ICSE Solutions and Questions Answers for First War of Independence Class 10 History
We are going to study the ICSE Solutions of first chapter of the History textbook of Class 10. The name of the chapter is First War of Independence. All types of questions including very short answer type, short answer type, structured questions and questions based on picture perception has been provided. This ICSE solutions for First war of Independence will help the students in learning the chapter outcome.
| Name of the chapter | First War of Independence |
| Subject | History and Civics |
| Topics covered |
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| Related Readings |
Very Short Questions
1. Why was the 'war of 1857' hailed as the first war of National Independence ?
Answer
People of different castes, communities and religions of India came together for the first time and fought for independence, against the British.
2. Name the policy used by Lord Dalhousie for the extension of British territories in India.
Answer
Lord Dalhousie used Doctrine of Lapse for the extension of British territories in India.
3. What is meant by 'Doctrine of Lapse' ?
Answer
This was a policy of annexation which was followed by Lord Dalhousie. The Doctrine meant that when a ruler of a dependent state died without a natural heir the governance of the state is passed on to the English Company.
4. Under what pretext was Oudh annexed to the Company's dominion ?
Answer
Oudh was annexed to the company's dominion on the ground that it was not being governed properly.
5. What happened to the Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, after the Revolt of 1857 ?
Answer
He was deported to Rangoon where he died in 1862.
6. Name two famous Indian leaders of the revolt of 1857.
Answer
Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and Nana Sahib.
7. Under what pretext was Oudh annexed to the Company’s dominion?
Answer
Oudh was not governed properly.
8. Why was the ‘war of 1857’ hailed as the first war of National Independence?
Answer
People of different castes, communities and religions came together for the first time and fought for independence.
9. Name the policy used by Lord Dalhousie for the extension of British territories in India.
Answer
Doctrine of Lapse.
10. The Act of 1858 ended the East India Company’s rule and the Government of India was transferred to the British Queen. Who became the first Viceroy under this Act?
Or
Who was the first Viceroy of India?
Answer
Lord Canning.
11. What is meant by ‘Doctrine of Lapse’?
Answer
This was a policy of annexation followed by Lord Dalhousie. The Doctrine meant that when a ruler of a dependent state died without a natural heir, the state is passed on to the English – Company.
12. State any two political causes responsible for the First War of Independence.
Answer
Two of the important political causes responsible for the First War of Independence were:
(i) The British policy of annexation of kingdoms under the pretext of inefficient administration of the rulers.
(ii) The Doctrine of Lapse introduced by Lord Dalhousie that imposed unsentimental law of 'no adoption policy' for rulers and the lapse of kingdom into the hands of the British in the absence of natural heir.
13. Why did the 'Doctrine of Lapse' become a political cause for the result of 1857?
Answer
According to the 'Doctrine of Lapse' if a king died without an heir to the throne, his adopted son could not succeed him. This caused a lot of discontentment amongst the Indians.
14. What was Nana Saheb's grievance against the British?
Answer
The British refused to accept Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the last Peshwa Baji Rao II, as the ruler of the Maratha and they also refused to give him the pension which his father was getting.
15. Mention any two social reforms advocated by the British which affected the religious traditions of the Indian people.
Answer
The two social reforms advocated by the British which affected religious tradition of Indian people were:
(i) Abolition of Sati Pratha.
(ii) Widow remarriage.
16. Mention any two social evils that existed in India during the 19th century. What measures did the British Government take to stop them ?
Answer
During the 19th century, the two social evils that existed in India were Sati Pratha and problems of widows as they were not permitted to remarry. The British Government passed the Widow Re-marriage Act in 1856 and the Abolition of Sati Act in 1829 to remove those evils.
Short Answer Questions
1. What was the nature of revolts against the British before the First War of Independence?
Answer
The revolts against the British before the First War of Independence did not pose a serious challenge as the rebellions were local, scattered and isolated. These revolts established a local tradition of struggle against the British rule.
