CDS History · Modern India
Early Revolts and 1857
The sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings against Company rule, the annexation of Awadh that fed the great revolt, and the leaders and centres of 1857.
Why this matters
Twelve CDS questions, seven of them HARD. The tribal and peasant risings make up half the page, and each one is asked for its cause or its people, never its date alone. The 1857 questions come from the NCERT Class 12 chapter Rebels and the Raj: Danka Shah, Shah Mal, the Azamgarh Proclamation and Awadh's talukdars.
Concept 1 of 3: Sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings
Company rule changed who owned land, what could be grown and who could be taxed. Each change hit some group hard, and each group rose in its own way. Learn each rising with its people and its cause: that is exactly how CDS asks them.
Definition
The risings, in time order:
- Sanyasi and Faqir rebellion (from the 1770s, Bengal and Bihar, under Warren Hastings): armed bands of Shaivite Naga sanyasis, and faqirs led by Majnu Shah from 1771.
- Damin-i-Koh (1832): land in the Rajmahal hills marked out for the Santals to settle and clear. The Santals rose in the Santal hul (1855 to 1856).
- Phulaguri Dhawa (1861), Nowgong, Assam: against the ban on poppy (opium) cultivation and new taxes.
- Kherwar or Sapha Har movement (1870s), among the Santals: preached monotheism (one god) and internal social reform.
- Khuntkatti: the Munda system of joint clan ownership of land in Chota Nagpur. Its loss lay behind Birsa Munda's Ulgulan (1899 to 1900).
- Rampa rebellion (1879 to 1880): Koya and Konda Dora chiefs rose against the local mansabdar. A later Rampa rising (1922 to 1924) under Alluri Sitarama Raju was against the forest laws.
| Rising | Years | People and cause |
|---|---|---|
| Sanyasi and Faqir rebellion | From the 1770s | Naga sanyasis and Majnu Shah's faqirs, Bengal and BiharQ |
| Damin-i-Koh marked out | 1832 | Rajmahal hills land for the Santals |
| Santal hul | 1855 to 1856 | Santals against moneylenders and Company rule |
| Phulaguri Dhawa | 1861 | Assam peasants against the opium (poppy) ban and new taxesQ |
| Kherwar (Sapha Har) movement | 1870s | Santals: monotheism and social reformQ |
| Rampa rebellion | 1879 to 1880 | Koya and Konda Dora chiefs against the mansabdarQ |
| Birsa Munda's Ulgulan | 1899 to 1900 | Mundas of Chota Nagpur; loss of khuntkatti landQ |
| Rampa rising | 1922 to 1924 | Alluri Sitarama Raju against the forest laws |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (I) 2019 — General Knowledge · Q3Moderate
Example 1 · Modern India · Early Revolts and 1857
The Damin-i-Koh was created by the British Government to settle which one of the following communities?
Match each rising to its cause
Phulaguri (1861) was about the opium ban. The Pabna revolt (1873) was about rent, the Deccan riots (1875) about moneylenders and Birsa's Ulgulan about tribal land.
Two Rampa risings
The Koya and Konda chiefs against a mansabdar is 1879 to 1880. Alluri Sitarama Raju's rising is 1922 to 1924.
Concept 2 of 3: Awadh annexed: the road to 1857
Awadh was rich, and many sepoys of the Bengal army came from its villages. When the British took it over and then pushed aside its talukdars, the anger of the whole province reached the army.
Definition
What happened in Awadh:
- In 1851 Lord Dalhousie called Awadh "a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day".
- Awadh was annexed in 1856 on the ground of misgovernment.
- The Summary Settlement of 1856 assumed that the talukdars were interlopers with no permanent stake in the land. Many were dispossessed and their forts destroyed.
- Awadh was called the nursery of the Bengal army, so the sepoys felt its grievances at home.
| Event | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| "A cherry that will drop into our mouth" | 1851 | Dalhousie's words about AwadhQ |
| Annexation of Awadh | 1856 | On the ground of misgovernment |
| Summary Settlement | 1856 | Talukdars treated as interlopers and pushed out |
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (I) 2019 — General Knowledge · Q6Hard
Example 2 · Modern India · Early Revolts and 1857
The Summary Settlement of 1856 was based on which one of the following assumptions?
Interlopers, not owners
The Summary Settlement assumed the talukdars were interlopers with no permanent stake in the land, not its rightful owners. That is why they lost their land and joined the revolt.
