Previous Year Question

The Revolt of 1857 began with a rebellion by Indian sepoys serving in the army of the East India Company. At Meerut, 85 sepoys were punished for refusing orders connected with the cartridges, and on 10 May 1857, soldiers broke into open revolt. The rebel sepoys then marched to Delhi and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader. 

Important Fact: Although the revolt began among the sepoys, it did not remain merely a military mutiny. Rulers, zamindars, peasants and ordinary people in different regions subsequently joined the uprising. Therefore, describing the entire event merely as a “Sepoy Mutiny” does not reflect its full extent. The current NCERT refers to it as the Great Rebellion of 1857.