Close links bound Awadh's villages to the sepoy lines. Threats seen by sepoys' families reached the lines; which step came next, before the sepoys took up arms?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Fears about the new cartridge and about leave were carried back to their homes
Option (1) Rebel leaders issued ishtahars to persuade people to join the revolt — Incorrect. Rebel leaders did issue ishtahars, but only to spread their ideas once the revolt was on. They were not the link that carried sepoy fears to the villages.
Option (2) Fears about the new cartridge and about leave were carried back to their homes — Correct. This is the return half of the two-way link between sepoys and villages. Village threats reached the sepoy lines, and in turn the sepoys' fears about the cartridge and leave went back to the villages. So when the sepoys rose, their village brethren joined them quickly.
Option (3) Taluqdars loyal to the Nawab took up arms beside Begum Hazrat Mahal — Incorrect. Taluqdars did fight beside Begum Hazrat Mahal, but that came within the revolt, after the sepoys had risen. The step before the rising was the flow of sepoy fears back to the villages.
Option (4) Rumours spread that bone dust of cows and pigs was mixed into the flour — Incorrect. Rumours of this kind were part of the panic of 1857, but they are not a step in this chain. The chain here is about sepoy grievances going back home to the villages.
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