other places.
3. The revolt began in Satara and Pandharpur and later revolutionary incidents were witnessed in Nasik, Ratnagiri and Bijapur.
4. Chintabhupati revolted in Golkunda.
5. In Banglore, gth horsed army and 20th foot army revolted.
6. In Northern Arcot, Tanjore and Vellore the landlords revolted agaisnt the British. Besides these, Madurai, Malabar, Calicut, Kochin etc. were major centres of revolt.

Question 8.
Mention the reasons of the failure of revolt of 1857.
Answer:
The revolt of 1857 was an armed effort to throw the British out of India. The Indian army was seven fold in number as compared to the British army and it get the support of common people also. Ever after this, the British were successful in crushing the revolt and Indians had to face defeat. The factors responsible for the revolt being crushed were as following

(i) Lack of skilled and capable leadership – The leader of this revolt, Bahadur Shah Zafar was an old and weak ruler. There was lack of mutual coordination among different leaders due to which the revolt could not be led properly and the British becames successful in crushing it.

(ii) The revolt taking place before its fixed time – 31st May 1857 was fixed as the day to start the revolt in a single instance across the country as per-plan, but the revolt started before the fixed time became on 10th May 1857. Thus the revolt started in different times and places so the British became successful in crushing the revolt.

(iii) Non – cooperation of the Indian rulers – Most of the kings of the estates supported the British in crushing this revolt due to their self interests. Rulers of Rajputana, Maratha, Mysore, Punjab, Eastern Bengal etc, remained neutral.

Indifference of the landlords, merchants and educacted class – The big landlords, moneylenders and merchants supported the British. The revolutionaries also could not gain support of the educated class.

Limited resources – The British possessed a full fledged and disciplined army consisting of trained soldiers and modern European weapons and they also gained benefit of · their control upon the seas. On the other hand, there was lack of discipline, unity and capable leadership in the Indian soldiers and along with this, they were also forced to face the lack of money and weapons. .

Lack of fixed objectives and ideals – There was no ideal or plan with the revolutionaries regarding the future form of administration after the British had gone away from India. V. D. Savarkar has written, “If there was a clear ideal in front of the people which could interest them by heart, then the end of the revolt would also be as glorious as its beginning was.”

Favourable conditions of the British – The year of 1857 proved to be beneficial for the British. After winning the Crimean and Chinese wars, the British soldiers reached India. In the sphere of transport and communication, the railway and post and telegraph system of Dalhousie also remained favourable for them.

Diplomacy of Canning and the British – The British remained successful in getting the support of Punjab, the Pathans of north western boundary province, the Afghans, Sindhiya and Nizam through their diplomacy. The liberal policy of Canning also proved to be beneficial in pacifying the revolutionaries. In brief, we can say that lack of the feeling of nationalism, of mutual coordination and of capable leadership were the main causes behind this revolt being crushed by the British.

Question 9.
Describe the form of the revolt of 1857.
Answer:
The historians have different views on the form of the revolt. The struggle which started from military dissatisfaction took the form of a national revolt and freedom struggle due to public support. This was the first joint blow against the British. It can be called to be the first freedom struggle.

Major Views on the Revolt:
This was a sepoy mutiny – Robert John Lawrence, Ceile, Charles Rakes, Durgadas Bandyopadhyay, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan considered this revolt as sepoy mutiny. Undoubtedly, this revolt started in the form of a sepoy mutiny but as every section of the society participated in it, this cannot be regarded to be fully correct.

It was a Muslim reaction – According to Sir James Outram, W. Taylor, Mollison and Copeland, this revolt was a form of Muslim conspiracy in pretext of Hindu concerns. This was an effort of reestablishment of Muslim rule. But as the Hindus participated in this revolt in large number, this view also can not be regarded to be fully correct.

It was a public revolt – According to Sir J. Kaye, this revolt was a struggle of the black people against the white people. But there were many Indians in the British army, therefore saying so is also not correct, and the rapid pace with which this revolt spread made this clear that the revolt received massive support from the people.

Canning wrote that the revolt which had taken place against our rule in Awadh was extremely terrific. John Bruce Norton has called it as public revolt. Mollison has regarded it to be a joint effort to throw the British out of India.

It was peasant revolt – As the farmers played an important role in this revolt, some scholars have also addressed it as a peasant revolt. Along with the company government, farmers also revolted against the big talluqdars, but this cannot be considered as fully correct.

It was a national revolt – Benjamin Disraeli, Ashok Mehta, Veer Savarkar etc. called it as ‘national revolt. But the western historians consider the definition of nationalism in context of the nationalism of 20th century in Europe, therefore they do not regard it as a national revolt.

Dr Satya Rai has written that we should not implement European definitions in Indian context. Due to nationalistic feeling, people from all sections of the society ignored their mutual conflicts and without any discrimination, they made joint efforts to throw the British out India, which comes under the category of national struggle.

This revolt was the war of Indian Independence – Many scholars have regarded it as the first freedom struggle of India. Dr S. N. Sen, V. D. Savarkar, Pt Nehru, Dr Tarachand. Dr Vishveshwar Prasad S. B. Chaudhary considered that whatever be the actual form of this revolt, shortly, this revolt became a challenge to British rule in India and it received the credit of being the national freedom struggle against the British. So it was the freedom struggle of India.

RBSE  Class 12 History Chapter 5 Other Important Question – Answers

RBSE  Class 12 History Chapter 5 Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1.
Which two countries established their colonial dominance in South Africa?
(a) England and Germany
(b) England and India
(c) England and France
(d) France and Germany
Answer:
(c) England and France

Question 2.
Which country was called ‘Intellectual Guru of the World’?
(a) England
(b) France
(c) Spain
(d) India
Answer:
(d) India

Question 3.
When was Qustuntunia occupied by Turks?
(a) 1553 CE
(b) 1453 CE
(c) 1556 CE
(d) 1435 CE
Answer:
(b) 1453 CE

Question 4.
Who was the first Viceroy of regions occupied by the Portuguese in India?
(a) Dupliex
(b) Almeda
(c) Dalhousie
(d) Wellesley
Answer:
(b) Almeda

Question 5.
In which port did the first British trading ship named ‘Hector’ reach in 1608?
(a) Surat
(b) Calcutta
(c) Calicut
(d) Machhallipattnam.
Answer:
(a) Surat

Question 6.
To which Mughal ruler’s court was Sir Tomas Roe sent for getting trading facilities?
(a) Akbar
(b)Jahangir
(c) Babar
(d) Shahjahan
Answer:
(b)Jahangir

Question 7.
Who constructed Fort William of Calcutta?
(a) British
(b) Dutch
(c) Portguese
(d) French
Answer:
(a) British

Question 8.
The emperor who issued the firman ‘Dustak’ – a special letter for exemption from toll tax:
(a) Farrukhsiyar
(b) Siraj – ud – Daula
(c) Shah Alam
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) Farrukhsiyar

Question 9.
When was the French East India Company established?
(a) 1600 CE
(b) 1664 CE
(c) 1672 CE
(d) 1680 CE
Answer:
(b) 1664 CE

Question 10.
Where was the first French trading hub established in 1667?
(a) In Calcutta
(b) In Surat
(c) In Lahore
(d) In Calicut
Answer:
(b) In Surat

Question 11.
The Battle of Plassey was fought between:
(a) British and Maratha
(b) British and Suja – ud – Daula
(c) British and Nawab Siraj – ud – Daula
(d) British and Jats
Answer:
(c) British and Nawab Siraj – ud – Daula

Question 12.
When was the treaty of Vansittart signed?
(a) 27 Septembar, 1756
(b) 27 June, 1735
(c) 21 May, 1759
(d) 27 September, 1760
Answer:
(d) 27 September, 1760.

