Riya, a Class 12 student in Meerut, is writing a school essay on the events of 1857 in several parts of north India. In her essay she uses the words mutiny, revolt and rebellion in turn, as if all three meant the same thing. Her teacher circles some of these words and returns the essay. She asks Riya to find out how historians of 1857 use each of the three terms, and which groups of people each term is meant to cover, before she writes the final draft.
In the context of 1857, the term revolt, as distinct from mutiny, refers primarily to the uprising of which of the following groups?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Peasants, zamindars, rajas and jagirdars
Option (1) Sepoys together with peasants and zamindars — Incorrect. This mixes the two groups. The sepoys' rising is the mutiny; only the civilian part of the rising is the revolt.
Option (2) Sepoys, native officers and the military police — Incorrect. Sepoys and native officers belong to the armed forces. Their rising is called the mutiny.
Option (3) Peasants, zamindars, rajas and jagirdars — Correct. For 1857, revolt refers primarily to the uprising of the civilian population: peasants, zamindars, rajas and jagirdars. This is the group the term is meant to cover.
Option (4) Fakirs, religious preachers and self-styled prophets — Incorrect. Fakirs and self-styled prophets did carry the message of rebellion, but the term revolt is defined by the civilian population of peasants, zamindars, rajas and jagirdars.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.2 Lines of communication … “In the context of the revolt of 1857 the term revolt refers primarily to the uprising of the civilian population (peasants, zamindars, rajas, jagirdars) while the mutiny was of the sepoys.” |