Which Governor-General attempted to modernise the equipment of the army?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Henry Hardinge
As Governor-General, Henry Hardinge tried to modernise the equipment of the army. The new Enfield rifles brought in under this plan used cartridges that, the sepoys believed, were greased with the fat of cows and pigs. This rumour about the greased cartridges spread across the sepoy lines of North India and became one of the sparks of the revolt of 1857.
Tip: This answer sits in the caption of Hardinge’s portrait. Captions under portraits are short, so read every one of them; NTA often turns a caption into a question.
Note: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| 13-05 S2* 21-05 S2 | – | – | – | – |
* A similar question.
NCERT (2025-26): “1.4 Rumours and prophecies … Rumours and prophecies played a part in moving people to action. As we saw, the sepoys who had arrived in Delhi from Meerut had told Bahadur Shah about bullets coated with the fat of cows and pigs and that biting those bullets would corrupt their caste and religion. They were referring to the cartridges of the Enfield rifles which had just been given to them. The British tried to explain to the sepoys that this was not the case but the rumour that the new cartridges were greased with the fat of cows and pigs spread like wildfire across the sepoy lines of North India.…”
Fig. 10.5 Henry Hardinge, by Francis Grant, 1849 As Governor General, Hardinge attempted to modernise the equipment of the army. The Enfield rifles that were introduced initially used the greased cartridges the sepoys rebelled against. |