Question 13.
The treaty of Purandar was signed between:
(a) Dalhousie and Siraj – ud – Daula
(b) Canning and Bajirao – II
(c) Hastings and Peshwa Raghoba
(d) Baji Rao Peshwa and Wellesley
Answer:
(c) Hastings and Peshwa Raghoba

Question 14.
In which battle was Peshwa defeated last?
(a) Aasti
(b) Second Anglo Maratha war
(c) Anglo Mysore war
(d) Carnatic war
Answer:
(a) Aasti

Question 15.
What was the immediate cause of 1857 revolt?
(a) Fat cartridges
(b) Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley
(c) Spread of Christianity
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) Fat cartridges

Question 16.
From where did the 1857 revolt start first?
(a) Delhi
(b) Agra
(c) Barrackpore
(d) Nasirabad.
Answer:
(c) Barrackpore

Question 17.
Who led the revolt from Kanpur?
(a) Nana Sahib
(b) Kunwar Singh
(c) Wajid Ali
(d) Sadruddin
Answer:
(a) Nana Sahib

Question 18.
Which place did Kunwar Singh belong to?
(a) Bareilly (U.P.)
(b) Ajmer (Rajasthan)
(c) Aarah (Bihar)
(d) Calcutta (Bengal)
Answer:
(c) Aarah (Bihar)

Question 19.
The Governor General who implemented Subsidiary Alliance
(a) Lord Dalhousie
(b) Lord Canning
(c) Lord Clive.
(d) Lord Wellesley
Answer:
(d) Lord Wellesley

Question 20.
“The cherry would fall into our mouth one day,” who said this?
(a) Lord Dalhousie
(b) Lord Canning
(c) Lord Clive
(d) General Huroz
Answer:
(a) Lord Dalhousie

(i) Match the column

Answer: 1. (d), 2. (e), 3. (b), 4. (c), 5. (a).

Answer: 1. (c), 2. (d), 3. (b), 4. (e), 5. (a).

Answer: 1. (c), 2. (a), 3. (d), 4. (b).

RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 5 Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Name the first European who discovered the sea route to India. When did he discover India ?
Answer:
The first European who discovered the sea route to India was a Portuguese Vasco – de – gama. He discovered India on 17 May, 1498.

Question 2.
When was Dutch United East India Company formed ?
Answer:
Dutch United East India Company was formed in 1602.

Question 3.
On which places did the Dutch establish their trading centres ?
Answer:
The Dutch established their trading centres in Machhallipatnam and Nizam pattanam.

Question 4.
Name the European companies which came to India for the purpose of trade.
Answer:
The European companies which came to India for the trading purpose were Portuguese, Dutch, Denmark, British and French.

Question 5.
Who was Sir Tomas Roe?
Answer:
Sir Tomas Roe was a British ambassdor who was sent in Jahangir’s court by British Emperor James I. Here he get the trading facilities for British company.

Question 6.
When and under whose leadership was the French East India company established?
Answer:
The French East India Company was established in 1664 CE in the leadership of Louis XIV and his minister Kolbert.

Question 7.
When did French Governor General Dupliex come to India?
Answer:
French Governor General Dupleix came to India in 1742 CE.

Question 8.
When and between when was the third Battle of Panipat fought?
Answer:
The third Battle of Panipat was fought on 14 January 1761 CE between Marathas and Ahmad Shah. Abdali.

Question 9.
Who founded the independent rule in Awadh, and when?
Answer:
Subedar Saadat Khan founded the independent rule in Awadh in 1728.

Question 10.
With which treaty did the Battle of Buxar end?
Answer:
The Battle of Buxar ended with the treaty of Allahabad.

Question 11.
When did Awadh accept the Subsidiary Alliance?
Answer:
Awadh accepted Subsidiary Alliance in 1801 CE.

Question 12.
Who founded the independent rule in Bengal?
Answer:
In Bengal the independent rule was founded by Murshid Quli Khan.

Question 13.
When was the Battle of Plassey fought ? Who was defeated in it?
Answer:
The Battle of Plassey was fought in June 1757 CE between Nawab Siraj – ud – Daula and the British army, Siraj-ud-Daula was defeated in this battle.

Question 14.
Who was the first ruler of Bharatpur?
Answer:
Badan Singh was the first ruler of Bharatpur.

Question 15.
In whose rule did the Jat empire reach its peak?
Answer:
In the reign of Maharaja Surajmal, Jat empire reached its peak.

Question 16.
How was the Sikh empire established?
Answer:
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh united 12 misls in Punjab and established the Sikh empire.

Question 17.
Who established his rule in Rohilkhand?
Answer:
Ali Muhammad Khan established his rule in Rohilkhand.

Question 18.
Which was the most prosperous province under the control of Mughal Empire?
Answer:
Bengal was the most properous province under the control of Mughal Empire.

Question 19.
What was the main reason of the Battle of Plassey?
Answer:
The political, economic interferance of British in the rule of Siraj – ud – Daula, the Nawab of Bengal became the main reason of the Battle of Plassey.

Question 20.
Who became the Nawab of Bengal after the Battle of Plassey?
Answer:
Mir Zafar became the Nawab of Bengal after the Battle of Plassey.

Question 21.
What was the main purpose of the treaty of Vensitart?
Answer:
Vensitart treaty was the secret treaty which was signed for appointing Mir Qasim as  the Nawab of Bengal.

Question 22.
When and between whom was the Battle of the Buxar fought ?
Answer:
The Battle of Buxar was fought in 1764 between the British and the joint army of Shah Alam the Mughal Emperor, Mir Qasim Nawab of Bengal and Shuja – ud – Daula the Nawab of Awadh.

Question 23.
Who won the Battle of Buxar ?
Answer:
The British won the Battle of Buxar.

Question 24.
Who said, “The Battle of Buxar completed the unfulfilled tasks of Plassey”?
Answer:
This statement was given by Smith.

Question 25.
“The Battle of Buxar was more decisive than the Battle of Plassey in context to the results.” Who said it?
Answer:
This statement was given by K. K. Dutta.

Question 26.
Between whom was the treaty of Surat signed ?
Answer:
The treaty of Surat was signed between Bombay government and the deposed Peshwa for gaining the post of Peshwa.

Question 27.
When and between whom was the treaty of Salbai signed ?
Answer:
The treaty of Salbai was signed in 1782 CE between the British and the Peshwa of Sindhiya.

