After mutinying at Meerut on 10 May 1857, a group of sepoys rode to Delhi on 11 May and:

Demanded the blessings of the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah

Proclaimed Nana Sahib the Peshwa

Demanded the blessings of the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah

Surrendered to the British Resident

Set up a republic under an elected council of sepoys

The Summary Settlement of 1856, imposed in Awadh soon after its annexation, is significant because it:

Treated the taluqdars as interlopers and dispossessed many of them of their land

Fixed the revenue of the taluqdars permanently, as in Bengal

Abolished land revenue in Awadh for ten years

Treated the taluqdars as interlopers and dispossessed many of them of their land

Gave the land of Awadh to the sepoys of the Bengal Army

Assertion (A): Rumours about greased cartridges and contaminated flour spread rapidly in 1857. Reason (R): They resonated with fears produced by real British policies — social reforms, missionary activity and annexations.

Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A

A painting of 1859 shows English women and children huddled in a circle, looking helpless and innocent as they await the rebels. The painting and its effect are best described as:

Paton's "In Memoriam", which fed British demands for revenge

Barker's "Relief of Lucknow", celebrating the British rescuers

A nationalist print honouring the Rani of Jhansi

Paton's "In Memoriam", which fed British demands for revenge

The Punch cartoon "The clemency of Canning"

The Azamgarh Proclamation of 25 August 1857 is an important source because it:

Sets out, in the rebels' own words, grievances of zamindars, merchants, artisans and others, and calls for Hindu–Muslim unity

Records the terms on which Bahadur Shah surrendered to the British after the fall of Delhi in September 1857, and the arrangements for his exile

Was Queen Victoria's promise of religious toleration

Announced martial law across north India

Sets out, in the rebels' own words, grievances of zamindars, merchants, artisans and others, and calls for Hindu–Muslim unity

Rebels and the Raj — the Revolt of 1857 and Its Representations

From May 1857 the sepoys of the Bengal army rose against their British officers, and within weeks the rising had spread from the cantonments to the countryside and the old ruling families of north India. This chapter follows the pattern of the revolt, the rumours that carried it, the leaders who emerged in different regions, and the special case of Awadh, where the annexation of 1856 had dispossessed both a king and his taluqdars. It ends with how the revolt was remembered — in British paintings that cast it as a story of heroism and revenge, and in nationalist writing that recast it as a first war of independence — because the paper asks about representations as often as about events.

The Pattern of the Rebellion

Late in the afternoon of 10 May 1857, the sepoys in the cantonment of Meerut broke out in mutiny. They released sepoys who had been imprisoned for refusing the new cartridges, attacked and killed British officers, and early the next morning, 11 May, a group of them rode to Delhi, where they demanded that the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, give them his blessings. Surrounded, the emperor had little choice but to comply; the revolt thus acquired a kind of legitimacy, because it could now be carried on in the name of the Mughal emperor. In cantonment after cantonment the sequence was similar: a signal — the firing of an evening gun or the sounding of a bugle — the seizing of the bell of arms and plundering of the treasury, the attacking of government buildings, and then the joining of ordinary people in the towns and countryside.

Rumours: the sepoys believed the cartridges of the new Enfield rifle were greased with the fat of cows and pigs, and that biting them would corrupt their caste and religion; rumours also spread that the British had mixed the bone dust of cows and pigs into the flour (atta) sold in the market. In some places chapatis were distributed from village to village, a sign whose meaning even contemporaries could not agree on.
Why rumours were believed: they made sense against a background of real policies — reforms such as the abolition of sati (1829) and the legalisation of widow remarriage, the spread of Western education, the activities of missionaries, and annexations under Lord Dalhousie — which together suggested to many that the British were intent on destroying their religion and social order.
Communication: the revolt in different cantonments followed a pattern because there was communication between the sepoy lines; sepoys or their emissaries moved from one station to another, and panchayats were convened at night in the lines.

Leaders and Followers

To fight the British, leadership and organisation were required, and the rebels sometimes turned to those who had been leaders before the British conquest. In Delhi they turned to Bahadur Shah; in Kanpur the sepoys and people of the town gave Nana Sahib, the successor to Peshwa Baji Rao II, no choice but to join the revolt as their leader; in Jhansi the Rani was forced by popular pressure around her to assume leadership; and in Lucknow, the deposed nawab's young son, Birjis Qadr, was proclaimed the new nawab, with his mother Begum Hazrat Mahal taking an active part.

Leaders of 1857 and where they led
Leader	Where / who
Bahadur Shah	Delhi — the Mughal emperor, proclaimed leader by the sepoys
Bakht Khan	A soldier from Bareilly who took charge of a large force in Delhi
Nana Sahib	Kanpur — successor to Peshwa Baji Rao II
Rani Lakshmibai	Jhansi
Birjis Qadr and Begum Hazrat Mahal	Lucknow — the deposed nawab's son and his mother
Kunwar Singh	A local zamindar of Arrah
Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah	Faizabad — a religious leader who prophesied the end of British rule
Shah Mal	Barout pargana in Uttar Pradesh — mobilised the headmen and cultivators of the villages
Gonoo	Singhbhum in Chotanagpur — a tribal cultivator who led the Kol tribals

🎯 Why the rebels turned to old rulers

The revolt needed a source of authority that people across regions and communities would recognise. The Mughal emperor, the Peshwa's heir and the deposed nawab's family supplied that — and the rebels' administration in Delhi tried to replicate the Mughal structure. Historians read this not as a wish to restore the past unchanged, but as a search for a legitimate order in place of a British one experienced as illegitimate.