2. Why was "War of 1857" hailed as the First War of Independence?
Answer3. Mention two political causes of the First War of Independence.
Answer
(ii) Disrespect shown to Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Answer
(i) By outright wars.
(ii) By the system of Subsidiary Alliance.
(iii) By adopting the Doctrine of lapse.
(iv) On the pretext of alleged misrule.
(b) surrendered their foreign relations to the East Indian Company and agreed that they would not enter into any alliance with any other power and would not wage wars.
(c) Accepted a British Resident at their headquarters and agreed not to employ any European in their service without consulting the company
(d) agreed to maintain British troops at their own cost and
(e) virtually lost their independence.
The two Indian States were:
(i) Hyderabad in 1798.
(ii) Awadh in 1801.
6. Explain the term: Doctrine of Lapse. Name the two States annexed by the British using the Doctrine of Lapse.
AnswerAnswer
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Answer
(ii) Nawab of Awadh's army and administration threw thousands of nobles, officials and soldiers out of jobs.
Answer
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13. What were the apprehensions of Indians about the introduction of the railways?
Answer
Answer
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(ii) They believed in their racial superiority and they thought that a distance was to be maintained to preserve their authority over Indians.
(iii) They cleverly used the attractions of Government service to create a split along religious lines among educated Indians.
Answer
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21. State two effects of the defeat of the British in the first Afghan War and the Punjab Wars on the Indian soldiers.
Answer
(i) Though the British suppressed the Santhal Uprising, the disasters they suffered broke the myth that the British were invincible.
(ii) It further revealed to the Indian soldiers that the British army could be defeated by the determined Indian army,
22. What was the immediate cause of the First War of Independence?
Answer
The immediate cause of the uprising was the use of greased cartridges in the rifles after biting the end of cartridge with their teeth. It was thought that the cartridges were pleased with the fats of cow and pig. So both Hindu and Muslim soldiers refused to use these cartridge
23. Who was Mangal Pandey? What did he do?
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27. Mention any two drawbacks of the First War of Independence.
Answer
28. Mention two grievances of the Mughal Emperor against the British.
Answer
(ii) In 1856, Lord Canning announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah Zafar, his successors would not be allowed to use the imperial titles and dignities with their names.
Answer
(b) Regarding the public appointments, she declared that the appointments would be strictly on the basis of education, ability and integrity.
30. How did the Doctrine of Lapse become a political cause for the Great Uprising of 1857?
Answer
According to the Doctrine of Lapse, if an Indian ruler of a dependent State did not have his real son to succeed him, he was not allowed to adopt a successor without Company's consent. As such, the state in question was annexed. By his Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of India (1846-1856), annexed three Maratha dependent States of Satara, Nagpur, Jhansi and several minor principalities.
31. Name two humanitarian measures taken by the British which invoked adverse reaction from the Indian masses.
AnswerAnswer
Answer
34. In which year did the First War of Independence take place?
Answer
The First War of Independence took place in the year 1857.
Structured Questions
(a) The ruin of trade and handicrafts.
(b) Impoverishment of the cultivators.
(c) Subordination of Indian economy to British interests
(Making India an Agricultural Colony of British capitalism
(ii) British goods were imported into India at a nominal duty
(iii) The art of spinning and weaving became extinct.
(iv) Manufacturing towns of Dhaka, Murshidabad and Surat now looked desolate. Hence, deplorable economic condition paved the way for Revolt of 1857.
(b) The changes in the Army.
(c) The changes in the relationship with Princely States.
Answer
(a) The war ended the East India Company's rule in India. The Act of 1858 transferred the Government of India from the Company to the Crown. Secondly, the Board of control and court of directors were abolished. Their powers were transferred to the Secretary of State, who was to be assisted by the Indian Council consisting of 15 members. Secretary of State was to draw salary and allowances from the revenues of India. Thirdly, appointments to the Civil Service were to be made by open competition. Lastly, Governor General received the additional title of Viceroy. The title denoted the new position of the Governor-General as the representative of the Crown in India vis-a-vis the native princess and Nawab.
