NCERT Solutions Class 8 Social Science Chapter 5 When People Rebel

Let’s recall

1. What was the demand of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi that was refused by the British?

Answer:

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi wanted the Company to recognize her adopted son as the heir to the kingdom after the death of her husband.

2. What did the British do to protect the interests of those who converted to Christianity?

Answer:

(i)In 1850, the British passed a new law to make conversion to Christianity easier.

(ii)This law allowed an Indian who had converted to Christianity to inherit the property of his ancestors.

3. What objections did the sepoys have to the new cartridges that they were asked to use?

Answer:

The sepoys suspected that the new cartridges were coated with the fat of cows and pigs. They feared that using the new cartridges would offend their religious beliefs.

4. How did the last Mughal emperor live the last years of his life?

Answer:

(i) After suppressing the Revolt of 1857, the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried in court for his involvement and leadership and sentenced to life imprisonment.

(ii) His sons were shot dead before his eyes.

(iii) He and his wife, Begum Zinat Mahal were sent to prison in Rangoon in October 1858.

(iv) Bahadur Shah Zafar died in the Rangoon jail in November 1862.

Let’s discuss

Answer:

(i) In the mid-eighteenth century, the nawabs and rajas had gradually lost their authority and honour.

(ii)British Residents had been stationed in many courts, the freedom of the rulers reduced, their armed forces disbanded, and their revenues and territories taken away by stages.

(iii)Many ruling families tried to negotiate with the Company to protect their interests.

(iv)For example, Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi wanted the Company to recognize her adopted son as the heir to the kingdom after the death of her husband.

(v)Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II, pleaded the Company for his father’s pension when the latter died.

(vi)However, the Company, confident of its superiority and military powers, turned down these pleas. All these factors were reasons for the confidence of the British rulers about their position in India before May 1857.

6. What impact did Bahadur Shah Zafar’s support to the rebellion have on the people and the ruling families?

(i)The sepoys of Meerut reached Delhi on 10 May and gathered around the walls of the Red Fort where Bahadur Shah Zafar lived, demanding to meet him.

(ii)They convinced Bahadur Shah and proclaimed him as their leader.

(iii)He wrote letters to all the chiefs and rulers of the country to organise a confederacy of Indian states to fight the British.

(iv)The Mughal dynasty had ruled over a very large part of the country. Most smaller rulers and chieftains controlled different territories on behalf of the Mughal ruler.

(v)Threatened by the expansion of British rule, many of them felt that if the Mughal emperor could rule again, they too would be able to rule their own territories once more, under Mughal authority.

7. How did the British succeed in securing the submission of the rebel landowners of Awadh?

Answer:

(i) The British tried their best to win back the loyalty of the people.

(iii)Those who had rebelled were told to submit to the British, and if they had not killed any British citizen in India, they would remain safe and their rights and claims to land would not be denied.

(iv)Nevertheless, the British tried and hanged sepoys, rebels, nawabs and rajas.

8. In what ways did the British change their policies as a result of the rebellion of 1857?

Answer:

(i)The British Parliament passed a new Act in 1858 and transferred the powers of the East India Company to the British Crown.

(ii)A member of the British Cabinet was appointed Secretary of State for India and made responsible for all matters related to the governance of India. He was advised by a council, called the India Council.

(iii)The Governor-General of India was given the title of Viceroy (a personal representative of the Crown).

(iv) All ruling chiefs of the country were assured that their territory would never be annexed in future; their kingdoms could be inherited by their heirs, including adopted sons.