Read the source below carefully to answer question (a). Indians began to resent British control of the sub-continent, and in 1857 the British faced a serious challenge to their control of India. For the British it was a revolt against their authority but for the Indians it was a revolt to throw off foreign domination.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2013). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [4] Reward each correct statement with 1 mark. 2 marks can be awarded for a developed statement. Candidates might refer to: March 1857 a sepoy Mangal Pandey executed, May sepoys in Meerut refused to touch cartridges, were imprisoned and broke out. Meerut sacked and British officers killed. Soldiers marched on Delhi and captured it, revolt spread and British lost control of a number of towns (Mathura, Kanpur, Jhansi and Allahabad). In September British took Delhi back, Bahadur Shah II surrendered and his sons murdered, Lucknow taken back. Jhansi held out until Rhani was killed in 1858.
2. [1] LEVEL 1: Simplistic statement They were better fighters
3. [2-4] LEVEL 2: Identifies reasons They captured rich lands and had a better army
4. [5-7] LEVEL 3: Explains reasons The battles of Plassey and Buxar gave the British the vast riches of Bengal and favourable trading rights with the local nawabs. This provided massive new resources which Britain could use to consolidate its control. The British also introduced governor-generals into the provinces who administered them on British lines and provided yet more control. The British army using its vast local resources and superior weapons and skills were increasingly taking control of more land.
5. [1-2] LEVEL 1: Simplistic statement He was important to Muslims
6. [3-6] LEVEL 2: Description of beliefs/writings He wrote a number of books and opened a school and university
7. [7-10] LEVEL 3: Explains the Two Nation Theory or other contributions
8. [9-13] LEVEL 4: Explains the Two Nation Theory and other contributions Sir Syed wanted democratic rights in India but believed that this would only disadvantage Muslims since Hindus were in the majority and would win all the elections. He therefore felt that the British should treat the Muslims and Hindus differently since they lived separate and different lives from one another and so were really like separate nations. Sir Syed was the first person to express this point of view and it became known as the Two Nation Theory that gave hope to Muslims of a separate homeland. However he contributed many other things. He attempted to improve the position of Muslims through education. In 1863 he founded the Scientific Society at Ghazipore. He wanted to make scientific writings available to Muslims by translating them from English into Urdu. He established a Muslim college which led to the Muslim-Anglo Oriental College in 1876. This became the University of Aligarh which became important in Pakistani history as providing an education for many of its future leaders. He wrote a number of books following the War of Independence in which he tried to show the British that the Muslims were only partly to blame and that there many who were supporters of the British government. He suggested that the British should try to understand Muslims better. He gave explanation of the word 'Nadarath' in an attempt to remove the misunderstanding of the British about the Muslims. He believed that relations with the British could be improved by improving the understanding of Christianity by Muslims. He tried to overcome this by writing Tabyin-ul-Kalam, in which he pointed out the similarities between Islam and Christianity. He was also aware that the British knew little about Islam and was offended by a book he read in Britain on the life of the Prophet and as a result he wrote his own work correcting the many errors he had read.
9. [14] LEVEL 5: As Level 4 – also produces a judgement or evaluation