List of top History Questions on When People Rebel: 1857 and After

Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow :
The Revolt of 1857
Late in the afternoon of 10 May 1857, the sepoys in the cantonment of Meerut broke out in mutiny. It began in the lines of the native infantry, spread very swiftly to the cavalry and then to the city. The ordinary people of the town and surrounding villages joined the sepoys. The sepoys captured the bell of arms where the arms and ammunition were kept and proceeded to attack white people, and to ransack and burn their bungalows and property. Government buildings — the record office, jail, court, post office, treasury, etc. — were destroyed and plundered. The telegraph line to Delhi was cut. As darkness descended, a group of sepoys rode off towards Delhi.
The sepoys arrived at the gates of the Red Fort early in the morning on 11 May. It was the month of Ramzan, the Muslim holy month of prayer and fasting. The old Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, had just finished his prayers and meal before the sun rose and the fast began. He heard the commotion at the gates. The sepoys who had gathered under his window told him: “We have come from Meerut after killing all the Englishmen there, because they asked us to bite bullets that were coated with the fat of cows and pigs with our teeth. This has corrupted the faith of Hindus and Muslims alike.” Another group of sepoys also entered Delhi, and the ordinary people of the city joined them. Europeans were killed in large numbers; the rich of Delhi were attacked and looted. It was clear that Delhi had gone out of British control. Some sepoys rode into the Red Fort, without observing the elaborate court etiquette expected of them. They demanded that the emperor give them his blessings. Surrounded by the sepoys, Bahadur Shah had no other option but to comply. The revolt thus acquired a kind of legitimacy because it could now be carried on in the name of the Mughal emperor.
Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow :
What the sepoys thought
This is one of the arzis (petition or application) of rebel sepoys that have survived :
A century ago the British arrived in Hindostan and gradually entertained troops in their service, and became masters of every state. Our forefathers have always served them, and we also entered their service ... By the mercy of God and with our assistance the British also conquered every place they liked, in which thousands of us, Hindostani men were sacrificed, but we never made any excuses or pretences nor revolted ... But in the year eighteen fifty seven the British issued an order that new cartridges and muskets which had arrived from England were to be issued; in the former of which the fats of cows and pigs were mixed; and also that attah of wheat mixed with powdered bones was to be eaten; and even distributed them in every Regiment of infantry, cavalry and artillery ...
They gave these cartridges to the sowars (mounted soldiers) of the 3
rd Light Cavalry, and ordered them to bite them; the troopers objected to it, and said that they would never bite them, for if they did, their religion and faith would be destroyed ... upon this the British officers paraded the men of the 3 Regiments and having prepared 1,400 English soldiers, and other Battalions of European troops and Horse Artillery, surrounded them, and placing six guns before each of the infantry regiments, loaded the guns with grape and made 84 new troopers prisoners, and put them in jail with irons on them ... The reason that the sowars of the Cantonment were put into jail was that we should be frightened into biting the new cartridges. On this account we and all our country-men having united together, have fought the British for the preservation of our faith ... we have been compelled to make war for two years and the Rajahs and Chiefs who are with us in faith and religion, are still so, and have undergone all sorts of trouble; we have fought for two years in order that our faith and religion may not be polluted. If the religion of a Hindoo or Mussalman is lost, what remains in the world ?
Two statements labelled as Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Read them carefully and choose the correct option :
Assertion (A) : In the 1850’s Awadh was called the ‘nursery of the Bengal Army’.
Reason (R) : Here a large number of sepoys were recruited from entire India.
Which of the following regions was not a major centre of the Revolt of 1857 ?
Two statements labelled as Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Read them carefully and select the correct option :
Assertion (A) : The British easily put down the Revolt of 1857.
Reason (R) : The British passed a series of laws to quell the insurgency.
Which of the following regions was not a major centre of the Revolt of 1857 ?
Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R):
Assertion (A): The Indian Army was carefully reorganised after 1858 to prevent the recurrence of another revolt. 
Reason (R): It was to minimise the capacity of Indian soldiers to revolt. 
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below :