Aman, a history student, is reading the diary of a British officer posted in North India in May 1857. One entry records that early on 11 May a band of mounted sepoys reached the gates of a royal palace, gathered under the ruler's window and later rode inside to demand his blessing. Surrounded by armed men, the ruler agreed. In the weeks that follow, the officer notes the date on which the sepoys of each cantonment rose, and writes down what the sepoys did first, and next, in every station he hears about.
Aman arranges the officer's list of dates in chronological order. Which pattern in the spread of the mutinies is this most likely to show?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → As the news of the mutiny in one town travelled to the next, the sepoys there took up arms.
Option (1) As the chapatis were passed on from one village to the next, the sepoys there took up arms. — Incorrect. Chapatis passed from village to village were a rumour-linked sign before the revolt. The chain in the dates is the news of mutiny moving from one town to the next.
Option (2) As the greased cartridges were issued to each regiment in turn, the sepoys there took up arms. — Incorrect. The greased cartridges were a cause of anger among sepoys. But the dates do not follow the order in which cartridges reached regiments; they follow the spread of news.
Option (3) As British troops left each station to march on the rebels, the sepoys there took up arms. — Incorrect. British troops leaving a station could have made a rising easier. The order of dates, however, tracks how news of mutiny travelled from town to town.
Option (4) As the news of the mutiny in one town travelled to the next, the sepoys there took up arms. — Correct. Placed in order of dates, the mutinies show a chain: news of a mutiny in one town reached the next, and the sepoys there rose. The rising spread station by station with the news.
NCERT (2026-27): “Rebels and the Raj The Revolt of 1857 and Its Representations … “If one were to place the dates of these mutinies in chronological order, it would appear that as the news of the mutiny in one town travelled to the next the sepoys there took up arms. The sequence of events in every cantonment followed a similar pattern.” |