Question

An officer reporting from rural Awadh (spelt as Oude in the following account) noted: The Oude people are gradually pressing down on the line of communication from the North … the Oude people are villagers … these villagers are nearly intangible to Europeans melting away before them and collecting again. The Civil Authorities report these villagers to amount to a very large number of men, with a number of guns.

What, according to this account, were the problems faced by the British in dealing with these villagers?

Answer 1

1. The villagers of Awadh were strongly opposed to British rule.
2. They gathered in large numbers to resist the British.
3. Many villagers were armed with guns and other weapons.
4. The British found it difficult to control them because the villagers were united and determined.
5. The villagers were described as “nearly intangible” because they could move quickly and avoid direct British control.
6. British forces found it hard to advance because resistance was spreading across the countryside.
7. The report suggests that the British were facing widespread rural rebellion, not just resistance from soldiers or rulers.

Thus, the main problem for the British was that the rebellion in Awadh had the support of large numbers of armed villagers, making it difficult to suppress.