HistoryModern India: Rebels and the Raj

The cartoon shown, published in Punch, a British journal of comic sat…

The cartoon shown, published in Punch, a British journal of comic satire, mocked Governor General Canning. Which declaration of Canning led to such mockery in the British press?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → A gesture of leniency and a show of mercy would help in winning back the loyalty of the sepoys

Canning declared that a gesture of leniency and a show of mercy would win back the sepoys' loyalty; at a time of loud demands for revenge, Punch mocked this as "The Clemency of Canning".

NCERT (2026-27): “5.5 No time for clemency
At a time when the clamour was for vengeance, pleas for moderation were ridiculed. When Governor General Canning declared that a gesture of leniency and a show of mercy would help in winning back the loyalty of the sepoys, he was mocked in the British press.”

“In one of the cartoons published in the pages of Punch, a British journal of comic satire, Canning is shown as a looming father figure, with his protective hand over the head of a sepoy who still holds an unsheathed sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, both dripping with blood (Fig.10.17) – an imagery that recurs in a number of British pictures of the time.”