Page 48 - SST Class 08

can feel its heat as the two communities the native newspapers tried their best to bring the
continue to disbelieve each other. factual reports and tried to arouse anti-British
feelings in the people, the English press favoured
Just Think! strong action against the rebels. The prominent
Urdu newspapers were Sultan-al-Akhbar, Tilism-e-
Why is the Revolt of 1857 regarded as a turning Lucknow, Saraj-al-Akhbar, Akhbar-al-Jafar, Sadid-
point in Indian history? al-Akhbar, Delhi Urdu Akhbar etc. Due to their
reports, the British government passed the Press
ROLE OF VERNACULAR AND BRITISH PRESS Regulation Act, 1867 in order to censure these
newspapers and curtail their liberty.
We have come to know of many events that took
place in 1857-58 from the reports of the The British and English newspapers undermined
newspapers, which comprised of both vernacular the British atrocities in the beginning, but they
and British press. In this, an important role was came to know of the reality later and supported
played by the Urdu and English newspapers. While the national movement for freedom.

v The revolts were raised chiefly by tribals, peasants, rulers and zamindars, religious groups and sepoys.
v The causes of the Revolt of 1857 were political, social, religious, economic and military, but the immediate
cause was the introduction of a new rifle.
v The revolt started at Meerut and spread to the whole of North India, in which British officers were killed
and British symbols were destroyed.

v The British suppressed the revolt most brutally killing scores of people.
v The revolt was national in significance, so it should be termed as the First War of Independence.

A. Tick (3) the right option :
1. 90 sepoys at Meerut refused to use the new cartridges on ______________ .
(a) 9 May, 1857 (b) 24 April, 1857 (c) none of these
2. ______________ was made the leader by the sepoys at Meerut.
(a) Bahadur Shah Zafar (b) General Bakht Khan (c) none of these

3. Rani Lakshmi Bai was joined by ______________ .
(a) Kunwar Singh (b) Tantya Tope (c) none of these
4. The vernacular press supported the cause of the ______________ .
(a) rebels (b) British army (c) none of these
5. It is usually said that the Revolt of 1857 started from ______________ .

(a) Lucknow (b) Jhansi (c) Meerut
6. ______________ was the first Viceroy of India.
(a) Lord Dalhousie (b) Queen Victoria (c) Lord Canning
7. The revolt at Awadh was led by ______________ .
(a) Nana Sahib (b) Tantya Tope (c) Begum Hazrat Mahal
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