Read the passage and answer the questions:
Awadh in Revolt
Lord Dalhousie’s annexations created disaffection in all the areas and principalities that were annexed, but nowhere more so than in the kingdom of Awadh in the heart of North India. Here, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was dethroned and exiled on the plea that the region was being misgoverned. “The British government also wrongly assumed that Wajid Ali Shah was an unpopular ruler. On the contrary, he was widely loved, and when he left his beloved Lucknow, many followed him all the way to Kanpur, singing songs of lament.” The widespread sense of grief and loss at the Nawab’s exile was recorded by many contemporary observers. One wrote: “The life has gone out of the body, and the body of this town has been left lifeless.... There was no street or market and house which did not wail out the cry of agony in separation from Jan-i-Alam.” One folk song bemoaned that “the honourable English came and took the country.” “The emotional upheaval was aggravated by immediate material losses. “The removal of Nawab led to the dissolution of the court and its culture. Thus, a whole range of people—musicians, dancers, poets, artisans, cooks, retainers, administrative officials, and so on—lost their livelihood.
In which year Awadh was formally annexed by the British Empire?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → 1856
The Subsidiary Alliance was imposed on Awadh in 1801, and from then on the Nawab depended on the British. In 1851 Lord Dalhousie called the kingdom “a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”. Five years later, in 1856, Awadh was formally annexed to the British Empire, completing a process of conquest that had begun with Bengal almost a century earlier. A year later Awadh became one of the main centres of the Revolt of 1857.
Note: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| 23-05 S2 | – | – | 18-06 S1* | – |
* A similar question.
NCERT (2025-26): “2.1 ‘A cherry that will drop into our mouth one day’ … In 1851 Governor General Lord Dalhousie described the kingdom of Awadh as ‘a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day’. Five years later, in 1856, the kingdom was formally annexed to the British Empire. The conquest happened in stages. The Subsidiary Alliance had been imposed on Awadh in 1801. By the terms of this alliance the Nawab had to disband his military force, allow the British to position their troops within the kingdom, and act in accordance with the advice of the British Resident who was now to be attached to the court.…” |