Read the passage and answer the questions:
Awadh in Revolt
Lord Dalhousie’s annexations created disaffection in all the areas and principalities that were annexed, but nowhere more so than in the kingdom of Awadh in the heart of North India. Here, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was dethroned and exiled on the plea that the region was being misgoverned. “The British government also wrongly assumed that Wajid Ali Shah was an unpopular ruler. On the contrary, he was widely loved, and when he left his beloved Lucknow, many followed him all the way to Kanpur, singing songs of lament.” The widespread sense of grief and loss at the Nawab’s exile was recorded by many contemporary observers. One wrote: “The life has gone out of the body, and the body of this town has been left lifeless.... There was no street or market and house which did not wail out the cry of agony in separation from Jan-i-Alam.” One folk song bemoaned that “the honourable English came and took the country.” “The emotional upheaval was aggravated by immediate material losses. “The removal of Nawab led to the dissolution of the court and its culture. Thus, a whole range of people—musicians, dancers, poets, artisans, cooks, retainers, administrative officials, and so on—lost their livelihood.
At the time of annexation of Awadh, who was the Governor-General?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Lord Dalhousie
In 1851 Governor General Lord Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh as “a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”. Five years later, in 1856, it was formally annexed while he was still in office. The passage itself opens with “Lord Dalhousie’s annexations”, of which Awadh was the one that caused the deepest resentment.
NCERT (2025-26): “2.1 ‘A cherry that will drop into our mouth one day’ … In 1851 Governor General Lord Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh as ‘a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day’. Five years later, in 1856, the kingdom was formally annexed to the British Empire. The conquest happened in stages.… 2.2 ‘The life was gone out of the body’ … Lord Dalhousie’s annexations created disaffection in all the areas and principalities that were annexed but nowhere more so than in the kingdom of Awadh in the heart of North India. Here, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was dethroned and exiled to Calcutta on the plea that the region was being misgoverned.…” |