Revolt of 1857: Quick Answer
The Revolt of 1857 began on 10 May 1857 at Meerut, when sepoys of the Bengal Army rose against the East India Company and marched to Delhi, where they proclaimed the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader. Its immediate cause was the greased cartridge of the new Enfield rifle. The revolt was crushed by 1858-59, but it ended Company rule: under the Government of India Act 1858, India passed directly to the British Crown.
Key takeaway: The most asked questions are centre → Indian leader → British officer who suppressed it (Jhansi: Rani Lakshmibai vs Hugh Rose; Lucknow: Begum Hazrat Mahal vs Colin Campbell), the Governor-General at the time (Lord Canning), the first martyr (Mangal Pandey) and who called it the "First War of Independence" (V.D. Savarkar).
Revolt of 1857 Leaders and Centres (Most Important Table)
| Centre | Indian leader(s) | British officer who suppressed it | Key date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | Bahadur Shah Zafar (nominal head); General Bakht Khan (real military command) | John Nicholson (killed in the assault), William Hodson (captured Bahadur Shah) | Seized 11 May 1857; retaken September 1857 |
| Kanpur | Nana Sahib (adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II), Tantia Tope, Azimullah Khan | Sir Colin Campbell (Henry Havelock earlier) | June 1857; retaken December 1857 |
| Lucknow (Awadh) | Begum Hazrat Mahal (for her son Birjis Qadr) | Sir Colin Campbell (Henry Lawrence was killed in the siege) | June 1857; retaken March 1858 |
| Jhansi | Rani Lakshmibai | Sir Hugh Rose | June 1857; Jhansi fell April 1858 |
| Gwalior | Tantia Tope and Rani Lakshmibai | Sir Hugh Rose | Rani died fighting on 18 June 1858 |
| Bareilly (Rohilkhand) | Khan Bahadur Khan | Sir Colin Campbell | 1857-58 |
| Jagdishpur and Arrah (Bihar) | Kunwar Singh (about 80 years old) | William Taylor, Major Vincent Eyre | 1857; Kunwar Singh died April 1858 |
| Faizabad | Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah | — (killed in 1858) | 1857-58 |
| Allahabad | Liyaqat Ali | Colonel James Neill | 1857 |
| Assam | Maniram Dewan (with Kandarpeshwar Singh) | — (Maniram hanged in 1858) | 1857-58 |
| Sambalpur (Odisha) | Surendra Sai | — | 1857-62 |
| Rewari (Haryana) | Rao Tula Ram | — | 1857 |
Tantia Tope kept up guerrilla war longest. He was betrayed, captured and hanged at Shivpuri on 18 April 1859. Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried and exiled to Rangoon, where he died in 1862.
Causes of the Revolt of 1857 (Political, Economic, Military, Religious)
| Type | Causes |
|---|---|
| Political | Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie; annexation of Awadh (1856) on the charge of misgovernment; ending of titles and pensions (Nana Sahib's pension stopped; the Mughal title to end after Bahadur Shah) |
| Economic | Heavy land revenue and loss of land by zamindars and taluqdars; ruin of Indian handicrafts by British goods; drain of wealth |
| Military | Low pay and poor promotion for Indian sepoys; General Service Enlistment Act 1856 (sepoys could be sent overseas, which upset high-caste soldiers); loss of foreign-service allowance |
| Social and religious | Fear of conversion; Religious Disabilities Act 1850 (converts could inherit property); social reforms such as the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act 1856 seen as interference |
| Immediate cause | Cartridges of the new Enfield rifle, rumoured to be greased with cow and pig fat, which had to be bitten open before loading |
Doctrine of Lapse: States Annexed by Lord Dalhousie
Under the Doctrine of Lapse, a dependent state whose ruler died without a natural male heir passed to the Company; an adopted son could not inherit the kingdom.
| State | Year annexed |
|---|---|
| Satara (first) | 1848 |
| Jaitpur, Sambalpur | 1849 |
| Baghat | 1850 |
| Udaipur (Chhattisgarh) | 1852 |
| Jhansi | 1853 |
| Nagpur | 1854 |
Awadh (1856) was not taken under the Doctrine of Lapse; it was annexed on the ground of misrule. This is a frequent trap.
Revolt of 1857 Timeline: Important Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 29 March 1857 | Mangal Pandey of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry attacks officers at Barrackpore (near Calcutta) |
| 8 April 1857 | Mangal Pandey is hanged; he is called the first martyr of 1857 |
| 10 May 1857 | Sepoys at Meerut revolt and free their jailed comrades |
| 11 May 1857 | Meerut sepoys reach Delhi; Bahadur Shah Zafar proclaimed Emperor of Hindustan |
| June 1857 | Revolt spreads to Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, Bareilly and Bihar |
| September 1857 | British recapture Delhi; Bahadur Shah captured at Humayun's Tomb |
| March 1858 | Lucknow retaken |
| 18 June 1858 | Rani Lakshmibai dies fighting near Gwalior |
| 2 August 1858 | Government of India Act 1858 passed: Company rule ends |
| 1 November 1858 | Queen Victoria's Proclamation read by Lord Canning at Allahabad |
| 18 April 1859 | Tantia Tope hanged at Shivpuri |
Symbols that spread the message of revolt: chapatis and red lotus flowers passed from village to village.
Results of the Revolt of 1857 (Government of India Act 1858)
- End of Company rule: power passed to the British Crown under the Government of India Act 1858.
- New offices: a Secretary of State for India (a British cabinet minister) with a 15-member Council of India replaced the Board of Control and the Court of Directors.
- Governor-General became Viceroy: Lord Canning became the first Viceroy of India.
