Read the passage and answer the questions:

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 biting these 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 fat of cows and pigs spread like wild fire across the sepoy lines of North India.

Which among the following was NOT a rumour?

British annexed Satara, Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse.

The correct answer is Option (3) → British annexed Satara, Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse.

Option 1- British mixed bone dust of cows into the flour. (rumour)
Option 2- British wanted to convert Indians to Christianity (rumour)
Option 3- British annexed Satara, Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse. (TRUE)
Option 4- British rule would come to an end after 100 years of the Battle of Plassey. (rumour)

On a variety of pleas, like misgovernment (mal-administration) and the refusal to recognise adoption (Doctrine of Lapse), the British annexed not only Awadh, but many other kingdoms and principalities like Jhansi and Satara.

There were many rumours that were circulating in North India at the beginning of 1857. There was a rumour that the British government had hatched a gigantic conspiracy to destroy the caste and religion of Hindus and Muslims. To this end, the rumours said, the British had mixed the bone dust of cows and pigs into the flour that was sold in the market. In towns and cantonments, sepoys and the common people refused to touch the atta. There was fear and suspicion that the British wanted to convert Indians to Christianity. Panic spread fast. British officers tried to allay their fears, but in vain. These fears stirred men to action. The response to the call for action was reinforced by the prophecy that British rule would come to an end on the centenary of the Battle of Plassey, on 23 June 1857.