The lines left out after the last sentence name a local leader who mo…

To fight the British, leadership and organisation were required. For these the rebels sometimes turned to those who had been leaders before the British conquest. In Jhansi, the rani was forced by the popular pressure around her to assume the leadership of the uprising. So was Kunwar Singh, a local zamindar in Arrah in Bihar. Often the message of rebellion was carried by ordinary men and women and in places by religious men too. Elsewhere, local leaders emerged, urging peasants, zamindars and tribals to revolt.

The lines left out after the last sentence name a local leader who mobilised the villagers of pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh. Who was he?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → Shah Mal

Option (1) Birjis Qadr — Incorrect. Birjis Qadr was the young son of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. The people of Lucknow hailed him as their leader.

Option (2) Gonoo — Incorrect. Gonoo was also a local leader, from Singhbhum in Chotanagpur. He led the Kol tribals of that region.

Option (3) Ahmadullah Shah — Incorrect. Ahmadullah Shah was a maulvi who preached against the British and fought at Chinhat.

Option (4) Shah Mal — Correct. Shah Mal mobilised the villagers of pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh. He is an example of a local leader who rose from among the people.

NCERT (2026-27): “1.3 Leaders and followers …
Not everywhere were the leaders people of the court – ranis, rajas, nawabs and taluqdars. Often the message of rebellion was carried by ordinary men and women and in places by religious men too. From Meerut, there were reports that a fakir had appeared riding on an elephant and that the sepoys were visiting him frequently. In Lucknow, after the annexation of Awadh, there were many religious leaders and self-styled prophets who preached the destruction of British rule.”

“Elsewhere, local leaders emerged, urging peasants, zamindars and tribals to revolt. Shah Mal mobilised the villagers of pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh; Gonoo, a tribal cultivator of Singhbhum in Chotanagpur, became a rebel leader of the Kol tribals of the region.”