The Course Of The Great Revolt Of 1857

The revolt started at Meerut, over 64 km from Delhi, on May 10, 1857. It had begun three weeks ahead of the date fixed, i.e. May 31, 1857. Greased cartridges were issued to the soldiers of the 3rd Native Cavalry which they declined to use. They were court-martialled for disobedience and convicted. The authorities were quite adamant. They would not tolerate insubordination or indiscipline and they wanted to make this very clear to the sepoys. So they called for a general parade on the morning of May 9, 1857, in which all the Indian and the British soldiers participated. The convicted sepoys were also summoned. They were publicly stripped of their uniforms, handcuffed and sent to jail. It was extremely humiliating. But the date for starting a general uprising against the Company’s rule had already been determined. Premature action could make matters difficult later. Patience and forbearance were, therefore, considered the better part of the valour. The sepoys did not give vent to their anguish. They went to their barracks without any demur.

In the evening, when the sepoys went to the bazaar, women jeered at them: “Fie on you ! Your comrades are languishing in the jail. And you are here to make the purchases.” The feminine taunts went deep into their hearts. They could not further withstand this humiliation. Meetings were held at night and plans finalised. The dawn of the new day brought a new era. The jails were soon broken in. The convicted comrades were set free and the British officers were killed. Government bungalows were burnt down. Telegraph wires were cut. The chain of dramatic developments reminded one of the fall of Bastille of France.

Dilli Chalo

At night, the sepoys started on their freedom march “Dilli Chalo” (reach Delhi). Delhi was the seat of national honour, strength and unity. They reached there in the morning on May 11, 1857. They were shouting slogans “Down with the British Raj” and “Victory for Bahadur Shah”. Everybody was taken by surprise. The British were not prepared for such an eventuality. There was not a single contingent of white soldiers in Delhi. Nor was the Mughal Emperor expecting this to happen before May 31, 1857. Colonel Ripley immediately called for arming the Indian infantry and led them to check the advance of the sepoys from Meerut. When the two contingents faced each other, the revolters raised the slogan “Din-Din” to which the defenders and the loyalists responded with greater enthusiasm “Maro firangee ko”. Ripley was confounded. The combined forces pounced upon him and other British personnel. Immediately thereafter, they entered the city through the Kashmiri Gate, killing all Europeans and burning their shops, restaurants and bungalows. Sir John Metcalfe fled for his personal safety. Many saved their lives by hiding themselves in friends’ apartments. The revolutionary men besieged the big magazine where huge stocks of ammunition were stored. Lieutenant Willougby, in charge of the magazine, defended bravely with only nine persons at his command from 10.00 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. Unable to offer further resistance, he blew it up destroying both himself and his men as well as all the ammunition stores so that these did not fall into the hands of the revolutionaries.

When the revolters entered the Red Fort, they fired a salute of 21 guns for the Emperor. Their leaders, both Hindus and Muslims, waited upon him and begged for his stewardship of the revolution. The Emperor was at first quite reluctant to accept their request because he had neither the treasury nor troops nor arms and ammunition. They bowed before him and assured that they would place everything at his feet, men, money and materials required for this patriotic war against the Firangee rule. When the aged Bahadur Shah accepted their prayers, there were shouts of joy and acclaim from all of them. The gold and green flag of the Mughal Emperor was hoisted on the Red Fort. This had clothed the great uprising with the robes of legitimacy. It was no longer a revolt nor a mutiny of the sepoys, but a mighty revolution by the de jure sovereign of Hindustan.

The Last Emperor

The new government was soon able to restore order and win confidence of the people. There was complete peace in the town by May 16, 1857. The Emperor appointed Mirza Mughal, in consultation with the military leaders, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army with other princes as Colonels. On the civil side, the youthful prince, Jiwan Bakht, was appointed Wazir, the Prime Minister. He had not much to do as the actual administration was carried on by the city kotwal and the thanedars, heads of police stations. Officers were also appointed to collect revenue in the districts. Courts functioned as hitherto. Though the theoretical supremacy of the Muslim law was recognised with the appointment of a sadr-us-sadur, the main thrust of the new government was, however, on two points: the Hindu-Muslim unity and achievement of full independence of the country. The Emperor forbade cow-slaughter and issued a series of regulations to enforce this ban. The Government also ensured that these regulations were strictly adhered to. A royal proclamation addressed to all Hindus and Muslims declared, “We have joined the people only because we were convinced that it was our sacred duty to do so. It is, therefore, absolutely essential that Hindus and Mussalmans should unite, work and fight not only to win the war, but also to maintain peace and order on the home front.” The Emperor was not only making these pious declarations, but also implemented them fully. He frequently went round the town and personally congratulated and encouraged both the sepoys and the people for their hard work, devotion and determination to end the rule of the Firangee. The sepoys responded to him by doing their utmost at the battlefield and the people by maintaining peace and producing large quantities of arms and ammunition. In arsenal at Chooriwalan alone, the daily production of gunpowder was 700 maunds. The Government also looked after the welfare of the people. It put before itself a lofty motto that the contentment of the poor must be secured. On June 23, 1857, the revolutionaries celebrated the first centenary day of the Battle of Plassey with great enthusiasm and resolved to end the foreign rule.

