In the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny the term ratings was used for whom?

Correct answer: For lower-rank naval personnel

Direct answer: Option A, lower-rank naval personnel. In the Royal Indian Navy, the word ratings referred to sailors who held the lower enlisted ranks, not senior officers. They performed ordinary naval duties and worked under officers. During the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny of 1946, many ratings protested against poor food, unequal treatment, racial discrimination, low pay and harsh service conditions. Their protest began in Bombay and spread to other naval centres. Option A is correct because it gives the occupational meaning of ratings in this historical event. Option B is wrong because indigo peasants were connected with agrarian protests such as the Indigo Revolt, not naval ranks. Option C is wrong because mahants were religious managers of gurdwaras and had no connection with the naval term. Option D is wrong because Simon Commission members were British political representatives, not sailors. The useful distinction is: rating means a lower-ranking sailor; it does not mean a landholder, religious manager or commission member. Memory cue: in navy history, ratings are the ordinary sailors below officers.