SSC
The Revolt of 1857 started from:
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Answer: Option D — Meerut
Detailed Solution
The Revolt of 1857, also called the First War of Independence (a term used by V.D. Savarkar in his 1909 book) and the Sepoy Mutiny by British writers, began at the army cantonment of Meerut, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, on 10 May 1857.
Background: Earlier, on 29 March 1857, Mangal Pandey, a sepoy of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry at Barrackpore (near Calcutta), had attacked British officers. He was hanged on 8 April 1857. At Meerut, 85 sepoys of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry refused to use the new Enfield rifle cartridges, which were rumoured to be greased with the fat of cows and pigs, offending both Hindus and Muslims. On 9 May, they were court-martialled, sentenced to ten years' imprisonment and publicly stripped of their uniforms and shackled.
On 10 May 1857, a Sunday evening, their fellow sepoys rose in revolt, freed the imprisoned soldiers, killed several British officers and marched to Delhi, about 60 kilometres away. On 11 May, they reached Delhi, took control of the city and proclaimed the aged Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as the Emperor of Hindustan and the leader of the revolt.
The revolt soon spread across North and Central India. Its main centres and leaders were:
- Delhi: Bahadur Shah Zafar and General Bakht Khan.
- Kanpur: Nana Saheb and Tantia Tope.
- Lucknow: Begum Hazrat Mahal.
- Jhansi: Rani Lakshmibai.
- Bihar (Jagdishpur): Kunwar Singh.
- Bareilly: Khan Bahadur Khan.
- Faizabad: Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah.
The British recaptured Delhi in September 1857 and suppressed the revolt by 1858-59. The Governor-General at the time was Lord Canning. After the revolt, the Government of India Act, 1858 ended the rule of the East India Company and transferred power to the British Crown.
Causes included the policy of annexation (the Doctrine of Lapse), economic exploitation, the annexation of Awadh (1856), discrimination against Indian sepoys and fears of religious interference.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Delhi became the centre of the revolt after 11 May.
- ✗Kanpur and Lucknow joined the revolt in June 1857.
Quick tip
Remember: Revolt of 1857 began at Meerut on 10 May 1857 (greased cartridges); Mangal Pandey at Barrackpore (29 March); Delhi captured 11 May; Savarkar called it the First War of Independence.
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Revolt of 1857 — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Revolt of 1857, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
The Revolt of 1857 was the first large-scale uprising against British rule in India. This topic covers its causes, the immediate trigger of the greased cartridges, its leaders and centres, the reasons for its failure, and its results, including the end of Company rule through the Government of India Act 1858. The most common questions match a leader with a centre of the revolt: Bahadur Shah Zafar and Bakht Khan at Delhi, Rani Lakshmibai at Jhansi, Nana Saheb and Tatya Tope at Kanpur, Begum Hazrat Mahal at Lucknow and Kunwar Singh at Arrah in Bihar. The revolt began at Meerut on 10 May 1857, and Mangal Pandey's protest at Barrackpore came earlier that year. Practise the Revolt of 1857 questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.