Question 28.
When did Lord Wellesley come to India as Governor General ?
Answer:
Lord Wellesley came to India Governor General in 1798 C.E.

Question 29.
What was the main purpose of Lord Wellesley ?
Answer:
The main purpose of Lord Wellesley was the expansion of British Empire.

Question 30.
Why was the treaty of Bassein signed between the British and the deposed Peshwa ?
Answer:
With the objective of invading the Marathas, the British signed the treaty of Bassein with the deprived Peshwa.

Question 31.
In which war was the Peshwa defeated last ?
Answer:
The Peshwa was defeated last in February 1818 in the Battle of Asti.

Question 32.
When was Mysore annexed in British Empire ?
Answer:
Mysore was annexed in British empire in 1799 by Subsidiary Alliance with the new ruler of Mysore.

Question 33.
What was Subsidiary Alliance ? Who is credited for implementing it ?
Answer:
The British adopted a new method of signing treaties with the princely states, annexing them and establishing their sovereignty in India, which is known by the name of Subsidiary Alliance. Its credit goes to Lord Wellesley.

Question 34.
Name any four states which accepted the Subsidiary Alliance.
Answer:
Four states which accepted the subsidiary alliance

1.  Hyderabad (1798)
2. Mysore (1799)
3. Awadh (1801)
4. Maratha (1802).

Question 35.
When did Maharaja Ranjit Singh die ?
Answer:
Maharaja Ranjit Singh died on 27 June, 1839 CE.

Question 36.
When was Punjab annexed in British Empire ?
Answer:
On 29 March, 1849, Punjab was annexed in British Empire.

Question 37.
When and from where did the revolt of 1857 start ?
Answer:
1857 revolt started on 10 May from Barracpore in Bengal.

Question 38.
Who was the Mughal emperor during the 1857 revolt?
Answer:
During the revolt of 1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar was the Mughal emperor of India.

Question 39.
Which Mughal emperor accepted to lead the revolt of 1857 ?
Answer:
Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar accepted to lead the revolt of 1857.

Question 40.
Who led the revolt from Rohilkhand ?
Answer:
Ahamadulla led the revolt from Rohilkhand.

Question 41.
Who was the leader of the revolt from Bihar ?
Answer:
Kunwar Singh was the leader of the revolt from Bihar.

Question 42.
Who led the revolt from Jhansi ?
Answer:
Rani Laxmibai led the revolt from Jhansi.

Question 43.
When and how did Rani Laxmibai die ?
Answer:
Rani Laxmibai died in June 1858 while confronting the Britishers.

Question 44.
When and by whom was the state of Awadh annexed in British empire ?
Answer:
In 1856, Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh in British empire.

Question 45.
Name any five centres of revolt of 1857.
Answer:

1. Lucknow
2. Delhi,
3. Jhansi
4. Kanpur
5. Awadh

Question 46.
Write the name of the famous book of Veer Savarkar.
Answer:
That book is War of Indian independence.

Question 47.
Who is the writer of ‘Discovery of India’?
Answer:
Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru is the writer of ‘Discovery of India’.

Question 48.
Name two scholars who considered this revolt war of independence.
Answer:
Dr Tarachand and Dr Vishveswar Prasad considered this revolt war as independence.

Question 49.
The revolt of 1857 was a military revolt or a war of independence. Justify your answer.
Answer:
The revolt of 1857 was clearly a war of independence because the people of each class, religion, people caste and group participated in it.

RBSE  Class 12 History Chapter 5 Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Describe the causes and influences of colonial invasion of mid western countries between 16th to 18th centuries.
Answer:
From 16th century to 18th century, the western countries such as Portugal, Spain, England, Holland and France made colonial invasions with correct and incorrect methods through geographical discoveries in order to fulfill their economic self interests.

These powers established their autocratic colonial rule in their colonies and established their control on precious mineral mines and important commodities by exploiting them economically.

Atrocities and barbaric behaviour was done with the native residents in social, political and economic sphere. In the name of civilizing the native residents, the colonial powers converted the local people and made them Chrisitians and propogated their religion and civilization.

Question 2.
What was the influence of colonialism on India ?
Answer:
India had been a prosperous country from ancient time. The cultural heritage, economic prosperity and intellectual progress of India attracted the world. That’s why in 17th century, many European companies were attracted towards India. The major objective of the colonial traders was not only earning profits by purchase and sale of commodities but their interest also lay in increasing their production by using their capital and technology and to make goods by procuring raw material in large quantity as far as possible.

In the beginning, Europeans had only the purpose of obtaining wealth, increasing trade and propagating Christianity but later it transformed into political propagation and colonialism. As a result of colonisation, fundamental damage was done to the social, economic and cultural system of India.

Question 3.
How did Vasco – de – gama reach India and where did he establish his trading centres ?
Answer:
Vasco – de – gama was the first European to discover the direct sea route from Europe to India. He reached Calicut on 17th May 1498. Here the Hindu ruler Zamorin welcomed him following the tradition of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ and provided him with certain facilities. After staying for around three months, he returned. In 1502 Vasco – de – gama visited India for the second time and established trading centres at Kannanor, Calicut and Kochin.

Question 4.
When and how did British East India company get the right to trade ? Where did it establish its trading centres ?.
Answer:
On 31st December 1600 CE, Queen Elizabeth granted a charter to the Governor and company of merchants of London trading into the East Indies, a company formed by the traders of London. Under the leadership of captain Hawkins, the first British trading ship name ‘Hector’ reached India on Surat port in 1608 CE.

In 1615 CE, Sir Tomas Roe was sent by British Emperor James I in the court of Jahangir, where he obtained trading facilities for the British company. The British established their trading centres in Ahmedabad, Burhanpur, Ajmer and Agra. They also allowed to established trading hubs in Calicut in 1616 CE, in Machilipatnam in 1633 CE and Fort St. George in Madras in 1640 CE.

Question 5.
What were the reasons of Anglo – French wars ? Why were the French defeated in these wars ?
Answer:
The prosperity and trading opportunities of India attracted both the English and the French and a conflict started between the French and the British to establish their respective sovereignty. These conflicts are famous by the name of Anglo – French wars or Carnatic wars. In these wars a British defeated the French and ended their influence from India. The causes of the French defeat as following were

1. The naval fleet of the British was stronger than that of the French.
2. The French workers lacked coordination among themselves.
3. The prosperous province of Bengal had come under the occupacy of the British.
4. During the time of war with the French, the British paid full attention towards their trade while the French did not do so.
5. The French Governor Dupleix was called back by the French government at such time when he was immensely required in India.

Question 6.
Describe the causes of the third Battle of Panipat.”
Answer:
The third Battle of Panipat was fought on 14 January, 1761 between Ahmadshah Abdali and Marathas. The causes of this battle were as following:

1. Ahmad Shah Abdali, the ruler of Afghanistan regarded the Indian regions occupied by Nadir Shah in the east to be under his dominion.
2. Various Rohila and Afghan Pathans also inspiried Abdali to invade upon India.
3. Raghunath Rao removed Najib – ad – Daulah, the respresentative of Abdali from Delhi and proceeded towards Punjab in 1758 where Abdali’s son was ousted and Sabaji Sindhiya was made the Governor of Punjab. Now Lahore came under his dominance.

