Important Revolts and Movements

The Appiko Movement was linked with forest protection in Karnataka. Exam tip: remember both Chipko and Appiko as environmental movements.

Amrita Devi Bishnoi is remembered for her sacrifice to protect trees. Exam tip: remember Bishnoi tradition and environmental protection.

Anandamath presents the background of the Sannyasi Rebellion. Exam tip: remember the link between literature and movement.

The Chuar Rebellion was linked with local rural and tribal discontent. Exam tip: remember the Jungle Mahal region.

The Kol Rebellion was linked with land and administrative interference. Exam tip: understand causes of tribal revolts.

The Santhal Rebellion began in 1855 in the Damin-i-koh region of present-day Jharkhand. Led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, it was directed against exploitation by zamindars, moneylenders, and the British administration. Although 1857 is another major date, it refers to the wider Indian Revolt, not the Santhal Rebellion. Exam tip: remember Santhal Hul—Sidhu and Kanhu—1855 together.

The word Ulgulan is remembered as a great uprising. Exam tip: remember Birsa Munda with Ulgulan.

Birsa Munda was linked with both religious inspiration and tribal leadership. Exam tip: keep him at the centre of the Munda movement.

Paikas were linked with the traditional soldier class of Odisha. Exam tip: remember Paika with Bakshi Jagabandhu.

The Vellore Mutiny was linked with military discontent. Exam tip: remember it as a military revolt before 1857.

Mangal Pandey was the soldier associated with the Barrackpore incident before the wider Revolt of 1857. He was a sepoy in the Bengal Army and resisted the colonial military system in March 1857. His action became one of the early and memorable signs of the discontent that soon spread among soldiers and other groups in northern India. It is therefore often discussed as a prelude to the larger revolt.

Option A is correct because Mangal Pandey was connected with Barrackpore. Nana Sahib and Kunwar Singh were important leaders in other centres of the 1857 uprising, but they were not the soldier identified with this Barrackpore event. Surya Sen belonged to a much later revolutionary phase. These distinctions make A the historically appropriate choice.

During the Revolt of 1857, Nana Sahib led the rebel forces at Kanpur. He was the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II and was also dissatisfied because the British had stopped his pension. Bahadur Shah Zafar was associated with Delhi, while Begum Hazrat Mahal led at Lucknow. Exam tip: Memorise the major centres of 1857 with their leaders—Kanpur: Nana Sahib.

Begum Hazrat Mahal was one of the important leaders associated with the Revolt of 1857 in Awadh. When British authority was challenged in Lucknow, she played a significant political and organisational role and supported resistance against British rule. Therefore, Lucknow and Awadh form the key geographical association for remembering her role in the revolt.

Option A is correct because it names Begum Hazrat Mahal. Rani Chennamma belonged to an earlier period and is associated with resistance in Kittur, not Lucknow in 1857. Annie Besant was a later national leader connected with the Home Rule movement, while Medha Patkar is associated with a modern social movement. Thus, the historical combination is: Begum Hazrat Mahal—Awadh—Lucknow—Revolt of 1857.

The direct answer is option B: Tatya Tope was a major fighter in the Revolt of 1857. He was a close military associate of Nana Sahib and became one of the important leaders who continued resistance against British rule during the uprising. The reasoning is simple: identify Tatya Tope; connect him with Nana Sahib and the wider uprising; place that uprising in 1857; select the Revolt of 1857. Option A, the Chipko Movement, was a twentieth-century forest-protection movement in which villagers, including many women, resisted tree felling; Tatya Tope did not belong to it. Option B is correct because he was one of the leading military figures of the 1857 revolt. Option C, the Bhoodan Movement, was a post-independence land-gift movement associated with Vinoba Bhave. Option D, the Tebhaga Movement, was a later peasant movement in Bengal demanding a larger share for sharecroppers. These events occurred in different contexts and periods. Memory cue: Tatya Tope and Nana Sahib belong with 1857.

The Indigo Revolt was a peasant movement against the forced cultivation and unfair treatment connected with indigo production under colonial rule. Indigo planters pressured cultivators to grow indigo on land that could otherwise be used for food crops. Peasants objected to coercive contracts, low returns, and the burden placed on them. The movement became a major example of rural resistance in nineteenth-century India.

