The same left-out lines name Gonoo as a rebel leader. Which people di…

To fight the British, leadership and organisation were required. For these the rebels sometimes turned to those who had been leaders before the British conquest. In Jhansi, the rani was forced by the popular pressure around her to assume the leadership of the uprising. So was Kunwar Singh, a local zamindar in Arrah in Bihar. Often the message of rebellion was carried by ordinary men and women and in places by religious men too. Elsewhere, local leaders emerged, urging peasants, zamindars and tribals to revolt.

The same left-out lines name Gonoo as a rebel leader. Which people did he lead?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → The Kol tribals

Option (1) The Jat cultivators — Incorrect. The Jat cultivators of pargana Barout were raised by Shah Mal.

Option (2) The Santhals — Incorrect. The Santhals lived in the Rajmahal hills and had their own rebellion in 1855-56.

Option (3) The Kol tribals — Correct. Gonoo was a tribal cultivator of Singhbhum in Chotanagpur. He became a rebel leader of the Kol tribals of that region.

Option (4) The Bhil tribals — Incorrect. The Bhils are a tribal people of western India, far from Gonoo's home in Chotanagpur.

NCERT (2026-27): “1.3 Leaders and followers …
Not everywhere were the leaders people of the court – ranis, rajas, nawabs and taluqdars. Often the message of rebellion was carried by ordinary men and women and in places by religious men too. From Meerut, there were reports that a fakir had appeared riding on an elephant and that the sepoys were visiting him frequently. In Lucknow, after the annexation of Awadh, there were many religious leaders and self-styled prophets who preached the destruction of British rule.”

“Elsewhere, local leaders emerged, urging peasants, zamindars and tribals to revolt. Shah Mal mobilised the villagers of pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh; Gonoo, a tribal cultivator of Singhbhum in Chotanagpur, became a rebel leader of the Kol tribals of the region.”