Question 7.
How was the British Empire established in India?
Answer:
In the first half of the 19th century, various European powers were struggling to replace the declining Mughal Empire and to establish monopoly upon trade in India. Gradually the Dutch and the Portuguise powers declined in India. Only the British and the French were left in the form of major competitors.

Both these powers started extending military support to the princely states in India by interfering in their mutual conflicts and in the issues of succession. In exchange of assitance, they obtained land, wealth and trading facilities from the Indian rulers and graudually, they transformed from traders into a political power and the struggle for political dominance in India began.

Three battles were fought between the British and the French in South India, which are famous by the name of Carnatic Wars. The first war took place between 1746 – 48, the second war took place between 1749 – 54 and the third war took place between 175863. All these wars eliminated the possibility of the establishment of French Empire in India. Now no one was left to give challenge the British. Thus British empire established in India.

Question 8.
When was the treaty of Venstitart signed and what were its provision ?
Answer:
To appoint Mir Qasim as the future Nawab of Bengal, Governor General Vansittart signed a secret treaty in 27th September 1760 which is known as treaty of Vnsittart. Following were its major provisions:

1. Mir Qasim would provide the districts of Burdwan, Midnapur and Chatgoan in the form of military expenses to the company.
2. For three years, half of the part of lime trading of Sylhet would be that of the company.
3. Mir Qasim would regard the enemies or friends of the company to be his own enemies or friends.
4. Mir Qasim would give five lakh rupees to the company for its southern campaign.
5. Mir Qasim accepted to give 50,000 pounds to Vansittart, 27,000 pounds to Holwell and 25,000 pounds to each member of Calcutta Council.

Question 9.
Why was the treaty of Wadgaon offensive for the British ?
Answer:
In 1778, the united army of the Marathas defeated the British army of colonel Ingturn. As a result, an offensive Treaty of Wadgaon was signed between the Marathas and the British on 29th January 1779, in which it was decided that

1. The British would return the regions won from the Marathas back to them.
2. The British would give 41000 rupees as war remuneration to the Marathas.
3. Raghoba would be handed over to the Peshwa.
4. The income from Bahruch district would be given to Sindhiya.
5. In the form of prisoners, two British officers, Former and Stewart were retained by the Marathas.

Question 10.
What were the major provisions of the treaty of Salbai? What were its results?
Answer:
The treaty of Salbai was signed in 1782 CE between Peshwa and the British. As its result, the first Anglo Maratha war came to end. The major provisions of this treaty were as following:

1. Providing recognition to Madhav Rao (II) as the Peshwa and giving annual pension to Raghoba. The British promised not to provide assistance to Raghoba.
2. British dominance upon Salsette was accepted and all the rest of the regions were returned to the Marathas by the British. Among these, the regions of Scindia situated in the west part of Yamuna were obtained back by Sindhiya.
3. Fateh Singh Gaekwad was recognized as the ruler of Baroda and all his regions were returned to him.

Consequences:
Due to this treaty, peace prevailed between the British and the Marathas for about 20 years, but the British get an opportunity to evaluate the strength of the Marathas through this treaty and they get enough time to increase their own strength. Difference between Nana Fadnavis and Sindhiya emerged out in the open.

Question 11.
When and where was Hyder Ali born ? How did he get the rule of Mysore?
Answer:
Hyder Ali was born in 1722 in the house of Fath Muhammad who was the Faujdar of Mysore and the Jagirdar of Budikote. After the death of his father, he became the faujdar of Dindigal due to his capability.

King Krishna Raj, the ruler of Mysore, was a ruler merely in name. The entire power there vested in the hands of ministers – Devraj and Nandraj. In 1761, Hyder Ali seized the throne from Nandraj of Mysore and became a protagonist. The British became concerned due to his increasing power.

Question 12.
What was the immediate cause of the third Anglo – Mysore war?
Answer:
Tipu wished to buy the Dutch fort situated in Cochin for the protection of Malabar, but the king of Travancore who had the support of the British bought it and angered Tipu. This was the immediate reason of the third Anglo mysore war. Cornwallis invaded Mysore along with a massive army. Tipu could not sustain in the fight for long and signed the treaty of Seringapatnam in 1792.

Question 13.
Why was the treaty of Seringapatam offensive for Tipu?
Answer:
The treaty of Seringapatnam was signed in 1792 CE between Tipu Sultan and the British. This treaty was offensive for Tipu because according to the provisions of this treaty, half of Tipu’s kingdom was annexed and provided to the British and their supporters. Tipu also accepted to grant 3 lakh rupees and handed over his two sons in the form of prisoners to the British.

Question 14.
What were the major provisions of Subsidiary Alliance and name the states that accepted subsidiary alliance ?
Answer:
The British adopted a new method of signing treaties with the princely states, annexing them and establishing their sovereignty in India, which is known by the name of Subsidiary Alliance. The major provisions of this subsidiary alliance were:

1. The states which accepted this alliance had to deploy a British army for security and peace. It used to be under complete control of the British officers and its expense had to be borne by the states themselves.
2. Only after the permission of the company, the states were allowed to employ any European in the service of the state.
3. One British Resident was to be deployed in the state’s capital.
4. Without the permission of the company, the state was not allowed to establish foregin relations.
5. In exchange of this, the company took the responsibility of protection of the states.
6. The company assured the sates that it would not interfere in their internal matters. The states which accepted this subsidiary alliance
   • Hyderabad (1798)
   • Mysore (1799)
   • Awadh (1801)
   • Maratha (1802)

Question 15.
Which treaty was signed between the British and the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjeet Singh and what were its main provisions ?
Answer:
The treaty of Amritsar was signed on April 1809 between the British and the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. According to this treaty :

1. River Sutlej was regarded as the boundary and the British occupancy upon the eastern regions was accepted and Ranjeet Singh was allowed to expand in the north – western part.
2. In case of violation of any provision of the treaty, the treaty would be deemed void.
3. Both took a pledge to remain friendly towards one another.

Through this treaty, dominance of the British was established upto Sutlej and they became free from the terror of the Sikhs in the north.

Question 16.
What was ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ of Lord Dalhousie ?
Answer:
In order to establish British sovereignity in India, apart from wars, Lord Dalhousie adopted other methods of annexing the states in the name of mal – administration and by supplanting the long established right of an Indian Sovereign without an heir to choose a successor which is known as doctrine of lapse.

Question 17.
When and which states were annexed in British empire by the Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie ?
Answer:
According to Doctrine of Lapse the following states were annexed in British Empire.

1.  Satara (1848)
2. Sambhalpur (1849)
3. Jhansi (1853)
4. Nagpur (1854)
5. Jaitpur (1849)
6. Baghar (1850)
7. Udaipur (1852)
8. Tanjore (1855)
9. Awadh (1856)

Question 18.
Which revolts took place in India before 1857 CE ?
Answer:
East India company had come into India and started economic exploitation and political interference in the country. Terror and dissatisfaction increased among Indians due to their unethical objectives. This dissatisfaction of the Indians was being exposed in the form of revolts in various parts of the country.

