The main political cause for the great revolt of 1857 was the policy of Doctrine of Lapse. It was an annexation policy purportedly devised by Lord Dalhousie as per which any princely state or territory under the British East India Company would automatically be annexed if the ruler died without a male heir.

Vasco Da Gama sailed from Lisbon on July 8, 1497, with a crew of 170 men. He arrived at Calicut (now Kozhikode) on May 20, 1498.

Courts take decisions on a very large number of issues. Broadly speaking, the work that the judiciary does can be divided into the following:

• Dispute Resolution: The judicial system provides a mechanism for resolving disputes between citizens, between citizens and the government, between two state governments and between the centre and state governments.
• Judicial Review: As the final interpreter of the Constitution, the judiciary also has the power to strike down particular laws passed by the Parliament if it believes that these are a violation of the basic structure of the Constitution. This is called judicial review.
• Upholding the Law and Enforcing Fundamental Rights: Every citizen of India can approach the Supreme Court or the High Court if they believe that their Fundamental Rights have been violated.

(i) In principle, all citizens of India can access the courts in this country. This implies that every citizen has a right to justice through the courts.

(ii) Legal procedures involve a lot of money and paperwork which take up a lot of time. Poor people often avoid to go the court to get justice.

A number of reasons were responsible to arouse the tribal leaders to mobilise the tribals and start agitations: Harsh and unfriendly forest laws and regulations.

The Corn Laws were the laws enforced in Britain between the period 1815 and 1846. These laws were passed to allow the Government to restrict the import of Corn.

1. There was a high demand for food grains due to increasing in population.

2. This necessitated massive import of food grains to meet the demand.

3. It became necessary to restrict the import.

4. Hence, corn laws were passed.

5. Since the import was restricted, there was a hike in the prices.

6. There was a massive pressure from the industrialists and urban dwellers to abolish the corn laws. Hence, the Corn laws were repealed.

7. The abolition of corn laws enabled the increase in the import of food grains which brought down the prices.

8. The agriculturists could not compete with the imports.

9. Hence, vast areas of land remained uncultivated.

10. Many people lost their jobs and migrated to other places.

The Indian Constitution provides for the independence of the judiciary. It means that other branches of the State such as the legislature and the executive cannot interfere in the work of the judiciary. The courts are not under the government and do not act on their behalf. The courts ensure that there is no misuse of power of the legislature and the executive. Anyone can approach the courts if they find that their Fundamental Rights have been violated. Thus, the courts are not influenced by anyone, not even by the rich and powerful people.

Vasco da gama was a Portuguese explorer who discovered the sea route to India

In the 19th and the 20th centuries, tribals in many regions of India rose in rebellion. Birsa Munda was a tribal leader and a folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe, born in the mid-1870’s. He was impressed by the sermons of the missionaries.

Efforts to increase farm production mean agricultural development. Agricultural development can be attained by various methods; like increasing the area under cultivation, increasing the number of crops grown. Improvement in irrigation facilities, use of fertilisers and high yielding variety of seeds are also done for agricultural development. Moreover, use of modern farm equipments is also encouraged for agricultural development.

Efforts to increase farm production mean agricultural development. Agricultural development can be attained by various methods; like increasing the area under cultivation, increasing the number of crops grown. Improvement in irrigation facilities, use of fertilisers and high yielding variety of seeds are also done for agricultural development. Moreover, use of modern farm equipments is also encouraged for agricultural development.

There were different major seaports during the 17th century.
i. Lothal port was from the ancient Indus civilization of the south. It was found by SR Rao in 1954.
ii. Muziris Port is the harbour seaport in the centre of Malabar court.
iii. Poompuhar Port is also located in south India. It is also known as  Kaveri poompattinam due to its ancestral special reservoirs.
iv. Arikamedu Port was a Greek trading centre. It has a speciality of textiles and many other things.

1. The British were fully aware of the symbolic importance of Delhi.
2. During the revolt of 1857, the British had realised that the Mughal emperor was still important to the people and they saw him as their leader.
3. The British thought that by organising a Durbar in Delhi they would celebrate the British power with Pump and show and here the Indians acknowledge Queen Victoria as the Empress of India.

• The Subsidiary Alliance system was used by Lord Wellesley, who was Governor-General of India from 1798-1805, to build an empire in India.
• Under the system, the allying Indian state's ruler was compelled to accept the permanent stationing of a British force within his territory and to pay a subsidy for its maintenance.
• Also, the Indian ruler had to agree to the posting of a British Resident in his court.
• Under the Subsidiary Treaty, the Indian ruler could not employ any European in his service without the prior approval of the British. Nor could he negotiate with any other Indian ruler without consulting the Governor-General.
• In return for all this, the British agreed to defend the ruler from his enemies and adopt a policy of non-interference in the internal matters of the allied state.
• Subsidiary Alliance brought immense gains for the East India Company by extending the areas under British control and bringing relative peace in subsidies and territory.
• During the seven-year rule of Wellesley alone, over 100 small and big states of India signed the Subsidiary Treaty.

Viceroy:Governor of a country or province who rules as the representative of his or her king or sovereign.
Governed general:  a governor of high rank; especially :  one who governs a large territory or has deputy governors under him. 

• Warren Hastings (1732 – 1818) became the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal) in 1772 and the first Governor-General of Bengal in 1774 till he resigned in 1785.
• He started his career as a writer (clerk) in the East India Company at Calcutta in 1750.
• In 1758, he became the British resident at Murshidabad, the capital of Bengal, after Mir Jafar was installed as the Nawab after the Battle of Plassey.