(b) Changes in the Army: The Indian army was reorganised after 1858, to prevent the reoccurrence of another uprising, in the following manner:
(i) The strength of European troops in India was increased to 65,000. The number of Indian troops was reduced to 140,000. Practically the same ratio was maintained till the First World War.
(ii) European troops were kept in key geographical and military positions.
(iii) The earlier policy of excluding Indians from the officer corps was strictly maintained.
(iv) To desist the Indian soldiers from rising again against the British rule, the sophisticated weapons and ammunition were never placed under the charge of Indians. All Indian artillery units, with the exceptions of a few mountain units, were disbanded.
(v) Discrimination on the basis of caste, region and religion was practiced in the recruitment to the army.
(vi) In order to discourage nationalism, measures such as introduction of caste and community in most regiments were taken.
(vii) Newspapers, journals and nationalist publications were prevented from reaching the soldiers to keep the Indian army separated from the life of the rest of the population.
(c) Queen Victoria declared in her Proclamation of 1858 that the British government would not annex the Indian states.
Secondly, all the treaties that the princess had concluded with the company would be honoured. Thirdly, their right of adoption and succession were to be recognised. At the same British government took all possible steps to render Indian states militarily weak by limiting their number of troops.
3. There were many causes for the uprising of 1857. In this context, state the following:
(a) Policy of economic exploitation.
(b) Racial discrimination.
(c) Social Causes.
Answer
(a) Economic exploitation: The land-revenue system i.e., Zamindari, Ryotwari and Mahalwari, introduced by the British, reduced the peasants to misery and poverty. Poor peasants had to sell their produce at cheap prices in order to satisfy the greed of moneylenders, Zamindars and the Government officials. British turned Indian self-sufficient economy into an Agricultural Colony. India being an exporter of fine cloth, became the importer of finished goods from England. Handicrafts crippled under the policy of free-trade. As William Hunter once remarked that 40 million Indians go through life on insufficient food.
(b) Racial Discrimination: The British believed that they were superior to Indians. They followed a policy of contempt towards the Indians. They dubbed the Muslims as cruel and unfaithful. Some European officers ill-treated and insulted Indians. Such acts of unjust discrimination alienated the British from the Indian masses. Railway compartments hotels etc, reserved for Europeans only' were visible manifestations of this racialism(c) Social Causes: Some of the social reforms introduced by the British in India were aimed at improving the conditions of the people. However, while introducing such reforms the feelings of the people were not taken into consideration. The result was that even the abolition of Sati (1829) and the introduction of the Widow Remarriage Act, (1856) were not welcomed by the masses.
(a) How did the uprising give rise to Nationalism in India?
(b) How did the end of the East India Company's rule bring in grave economic perils in India?
(c) State how the British Government tried to pacify the feelings of Indians with regard to :
2. the Princely States.
Answer
(i) Recruitment of English in both private and public was a large drain of the country's resources.
(ii) India was reduced only to a Agricultural Colony exporting raw materials and importing finished goods.
(iii) Rapid rise of indebtness of the peasants reduced them to poverty and slavery.
(iv) British invested their surplus capital in railways, plantation and coal mines in India, which was a total drain on commercial interests of Indians. Even the dividends were distributed among the share-holders of the company. On the whole the Indian were reduced to misery and poverty.
(i) Queen Victoria in her Proclamation of 1858, promised not to interfere with the religious beliefs of the people of India
(ii) The Queen promised equal treatment to all her subject, Indians and Europeans.
(iii) All appointments would be based on education-ability and integrity.
(iv) An official pardon was granted to guilty of murdering British subjects.
2. Princely States: The Policy Annexation and the Doctrine of Lapse were abandoned. Some of the Indian princes had remained loyal to the British and had helped them in suppressing the uprising. Their loyalty was rewarded with the announcement that their right to adopt heirs would be respected and the integrity of their territories guaranteed against future annexation.