Among these, the revolt of Vellore in 1806, revolt of Barrackpore in 1824, revolt of the 34th regiment in Firozpur in 1842, revolt of seventh Bengal Cavalry in 1849 and Santhal rebellion in 1855 – 56, the revolt of Bareilly in 1816, Kol rebellion from 1831 to 1833, Kangra revolt in 1848 etc. took place due to political, economic and social reasons. The fire spread up gradually and intensified in 1857 and it shook the roots of British empire.

Question 19.
What was the Charter Act of 1833 ?
Answer:
In the Charter Act of 1833 it was mentioned that in all the military and nonmilitary recruitments, appointments would be done without any discrimination on grounds of religion, caste, colour, creed etc. But the British did not follow this policy. Higher posts were reserved only for the British.

Question 20.
What were the causes of political dissatisfaction during the revolt of 1857 ?
Answer:
The causes of political dissatisfaction during the revolt of 1857 were as following:
(i) Misbehaviour of Britishers towards Mughal Emperor – The Indian Muslims were annoyed with the British because the British used to behave offensively with Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

After the death of Bahadur Shah, declaration made by Lord Canning to end the post of the emperor, discontinuation from presenting grants to the emperor and removing his name from the coins and Lord Dalhousie making the Red fort vacant etc. increased and frustration of the Muslims even further against the British.

(ii) The Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie Under the Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie, Jhansi, Nagpur, Udaipur, Satara, Baghar, Nizam, Mysore, Maratha etc. were annexed in the British empire and after that, under pretext of maladministration, the merger of Awadh, which had always remained loyal towards the British, largely infuriated the soldiers of Awadh.

(iii) Discrimination with Indians in Public facilities – In the Charter Act of 1833, it was clearly mentioned that in all the military and non – military recruitments, appointments would be done without any discrimination on grounds of religion, caste, colour, creed etc. But the British did not follow this policy. Higher posts were reserved only for the British.

Question 21.
Describe any two social causes of the revolt of 1857
Answer:

1. The British were inspired by the feeling of racism and they looked down upon the Indians as inferior to them.
2. Western education policy destroyed the Indian education system. The objective of their education policy was to obtain clerks and prepare black Britishers for the sake of administration.

Question 22.
How were the economic causes responsible for the revolt of 1857?
Answer:
The major objective of the British rule in India was economic exploitation of India. The qualities of independent rural economy in India were destroyed by the exploitative policies of the British. Farmers were frustated due to excessive land revenue and assistance of the army was taken for its collection.

Cloth industry began to decline due to high export duty on manufactured goods in India and low import duty on goods which were brought from England.

As a result of industrilisation, use of machines had declined the cottage industries in India. So the continuous drainage of wealth from India filled dissatisfaction in the hearts of Indians. This dissatisfaction was exposed in the form of revolt of 1857.

Question 23.
Why did the rebellions insist the old rulers to lead the revolt in many places ?
Answer:
Definitely a proper leadership and mutual coordination were required in the revolt of 1857. For this purpose, rebellions wanted to take help from the great persons who were very popular among the masses.

1. First of all, the soldiers of Meerut Cantt marched to Delhi and Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was forced to lead them. He accepted the leadership of the revolt.
2. In Kanpur, Nana Sahib was forced to lead the revolt.,
3. Rani Laxmi Bai led the revolt from Jhansi due to the public pressure and cruel policy of the British.
4. In same condition, Kunwar Singh led the revolt from Bihar.
5. Begum Hazrat Mahal raised the voice against the British from Awadh.

Question 24.
What were the religious causes of the revolt of 1857.
Answer:
The religious causes of the revolt of 1857 were as following:

1. The British formed a new law in the context of paternal property. Now if a person converted christianity, he was not deprived from his paternal property.
2. Under the Act of 1813, Christian priests were allowed to propagate thier religion in India.
3. Christian literature was distributed in cantonments and schools.
4. Britishers started to impose tax on mosques and temples.
5. The Christian missionaries conducted planned campaign of conversion through financial incitement and various other methods.

Question 25.
What were General Service Enlistment Act and Post Office Act ?
Answer:
General Service Enlistment Act was passed in 1856. According to this, Indian soldiers were forced to go across the seas outside India. Indian soldiers considered it a sin. Post Office Act was passed to provide facility of free postal service to Indian soldiers, but later on it was withdrawn. All these things created a feeling of revolt in the minds of Indian soldiers.

Question 26.
What was the immediate cause of the revolt of 1857 ?
Answer:
In 1856, Indian government decided to use the new enfield rifles which had to be torn off using the mouth. In January 1857, the news spread that the fat of cow and pig had been used in the cartidges of the new rifles. Due to this incident, the soldiers got infuriated with the feeling of the destruction of their religious and refused to uses them and it infused a spark for the revolt.

Question 27.
Who was Bahadur Shah Zafar II ? Describe in brief.
Answer:
Bahadur Shah Zafar II was the last Mughal ruler of Delhi. He accepted to lead the revolt of 1857. Although he had become old, he took leadership of the revolt. Bahadur Shah Zafar formed this revolt as a war which was started by soldiers. On his name, letters were written to Indian rulers to participate in the revolt. But at last he was defeated and was imprisoned. He was interned and sent to Rangoon where he died in 1862.

Question 28.
How did the revolt of 1857 spread from Delhi ?
Answer:
On 12th May, the revolutionaries occupied Delhi. Mughal emperor of Delhi, Bahadur Shah Zafar II accepted to lead the revolutionaries and he was declared the emperor of India. At that time, lieutenant Willoghby opposed the revolutionaries to some extent but he was defeated and fled away.

In the form of symbol of power, the occupancy of Delhi is regared as the start of the revolt of 1857. Shortly after, the revolt spread in northern and central India. Letters were written to Indian rulers to participate in the revolt. The revolt took place in Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Barielly, Benaras, some regions of Bihar, Jhansi and several other regions.

Question 29.
Who played the major roles of leader from Rajasthan in this revolt ?
Answer:
In Rajasthan, Thakur Kushal Singh of Auwan blew the trumpet of revolt in British millitary contoments of Nasirabad, Neimuch and Erinpura. He cutt off the head of a British Resident Monck Mason and hanged it on the gate of the fort of Auwan but shortly after the British occupied Auwan.

In Mewar, the people supported the reovolutionaries, in Kota the revolt took a violent form and two sons of Major Burton were killed. Common people showed extreme courage in this revolt but due to the lack of good leadership and lack of cooperation from the rulers, the revolt could not be regulated properly and it became unsuccessful.

Question 30.
Name the main leaders who led the revolt from South India.
Answer:
The main leaders who led the revolt from South India were – Ranga Bapuji Gupte (Satara), Sonaji Pandit, Ranga Rao Pandey and Maulvi Sayyid Alauddin (Hyderabad), Bhim Rao and Mundargi, Chhota Singh (Karnatak), Annaji Fadanavis (Kolhapur), Gulam Gaus and Sultan Bakhs (Madras), Aranagiri, Krishna (Chingaful), Mulbagal Swami (Coimbatore) Mulla Ali, Kone ji Sarkar and Vijay Kudarat, Kunji Mama (Kerala).

