A research scholar is studying the revolt of 1857 in North India. She has collected many reports of rumours that spread among sepoys and villagers in the months before the rising, such as stories that the British were plotting to destroy the religion of the people. A colleague points out that most of these stories can never be proved and asks why she keeps them in her notes at all. She also plans to take up one region in detail to explore the basis of the revolt.
Which approach to these rumours should the scholar follow?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Ask what the rumours reflect about the minds, faiths and anxieties of those who believed them
Option (1) Sort out which rumours were factually correct and set the rest aside — Incorrect. Checking whether a rumour was true does not explain its power. People believed it whether it was true or not.
Option (2) Ask what the rumours reflect about the minds, faiths and anxieties of those who believed them — Correct. Rumours show what people <strong>feared and believed</strong>. They spread only when they <strong>matched deeper fears and suspicions</strong>, so they are useful evidence.
Option (3) Trace which British officials first reported each rumour to their seniors — Incorrect. Official reports are a source, but tracing who reported a rumour does not show why people believed it.
Option (4) Treat the rumours as messages planted by rebel leaders to start the rising — Incorrect. Calling rumours planned messages ignores the people's own fears, which is what gave rumours their power.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.5 Why did people believe in the rumours? |