The news of events in Delhi spread throughout the country like wild fire. Revolts took place at many military centres one after the other on the same pattern. The month of May 1857 witnessed the sepoys raising the banner of revolt at Aligarh on the 20th, Mainpuri on the 22nd, Etawah on the 23rd, Nasirabad on the 28th, Lucknow on the 30th, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur and Moradabad all simultaneously on May 31. In June 1857, they removed the Union Jack and hoisted the green flag of revolution at Badaun on the 1st, at Sitapur and Azamgarh on the 3rd, at Jhansi and Kanpur on the 4th, at Faizabad on the 9th and Gwalior on June 14. It was highly exciting and exhilarating. At Bareilly, a gun was fired on May 31, 1857, exactly at 11 a.m. That was the signal for the start of the revolt. The sepoys of the 68th Indian Infantry killed the British people and burnt their houses. A large number of officers were killed. Many fled for their safety and went to Nainital. Subedar Bakht Khan took the supreme command of the revolutionary force. People proclaimed Khan Bahadur Khan the Governor of Rohilkhand. Before sunset, everything was complete. They sent an intimation to the Emperor by a special messenger that Rohilkhand had been liberated and was a Suba of Azad Hindustan. Later, Bakht Khan led the revolutionary forces to Delhi along with the enormous arms and ammunition as well as the money seized from the Company’s treasury.

Kanpur was the brain behind the revolution with Nana Sahib Bithoor as the guiding genius. He had at his durbar other prominent revolutionary leaders like Tantya Tope and Azimulla Khan. As soon as the news of Bahadur Shah’s assumption of the command of the revolution reached Kanpur, brisk preparations were immediately started by the revolutionary leaders. Subedar Teeka Singh and Subedar Shamsuddin from the side of sepoys and Jawala Prasad and Mohammad Ali from the retainers of Nana Sahib held secret meetings and finalised their plans. At the midnight of June 4, 1857, the firing of three shots in quick succession heralded the start of revolution. They pulled down the Union Jack and hoisted the green flag on the government offices. They also set fire to certain buildings and seized the Company’s treasury and magazine. All this was done before the dawn.

In the morning of June 5, 1857, the sepoys as well as the citizens of Kanpur unanimously elected and acclaimed Nana Sahib as the Peshwa. The fort was still in the hands of the Britishers where a large number of them had taken shelter. Nana Sahib, therefore, sent an ultimatum to Gen. Wheeler on June 6, 1857, to surrender the fort before evening failing which it would be attacked. As this was not complied with, the revolutionary forces laid siege to the fort in the night. The garrison offered brave resistance and there were fierce battles on June 18 and 23, 1857. The women, both Hindus and Muslims, discarded their veils and helped the besiegers with supply of food, ammunition and other essential articles. The name of Azeezan, a dancer and singer, who supported the besiegers would remain immortal. Fatigued beyond redemption because of the revolutionary attacks and the intolerable heat of June, Gen. Wheeler hoisted the white flag on June 25, 1857. The besieged were assured of their lives and safe departure to Allahabad, but before the boats arranged to carry them with food and baggage had started on their journey, a huge crowd of malcontents among the sepoys and the people assembled on the spot and attacked them, killing most of the men and sparing only the lives of women and children.

This unfortunate happening was wrongly attributed by the British contemporaries to Nana Sahib’s connivance. On June 28, 1857, Nana Sahib held a grand durbar and a military parade in which the salutes of 101 guns and 21 guns were fired for the Emperor Bahadur Shah and Nana Sahib as the Peshwa, respectively. He also distributed huge monetary rewards among the sepoys for their valour. At Allahabad, the revolutionaries commenced their work on June 6, 1857. They were able to establish their sway in the city under the leadership of Maulvi Liaquat Ali, but failed to capture the fort where a large number of British people had taken refuge.

Revolt of the Rani

At Jhansi, the revolution started on June 4, 1857 when Havildar Gurbaksh Singh of the 12th Infantry raised the banner of revolt by seizing the Company’s treasury and magazine. Rani Lakshmibai immediately joined the revolutionaries and assumed their command. The fort was captured on June 7, 1857, because the garrisons joined hands with the revolutionaries. Rani Lakshmibai once again became the Regent on behalf of her minor son. She declared independence of Jhansi from the yoke of the Company’s rule and hoisted the green flag of the Mughal Emperor.

At Lucknow also, the revolt began exactly in accordance with the plan on May 30, 1857. A discharge of musketry was heard at 9.00. That was the signal for launching the revolution. What happened thereafter was on the same pattern, massacre of the British people,  burning of their bungalows and hoisting of the green flag of Emperor Bahadur Shah. The revolt soon spread all over the town and its suburbs. Sir Henry Lawrence took shelter in the Residency along with a small contingent of English soldiers. The rule of Birjis Qadir, minor son of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, was proclaimed. Begum Hazrat Mahal became the Regent to whom all the Zamindars as well as people paid their homage. She was very capable, resourceful and energetic. Immediately, she sent a contingent to Delhi along with presents for the Emperor. She appointed Raja Bal Krishan Singh as her Prime Minister. She also reorganised the administration and soon established peace and order. In Bihar, the flame of revolution was ignited by Raja Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur. He captured the Company’s treasury at Arrah and released all the prisoners from the jail. Then he besieged the fortress of Arrah, but was unable to capture it from a small garrison of the English and the Sikhs despite a prolonged struggle. In Punjab, the sepoys of the Bengal army revolted along with their comrades at such places as Jullundhur, Phillaur and Ludhiana, but the princes of Jind, Nabha and Patiala sided with the British and extended them full support and cooperation in their hour of distress.

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