Which of the following reasons were NOT responsible for the swift spread of rumours in the revolt of 1857?

A) The British adopted policies aimed at “reforming” Indian society by encouraging Vedic education, ancient Indian ideas and Vedic institutions.
B) The British established laws to permit customs like sati (1829) and to abolish the remarriage of Hindu widows.
C) The British government refused to recognise adoption and annexed not only Awadh, but many other kingdoms and principalities.
D) The British introduced their own system of administration, laws, methods of land settlement and land revenue collection in the annexed kingdoms and principalities.
E) The activities of Christian missionaries in India.

Choose the correct answer from the given options:

A and B

The correct answer is Option 1 - A and B

The following reasons were NOT responsible for the swift spread of rumours in the revolt of 1857?

A) The British adopted policies aimed at “reforming” Indian society by encouraging Vedic education, ancient Indian ideas and Vedic institutions.
B) The British established laws to permit customs like sati (1829) and to abolish the remarriage of Hindu widows.

Statement A (INCORRECT)- The British adopted policies aimed at “reforming” Indian society by encouraging Vedic education, ancient Indian ideas and Vedic institutions.

Correction - The British adopted policies aimed at “reforming” Indian society by introducing Western education, Western ideas and Western institutions.

Statement B (INCORRECT)-  The British established laws to permit customs like sati (1829) and to abolish the remarriage of Hindu widows.

Correction: The British established laws to ABOLISH customs like SATI (1829) and to PERMIT the REMARRIAGE of Hindu widows.

We need to see what rumours reflect about the minds of people who believed them – their fears and apprehensions, their faiths and convictions. Rumours circulate only when they resonate with the deeper fears and suspicions of people. The rumours in 1857 begin to make sense when seen in the context of the policies the British pursued from the late 1820s. As we know, from that time, under the leadership of Governor General Lord William Bentinck, the British adopted policies aimed at “reforming” Indian society by introducing Western education, Western ideas and Western institutions. With the cooperation of sections of Indian society they set up English-medium schools, colleges and universities which taught Western sciences and the liberal arts. The British established laws to abolish customs like sati (1829) and to permit the remarriage of Hindu widows. On a variety of pleas, like misgovernment and the refusal to recognise adoption, the British annexed not only Awadh, but many other kingdoms and principalities like Jhansi and Satara. Once these territories were annexed, the British introduced their own system of administration, their own laws and their own methods of land settlement and land revenue collection.

The cumulative impact of all this on the people of North India was profound. It seemed to the people that all that they cherished and held sacred – from kings and socio-religious customs to patterns of landholding and revenue payment – was being destroyed and replaced by a system that was more impersonal, alien and oppressive. This perception was aggravated by the activities of Christian missionaries. In such a situation of uncertainty, rumours spread with remarkable swiftness.