Question

Two statements labelled as Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Read them carefully and select the correct option:
Assertion (A): The British easily put down the Revolt of 1857.
Reason (R): The British passed a series of laws to quell the insurgency.

• A. Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explation of Assertion (A).
• B. Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, but Reason (R) is not the correct explation of Assertion (A).
• C. Assertion (A) is true, but Reason (R) is false.
• D. Assertion (A) is false, but Reason (R) is true.

Hint:

In history questions, watch out for absolutist or sweeping qualifiers like "easily", "always", or "completely". The British faced their absolute toughest existential military challenge of the 19th century in 1857, rendering the word "easily" fundamentally flawed.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Concept: Evaluating historical assertion-reason statements requires checking the independent factual validity of each premise before mapping out if a causal link connects them. The Revolt of 1857 was India's first massive armed upsurge against British hegemony, requiring extreme military mobilization and draconian legislative interventions over an extended timeframe to be suppressed.

Step 1: Thorough examition of Assertion (A).
The assertion claims that the British "easily" put down the Revolt of 1857.
• Historically, this is deeply iccurate. The rebellion shook the very foundations of the British Empire in India. It was by no means an easy victory.
• The British had to mobilize massive military columns from across continents, divert troops heading to Chi, and unleash an unprecedented reign of terror.
• Major battles raged for over a year. Highly fortified centers like Delhi, Lucknow, Jhansi, and Kanpur required months of intense, block-by-block urban combat to reoccupy. The British suffered enormous casualties and fincial loss before completely pacifying the country by late 1858.
• Therefore, Assertion (A) is completely false.

Step 2: Thorough examition of Reason (R).
The reason states that the British passed a series of laws to quell the insurgency.
• This statement is historically accurate. In May and June 1857, the colonial administration rushed out a sequence of emergency acts.
• These laws effectively placed the entire northern region under martial law. Military officers, and even ordiry British citizens, were granted extraordiry statutory powers to try and execute Indians suspected of mutiny or rebellion.
• Normal judicial processes were entirely suspended, ensuring that the legal machinery was structured purely to terrorize and crush the insurrection.
• Therefore, Reason (R) is independently true.

Step 3: Synthesizing the fil option alignment.
Since Assertion (A) is a demonstrably false claim and Reason (R) is a historically true statement, it automatically maps out to the structural arrangement of Option (D).