HistoryModern India: Rebels and the Raj

The rebel proclamations of 1857 pointed to groups harmed by British r…

The rebel proclamations of 1857 pointed to groups harmed by British rule and the cause of their loss. Which of the following pairs is correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → Landholders, big and small - dispossessed by British land revenue settlements

Option (1) Landholders, big and small - dispossessed by British land revenue settlements — Correct. The land revenue settlements took land away from landholders, both big and small, and this angered the people.

Option (2) Artisans and weavers - dispossessed by British land revenue settlements — Incorrect. Artisans and weavers suffered from foreign commerce; the revenue settlements hit landholders.

Option (3) Moneylenders and traders - driven to ruin by foreign commerce — Incorrect. Foreign commerce ruined artisans and weavers. Moneylenders were not its victims; in the villages the rebels even ransacked their houses.

Option (4) Landholders, big and small - driven to ruin by foreign commerce — Incorrect. The two causes are swapped. Landholders lost out to the revenue settlements.

NCERT (2026-27): “3.2 Against the symbols of oppression
The proclamations completely rejected everything associated with British rule or firangi raj as they called it. They condemned the British for the annexations they had carried out and the treaties they had broken. The British, the rebel leaders said, could not be trusted. What enraged the people was how British land revenue settlements had dispossessed landholders, both big and small, and foreign commerce had driven artisans and weavers to ruin. Every aspect of British rule was attacked and the firangi accused of destroying a way of life that was familiar and cherished. The rebels wanted to restore that world.”

The rebel proclamations of 1857 pointed to groups harmed by British rule and the cause of their loss. Which of the following pairs is correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → Landholders, big and small - dispossessed by British land revenue settlements

Option (4) Landholders, big and small - driven to ruin by foreign commerce — Incorrect. The two causes are swapped. Landholders lost out to the revenue settlements.