Stories of the revolt published in British newspapers and magazines n…

Stories of the revolt published in British newspapers and magazines narrated the violence of the mutineers in gory detail. What effect did these stories have in Britain?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → They inflamed public feelings and provoked demands of retribution and revenge.

Option (1) They inflamed public feelings and provoked demands of retribution and revenge. — Correct. Gory accounts of rebel violence made the British public angry. These stories inflamed public feelings and led to demands of retribution and revenge.

Option (2) They led to Acts that placed the whole of North India under martial law. — Incorrect. The martial-law Acts were passed in May and June 1857, before the troops set out. The British used them to quell the insurgency, as a measure of repression.

Option (3) They moved the public to honour the British heroes who had saved the English. — Incorrect. Honouring the saviours was the aim of certain British paintings, such as Relief of Lucknow by Thomas Jones Barker.

Option (4) They led officials to collect their memos and reports into mutiny records. — Incorrect. The mutiny records are later collections of official memos, notes and reports. They show the fears and anxieties of officials.

NCERT (2026-27): “5. Images of the Revolt …
As we have seen, we have very few records on the rebels’ point of view. There are a few rebel proclamations and notifications, as also some letters that rebel leaders wrote. But historians till now have continued to discuss rebel actions primarily through accounts written by the British. Official accounts, of course, abound: colonial administrators and military men left their versions in letters and diaries, autobiographies and official histories. We can also gauge the official mindset and the changing British attitudes through the innumerable memos and notes, assessments of situations, and reports that were produced. Many of these have now been collected in a set of volumes on mutiny records. These tell us about the fears and anxieties of officials and their perception of the rebels. The stories of the revolt that were published in British newspapers and magazines narrated in gory detail the violence of the mutineers – and these stories inflamed public feelings and provoked demands of retribution and revenge.”

Stories of the revolt published in British newspapers and magazines narrated the violence of the mutineers in gory detail. What effect did these stories have in Britain?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → They inflamed public feelings and provoked demands of retribution and revenge.