'Indian nationalism in the middle of the 19th century was in Embryonic stage' was a historian with regard to the fact
- (a)Dr. R. C. Majumdar and Dr. S. N. Sen
- (b)Sir James Outram and W. Tailor
- (c)T. R. Homes and L.E.R. Reas
- (d)Sir John Lawrence and Seale
Correct — A, Dr. R. C. Majumdar and Dr. S. N. Sen. These modern Indian historians of the Revolt of 1857 (Majumdar's 'The Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of 1857' and S. N. Sen's 'Eighteen Fifty-Seven') judged that a modern, all-India national consciousness had not yet formed in the mid-19th century — Indian nationalism was still at an early, embryonic stage.
- (b)Sir James Outram and W. Tailor — Outram and Taylor are associated with the view that 1857 was a Hindu-Muslim (especially Muslim) conspiracy, not with the 'embryonic nationalism' assessment.
- (c)T. R. Homes and L.E.R. Reas — These British writers treated the events differently and are not the historians linked to this statement.
- (d)Sir John Lawrence and Seale — John Lawrence (and Seeley) saw 1857 as merely a sepoy mutiny with no national character — the opposite framing from an 'embryonic nationalism' reading.
Historians differ sharply on the nature of 1857: a sepoy mutiny (Lawrence, Seeley), a Muslim/feudal conspiracy (Outram, Taylor), the 'first war of independence' (Savarkar), or — in the balanced Indian scholarship of Majumdar and S. N. Sen — a major but not yet national upheaval, because Indian national feeling was still nascent.
MPPSC/UPSC test the historiography of 1857: match each interpretation to its author. The 'embryonic / not yet national' verdict is the Majumdar-S. N. Sen assessment.
- R. C. Majumdar: 'The Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of 1857' — sceptical of a national character.
- S. N. Sen: 'Eighteen Fifty-Seven' — an official centenary history of the revolt.
- Savarkar called 1857 the 'First War of Independence'; Lawrence/Seeley called it a mutiny.
- The 'embryonic nationalism' reading holds national consciousness was still forming in mid-19th century.
- Mixing up the 'conspiracy' school (Outram/Taylor) with the 'mutiny' school (Lawrence/Seeley)
- Assuming every historian called 1857 a national war
Interpretation-to-historian matching — link the verdict on 1857 to the scholar who gave it.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who described the Revolt of 1857 as the 'First War of Independence'?
- (a)V. D. Savarkar
- (b)R. C. Majumdar
- (c)John Lawrence
- (d)S. N. Sen
Answer(a) V. D. Savarkar.
- practice — not a real PYQ
'Eighteen Fifty-Seven', an official centenary history of the revolt, was written by:
- (a)S. N. Sen
- (b)R. C. Majumdar
- (c)Tara Chand
- (d)Bipan Chandra
Answer(a) S. N. Sen.