How did the British consolidate their control over India after the Revolt of…
2019
How did the British consolidate their control over India after the Revolt of 1857?
- A.
By transfer of powers of the East India company to the British crown for a more responsible management of Indian affairs.
- B.
By recruiting more soldiers from Awadh, Bihar, Central India and South India.
- C.
By making policies to protect the landless and peasants.
- D.
By appeasement and safeguarding property rights.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept
When an imperial power faces a major uprising, it typically responds not only with military suppression but with a structural change in how the territory is governed afterwards — shifting authority from an intermediary or corporate administrator to direct, centralised state control, so that oversight becomes more uniform and accountable.
Application
The Revolt of 1857 exposed the East India Company's inability to govern effectively. As the constitutional response, the British Parliament passed the Government of India Act, 1858, which formally abolished East India Company rule and transferred all governing powers directly to the British Crown. India was now administered on behalf of the Crown through a Secretary of State for India in London and a Viceroy in India — the start of what is called Crown rule, or the British Raj.
Cross-check / Contrast
In fact, recruitment from Awadh, Bihar and Central India — regions where the uprising had been strongest — was curtailed after 1857, while the British expanded recruitment from Punjab and the Gorkha hills, communities they classified as more dependable.
British land policy after 1857 in fact centred on securing the loyalty of princes, zamindars and large landholders, not on protections for landless peasants.
Assurances after 1857 did include ending the Doctrine of Lapse and confirming princely adoption and succession rights, along with promises of non-interference in religious and social customs.
The exam's own official answer key (CTET, published at ctet.nic.in) records the transfer of powers from the East India Company to the Crown — enacted through the Government of India Act, 1858 — as the response for this question.