5. The First War of Independence was the culmination of people's dissatisfaction against the British rule. In this context enumerate the following causes:
(a) Military causes
(b) Economic causes
(c) Political causes
Answer
(a) Military Causes
(i) Ill-treatment of Indian Sepoys : There were no fellow feeling between the English and the Indian soldiers. The Indian soldiers were considered inferior to the English soldiers. During their training Indian soldiers are abused and kicked as if they were animals. Such treatment broke their heart and hurt their feelings.
(ii) Inferior Status and Low Salaries : The wages of the Indian soldiers were too less to support their families. An English soldiers was paid more than 8 times the Indian sepoy while his duties were of a similar nature. They had no chance of promotion to high post in the army. Infact, the sepoy's life was very hard and he resented his inferior position.
(iii) General Service Enlistment Act : Lord Canning passed the General Service Enlistment Act. It created bitterness among the sepoy as it bound them to be sent to fight even to an overseas front. The sepoys opposed this Act because it was contrary to their religious belief.
(b) Economic causes:
(i) Exploitation of the Economic Resources of India: The British exploited the economic resources of India and enriched themselves at the cost of the Indians. All trade and commerce had gone into the hands of the English and as a result, the Indian industries suffered a setback while they carried away India's wealth to their country.
(ii) Discontent among the Jagirdars and Zamindars: The resumption of tax-free land and confiscation of Jagirs caused discontent among the Jagirdars and Zamindars because they were reduced to utter poverty.
(iii) Educated Indians Became Jobless: Only the English were appointed to high posts and were given handsome salaries. The educated Indians were excluded from high posts. Their life became miserable and they felt discontented.
(c) Political causes:
(i) Policy of Annexation followed by Lord Dalhousie: The Doctrine of Lapse, all round annexation of Indian states, abolition of titles and pension, etc. had made most of the Indian Princes and rulers staunch enemies of the British
(ii) Disrespect Shown to Bahadur Shah: The Home of the Mughals was also humbled when the English announced that after the death of Bahadur Shah II, the Mughals would lose the title of kings and his successors would have to vacate the Red Fort. It hurt the sentiments of the Muslims and increased the aversion of the Indians for the British.
(iii) The Annexation of Awadh: Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh to the British Empire In Indian under the pretext of mis-governance. It threw thousands of nobles, gentlemen, officers and soldiers out of job. The British confiscated the estates of the Zamindars and Tuluqdars. It created dissatisfaction among all classes of the people of Awadh.
(iv) Disbanding the Armies of the Annexed States: All such states that were annexed by the company had their troops disbanded. As a result thousands of families lost their means of livelihood. The disbanded soldiers were determined to take revenge from the British Company.
6. Many factors led to the First War of Independence. In this context explain the following:
(a) The attitude of the British towards the people of India with regard to their religious customs.
(b) Factors causing dissatisfaction among the Indian soldiers.
(c) Decline of the landed aristocracy.
Answer
(a) The laws that interfered with the religious customs of the people. The British interference in religious and social life of the Indians created profound discontent among them. The propaganda of Christian Missionaries convinced the Indians that the British Government was determined to convert them to Christianity. The Christian Missionaries were allowed to enter India by the Charter Act of 1833. The East India Company provided them financial aid for their propagation in India. The policemen always accompanied them for their safety. The company's offices, hospitals, educational institutions and jails became their chief centres of propagation. These were flooded with their literature. The Christian Missionaries also preached in temples and mosques. They poured forth venomous abuses against the Hindus and the Islam. Those persons who embraced Christianity were given privileges. The fear to loss of religion alarmed the Indians and they decided to raise the banner of revolt against the British.
(b) The dissatisfaction among the Indian soldiers was growing over a number of policies of the British Company
(i) Disparity in Salary : The Indian sepoy were getting 8 times less salary than the English one.
(ii) The Indian sepoys were considered inferior and inefficient. They were humiliated, insulted and assaulted also. This made them feel infuriated.