- Queen's Proclamation (1 November 1858): no more annexations, the Doctrine of Lapse was dropped, Indian princes' rights were respected, and religious non-interference was promised.
- Army reorganised: more European soldiers relative to Indian sepoys, artillery kept in British hands, and recruitment from "loyal" groups; this led to the "divide and rule" policy.
- End of the Mughal dynasty: Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last Mughal emperor.
Nature of the Revolt of 1857: Who Called It What
| Description | By |
|---|---|
| "The Indian War of Independence" / First War of Independence (book, 1909) | V.D. Savarkar |
| "Sepoy Mutiny" | British officials and historians (such as John Seeley) |
| "Neither First, nor National, nor a War of Independence" | R.C. Majumdar |
| "A national revolt" rather than a mere mutiny | Benjamin Disraeli (British politician) |
| "A Muslim conspiracy exploiting Hindu grievances" | Sir James Outram |
| Eighteen Fifty-Seven (official centenary history, 1957) | S.N. Sen |
| The Causes of the Indian Revolt (Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind) | Sir Syed Ahmad Khan |
Regions mostly unaffected: Punjab, Bengal proper, and most of South India. Many princes (Scindia of Gwalior, Holkar, the Nizam, the Sikh chiefs) stayed loyal to the British.
Revolt of 1857 Tricks to Remember
- Two Campbell cities: Sir Colin Campbell retook Kanpur and Lucknow (and Bareilly). Trick: "Campbell Captured Kanpur and Lucknow".
- Rose for the Rani: Sir Hugh Rose defeated the Rani of Jhansi; both start with R.
- Old lion of Bihar: Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur fought at about 80.
- Dates 29-8-10: Mangal Pandey's attack on 29 March, hanging on 8 April, Meerut rising on 10 May.
- Lapse ladder 48 → 54: Satara 1848 first, Jhansi 1853, Nagpur 1854 ("She Jumps North").
Revolt of 1857: PYQ-Style Practice Questions with Answers
1. The Revolt of 1857 started from: (a) Barrackpore (b) Meerut (c) Delhi (d) Kanpur Answer: (b) Meerut, on 10 May 1857. Mangal Pandey's earlier incident at Barrackpore (29 March) was an isolated act.
2. Who was the Governor-General of India during the Revolt of 1857? (a) Lord Dalhousie (b) Lord Canning (c) Lord Lytton (d) Lord Hardinge Answer: (b) Lord Canning, who then became the first Viceroy.
3. Who led the revolt at Lucknow? (a) Rani Lakshmibai (b) Begum Hazrat Mahal (c) Kunwar Singh (d) Nana Sahib Answer: (b) Begum Hazrat Mahal.
4. Which British officer defeated Rani Lakshmibai? (a) Colin Campbell (b) Henry Havelock (c) Hugh Rose (d) John Nicholson Answer: (c) Sir Hugh Rose.
5. Kunwar Singh led the revolt in: (a) Awadh (b) Rohilkhand (c) Bihar (d) Central India Answer: (c) Bihar, from Jagdishpur near Arrah.
6. Who called the Revolt of 1857 the "First War of Indian Independence"? (a) R.C. Majumdar (b) V.D. Savarkar (c) S.N. Sen (d) Jawaharlal Nehru Answer: (b) V.D. Savarkar, in his 1909 book.
7. Which was the first state annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse? (a) Jhansi (b) Nagpur (c) Satara (d) Awadh Answer: (c) Satara, in 1848.
8. Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled to: (a) Andaman (b) Rangoon (c) Mandalay (d) Colombo Answer: (b) Rangoon (now Yangon), where he died in 1862.
9. Who led the revolt at Bareilly? (a) Khan Bahadur Khan (b) Liyaqat Ali (c) Maulvi Ahmadullah (d) Bakht Khan Answer: (a) Khan Bahadur Khan.
10. Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1858 was read out by Lord Canning at: (a) Calcutta (b) Delhi (c) Allahabad (d) Bombay Answer: (c) Allahabad, on 1 November 1858.
11. Who wrote The Causes of the Indian Revolt? (a) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (b) Dadabhai Naoroji (c) Raja Ram Mohan Roy (d) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee Answer: (a) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.
12. The real military commander of the rebels at Delhi was: (a) Bahadur Shah Zafar (b) General Bakht Khan (c) Tantia Tope (d) Azimullah Khan Answer: (b) General Bakht Khan. Bahadur Shah was only the symbolic leader.
Revolt of 1857 FAQs
Where did the Revolt of 1857 start?
At Meerut, on 10 May 1857. The sepoys then marched to Delhi on 11 May and declared Bahadur Shah Zafar the Emperor of Hindustan.
Who was the first martyr of the Revolt of 1857?
Mangal Pandey, a sepoy of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry, who attacked British officers at Barrackpore on 29 March 1857 and was hanged on 8 April 1857.
What was the immediate cause of the Revolt of 1857?
The new Enfield rifle cartridges, rumoured to be greased with cow and pig fat, which offended both Hindu and Muslim sepoys.
What is the Revolt of 1857 also known as?
The Sepoy Mutiny, the First War of Indian Independence, the Indian Mutiny, and the Great Rebellion.
Who led the Revolt of 1857 in Kanpur?
Nana Sahib, the adopted son of the last Peshwa Baji Rao II, helped by Tantia Tope and Azimullah Khan.
Why did the Revolt of 1857 fail?
It was limited in area, lacked a single leader and plan, many princes and the educated middle class stayed away, and the British had better weapons, communications (telegraph) and resources.
What was the main result of the Revolt of 1857?
The end of East India Company rule. The Government of India Act 1858 transferred power to the British Crown and created the post of Secretary of State for India.
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