Rebels and the Raj Test - 1

The rebels used  ishtahars   (notifications) and proclamations to persuade Indians to join them as well as to spread their ideas. In these advertisements of proclamations, the religious beliefs of other people were duly respected by the rebels. They appealed to all the Indians, irrespective of their caste or creed, to join the common cause to free themselves from the foreign yoke.

Lord Wellesley was the Governor General of colonial India who introduced the Subsidiary Alliance, under which the native troops of several Indian states were disbanded in lieu of British troops, which would be maintained by the princely states 'resources. The states could also make wars or agreements only with British permission.

Lucknow, the capital of Awadh, was an important centre of revolt. The revolt in Lucknow was led by Begum Hazrat Mahal, the wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.

After revolting in Meerut, the mutineers moved to Delhi. In September 1857, Delhi  was finally captured by the British after almost four months of heavy fighting with the rebels.

In September 1857, a contingent of British army recaptured Delhi. Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was hiding in Humayun 's tomb, was taken into custody. Two of his sons and grandsons were shot dead. The Emperor, along with his wife, was exiled to Rangoon.

Shah Mal lived in a large village in pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to a clan of Jat cultivators whose kinship ties extended over  Chaurasee Des.  Shah Mal mobilised the headmen and cultivators of  Chaurasee Des , moving at night from village to village, urging people to rebel against the British.

The paintings became the means to celebrate victory over the rebels. Paintings personified people who saved the prestige of British by subduing rebels. They were celebrated as the saviours. In the painting "The Relief of Lucknow ", Barker celebrated the entry of Campbell to relieve people who were defending the residency of Lucknow against the rebels.

On the pretext of misrule, the British had annexed Awadh in 1856. During the 1857 Revolt, after heavy fighting and use of military power on a gigantic scale, the British brought Awadh region under its control by March 1858.

In June 1858, the Rani of Jhansi, Lakshmi Bai, died while fighting the British.

Awadh was one of the friendly states of the British that played a great role in the expansion of East India Company in India. It was one of the subsidiary states of the company. However, the British wanted to annex it, Lord Dalhousie once described it as, 'A cherry that will fall in our mouth one day '. The annexation of Awadh, on the false plea of misrule, was regarded as a betrayal by the people of Awadh.