A researcher in Delhi is reading reports sent by British officers in 1857. She notices that the call to rise was spread by more people than ranis, rajas or nawabs. One report, from a large sepoy station in north India, speaks of a holy man who arrived riding a great animal and whom the sepoys visited again and again. Another report, from the capital of a kingdom the Company had taken over only a year before, describes many preachers who claimed to speak with divine authority and called for an end to Company rule.
The holy man in the first report was seen at which of the following places?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Meerut
Option (1) Meerut — Correct. Reports from Meerut spoke of a fakir riding on an elephant whom the sepoys visited often. This shows religious men also carried the message of rebellion.
Option (2) Kanpur — Incorrect. Kanpur is linked with Nana Sahib, whom the sepoys and townspeople pressed to lead the rising there.
Option (3) Jhansi — Incorrect. Jhansi is linked with its rani, who was forced by popular pressure to lead the uprising.
Option (4) Arrah — Incorrect. Arrah in Bihar is linked with Kunwar Singh, a local zamindar who was pressed to lead the rising there.
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