Question

Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow:

These rebels of Delhi must be made an example to all their countrymen for ages to come of the consequences of such crimes, at the same time that every possible precaution is taken to do away with all temptation or provocation to future offences of a similar character. − The Guardian, Manchester, June 30, 1857

1. Who are referred to as ‘rebels of Delhi’ in the excerpt above? When did they rebel and where?
2. What was the temptation or provocation being talked about in the excerpt?
3. What were the consequences of their alleged ‘crimes’?

Answer 1

1. The phrase refers to the Indian sepoys (soldiers) and local people who took part in the Great Uprising of 1857. The revolt began at Meerut on 10 May 1857 and quickly spread to Delhi, where the insurgents seized the city and proclaimed the aged Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader.
2. The immediate provocation was the controversy over the new Enfield rifle cartridges, which were believed to be greased with cow or pig fat; biting the cartridges to load the rifle offended both Hindu and Muslim religious beliefs. This religious insult, combined with long‑standing grievances, economic exploitation (heavy taxes, ruin of handicrafts), political policies like the Doctrine of Lapse and annexation of Oudh, discriminatory treatment, and low pay for Indian soldiers, and other administrative acts, provoked the uprising. 
3. The British response was severe and punitive: large‑scale reprisals and executions, the recapture of Delhi, and the exile/imprisonment of Bahadur Shah Zafar (ending effective Mughal rule). Politically, the East India Company’s rule ended, and India came under direct Crown rule (the Government of India Act/Queen’s Proclamation of 1858). The British also carried out military and administrative reforms (increased British troop ratios, reorganisation of Indian regiments, tighter control of commands) to prevent future rebellions.