Question 31.
How did company Raj come to end?
Answer:
As a result of revolt of the 1857, on 1st November 1858 through a Charter declared by the Queen, the British government transferred the rule of India from the hands of the East India Company and handed it to the British Emperor through the Government of India Act of 1858.

Board of Control and Board of Directors were ended and a 15 members All India Council was formed for the purpose of handling the administration of India, in which the chairman was called as the Secretary of State of India. The post of the Governor General was renamed as Viceroy.

Question 32.
What changes were made in the British policy towards the Indian rulers as a result of the revolt of 1857 ?
Answer:
As a result of the revolt of 1857, according to the declaration made by the Queen, “Policy of extension of boundaries of the regions” was ended and rights, pride and honour of the rulers were ensured to them. The Indians were now allowed to adopt sons as their successors.

Question 33.
What was the policy of ‘Divide and rule’?
Answer:
The Britishers were terrified by the commune harmony exhibited by the revolt of 1857. So they started promoting the narrower tendencies of communalism, casteism, regionalism etc. and divide and rule’ became the major basis of their policy.

Question 34.
Was the revolt of 1857 a conspiracy of Muslims against the Britishers ? What do you think and about it.
Answer:
Some scholars consider this revolt as the conspiracy of Muslims against the British. According to them, this revolt was a form of Muslim conspiracy under pretext of Hindu concerns. This was an effort of re-establishment of Muslim rule. But as the Hindu participated in this revolt in large number, this view cannot be regarded to be correct.

Question 35.
“The revolt of 1857 was a public revolt.” Explain it.
Answer:
The revolt of 1857 was a public revolt because the farmers, landlords, soldiers and people engaged in various occupations participated in this revolt. The rapid pace with which this revolt spread made it clear that the revolt received massive support from people. Canning wrote that the revolt which had taken place against our rule in Awadh was extremely terrific. John Bruce Norton has called it a public revolt. So it can be said that it was a public revolt.

Question 36.
Which scholars consider the revolt of 1857 as a national revolt?
Answer:
Benjamin Disraeli, Ashok Mehta, Veer Savarkar, Dr Satya Rai etc. called the this revolt as National revolt. Due to nationalitic feelings, people from all sections of the society ignored their mutual conflicts and without any discrmination, they made joint efforts to throw the British out of India. All this comes under the category of national struggle.

Question 37.
“The revolt of 1857 was the first war of Indian Independence.” Explain this statement of Veer Savarkar.
Answer:
In his book War of Indian independence’, Veer Savarkar has regarded the revolt of 1857 as the first freedom struggle for independence. Whatever be the actual form of this revolt, shortly this revolt became a challenge to the British rule in India and it received the credit of being the national freedom struggle against the British.

It would be correct to consider it as the first war of Indain Independence because it included nationalistic elements and this was the first joint and nationally spread struggle to get India freed from the British.

RBSE  Class 12 History Chapter 5 Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Which European companies came to India for the purpose of trade ? Describe them.
Answer:
The cultural heritage, economic prosperity and intellectual progress of India always attracted the world. From ancient time, India had cultural and trade relationships. with other countries. In 17th century, the attraction of Europeans towards the Indian land increased significantly which drove them towards this ancient country. That time, India was one of the most prosperous countries of the world.

So due to this attraction and to get wealth and resources Europeans came to India for establishing their colony. The main purpose of colonial traders was not only earning profits by purchase and sale of commodities, but their interest also lay in increasing their production by using their capital and technology and to make goods by procuring raw material in large quantity as far as possible. The followig European companies came to India for trade.

1. Portugal – Vasco – de – gama was the first European to discover the direct sea route from Europe to India. He reached Calicut on 17th May 1498. Here Hindu ruler Zamorin welcomed him following the tradition of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ and provided him with certain facilities. After staying for around three months, he returned.

In 1502, Vasco – de – gama visited India for the second time and established trading centres at Kannanor, Calicut and Kochin. From the beginning of the 17th century, the portuguese power began to decline and they became limited only upto Goa, Daman and Diu.

Dutch – The Dutch were residents of Holland. The Dutch United East India Company was established jointly by some traders in 1602 CE. The Dutch established trading centres at Bantam, Malacca, Java, Sumatra, Machillipatnam and Nizampatnam in India.

Residents of Denmark – The residents of Denmark also established their settlement at a place in Tanjore district in order to fulfill their objectives. In 1676 CE, they occupied Serampore. Even after all this, they remained unable to strengthen their roots and they sold their settlements off to the British in 1845.

British – On 31st December 1660, Queen Elizabeth granted a charter to the Governor and company of merchants of London trading into the East Indies – a company formed by the traders of London. Under the leadership of Captain Hawkins, the first British trading ship named ‘Hector’ reached India on Surat port in 1608 CE. They established their first settlement at Surat. Later on trading centres were also established in Ahmadabad, Burhanpur, Ajmer and Agra.

French – The French East India Company was established under the leadership of Louiss XIV and his minister Colbert in 1664 CE. In December 1667 CE, the company’s director general Francis Caron established the first French trading hub in Surat.

The French also had their settlements in Chandra Nagar, Balasor, Kasim Bazar etc. Thus many European companies tried to expand their trading hubs in India but at last, the British became successful in establishing their political power and trade over India.

Question 2.
Describe the causes and consequences of the Battle of Plassey.
Answer:
Bengal was the most properous province among those which were under the dominion of the Mughal Empire. In 1740 CE, Alivardi Khan established an independent state in Bengal. After the death of Alivardi Khan in 1756 CE, his grand son Siraj – Ud – Daulah became the Nawab of Bengal.

Conflicts between the Nawab and the British continued to rise in context to political, economic and other issues, as a result of which, Battle of Plassey took place in 1757 CE.

Causes behind the Battle of Plassey:
1. Ghasiti Begum, Raj Ballabh, Shaukat Jung and several others who were opposed to the Nawa were planning a conspiracy to remove him. British supported these opponents and violated those orders of the Nawab by which he had disallowed fortifiction, so that they could get more facilities in the future.

2. When Siraj – Ud – Daulah’s coronation was being performed, neither the British presented gifts not they were present in the ceremony. When the Nawab expressed his desire to visit Kasim Bazar of the British, the British denied. This action of the British was rude on their part.

3. The British were misusing the rights conferred to them in 1717 CE. They used to sell their Dastak (free pass) to Indian traders. This was providing economic loss to the Nawab.

4. The Britishers disallowed Nawab in the matter of unnecessary fortification and continued fortification. : 5. The settlement of the British was being used as the haven of the enemies of Nawab. Among them, Diwan Rajvallabh and his son Krishna Vallabh were the major ones.

When the Nawab demanded their custody from the British, they denied doing so. These were the causes behind the Battle of Plassey between Siraj – Ud – Daulah and the British.