Concept 3 of 3: Leaders and centres of 1857
The revolt had big centres with famous leaders, and many local leaders whom only the NCERT names. CDS asks both kinds, and it also asks which town stayed in British hands.
Definition
Who led where:
- Delhi: Bahadur Shah Zafar. Kanpur: Nana Saheb, with Tantia Tope. Lucknow: Begum Hazrat Mahal. Jhansi: Rani Lakshmibai.
- Faizabad (Awadh): Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah, called Danka Shah because a drum (danka) was beaten before him.
- Baraut (Barout pargana, Uttar Pradesh): Shah Mal turned an Englishman's bungalow into a hall of justice.
- Singhbhum (Chotanagpur): Gonoo, a leader of the Kol tribals.
- Azamgarh Proclamation (August 1857): issued in the name of the Mughal prince Firoz Shah, it appealed to zamindars, merchants, sepoys and artisans. It has nothing to do with 1942.
- Agra was not a centre of the revolt: the British held it, the Europeans sheltering in the fort.
| Leader | Where | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Bahadur Shah Zafar | Delhi | Proclaimed leader by the sepoys |
| Nana Saheb | Kanpur | Led the revolt there, with Tantia Tope |
| Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah | Faizabad, Awadh | Called Danka Shah |
| Shah Mal | Baraut, Uttar Pradesh | Bungalow made a hall of justiceQ CDS 2025 (II) paired him with Gonoo, the Kol leader of Singhbhum. |
| Firoz Shah | Azamgarh | Azamgarh Proclamation, August 1857Q |
| (British held) | Agra | Not a rebel centre; Europeans in the fortQ |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (I) 2019 — General Knowledge · Q5Moderate
Example 3 · Modern India · Early Revolts and 1857
Who among the following was known during the days of the Revolt of 1857 as 'Danka Shah'?
Azamgarh is 1857, not 1942
The Azamgarh Proclamation was a rebel declaration of 1857. A statement linking it to an underground leader of the 1942 movement is the wrong one.
Danka Shah is not Shah Mal
Danka Shah was Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah of Faizabad. Shah Mal was the village leader of Baraut. Nana Saheb and Tantia Tope had no such title.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings8 rows
| Rising | Years | People and cause |
|---|---|---|
| Sanyasi and Faqir rebellion | From the 1770s | Naga sanyasis and Majnu Shah's faqirs, Bengal and BiharQ |
| Damin-i-Koh marked out | 1832 | Rajmahal hills land for the Santals |
| Santal hul | 1855 to 1856 | Santals against moneylenders and Company rule |
| Phulaguri Dhawa | 1861 | Assam peasants against the opium (poppy) ban and new taxesQ |
| Kherwar (Sapha Har) movement | 1870s | Santals: monotheism and social reformQ |
| Rampa rebellion | 1879 to 1880 | Koya and Konda Dora chiefs against the mansabdarQ |
| Birsa Munda's Ulgulan | 1899 to 1900 | Mundas of Chota Nagpur; loss of khuntkatti landQ |
| Rampa rising | 1922 to 1924 | Alluri Sitarama Raju against the forest laws |
Awadh annexed: the road to 18573 rows
| Event | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| "A cherry that will drop into our mouth" | 1851 | Dalhousie's words about AwadhQ |
| Annexation of Awadh | 1856 | On the ground of misgovernment |
| Summary Settlement | 1856 | Talukdars treated as interlopers and pushed out |
Leaders and centres of 18576 rows
| Leader | Where | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Bahadur Shah Zafar | Delhi | Proclaimed leader by the sepoys |
| Nana Saheb | Kanpur | Led the revolt there, with Tantia Tope |
| Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah | Faizabad, Awadh | Called Danka Shah |
| Shah Mal | Baraut, Uttar Pradesh | Bungalow made a hall of justiceQ CDS 2025 (II) paired him with Gonoo, the Kol leader of Singhbhum. |
| Firoz Shah | Azamgarh | Azamgarh Proclamation, August 1857Q |
| (British held) | Agra | Not a rebel centre; Europeans in the fortQ |
Watch out for (5)
- Match each rising to its cause→ Sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings
- Two Rampa risings→ Sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings
- Interlopers, not owners→ Awadh annexed: the road to 1857
- Azamgarh is 1857, not 1942→ Leaders and centres of 1857
- Danka Shah is not Shah Mal→ Leaders and centres of 1857
Test yourself on Modern India
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.