The revolt began and spread mainly in Bengal, especially among peasants in areas where European indigo planters operated. Therefore choice A, Bengal, is correct. Punjab, Kerala, and Rajasthan were important regions in other historical contexts, but they are not the principal region associated with the Indigo Revolt. Remembering the pairing of indigo cultivation, peasant resistance, and Bengal helps identify the answer without confusing it with other regional movements.

Nil Darpan is a Bengali play written by Dinabandhu Mitra. It portrayed the oppression and suffering faced by indigo cultivators under exploitative plantation arrangements in nineteenth-century Bengal. By presenting the experiences of peasants, the play drew attention to the injustice connected with indigo cultivation and became associated with the wider history of resistance by indigo farmers.

Therefore, option A is correct. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, and Premchand were important writers, but Nil Darpan is not attributed to any of them. Remembering the connection between the title, indigo cultivation, peasant suffering, and Dinabandhu Mitra helps distinguish the correct choice. The supplied answer and explanation are factually consistent.

The Deccan Riots were linked with the Deccan region of Bombay Presidency. Exam tip: remember 1875 and peasant debt.

The Pabna Movement was linked with tenant peasants and zamindar disputes. Exam tip: remember peasant movements of Bengal.

The direct answer is A: unity. The Hindi word “Eka” means “one” or “together,” so in the Eka Movement it expressed the idea that peasants should stand united. The movement developed in the Awadh region in the early 1920s and involved collective resistance to oppressive rents, dues and landlord practices. Option A is correct because unity was both the meaning of the word and an important practical principle of the movement. B salt is unrelated to the word Eka. C forest refers to environmental or forest movements, not this name. D army refers to military organisation, not the main idea here. Memory cue: Eka sounds like one; one group means unity among peasants.

The direct answer is A: Peasant exploitation and revenue. The Awadh Kisan Sabha was connected with the hardships of peasants in Awadh, including high revenue demands, rent, illegal dues and exploitation by landlords or local authorities. The reasoning is: the organisation was a peasant body; peasants faced economic pressure; their activities therefore focused on reducing exploitation and revenue burdens. Option A is correct because it describes the central agrarian problem. Option B is wrong because the Naval Revolt was a later event involving ratings in the Royal Indian Navy, not the main issue of the Awadh Kisan Sabha. Option C is wrong because forest protection relates to forest communities and environmental or colonial forest policies, not the chief focus here. Option D is wrong because the Simon Commission was a constitutional and political issue; it was not the specific economic problem that led to the Sabha’s activities. Remember: Awadh Kisan Sabha means organised peasants resisting unfair rent, revenue and exploitation; Baba Ramchandra is an useful associated name.

The Bardoli Satyagraha was launched in 1928 in the Bardoli area of present-day Surat district, Gujarat, against an increase in land revenue. It was led by Vallabhbhai Patel, who came to be known as ‘Sardar’ after the movement’s success. Bengal is more closely associated with the Swadeshi Movement. Exam tip: remember Bardoli–Vallabhbhai Patel–Gujarat together.

The direct answer is A: forced indigo cultivation. Champaran peasants were compelled by European indigo planters to grow indigo on part of their land under the Tinkathia arrangement. This reduced the land available for food crops and created economic pressure and exploitation. Option A is correct because it names the central grievance that led peasants to seek relief and that Gandhi investigated during the 1917 Champaran Satyagraha. Option B, tree felling, concerns forests and was not the main Champaran complaint. Option C, a river dam, is an irrigation or construction issue and was not the central cause. Option D, railway fare, concerns transport charges and had no central connection with the movement. The reasoning chain is: indigo planters demanded cultivation; peasants suffered loss and pressure; Gandhi supported their inquiry and rights; therefore forced indigo cultivation is the answer. Memory cue: Champaran 1917—indigo—Tinkathia.

Patel played an important organisational role in Kheda Satyagraha. Exam tip: study Gandhi and Patel together.

This Satyagraha was linked with mill workers of Ahmedabad. Exam tip: remember Gandhi's early urban movement.

Gandhi launched Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act. Exam tip: remember the issue of civil liberties.