(iii) The General Enlistment Act: It bounded the sepoys to serve the English in foreign countries if any war to be fought there. This was against Hindu Sepoys religious belief.
(iv) There were no chances for higher promotions. The Indian soldiers could get a promotion upto Subedar only.
(v) There were no fellow feelings. The relation between the two races- the Indian and the English were not cordial.
(vi) The immediate cause was the use of greased cartridges. These cartridge were greased by the fats of cow and pig. The Sepoys of both the communities Hindu and Muslim refused to use them as these were to be bitten before filling them into the rifle. Mangal Pandey, a sepoy, was the first one to refuse to bite the cartridge with his teeth. He was hanged to death for this act. His death enraged the sepoys who were already infuriated. Soon a revolt of sepoy erupted engulfing a large region.
(c) The landed aristocracy which included the Taluqdars and the hereditary landlords were deprived of their estates. According to the provisions of the Inam Commission (1852), 20,000 estates were confiscated when the landlords failed to produce evidence like title-deeds by which they held the land. These confiscated lands were sold by public auction to the highest bidders. Such estates were usually purchased by merchants and money lenders who did not understand the tenants and fully exploited them. This drove the landed aristocracy to poverty without benefitting the peasantry which suffered under the weight of exorbitant land revenue. The landed aristocracy of Awadh faced many hardships after the annexation of Awadh as they were deprived of their estates.
7. Several factors led to the uprising of 1857. With reference to this, explain each of the following:
(a) Discontentment of the Sepoys.
(b) Resentment of the rulers of the native states against the British
(c) Unhappiness of the Indian Artisans and Craftsmen
Answer
(a) The Indian soldiers were unhappy because of their low salary and poor prospects of promotion. All the high ranks in the army were reserved for the British only. The troops were not properly distributed. The key places like Delhi and Allahabad had no British armies. Moreover the officers treated the soldiers like menial servants. Racial discrimination was rampant and this led to more discontentment among the Indian sepoys.
(b) The last Mughal Emperor was Bahadur Shah, Lord Canning announced that Bahadur Shah's successor would not be allowed to use the imperial title. Such a discourtesy to the Mughal Emperor hurt Muslim sentiments considerably. Dalhousie's refusal of pension to Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the ex-Peshwa (Baji Rao II) was resented by the Hindus in general and Nana Saheb in particular. Nawab Wazid Ali Shah was deposed on grounds that Awadh was not being managed well. The annexation of Awadh was a case of high-handedness on the part of the Company. The Nawab of Awadh had been loyal to the Company throughout. The British broke all their pledges and promises to the Rulina chiefs. This all caused resentment among the rulers.
(c) The British rulers deliberately crippled Indian arts and crafts by imposing heavy duties on Indian silk and cotton textiles in Britain. On the other hand British goods were imported into India at a nominal duty. Millions of artisans and craftsmen lost their job and had no alternative source of income.
8. The uprising of 1857 was an unprecedented popular upsurge. In this context describe the effect of the following on the Indian soldiers.
(a) Discontent on account of low salary and poor prospects of promotion.
(b) The General Service Enlistment Act.
(c) Introduction of greased cartridges.
Answer
(a) The wages of the Indian soldiers were too small to support their families. An English soldier was paid more than 8 times the Indian sepoy even though his duties were of similar nature. Besides, they had no chance of promotion. The highest rank held by an Indian was that of Subedars. Artillery and other key weapons were only reserved for the English soldiers. Indian soldiers resented discriminatory policy adopted by the English.
(b) Lord Canning passed the General Enlistment Act. The Act caused bitterness among the sepoys, as it bound them to be sent to fight to an overseas front. Act was contrary to their religious beliefs. Political, Social and Economic atmosphere was conducive for an outbreak, but it could not erupt as long as the Indian soldiers were loyal to the English. Though above mentioned military causes roused discontentment among the sepoys as well, who started the revolt.
