Identify the correct associations with the Revolt of 1857:
(A) Charles Cornwallis
(B) Charles Ball
(C) Enfield Rifles
(D) Henry Hardinge
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (B), (C) and (D) only
(A) Charles Cornwallis — Incorrect. Cornwallis was the commander of the British forces during the American War of Independence and the Governor General of Bengal when the Permanent Settlement was introduced there in 1793. He belongs to the story of the Permanent Settlement, more than sixty years before the revolt.
(B) Charles Ball — Correct. Charles Ball wrote one of the earliest histories of the uprising; he noted that panchayats were a nightly occurrence in the Kanpur sepoy lines.
(C) Enfield Rifles — Correct. The Enfield rifles that were introduced initially used the greased cartridges the sepoys rebelled against.
(D) Henry Hardinge — Correct. As Governor General, Hardinge attempted to modernise the equipment of the army, and the Enfield rifles came in as part of this.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.2 Lines of communication … The Military Police refused to do either, and it was decided that the matter would be settled by a panchayat composed of native officers drawn from each regiment. Charles Ball, who wrote one of the earliest histories of the uprising, noted that panchayats were a nightly occurrence in the Kanpur sepoy lines.… 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. …Fig. 9.3 Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805), painted by Thomas Gainsborough, 1785 He was the commander of the British forces during the American War of Independence and the Governor General of Bengal when the Permanent Settlement was introduced there in 1793.” |