Which of the following is the cause of the revolt of 1857?
A. Indian soldiers were paid low salaries
B. Jhansi was annexed owing to the doctrine of lapse.
C. Partition of Bengal
D. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
E. Heavy taxation
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A, B and E only
A cause of the revolt of 1857 must be something that happened before May 1857 and that turned the soldiers, rulers or people against the East India Company.
A. Indian soldiers were paid low salaries Correct. Indian sepoys were paid far less than British soldiers of the same rank and had little hope of promotion, so low pay was a grievance of the army, where the revolt began.
B. Jhansi was annexed owing to the doctrine of lapse. Correct. Under Lord Dalhousie’s doctrine of lapse, a state whose ruler died without a natural heir passed to the Company; Jhansi was annexed in 1854 and Rani Lakshmibai became a leader of the revolt.
C. Partition of Bengal Incorrect. Bengal was partitioned by Lord Curzon in 1905, nearly fifty years after the revolt.
D. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Incorrect. The firing at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar took place on 13 April 1919, long after 1857.
E. Heavy taxation Correct. High land revenue demands ruined many peasants and landholders, so heavy taxation was an economic cause of the discontent.