Awadh in Revolt

"A cherry that will drop into our mouth one day" — so Lord Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh in 1851. Five years later, in 1856, the kingdom was formally annexed to the British empire. The process had been gradual: the subsidiary alliance had been imposed on Awadh in 1801, disarming its nawab and making him dependent on the British for his security. The annexation was justified on the ground that the region was being misgoverned; the popular nawab, Wajid Ali Shah, was dethroned and exiled to Calcutta. Many in Lucknow grieved, and his exile was lamented in songs.

The taluqdars: in the countryside of Awadh, taluqdars had held estates and forts and maintained armed retainers. Soon after annexation, the British imposed the Summary Settlement of 1856, which proceeded on the assumption that taluqdars were interlopers with no permanent stakes in the land, and removed many of them from their land. The dispossession of the taluqdars meant the breakdown of an entire social order.
Sepoys and peasants: Awadh was called the "nursery of the Bengal Army", because so many sepoys were recruited from its villages. Their grievances — about pay, about the dismissal of complaints, about the changed attitude of officers — joined those of their families on the land, so that in Awadh resistance to the British became a widespread popular revolt.
The rebels' vision: the Azamgarh Proclamation of 25 August 1857 addressed zamindars, merchants, public servants, artisans, and pundits and fakirs, setting out how British rule had damaged each, and appealed to Hindus and Muslims together. Rebel proclamations repeatedly called on both communities to unite against a common enemy.

Repression, and Images of the Revolt

Before sending out troops to reconquer north India, the British passed a series of laws in May and June 1857 that placed the whole of north India under martial law: not only military officers but even ordinary Britons were given the power to try and punish Indians suspected of rebellion, and the ordinary processes of law and trial were suspended. Reinforcements came from Britain, and the campaign to recapture Delhi from two directions — from Calcutta and from Punjab — succeeded in September 1857. In Awadh, where the revolt was most widespread, resistance continued well into 1858, and the British tried to break it by winning back the taluqdars, promising them their estates.

Celebrating the saviours: Thomas Jones Barker's painting "Relief of Lucknow" (1859) celebrates the British commanders who rescued the besieged residency — a moment of British heroism and victory.
English women and the honour of Britain: Joseph Noel Paton's "In Memoriam" (1859) shows English women and children huddled in a circle, helpless and innocent, awaiting the rebels; such images fed public demands in Britain for revenge and retribution.
Mercy mocked: a cartoon in the British journal Punch in 1857, "The clemency of Canning", ridiculed the Governor-General, Lord Canning, who had declared that a show of leniency would help win back the loyalty of the sepoys.
Nationalist memory: in the twentieth century the revolt was celebrated as the "First War of Independence" — the phrase is V. D. Savarkar's, from his book of 1909 — and its leaders, above all the Rani of Jhansi, became heroic figures in poems, paintings and popular prints.

⚠️ Mutiny, revolt, war of independence

British writers called 1857 a "mutiny", confining it to the sepoys; the book shows that it drew in peasants, taluqdars and old ruling houses. Nationalists called it a war of independence. Each name carries an interpretation, and the paper may ask which label emphasises what — not which is "correct".

Key takeaways

The sepoys at Meerut mutinied on 10 May 1857 and reached Delhi on 11 May, seeking the blessings of Bahadur Shah.
Rumours of cartridges greased with cow and pig fat and of bone dust in flour spread because they fitted real reforms and annexations.
Nana Sahib led at Kanpur, the Rani at Jhansi, Birjis Qadr and Begum Hazrat Mahal at Lucknow, Kunwar Singh at Arrah, Shah Mal in Barout, Gonoo in Singhbhum.
Awadh got the subsidiary alliance in 1801 and was annexed in 1856; Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to Calcutta.
The Summary Settlement of 1856 dispossessed the taluqdars; Awadh was the "nursery of the Bengal Army".
The Azamgarh Proclamation of 25 August 1857 appealed to many social groups and to Hindu–Muslim unity.
Martial law came in May–June 1857 and Delhi was recaptured in September 1857; Barker's "Relief of Lucknow" and Paton's "In Memoriam" (both 1859) shaped British memory.

