Class 8 History Chapter 4 The Freedom Struggle of 1857 Answers

Maharashtra Board Class 8 History Solutions Chapter 4 The Freedom Struggle of 1857

Maharashtra State Board Class 8 History Solutions Chapter 4 The Freedom Struggle of 1857

Class 8 History Chapter 4 The Freedom Struggle Of 1857 Questions And Answers

Class 8 History Chapter 4 The Freedom Struggle of 1857 Textbook Questions and Answers

Exercise

1. Rewrite the statements by choosing the appropriate options. (Umaji Naik, War of Independence, Lord Dalhousie, Secretary of State, Tatya Tope)

(1) V. D. Savarkar named the struggleof 1857 as the ………. .
Answer: War of Independence

(2) ……….. united the Ramoshis to rebel against the British.
Answer: Umaji Naik

(3) After the struggle of 1857, the post of …………. was created in the British Government to look after the affairs of India.
Answer: Secretary of State

(4) ………… was the Governor General who annexed the princely states.
Answer: Lord Dalhousie.

2. Explain the following statements with reasons.

(1) The Paikas made armed rebellion against the British.

Answer:

In 1803, the English conquered Odisha. They took over the hereditary rent free lands granted to the Paikas. This made the Paikas angry. Similarly, common man’s life had also become miserable because of rise in salt price due to tax imposed on it by the British. This resulted in an armed rebellion of Paikas against the British in 1817.

(2) There was discontent among the Hindu and Muslim sepoys.

Answer:

In 1856, the British provided long enfield rifles to the Indian sepoys. The sepoys were required to bite the end of the cartridges. The news spread out that these cartridges were smeared in the fats of cow and pig. Due to this the religious sentiments of Hindu and Muslim sepoys were hurt and made them unhappy.

(3) The Indian sepoys could not keep stand in front of the British army.

Answer: Indian soldiers were brave but did not use tactics. They had limited armed supply. The British had economic strength, disciplined army, enough stock of latest arms and experienced army generals. Since transport and communication was in the hands of British, their movements were swift. Due to this the Indian sepoys could not keep stand in front of the British army.

(4) After the struggle, Indian army was divided on the basis of caste.

Answer: After the struggle there was division of military on basis of caste in order to avoid Indians to unite and rebel again against the British.

(5) The British imposed heavy taxes on Indian industries.

Answer:

(i) The British introduced new revenue system to increase their income.

(ii) To sell the British goods in India and enjoy profit, the British imposed heavy taxes on the local industries.

(iii) The handicraft and textile industry of India were ruined.

(iv) Many Indian artisans became unemployed.

(v) They had growing discontent in their mind against the British.

3. Answer the following question in brief.

(1) What were the social causes behind the struggle of 1857?

Answer: The Indians felt that the Britishers were interfering in the culture, tradition and customs of India. Sati prohibition, widow remarriage act were correct from social point of view, but the Indians thought that it is an interference in their lifestyle and hence they were dissatisfied.

(2) Why did the Indians fail in the struggle of 1857?

Answer: The following are the reasons for the failure of the struggle of 1857:

(i) The struggle did not take place simultaneously all over India.

(ii) As there was no common leader, there was no uniformity in the struggle.

(iii) Except a few, most of the feudatory princes remained faithful to the British.

(iv) The Indian soldiers lacked military tactics and limited arms supply.

(v) International situation was favourable to the British, whereas the Indian rebels were isolated.

(3) Write down the consequences of struggle of 1857.

Answer:

(i) The British government realised that there was a growing dissatisfaction among the Indians due to the Company rule.

(ii) It forced the British Parliament to end the rule of the Company and instead take over the responsibility of ruling over the people of India through the Government of India Act 1858. (iii) The Governor General was now designated as the Viceroy of India.

(iv) A new post called Secretary of State was created in the British Government to look after the affairs of India.

(v) The proportion of British soldiers was increased in the army.

(4) What were the changes in British policy after the struggle of 1857?

Answer:

(i) The British accepted the policy of non interference in social and religious aspects of Indians.

(ii) They also started taking care that the Indian society will not be united on social grounds. (iii) They saw to it that there will be constant conflicts on grounds of caste, religion, race, territory etc.

(iv) They adopted the policy of polluting the minds of Indians by following the ‘Divide and Rule policy’

Project

(1) Search for the book written by V.D.Savarkar entitled ‘The Indian War of Independence 1857’ and read it.

(2) On an outline map of India indicate the regions where the freedom struggle of 1857 took place.