50. Which event led to the end of East India Company rule in India?
[RPF Constable, 17 March 2025, Shift 1]
(A) Battle of Banaras
(B) Revolt of 1857
(C) Battle of Plassey
(D) Battle of Buxar
Answer: (B) Revolt of 1857
Explanation: The uprising convinced British authorities to abolish Company government. Through the Government of India Act 1858, control passed to the British Crown, with a Secretary of State for India overseeing administration and a viceroy representing the monarch.
49. In which year did the British re-establish control over the main centres of the Revolt of 1857?
[RPF Constable, 12 March 2025, Shift 2]
(A) 1860
(B) 1867
(C) 1858
(D) 1877
Answer: (C) 1858
Explanation: By 1858, major centres including Lucknow, Jhansi and Gwalior had been brought back under British control. Some rebel commanders, especially Tantia Tope, continued resistance into 1859. Thus 1858 generally marks the main military suppression, not every final skirmish.
48. What was the principal method of resistance employed by rebels during the Revolt of 1857?
[RPF Constable, 12 March 2025, Shift 3]
(A) Political negotiation only
(B) Armed rebellion
(C) Mass migration
(D) Peaceful non-cooperation
Answer: (B) Armed rebellion
Explanation: The movement began with armed sepoy mutinies and developed into a series of military confrontations and local uprisings. Rebels seized or besieged towns and forts. The organised non-violent mass movements associated with Gandhi belong to a much later phase.
47. What happened to Rani Lakshmibai during the fighting around Gwalior in 1858?
[RPF Constable, 7 March 2025, Shift 1]
(A) She was captured and later executed
(B) She became queen of Gwalior
(C) She died fighting British forces
(D) She was exiled to Britain
Answer: (C) She died fighting British forces
Explanation: Rani Lakshmibai died on 18 June 1858 near Gwalior while fighting British troops. After the fall of Jhansi, she had joined rebel campaigns at Kalpi and Gwalior. Her death made her an enduring symbol of resistance.
46. Why is the Revolt of 1857 considered a turning point in Indian history?
[RPF Constable, 5 March 2025, Shift 3]
(A) It was a major widespread challenge to British colonial authority
(B) It immediately ended British rule
(C) It established a peaceful constitutional government
(D) It resulted in full independence in 1857
Answer: (A) It was a major widespread challenge to British colonial authority
Explanation: The uprising challenged Company rule across a large part of northern and central India, involving soldiers and diverse civilian groups. Though defeated, it forced fundamental changes to the colonial state, including the transfer of power to the British Crown.
45. Which major result followed the British victory in the Revolt of 1857?
[RPF Constable, 5 March 2025, Shift 2]
(A) Formation of independent Indian states
(B) Complete end of British involvement
(C) Immediate independence
(D) Reorganisation of colonial territories and administration
Answer: (D) Reorganisation of colonial territories and administration
Explanation: Following victory, the British replaced East India Company administration with Crown rule and revised policies concerning princely states, landowners and military recruitment. These changes aimed to strengthen imperial stability and avoid another uprising of comparable scale.
44. Which of the following was an important political cause of the Revolt of 1857?
[RPF Constable, 4 March 2025, Shift 2]
(A) New education policy
(B) Sepoy mutiny itself
(C) Doctrine of Lapse
(D) Spread of Western science
Answer: (C) Doctrine of Lapse
Explanation: Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse permitted annexation when the colonial government refused to accept an adopted heir. Its use in states such as Jhansi and Nagpur angered dynasties and their supporters, feeding wider political hostility toward British expansion.
43. Which group initiated the military uprising that developed into the Revolt of 1857?
[RPF Constable, 3 March 2025, Shift 3]
(A) Indian sepoys in the Company’s army
(B) British merchants
(C) Peasant landlords alone
(D) Indian zamindars alone
Answer: (A) Indian sepoys in the Company’s army
Explanation: Indian sepoys in the Bengal Army initiated the principal military outbreak, especially at Meerut. Peasants, dispossessed rulers, landlords and urban groups joined in several regions. Identifying the initial military participants does not mean the rebellion remained limited to soldiers.
42. Who popularised the description of the Revolt of 1857 as the First War of Indian Independence?
[BPSC 70th Preliminary Re-examination, 4 January 2025]
(A) V. D. Savarkar
(B) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(C) R. C. Majumdar
(D) None of the above
Answer: (A) V. D. Savarkar
Explanation: Savarkar’s book interpreted 1857 as a national war of liberation rather than simply a sepoy mutiny. This strongly influenced nationalist memory, although later historians have disagreed about the revolt’s organisational unity and geographical reach.
41. Under which Act did the East India Company lose its administrative powers in India?
[SSC MTS, 28 October 2024, Shift 3]
(A) Regulating Act of 1773
(B) Charter Act of 1853
(C) Government of India Act of 1858
(D) Indian Councils Act of 1892
Answer: (C) Government of India Act of 1858
Explanation: The Government of India Act 1858 abolished the East India Company’s rule after the rebellion. Administration transferred to the British Crown. A Secretary of State for India, assisted by a council, took responsibility for Indian affairs in London.
