CBSE Class 12 History Rebels And The Raj Assignment

ASSERTION AND REASON BASED MCQs (1 Mark each)

Directions : In the following questions, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Mark the correct choice as:
(A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is correct but R is wrong.
(D) A is wrong and R is correct.

Question. Assertion (A): There were similarities in the pattern of the revolt in different places.
Reason (R): Sepoys lived in lines and shared a common lifestyle and that many of them came from the same caste 
Answer : A

Question. Assertion (A): The British became increasingly interested in acquiring the territory of Awadh. 
Reason (R): They felt that the soil there was good for producing tea and coffee, and the region was ideally located to be developed into the principal market of Upper India. U A
Answer : C

Question. Assertion (A): In towns and cantonments, sepoys and the common people refused to touch the atta. 
Reason (R): There was fear and suspicion that the British wanted to convert Indians to Christianity. Panic spread fast. 
Answer : A

Question. Assertion (A): Historians till now have continued to discuss rebel actions primarily through accounts written by the British.
Reason (R): There are many rebel proclamations and notifications, as also some letters that rebel leaders wrote. However, historians prefer to study British documents rather than the rebel’s account.
Answer : C

Question. Assertion (A): Awadh was, in fact, called the “Nursery of the Bengal Army’’.
Reason (R): The large majority of the sepoys of the Bengal Army were recruited from the villages of Awadh and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Many of them were Brahmins or from the “upper” castes. 
Answer : A

Question. Assertion (A) : The Commissioner of Lucknow Henry Lawrence, killed but the Residency continued to be defended under the command of Colonel Inglis.
Reason (R): When the rebel forces besieged Lucknow, Henry Lawrence, the Commissioner of Lucknow, collected the Christian population and took refuge in the heavily fortified Residency. 
Answer : A

Question. Assertion (A): Ordinary people, peasants began joining the revolt, the targets of attack widened. In major towns like Lucknow, Kanpur and Bareilly, money- lenders and the rich also became the objects of rebel wrath. In most places their houses were looted and destroyed. 
Reason (R): Ordinary people not only saw the money-lenders and rich as oppressors but also as allies of the British.
Answer : A

Question. Assertion (A): Many of the taluqdars were loyal to the Nawab of Awadh, and they joined Begum Hazrat Mahal (the wife of the Nawab) in Lucknow to fight the British; some even remained with her in defeat.
Reason (R): Large areas of Awadh were heavily overassessed. The increase of revenue demand in some places was from 30 to 70 percent. Thus, neither taluqdars nor peasants had any reasons to be happy with the annexation. 
Answer : A

Question. Assertion (A): The relationship of the sepoys with their superior white officers underwent a significant change in the years preceding the uprising of 1857.
Reason (R): The officers developed a sense of superiority and started treating the sepoys as their racial inferiors, riding roughshod over their sensibilities. 
Answer : A

Question. Assertion (A): The stories of the revolt that were published in British newspapers and magazines narrated in gory detail the violence of the mutineers – and these stories inflamed public feelings and provoked demands of retribution and revenge.
Reason (R): One important record of the mutiny is the pictorial images produced by the British and Indians: paintings, pencil drawings, etchings, posters, cartoons, etc.
Answer : A

Question. Assertion (A): To fight the British, leadership and organisation were required
Reason (R): Rumours and prophecies played a part in moving people to action.
Answer : B

Question. Assertion (A): The national movement in the twentieth century drew its inspiration from the
events of 1857.
Reason (R): All sections of the people of India came together to fight against imperial rule. Art and literature, as much as the writing of history, have helped in keeping alive the memory of 1857.
Answer : A

CASE-BASED MCQs

Read the following excerpt carefully and answer the following questions :

Rumours and prophecies played a part in moving people to action. The Sepoys who had arrived in Delhi from Meerut had told Bahadur Shah about the bullets coated with the fat of cow and pigs and that biting those bullets would corrupt their caste and religion. They were referring to the cartridges of the Enfield Rifles that had just been given to them. The British tried to explain to the Sepoys that this was not the case but the rumour of greased cartridge spread like wild fire across the Sepoy lines of North India.

Question. Why did the Sepoys marched to Delhi from Meerut?
(A) The Governor General of East India company lived in Delhi.
(B) Delhi was the seat and symbol of Mughal authority
(C) Rani Laxmi Bai urged the Sepoys to move to Delhi.
(D) The greased cartridges were being made in Delhi.
Answer : B

Question. Choose the correct option.
Assertion (A): According to the rumour the cartridges were greased with the fat of cows and pigs.
Reason (R): The Sepoys refused to use these cartridges because for Hindu Sepoys, cow was a revered animal and for the Muslims the pig was a hated animal.
(A) Both A and R are correct and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are correct but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is wrong but R is correct.
(D) R is wrong but A is correct.
Answer : A

Question. How did the rumour of greased cartridges spread like wild fire across the cantonments?
(A) The cantonments were connected through the Telegraph Lines.
(B) The cantonments published their own newspapers, in which this was reported.
(C) This news was broadcasted on the Television.
(D) All of the above
Answer : A

Question. Consider the following statements :
(a) The greased cartridges were to be used in the new Enfield Rifles.
(b) The British officers tried to explain to the Sepoys that cartridges were not greased. It was just a rumour.
Choose the correct option:
(A) Only (a) is correct
(B) Both (a) and (b) are correct.
(C) Only (b) is correct.
(D) Neither (a) nor (b) is correct
Answer : B