The Rebellion Spreads

The rebellion spreads:

Soon the Revolt spread to other parts of norther and central India. The mean centres were Kanpur Lucknow, Bareilly, Arrah, Jhansi, Gwalior and Barrackpore. Revolts also took place in parts of Bengal, Rajasthan, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. In many princely states, while the rulers remained loyal to the British, the soldiers revolted, or came close to it. The Revolt did not remain confined to the troops.

The peasants and the artisans gave expression to their anger by attacking the moneylenders and the zamindars who had displaced them. It is now belived that in many battles, the common people far outnumbered the sepoys. The Revolt in Kanpur was led by Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the last peshwa, Baji Rao II. Nana Saheb had been denied the pension that his foster-father, Baji Rao, Kunwar Singh successfully freed parts of Bihar.

Regiment after regiment mutinied and took off to join other troops at nodal points like Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow. Nana saheb, the adopted son of the late Peshwa Baji Rao who lived near Kanpur, gathered armed forces and expelled the British garrison from the city. He proclaimed himself Peshwa. He declared that he was a governor under emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. In lucknow birjis qadr, the son of the deposed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, was proclaimed the new Nawab. He too acknowledged the suzerainty of Bahadur Shah Zafar. His mother Begum Hazrat mahal took an active part in organizing the uprising against the British. In Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai joined the rebel sepoys and fought the British along with Tantia Tope, the general of nana sahib. In Jhansi, the Revolt was led by Rani lakshmibai. The refusal of the British to accept her adopted son as the rightful heir to the throne of Jhansi made her their sworn enemy. She joined forces with Tanta Tope and they captured Gwalior together. The British recaptured Gwalior after heavy fighting bravely on horseback. With the defeat of Rani Lakshmibai, the Revolt was almost completely crushed, though peace was not fully restored till 1859

In the Mandla region of Madhya Pradesh, Rani Avantibai Lodhi of Ramgarh raised and led on army of four thousand against the british who had taken over the administration of her state. The British were greatly outnumbered by the rebel forces. They were defeated in a number of battles. This convinced the people that the rule of the British had collapsed for good and gave them the confidence to take the plunge and join the rebellion. A situation of widespread popular rebellion developed in the region of Awadh in particular. On 6 august 1857 we find a telegram sent by lieutenant colonel Tytler to his commander in chief expressing the fear felt by the British “our men are cowed by the numbers opposed to them and the endless fighting. Every village is held against us, the zamindars have risen to oppose us.”

Many new leaders came up. For example, Ahmadullah Shah a maulvi from Faizabad, prophesied that the rule of the British would come to an end soon. He caught the imagination of the people and raised a huge force of supporters. He came to Lucknow to fight the British. In Delhi, a large number of ghazis religious warriors came together to wipe out the white people. Bakht Khan, a soldier from Bareilly, took charge of a large force of fighters who came to Delhi. He became a key, military leader of the rebellion. In Bihar, an old zamindar, Kunwar Singh, joined the rebel sepoys and battled with the British for many months. Leaders and fighters from across the land joined the fight.

Chapters

How When and Where I

How When and Where II

From Trade to Territory I

From Trade to Territory II

Ruling The Country Side I

Ruling The Country Side II

Tribals Dikus and The Vision of a Golden Age I

Tribals Dikus and The Vision of Golden Age II

When People Rebel I

When People Rebel II

Colonialism and the City I