(c) The cartridges to be used by soldiers for the Enfield Rifles were greased with the fat of cows and pig. The cow, is scared for the Hindus and pig for Muslims for this reason the army posed a threat to the British Rulers.
9. Numerous causes were at work in causing the Great Upsurge of 1857. Explain the following with reference to the above statement.
(a) The introduction of Railways and Telegraphs.
(b) The introduction of Enfield Rifles.
(c) The laws that interfered with the religious customs of the people.
Answer
(a) Introduction of Railways and Telegraphs:
(i) Telegraph poles were thought to be erected for the purpose of hanging people on them, who opposed the British rule in India.
(ii)In railways, Brahmins and untouchables were made to sit side by side which they thought would defy their religion.
(iii) Modern innovations threatened the old social rules and produced unrest among many common orthodox people in India.
(b) Introduction of Enfield Rifles:
(i) The cartridges were greased with fats of pigs and cows. The sepoys had to remove the greased covers of the cartridges with their teeth, before loading them into the rifles.
(ii)Hindus and Muslims thought it to be an attempt to defy their religions.
(c) The Laws that interfered with the religious customs of the people:
(i)The practice of Sati was made illegal and punishable by law.
(ii)Laws were made to forbid infanticide, allow remarriage of widows and stop polygamy.
(iii) Government imposed tax on the property belonging to temples and mosques.
(iv) Lord Dalhousie passed a law which entitled a person converted to Christianity to inherit his ancestral property.
Everywhere local rulers and common people were angry with the British.
10. Although the First War of Independence of 1857 failed it had important consequences for India. In this context, answer the following questions:
(a) How did the uprising give rise to nationalism in India?(b) How did the end of the East India Company's rule bring in grave economic perils in India?
(c) How did the British Government try to pacify the feelings of Indians with regard to:
Answer
(a) A far-reaching effect of the Rising of 1857 was that the sacrifices of the Indian leaders gave birth to the nationalist movement in India. All the sections of the society united under one yoke. Nana Sahib and Rani of Jhansi became national heroes and champions of national freedom. The war became a symbol of challenge to the mighty British power in India. Nationalism means patriotism, an urge to preserve one's culture, and that was clearly evident after the First War of Independence.
(b) In the words of Majumdar: India became the field of exploitation, not of a single trading concern, but of the entire British people.
(i) Recruitment of English in both private and public was a large drain of the country's resources.
(ii) India was reduced only to a Agricultural Colony exporting raw materials and importing finished goods.
(iii) Rapid rise of indebtness of the peasants reduced them to poverty and slavery.
(iv) British invested their surplus capital in railways, plantation and coal mines in India, which was a total drain on commercial interests of Indians. Even the dividends were distributed among the share-holders of the company. On the whole the Indian were reduced to misery and poverty.
(c) The first war of Independence resulted in following solemn promises.
(i) Queen Victoria in her Proclamation of 1858, promised not to interfere with the religious beliefs of the people of India.
(ii) The Queen promised equal treatment to all her subject, Indians and Europeans.
(iii) All appointments would be based on education-ability and integrity.
(iv) An official pardon was granted to guilty of murdering British subjects.
(v) Queen promised material and moral advancement of her subjects.
Picture Based Questions
1. Study the picture and answer the following questions:
(a) Identify the person in the picture and name the proclamation issued in her name.
Answer
The person in the picture is Queen Victoria. This was known as Queen's Proclamation.
(b) When, where and by whom was this proclamation made public?
On November 1, 1858, at Allahabad by Lord Canning the first Viceroy of India. The Queen's Proclamation incorporating the transfer of governance from East India Company to the British Crown was made public.
(c) What assurance did this Proclamation give to the Indian people regarding
(a) religious freedom, and (b) appointment to public offices?
Answer
(a) Queen Victoria in her Proclamation of 1858 promised not to interfere with the religious beliefs of the people of India.
(b) The Queen also promised equal treatment to all her subjects, Indians and Europeans. All appointments, declared the Queen, would be strictly on the basis of education, ability and integrity.