Consequences of the Battlle of Plassey:

1. Bengal was occupied by the British and was never able to be independent again. in
2. Mir Zafar was made the Nawab of Bengal, who was a puppet in the hands of the British.
3. The British acquired the region of 24 Parganas in the form of Jagir and the workers of the company get the facility of trading without paying taxes.
4. An independent mint was started in Calcutta and the British issued a new coin in August 1757.
5. The Nawab presented great and precious gifts to the higher officials and to Clive himself.

The victory of the British in the battle of Plassey was not that of bravery, rather it was a result of betrayal and conspiracy.

Question 3.
Explain the causes of the battle of Buxar.
Answer:
In Bengal, the company wished to appoint a puppet Nawab, who was intelligent and clever, and who could fulfill their self – interests. Mir Qasim wished to check the power of the British from increasing any further and to prevent his own power from decreasing.

For this, he tried to reorganize the administration, but due to British interference, he could not succeed. Now, difference began to increase between both in context to financial matters and facilities, which resulted into the Battle of Buxar. Reasons of the Battle of Buxar.

1. The desire of sovereignty of the Nawab was not liked by the Britishers. Nawab’s tasks such as changing the capital from Murshidabad and taking it to Munger, training the army with European characteristics, opening ammunition manufacturing and cannon and explosive making factories etc. increased the difference between the British and the Nawab.

2. The Britishers forced the Nawab to present a gift of 12 lakh rupees to Mughal Emperor Shah Alam, which the nawab took as a blow to his independence.

3. The Company and its officials were misusing the trading facilities provided to them in Bengal. The Nawab was facing financial losses due to this. The Nawab granted this rebate to Indian traders also. Due to this, the British became unhappy with the Nawab.

4. The Nawab demanded to get back the three districts – Burdwan, Midnapur and Chatgaon which were obtained by the Company during the treaty of 1760, in the form of military expenses and the revenue collected from there, because the army was being used against the Nawab.

5. Struggle between Mir Qasim and the Britishers – When the efforts of compromise between the Calcutta Council and the Nawab failed, a battle started between both of them. In June 1763, Major Andemaz was sent to fight against Mir Qasim.

Several battles were fought with the armies of the Nawab, among which, the most famous battles were that of Katwaha, Gherian, Sooti and Udhwanala. When Mir Qasim’s side weakened, he went off to Patna. The Britishers reappointed Mir Zafar as the Nawab.

6. Formation of alliance – After getting defeated, Mir Qasim saved his life and reached Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh for help. At that time, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam was also present in Awadh. All the three joined hands and made a plan of throwing the British out of Bengal.

This battle took place between the British and the joint armies of all the three (Mir Qasim the Nawab of Bengal, Shuja Ud Daula the Nawab of Awadh and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam) on 22nd October 1764. The British won this battle.

Question 4.
Which factors were responsible for the second Anglo-Maratha war?
Answer:
In 1798, imperialistic Lord Wellesly became the Governor General and came to India. In 1800 CE, after the death of Nana Fadnavis, differences emerged between Sindhiya and Holkar in Maratha court on the issue of establishment of dominance. At this time Sindhiya remained successful in establishing his control over Peshwa Bajirao II.

In October 1802, Holkar defeated the joint army of Peshwa and Sindhiya and Vinayak Rao was made the Peshwa. In order to regain the post of Peshwa, Bajirao went in the haven of the British, due to which the British again get on opportinity to interfere in the politics of the Marathas.

Reasons of War:
(1) Peshwa had remained unable in solving the disputes of his own Maratha chieftains. When a struggle took place between Holkar and Sindhiya, Bajirao II went in the haven of the British.

(2) There was competition between Holkar and Sindhiya on the issue of establishing · dominacne in the politics of Marathas and the British get advantage of this dispute.

(3) In 1800 CE after the death of Nana Fadanavis, there was no leader who would unite the Marathas. As a result, dispute between the Maratha chieftains continuously increased which resulted in war.

(4) In 1798, Lord Wellesley came to India after becoming the Governor General with the major objective of expansion of the British empire in India. With the objective of invading the Marathas, the British signed the treaty of Bassein with the deprived Peshwa. The above given reasons created the condition of war between the Britsh and the Maratha by which Maratha Empire continuously became weak.

Question 5.
Who implemented Subsidiary Alliance and why? What were the benefits to the company and disadvantages to the princely states ?
Answer:
In 1798 CE, Lord Wellesley came to India after becoming the Governor General. His major aim was to expand the British empire. Now the British adopted a new method of signing treaties with the princely states, annexing them and establishing their sovereignty in India which is known by the name of Subsidiary Alliance. Its credit goes to Lord Wellesley. Major states which accepted the Subsidiary Alliance were Hyderabad, Mysore, Awadh and Maratha.

Benefits to the Company:

1. This system started to serve the function of detective against the princely states under the pretence of empire building.
2. A massive army was obtained on the expense made by the Indian states.
3. As the Indian rulers maintained the army of the Company in their capitals, the Company gained control over various regions of military importance.
4. The army of the Company became successful in extending significantly ahead of their political boundaries.
5. The Company became completely successful’ in failing the plans of other European powers, especially the French.
6. It became a mediator in the mutual disputes of Indian rulers.
7. The Britsh Residents deployed in the states became influential and they started interfering in internal matters.

Disadvantages to the Princely States:

1. Due to disarmament and surrendering their foreign relations under the dominance of the Company, they lost their independence.
2. The Residents started interfering excessively in the administration of the states.
3. The weak and exploited kings were protected, while the common people were deprived from improving their position.

The states which accepted the alliance soon became bankrupt. The Company generally collected one-third part of state’s income in the form of financial assistance.

Question 6.
Describe the Anglo Sikh wars. Or How was the Sikh Kingdom annexed in British Empire ? Describe.
Answer:
In Punjab, the Sikh Kingdom had emerged in the form of a major political power. During the invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Sikhs had not allowed him to stand in Punjab. The Sikh chieftains divided entire Punjab into 12 misls.

Later Ranjit Singh united these misls and formed an independent state. In 1839 CE, after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ambitions and self interests of the chieftains started emerging that created the condition of war between the British and the Sikhs.

First Anglo Sikh War – In the atmosphere of political choas, the struggle between Dogra chieftain Gulab Singh and Sikh army and the feudal lords worsened the condition even further. On the other hand, control of Rani Jinda and Lal Singh was continuously decreasing. In 1843 CE, the British occupied Sindh due to which the Sikhs became angered, but it was essential for the British to conquer Punjab in order to reach Sindh.

So on 13th December 1845, Hardings declared war. The battle was fought at five places and the battle of Sobraon was the decisive one in which the Sikhs were defeated and Lahore came under the dominance of the British. The battle ended along with the treaty of Lahore in 1846 CE.

Second Anglo Sikh War – The Sikhs were very unhappy because the defeat they had suffered owing to the betrayal of the Sikh leaders. The soldiers who had been relieved from military service were also dissatisfied. The reforms done in 1847-48 were against the interests of the Sikh Cheiftains. British resident and British officers were continuously interfering in the internal affairs of the Sikh states. Rani Jinda was charged for framing conspiracy and was

imprisoned and sent to Chunar, due to which the Sikhs became agitated. On the other hand, as the British made interference in the marital affairs of Maharaja Daleep Singh and made provision of Multan governor Moolraj for local Sepoy mutiny and demanded for excessive taxes, the Sikhs were forced to struggle against the British.

