Which one of the following statements about the Indigo Revolt of 1859 is correct ?
- A.It broke out at Poona and Ahmadnagar
- B.It was directed against moneylenders
- C.It was supported by the intelligentsia of Bengal
- D.It was directed against the petty Zamindars and ex-employees of the planters
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C. The Indigo Revolt (1859–60) of Bengal's peasants against European indigo planters won strong support from the Bengali intelligentsia, press and missionaries.
Planters forced ryots to grow indigo on their best land through advances and oppressive contracts, paying far below market value. In 1859 peasants in Nadia district, led by Digambar and Bishnu Biswas of Govindpur, refused to sow indigo and resisted the planters' lathiyals. Harish Chandra Mukherjee's newspaper, the Hindu Patriot, reported their sufferings, and Dinabandhu Mitra's play Nil Darpan (1860) exposed the planters' cruelty. The government set up the Indigo Commission in 1860, which ruled that ryots could not be forced to grow indigo.
A is wrong: Poona and Ahmadnagar were centres of the Deccan Riots of 1875.
B is wrong: the Deccan Riots, not the Indigo Revolt, were aimed at moneylenders.
D is wrong: the revolt was against European planters; petty zamindars and ex-employees of planters actually helped lead the peasants.
Exam tip: Indigo Revolt 1859 — Nadia, Bengal; Nil Darpan by Dinabandhu Mitra; Hindu Patriot of Harish Chandra Mukherjee.
Practice Questions
View allWith reference to the history of India, "Ulgulan" or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following events?
- A.The Revolt of 1857
- B.The Mappila Rebellion of 1921
- C.The Indigo Revolt of 1859 - 60
- D.Birsa Munda's Revolt of 1899 - 1900
Show answer
Ulgulan, meaning "the great tumult", is the name given to the Munda uprising led by Birsa Munda in the Ranchi region.
Read the full explanation →Regarding Wood's Dispatch, which of the following statements are true ?
1. Grants-in-Aid system was introduced.
2. Establishment of universities was recommended.
3. English as a medium of instruction at all levels of education was recommended.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- A.1 and 2 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1 and 3 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Wood's Dispatch introduced grants-in-aid and recommended universities, but it wanted the vernacular languages, not English, at the primary level. Sir Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control, sent this dispatch in 1854; it is called the "Magna Carta of English education in India".
Read the full explanation →With reference to the history of India, the terms "kulyavapa" and "dronavapa" denote
- A.measurement of land
- B.coins of different monetary value
- C.classification of urban land
- D.religious rituals
Show answer
Kulyavapa and dronavapa were units of land measurement found in early Indian land-grant inscriptions. These terms appear mainly in copper-plate inscriptions of the Gupta and post-Gupta period from Bengal, such as the Damodarpur plates, which record the sale and grant of land.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following does NOT figure among the Five Principles of Panchsheel ?
- A.Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty
- B.Equality and mutual benefit
- C.Peaceful coexistence
- D.Nuclear non-proliferation
Show answer
Panchsheel says nothing about nuclear weapons; its five principles concern sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and peaceful coexistence.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about Jaipal Singh is NOT correct ?
- A.He was a member of the Constituent Assembly
- B.He founded the Adivasi Maha Sabha
- C.He was the captain of the first Indian national hockey team
- D.He campaigned for a separate state of Chhattisgarh
Show answer
Jaipal Singh Munda campaigned for a separate state of Jharkhand for the tribal people of Chotanagpur, not for Chhattisgarh. Jaipal Singh, a Munda from Ranchi district, studied at Oxford and won an Oxford Blue in hockey.
Read the full explanation →