Consider the following statements about the revolt of 1857:

Assertion (A): Bahadur Shah was recognised as the Emperor by all rebel leaders. Coins were struck and orders were issued in his name.
Reason (R): The merchants, intelligentsia and Indian rulers mostly not only kept aloof, but actively supported the British.

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

Correct option is D

The correct option is Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) does not explain (A).

Analysis of the Statements
Both the Assertion (A) and the Reason (R) are historically accurate, but the Reason (R) does not provide a direct explanation for the Assertion (A).

1. Assertion (A): Bahadur Shah was recognised as the Emperor by all rebel leaders. Coins were struck and orders were issued in his name.
True. When the sepoys from Meerut reached Delhi, they proclaimed the aged Bahadur Shah II (Bahadur Shah Zafar), the last Mughal emperor, as the Emperor of India. This was a critical symbolic move:
It provided a single, recognized legitimate authority for the diverse rebel groups across North India (like those led by Nana Saheb and Rani Lakshmibai).
Coins were struck and orders were issued in his name by the rebels to symbolize the end of British rule and the revival of the pre-colonial order.

2. Reason (R): The merchants, intelligentsia and Indian rulers mostly not only kept aloof, but actively supported the British.
True. The Revolt of 1857 did not have universal support in India:
Indian Rulers: Rulers of large, powerful states like the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Scindia of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, and the Ruler of Nepal either remained neutral or actively supported the British, providing troops and resources.
Merchants and Intelligentsia: The educated urban middle class and most merchants largely kept out of the rebellion. They often saw British rule as bringing modernization and stability, and viewed the rebels as representing a feudal, backward-looking past.

3. Relationship between (A) and (R)

The statements are independent facts:
(A) describes the symbolic unity sought by the rebels.
(R) describes the lack of broad-based national support for the rebellion, which was a major factor in its ultimate failure.

The loyalty of the merchants and rulers to the British (R) does not explain why the rebels chose to recognize Bahadur Shah (A). The rebels recognized Bahadur Shah to provide a central rallying point, while the merchants and rulers stayed aloof for reasons of self-interest and ideology.