The battle of Ram Nagar which took place on 22nd November 1848 between the British and the Sikhs remained indecisive. In the battle fought in February 1849 in Gujrat, as the king did not extend support to the Sikh chieftains, they were defeated and the battle ended on 13th March 1849.

Lord Dalhousie made a declaration on 29th March 1849 and merged Punjab in the British Empire. Maharaja Daleep Singh was given pension and the frontiers of British India reached upto Afghanistan.

Question 7.
What was the system of diallowance to adoption? Which states were merged in British empire by this system ?
Answer:
Diallowance to adopt a heir as a part of the policy of the Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie. According to Hindu law, if a ruling person did not have a son of his own, he could adopt a boy from among his close relatives and appoint him as the successor. After the death of the ruler, that adopted son would gain all those rights which would be provided to the real son.

Lord Dalhousie supplanted the Indian rulers who did not have a son from adopting because he believed that in this way their states would easily become a part of Britih empire. This was known as the system of disallowance to adoption. By this system, many states were annexed in British empire.

1. Satara – Satara was the first state to be merged in 1848 CE according to this policy. King Appa Sahib did not have a son and he had adopted a son without the permission of the company. Lord Dalhousie declared this activity as invalid, and declaring Satara to be a dependent state, he annexed it into British empire.
2.  Sambhalpur – King Narayan did not have a son and neither could he adopt one. After his death, his state was merged in 1849.
3. Jhansi – After the death of Gangadhar Rao, Rani Laxmi Bai adopted a son, Damodar Rao which was rejected by Lord Dalhousie and Jhansi was merged in British empire in February 1854.
4. Nagpur – After the death of king Raghuji III in 1853, the queen adopted Yashwant Rao as per the wishes of the king. But Dalhousie rejected this and annexed this large and major state of cotton production in the British Empire in 1854.
5. Other States – States of Jaitpur (1849), Bhagar (1850), Udaipur (1852), Tanjore (1855) and several others were annexed into the British empire under the Doctrine of Lapse.

Question 8.
“This cherry would fall into our mouth one day.” Describe this statement of Lord Dalhousie.
Answer:
For the annexation of Awadh in British empire in 1851 CE, Lord Dalhousie had said about the riyasat of Awadh, “This cherry would fall into our mouth one day.” The process of Annexation of Indian states in British empire has started in 1798 with the Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley. The Subsidiary Alliance was also implemented forcely on Awadh in 1801 CE.

Awadh was a prosperous province for indigo cultivation and the British believed that this place could be developed as a big market place. Nawab had also lost most of his control over headmen and Tulukqdars. Gradually the interest of British began to increase in Awadh. Till the beginning of 1850, most parts of India like Maratha region, Karnatak, Punjab, Sindh and Bengal came under British control.

Lord Dalhousie first asked the British resident to conduct a survey of the state and reported against Nawab Wajid Ali in a large way and charged him for maladministration. Dalhousie charged the Nawab for maladministration and violation of the treaty: Finally in 1856 CE after five years of this statement, Awadh was annexed in British empire.

Question 9.
What were the consequences of the revolt of 1857 ? Explain.
Answer:
Although the revolt of 1857was not successful yet its consequences proved to be unprecedented, widespread and permanent. The revolt opened the eyes of the British and they were forced to amend their policies in context to administration, military and the Indian rulers.

End of Company Rule:
On 1st November 1858, through a Charter declared by the Queen, the British government transferred the rule of India from the hands of the East India Company and handed it to the British Emperor through the Government of India Act of 1858.

Board of Control and Board of Directors were ended and a 15 member All India Council was formed for the purpose of handling the administration of India, in which the chairman was called as the secretary of state of India. The post of the Governor General was renamed as Viceroy.

Reorganization of the Army:
The start of the revolt was in the form of a military rebellion, therefore it was important to reorganize the army. According to the Army Amalgamation Scheme of 1861, the European army of the Company was transferred to the government.

According to the report of the Peel Commmission in 1861, now the number of British soldiers was increased in the army. The important posts of army and ordinance were reservd only for the Europeans. It was also ensured that the Indian soldiers from a particular community or religion were not employed together in the army battalions.

Change of policy towards the Indian rulers:
According to the declaration made by the Queen, “Policy of extension of boundaries of the regions” was ended, and rights, pride and honour of the rulers were ensured to them. The Indian rulers were now allowed to adopt their successors.

Promotion to the Policy of ‘Divide and Rule’:
The Britishers were terrified by the communal harmony exhibited during the revolt of 1857. So, they started promoting the narrower tendencies of communalism, casteism, regionalism etc. and divide and rule’ became the major basis of their policy.

Beginning of Economic Exploitation:
After the revolt of 1857, the British renounced their policy of regional extension and diverted their attention towards procurement of wealth. The entire financial burden of crushing the revolt was put on the Indians. Drainage of wealth from India towards England started in the form of interest overheads on public loan and even in the form of dividend and the profit earned by the Company from the country was transferred to England.

Promotion to National Movement:
The joint efforts of the revolt of 1857 provided momentum to the national movement in India. The heroes of the revolt – Kunwar Singh, Laxmibai, Tantya Tope, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Nana Saheb and Rangaji Bapu Gupte etc. became the inspiring ambassadors of national movement.

Question 10.
Write a short note on the following revolutionaries:
(a) Queen of Jhansi, Rani Laxmibai.
(b) Nana Sahib, the adopted son of Peshwa.
Answer:
Queen of Jhansi, Rani Laxmibai – Rani Laxmibai was the leader of the revolt of 1857 from Jhansi. Due to the Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie the there was no permission to adopt a heir if the ruling person did not have his natural son. But after the death of king Gangadhar Rao, Rani Laxmi Bai adopted a song Damodar Rao. When it was rejected by the British, war was declared by the Queen of Jhansi.

In 1858 CE, British commander General Hurose invaded Jhansi and occupied it. After being defeated, Rani Laxmibai reached Kalpi and occupied Gwalior with the assistance of Tatya Tope. In June 1858 the British reoccupied it and Rani Laxmibai bravely received matrtyrdom while confronting the Britishers.

Nana Sahib – During 1857 revolt, Nana Sahib was the main leader of Kanpur. He was a brave Maratha and adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II. In June 1857, he declared himself as Peshwa in Kanpur but the British rejected it. Besides this, his 80,000 pound pension was also stopped by the British. So Nana Sahib stood against the British and led the revolt of 1857 from Kanpur.

With the assistance of his capable companions Tantya Tope and Azimullah, Nana Sahib freed Kanpur from the clutches of the British on 5th June 1857. Under the leadership of Sir Colin Campbell, the British reoccupied it in December. Nana Sahib had to flee away to Nepal.

Map Work
Question 1.
Mark any five centres of the revolt of 1857 on the map of India.
Ansswer:

Question 2.
Mark the main Indian states of 1750 CE on the map of India.
Answer:

RBSE Solutions for Class 12 History