HistoryModern India: Rebels and the Raj

During the suppression of the Revolt of 1857, through which medium we…

During the suppression of the Revolt of 1857, through which medium were images of the brutal executions of rebels widely circulated?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → Popular journals

Option (1) Popular journals — Correct. Images of the executions of rebels were widely circulated through popular journals, so ordinary readers in Britain saw them.

Option (2) Official military reports — Incorrect. Military reports were written for officers and the government. They were not the means by which these images reached the public.

Option (3) Missionary tracts — Incorrect. Missionary tracts spread religious ideas. They were not the channel for pictures of the executions.

Option (4) Vernacular newspapers — Incorrect. Newspapers in Indian languages did not spread these pictures. The images went out through popular British journals.

NCERT (2026-27): “5.4 The performance of terror
The urge for vengeance and retribution was expressed in the brutal way in which the rebels were executed. They were blown from guns, or hanged from the gallows. Images of these executions were widely circulated through popular journals.”