UNIT -1

FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

1.Name four ways in which the British expanded their territorial power in
India.
2.What was the Subsidiary Alliance?
3.Explain the term: Doctrine of Lapse. Name any four states annexed by the
British using the Doctrine of Lapse.
4.Who was Nana Sahib? What was his main grievance against the British?
5.Which policy was used by Lord Dalhousie against Rani Laxmi Bai? Why did
Rani Laxmi Bai become bitter enemy of the British?
6.Mention four consequences of the annexation of Awadh.
7.What were the apprehensions of Indians about the introduction of the
railways and telegraphs?
8.Give four examples to show how the British exploited resources of India.
9.Give any four grievances of the peasantry against the British.
10.What was the immediate cause of the First War of Independence?
11.Metion the important consequences of First War of Independence.
12.What was General service Enlistment Act?
13.What were the promises made by Queen’s Proclamation of 1858?
14.State any four consequences of the First War of Independence on the East
India Company?
OR
What were the changes introduced in the administrative set-up of the British
territories in India?
OR
Enumerate any four clauses of Government of India Act of 1858.
15.How was the army organised after the first war of independence?
16.What is meant by Drain of Wealth?
17.In the context of First War of Independence, Answer the following
questions:
(i)Political causes
(ii)Economic Causes
(iii)Socio-Religious causes
(iv)Military causes.

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ANALYTICAL QUESTIONS
1.Name four ways in which the British expanded their territorial power in
India.
2.Mention one reason for the unhappiness of the Indian soldiers in the British
Army before 1857?
3.Subsidiary alliance proved to be fatal for the Indian rulers. Explain
4.Explain the term: Doctrine of Lapse. Name any four states annexed by the
British using the Doctrine of Lapse.
5.Give the meaning of Absentee Sovereignty. Why was it resented by the
Indians?
6.Which policy was used by Lord Dalhousie against Rani Laxmi Bai? Why did
Rani Laxmi Bai become bitter enemy of the British?
7.Mention four consequences of the annexation of Awadh.
8.How did the introduction of railways and telegraph influence Indian society?
9.Give four examples to show how the British exploited resources of India.
10.Give any four grievances of the peasantry against the British.
11.The introduction of the Enfield rifles caused huge unrest among the Indian
soldiers? Justify the statement
12.Mention any two grievances harboured by the Indian soldiers which created an
atmosphere favourable to the First War of Independence.
13.State any four consequences of the First War of Independence on the East
India Company?
OR
What were the changes introduced in the administrative set-up of the British
territories in India?
OR
Enumerate any four clauses of Government of India Act of 1858.
14.What did the British do to reduce the landed aristocracy to poverty?
15.How was the army re-organised after the first war of independence?
16.Mention the ways through which India’s wealth was being drained to
England.
17.What impact did the uprising of 1857 have on the Mughal rule and Peshwa
ship?

MCQ
1.The revolt of 1857 had its beginning in ___________________
a.Meerut
b.Plassey
c.Madras
d.Bombay

2.Subsidiary Alliance was introduced by ________________________.

a.Lord Dalhousie
b.Lord Wellesley
c.Lord Cornwallis
d.Lord Canning

3.Which among the following was not an socio-religious cause of the revolt of 1857.
a.Apprehensions about Modern innovations
b.Fears regarding western education
c.Absentee sovereignty of the British
d.Taxing religious places

4.The roots of the 1857 revolt lay in ______________________.

a.Blatantly discriminatory policies
b.Exploitative land revenue policy
c.The policy of greased cartridges
d.All of the above

5.Awadh was annexed on the basis of _____________

a.Doctrine of Lapse
b.Subsidiary Alliance system
c.Mismanagement of the state
d.None of the above

6.Which announcement of Lord Dalhousie in 1849 humiliated Mughals?

a.The name of the Mughal King was removed from the coins
inted by the company.
b.Successors of Bahadur Shah Zafar would not be permitted to use the Red
Fort as their palace.
c.Nana Saheb was forced to live at Kanpur, far away from his family seat
at Poona.
d.Mughal ruler, was under the protection of the Company and received a
pension from the British.

7.Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by ________________________.

a.Lord Cornwallis
b.Lord Canning
c.Lord Dalhousie
d.Lord Wellesley

8.Rani Lakshmi Bai was queen of ___________________.

a.Kanpur
b.Jhansi
c.Gwalior
d.Bittur

9.Which among the following was not an political cause of the revolt of 1857.
a.Corruption in administration
b.Disrespect shown to Bahadur Shah
c.By Using the Doctrine of Lapse
d,By Outright wars

10.The British Parliament passed the General Service Enlishment Act

in_______________.
a.1854
b.1855
c.1856
d.1857
11.Which among the following was not an economic cause of the revolt of 1857.
a.Drain of wealth
b.Decay of cottage industries and handicraft
c.Policy of racial discrimination
d.Growing Unemployment

