A student is reading two sets of records from North India for 1856-57. In the first, a preacher educated in Hyderabad moves from village to village in a palanquin, with drumbeaters in front and followers at the rear, urging people to rise against the British. He is jailed for a time, and on his release a mutinous regiment elects him as its leader. In the second set, sepoys talk anxiously about the new rifles just given to them, which they fear will corrupt their caste and religion.
Which of the following statements about the fear in the second set of records is correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Sepoys who came to Delhi from Meerut told Bahadur Shah about it
Option (1) Sepoys who came to Barout from Delhi told Shah Mal about it — Incorrect. Shah Mal led the Jat cultivators of pargana Barout and sent supplies to the rebel sepoys in Delhi. The report about the bullets was made to Bahadur Shah.
Option (2) Sepoys who came to Lucknow from Faizabad told Henry Lawrence about it — Incorrect. Henry Lawrence commanded the British forces defeated at the Battle of Chinhat. The sepoys from Meerut reported to Bahadur Shah in Delhi.
Option (3) Sepoys who came to Delhi from Meerut told Bahadur Shah about it — Correct. The sepoys who reached Delhi from Meerut told Bahadur Shah about bullets coated with the fat of cows and pigs. They said biting them would corrupt their caste and religion, meaning the cartridges of the new Enfield rifles.
Option (4) Sepoys at Dum Dum told Governor General Hardinge about it — Incorrect. Dum Dum is where the cartridge rumour is traced, through a khalasi and a Brahmin sepoy. Hardinge was the earlier Governor General who brought in the Enfield rifles.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.4 Rumours and prophecies |