20. Who was the leader of the Revolt of 1857 at Bareilly?
[UPPSC PCS Preliminary Examination, 14 May 2023]
(A) Nana Sahib
(B) Khan Bahadur Khan
(C) Begum Hazrat Mahal
(D) Kunwar Singh
Answer: (B) Khan Bahadur Khan
Explanation: Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla led rebels in Bareilly in Rohilkhand. He established a rebel government there during 1857. The other listed leaders were primarily associated with Kanpur, Lucknow and the Jagdishpur region of Bihar.
19. Which of the following places and uprising dates is incorrectly matched?
[UPPSC PCS Preliminary Examination, 14 May 2023]
(A) Lucknow – 4 June 1857
(B) Jhansi – 11 May 1857
(C) Meerut – 10 May 1857
(D) Barrackpore – 29 March 1857
Answer: (B) Jhansi – 11 May 1857
Explanation: The question tests the timing of separate rebellion centres. The 10 May Meerut outbreak and Mangal Pandey’s Barrackpore incident on 29 March are well documented. The cited 11 May date for the Jhansi uprising is not correct.
18. Which Jat headman mobilised the villagers of Baraut during the Revolt of 1857?
[RRB Group D CBT, 27 September 2022, Shift 3]
(A) Gajadhar Singh
(B) Ahmadullah Shah
(C) Shah Mal
(D) Maulvi Liaquat Ali
Answer: (C) Shah Mal
Explanation: Shah Mal was a rural leader who organised resistance around Baraut, near Meerut. His activities involved villagers and local agrarian networks. He represents the many grassroots participants whose stories complement those of famous rebel rulers.
17. Which of these places was NOT a major centre of the Revolt of 1857?
[SSC CGL, 7 December 2022, Shift 2]
(A) Kanpur
(B) Bareilly
(C) Rohtak
(D) Lucknow
Answer: (C) Rohtak
Explanation: Kanpur, Bareilly and Lucknow were among the best-known rebel centres, associated with Nana Sahib, Khan Bahadur Khan and Begum Hazrat Mahal respectively. Although unrest occurred in many localities, Rohtak was not usually listed among the principal centres.
16. Who was the Mughal emperor during the Revolt of 1857?
[SSC CGL, 1 December 2022, Shift 4]
(A) Farrukhsiyar
(B) Bahadur Shah Zafar
(C) Akbar II
(D) Aurangzeb
Answer: (B) Bahadur Shah Zafar
Explanation: Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, was ruling nominally from Delhi when the revolt broke out. Sepoys proclaimed him their sovereign. After British victory, he was exiled, formally ending the Mughal imperial line.
15. The suppression of the Revolt of 1857 was effectively completed after the British recaptured which city?
[SSC CHSL, 12 August 2021, Shift 1]
(A) Amritsar
(B) Gwalior
(C) Lucknow
(D) Vadodara
Answer: (B) Gwalior
Explanation: Gwalior was an important final stronghold of rebel forces in central India. The British recaptured it in June 1858, soon after Rani Lakshmibai’s death. Some guerrilla campaigns, particularly under Tantia Tope, nevertheless continued beyond that date.
14. Which Mughal emperor was proclaimed emperor by the rebels during the Revolt of 1857?
[SSC CHSL, 12 April 2021, Shift 3]
(A) Shah Alam II
(B) Bahadur Shah I
(C) Akbar II
(D) Bahadur Shah II
Answer: (D) Bahadur Shah II
Explanation: The rebels who entered Delhi chose Bahadur Shah II, known as Zafar, to represent their cause. This recognition allowed widely dispersed participants to invoke the authority of the old Mughal dynasty despite decentralised military leadership.
13. Who led the rebellion against the British in Lucknow during 1857?
[RRB NTPC CBT-I, 27 March 2021, Shift 2]
(A) V. D. Savarkar
(B) Begum Hazrat Mahal
(C) Kunwar Singh
(D) Tantia Tope
Answer: (B) Begum Hazrat Mahal
Explanation: Begum Hazrat Mahal took an active part in the resistance in Awadh and opposed the British annexation. She promoted her son Birjis Qadr as ruler and helped organise opposition during the siege and fighting around Lucknow.
12. By which year was the Revolt of 1857 finally suppressed, including its later phases of resistance?
[RRB NTPC CBT-I, 4 January 2021, Shift 1]
(A) 1859
(B) 1861
(C) 1860
(D) 1857
Answer: (A) 1859
Explanation: Most major centres were recaptured during 1858, but scattered guerrilla resistance continued into 1859. Tantia Tope’s capture and execution in April 1859 are often used to mark the ending of the revolt’s residual military phase.
11. Who argued that the Revolt of 1857 was neither the first, nor national, nor a war of independence?
[RRB NTPC CBT-I, 15 February 2021]
(A) V. D. Savarkar
(B) Jawaharlal Nehru
(C) R. C. Majumdar
(D) S. N. Sen
Answer: (C) R. C. Majumdar
Explanation: Historian R. C. Majumdar questioned the nationalist description of the rebellion as India’s first national independence war. He emphasised its regional limits and varied motivations, contrasting with Savarkar’s broader nationalist interpretation.