12.Because of ________________ Rani Lakshmi bai declared war against British

a.Doctrine of Lapse
b.Non Align movement
c.Subsidiary alliance
d.None of the above

13.The Battle of Buxar was founght in ____________________

a.1762
b.1763
c.1764
d.1765

14.Which among the following was not an military cause of the revolt of 1857.
a.Deprivation of allowances
b.Oppression of the poor
c.Bleak prospects of promotion
d.General service enlishment act

15.Who was the last Mughal ruler in India?

a.Muhammad Shah Zafar
b.Aurangazeb
c.Jahandhar Shah
d.Bahadur Shah Zafar

16.______________ British official annexed the state of Awadh in the year 1856.
a.Lord Ripon
b.Lord Curzon
c.Lord Dalhousie
d.Lord Dukes

17.The _________________ state was not annexed on the basis of Doctrine of

Lapse.
a.Satara
b.Nagpur
c.Jaipur
d.Mysore

18.The government abolished the practice of Sati in______________

a.1827
b.1828
c.1829
d.1830
19.Which place witnessed the incident of Mangal Pandey firing upon British
officers?
a.Barrackpore
b.Meerut
c.Gwalior
d.Delhi

20.The immediate cause of the First War of Independence was_____________

a.Treatment given to Nana Saheb
b.Apprehensions about Modern innovations
c.Introduction of the Enfield rifle
d.Inhuman treatment of indigo cultivators.

21.Widow remarriage act was introduced in_____________

a.1856
b.1829
c.1854
d.1863

22.Which of the following person not related to 1857 revolt?

a.Rani Lakshmi Bai
b.Tantiya tope
c.Bhagat Singh
d.Nana Saheb.

23.The Battle of Plassey took place in___________________.

a.1857
b.1856
c.1757
d.1752

24._________________ was the adopted son of the last Peshwa Baji Rao II.
a.Tantiya Tope
b.Damodar Rao
c.Nana Saheb
d.Anand Rao

25.The Revolt of 1857 was started by ________________

a.The sepoys
b.The Zamindars
c.The Peasants
d.The plantation workers

26.The East India Company’s territorial power began to increased rapidly in India
after which of the following Battles?
a.The Battle of Buxar
b.The Battle of Plassey
c.The First Anglo-Mysore War
d.The Third Anglo Maratha War
27.The First Indian State to enter into Subsidiary Alliance with the East India
Company was_____________
a.Awadh
b.Mysore
c.Tanjore
d.Jhansi

28.Lord Dalhousie annexed a number of Indian States to the East India Company
using_________________
a.The Subsidiary Alliance
bThe Doctrine of Lapse
c.The Government of India Act of 1858
d.Queen Victoria’s Proclamation

29.Nana Saheb was the adopted son of ________________

a.Bahadur Shah Zafar
b.Tantia Tope
c.Baji Rao I
d.Baji Rao II

30.Where was the family seat of Nana Saheb located?

a.Nagpur
b.Lucknow
c.Pune
d.Kanpur
31.Which of the following reforms was resented by the Indians?
a.The Abolition of Sati
b.The Widow Remarriage Act
c.Opening of Girls’ school
d.Both (a) and (b)

32.Jhansi was annexed by applying which of the following?

a.Alleged Misrule
b.Subsidiary Alliance
c.Queen’s Proclamation
d.The Doctrine of Lapse

33.Seventy five of the Company’s sepoys belonged to which of the following states?
a.Jaipur
b.Awadh
c.Mysore
d.Sambhalpur

34.By the provision of which of the following 20,000 estates of the landlords were
confiscated by the East India Company?
a.The Hunter Commission
b.Frazer Commission
c.The Inam Commission
d.The Woods’ Dispatch
35.Which of the following Acts was resented by the Indian Sepoys?
a.The General Service Enlistment Act
b.The Indian Service Rules
c.The Government of India Ac, 1858
d.The Queens’ Proclamation

36.Which of the following was the result of the Great Uprising of 1857?
a.End of the rule of British Crown
b.End of the rule of the East India Company
c.End of the rule of the Gover-General
d.End of the Board of Directors

37 The Uprising of 1857 began from ___________

a.Meerut
b.Plassey
c.Buxar
d.Delhi

38.An effect of the Uprising of 1857 was that_______________

a.the spirit of rebellion in India was crushed
b.the British became totally demoralized
c.the British abandoned their repressive policies
d.Unity was forged between the Hindus and Muslims

39.After the initial success of the Uprising of 1857, the objective of the leaders of the
Uprising included
a.restoring the former glory to the Mughal empire
b.forming a Federation of Indian States under the aegis of Bahadur Shah II
c.eliminating foreign rule and return of the old oder
d.establishing his own power in his respective region by each leader

40.Under the Government of India Act 1857, who gave up the direct administration of
India
a.The East India Company
b.The British Crown
c.Lord Mountbatten
d.The Mughal Emperor