Practice questions (8)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

After mutinying at Meerut on 10 May 1857, a group of sepoys rode to Delhi on 11 May and:
1. Proclaimed Nana Sahib the Peshwa
2. Demanded the blessings of the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah
3. Surrendered to the British Resident
4. Set up a republic under an elected council of sepoys
Show answer
Answer: B — Demanded the blessings of the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah
The sepoys went to the Red Fort and demanded that Bahadur Shah bless their cause; he had little choice, and the revolt gained legitimacy by being carried on in his name. Nana Sahib emerged as a leader at Kanpur, not Delhi, so the Nana Sahib option puts a real leader in the wrong city.
Match the leader of 1857 with the place or people he or she led. A. Nana Sahib B. Birjis Qadr C. Gonoo D. Shah Mal — 1. Lucknow 2. Kol tribals of Singhbhum 3. Kanpur 4. Villagers of Barout pargana
1. A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
2. A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4
3. A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1
4. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
Show answer
Answer: D — A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
Nana Sahib, the Peshwa's successor, led at Kanpur; Birjis Qadr, the deposed nawab's son, was proclaimed nawab at Lucknow; Gonoo, a tribal cultivator, led the Kols of Singhbhum in Chotanagpur; Shah Mal mobilised the villages of Barout pargana. The likeliest slip swaps the two rural leaders, Gonoo and Shah Mal, because both led countryside risings.
"A cherry that will drop into our mouth one day." Lord Dalhousie used these words in 1851 to describe:
1. The kingdom of Awadh
2. The Mughal court at Delhi
3. The Maratha state of Jhansi
4. The province of Punjab
Show answer
Answer: A — The kingdom of Awadh
Dalhousie was describing Awadh, which was formally annexed five years later, in 1856, after the subsidiary alliance of 1801 had already disarmed its nawab. Jhansi was also taken over under Dalhousie, which makes it the tempting alternative, but the "cherry" remark is specifically about Awadh.
The Summary Settlement of 1856, imposed in Awadh soon after its annexation, is significant because it:
1. Fixed the revenue of the taluqdars permanently, as in Bengal
2. Abolished land revenue in Awadh for ten years
3. Treated the taluqdars as interlopers and dispossessed many of them of their land
4. Gave the land of Awadh to the sepoys of the Bengal Army
Show answer
Answer: C — Treated the taluqdars as interlopers and dispossessed many of them of their land
The Summary Settlement assumed that taluqdars had no permanent stake in the land and removed many of them — the breakdown of an entire social order, and a major reason the revolt in Awadh drew in the countryside. The Permanent Settlement belongs to Bengal in 1793; borrowing its permanent fixing of revenue for Awadh is the trap.
Arrange in chronological order: (A) Subsidiary alliance imposed on Awadh (B) Annexation of Awadh (C) Mutiny at Meerut (D) Recapture of Delhi by the British
1. B, A, C, D
2. A, C, B, D
3. A, B, D, C
4. A, B, C, D
Show answer
Answer: D — A, B, C, D
The subsidiary alliance came in 1801, the annexation in 1856, the Meerut mutiny on 10 May 1857, and the recapture of Delhi in September 1857. The annexation must come before the mutiny — it was one of the grievances behind the revolt in Awadh — so any sequence that puts Meerut before the annexation reverses cause and effect.
Assertion (A): Rumours about greased cartridges and contaminated flour spread rapidly in 1857. Reason (R): They resonated with fears produced by real British policies — social reforms, missionary activity and annexations.
1. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
2. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
3. A is true, but R is false
4. A is false, but R is true
Show answer
Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
The book explains that rumours circulate and are believed when they speak to deeper fears; reforms, missionaries and Dalhousie's annexations made many people believe the British meant to destroy their religion. So R is why A happened. Dismissing the rumours as mere ignorance — which "R is false" implies — is the reading the chapter argues against.
A painting of 1859 shows English women and children huddled in a circle, looking helpless and innocent as they await the rebels. The painting and its effect are best described as:
1. Barker's "Relief of Lucknow", celebrating the British rescuers
2. A nationalist print honouring the Rani of Jhansi
3. Paton's "In Memoriam", which fed British demands for revenge
4. The Punch cartoon "The clemency of Canning"
Show answer
Answer: C — Paton's "In Memoriam", which fed British demands for revenge
Joseph Noel Paton's "In Memoriam" shows women and children awaiting their fate, and images like it stoked public anger and calls for retribution in Britain. Barker's painting, of the same year, is the trap: it too belongs to British memory of 1857, but it celebrates the commanders who relieved the Lucknow residency rather than depicting the victims.
The Azamgarh Proclamation of 25 August 1857 is an important source because it:
1. Records the terms on which Bahadur Shah surrendered to the British after the fall of Delhi in September 1857, and the arrangements for his exile
2. Was Queen Victoria's promise of religious toleration
3. Announced martial law across north India
4. Sets out, in the rebels' own words, grievances of zamindars, merchants, artisans and others, and calls for Hindu–Muslim unity
Show answer
Answer: D — Sets out, in the rebels' own words, grievances of zamindars, merchants, artisans and others, and calls for Hindu–Muslim unity
The proclamation is one of the few sources giving the rebels' own vision: it addressed zamindars, merchants, public servants, artisans, pundits and fakirs in turn, and appealed to both communities. Martial law was a British measure of May–June 1857, and a royal proclamation of toleration came from the other side of the conflict, so both invert who was speaking.