Target Exam

CUET

Subject

History

Chapter

Modern India: Rebels and the Raj

Question:

Read the following passage and answer the question:

To fight the British, leadership and organisation were required. For these the rebels sometimes turned to those who had been leaders before the British conquest. One of the first acts of the sepoys of Meerut was to rush to Delhi and appeal to the old Mughal emperor to accept the leadership of the revolt. This acceptance of leadership took its time in coming. Bahadur Shah's first reaction was one of the horror and rejection. It was only when some sepoys had moved into the Mughal court within the Red Fort that the old emperor agreed to be the nominal leader of the rebellion.

When did the rebel sepoys arrive at the gates of the Red Fort?

Options:

10 May 1857

11 May 1857

12 May 1857

13 May 1857

Correct Answer:

11 May 1857

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (2) → 11 May 1857

The sepoys arrived at the gates of the Red Fort early in the morning on 11 May 1857. It was the month of Ramzan, the Muslim holy month of prayer and fasting. The old Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, had just finished his prayers and meal before the sun rose and the fast began. He heard the commotion at the gates. The sepoys who had gathered under his window told him: “We have come from Meerut after killing all the Englishmen there because they asked us to bite bullets that were coated with the fat of cows and pigs with our teeth. This has corrupted the faith of Hindus and Muslims alike.’’ Another group of sepoys also entered Delhi, and the ordinary people of the city joined them. Europeans were killed in large numbers; the rich of Delhi were attacked and looted. It was clear that Delhi had gone out of British control. Some sepoys rode into the Red Fort, without observing the elaborate court etiquette expected of them. They demanded that the emperor give them his blessings. Surrounded by the sepoys, Bahadur Shah had no other option 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.