Beginning & Spread of The Rebellion Of 1857. {PART-02 Of Revolt Of 1857}.

BEGINNING OF THE REBELLION OF 1857

The  first sepoy (soldier) to protest against the new cartridges was "Mangal Pandey." He was a sepoy in 5th Company of the 34th Native Infantry Regiment, stationed at Barrackpore (Barakpur).

On 29 March 1857, het his British commander and asked to other sepoys to join him to end the rule of the company. He was, however, soon arrested and hanged on 8 April. 

Q. Some years ago, a movie was made on the life of Mangal Pandey. Who played the character of Mangal Pandey? Comment downward!

The hanging of  Mangal Pandey caused great unrest in the army camps across India. On 24 April, 85 sepoys (sipahis) of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry, stationed at Meerut, refused to use the cartridges. On 9 May, they were publicly humiliated, dismissed from service and jailed. this sparkled off a mutiny among the sepoys at Meerut. On 10 May, these soldiers raised banner of revolt. They killed the British officers, released the imprisoned sepoys, seized arms and ammunition, and set fire to British properties. This was the beginning of the biggest armed resistance since the establishment of Company Raj.

The sepoys then set off for Delhi. After travelling all night, they reached Delhi next morning. Here the sepoys belonging to the regiments stationed at Delhi joined them.

What led to the War of Independence?

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was instituted by the thirteen original colonies in Congress in opposition to the Kingdom of Great Britain over their objection to Parliament's direct taxation and its insufficiency of colonial representation.

SPREAD OF THE REBELLION OF 1857

From Meerut and Delhi, the uprising soon spread to other places in Northern and Central India. It was particularly strong in Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, Bareilly, Gwalior, Faizabad and Arrah. There were uprisings in other areas also. At most places, the civilians also joined the sepoys. Where they actually did not participate, they helped the rebels by giving them food and shelter.

Leaders: The revolt at various places was led by different leaders.

• In Delhi, Bhakt Khan led the rebel sepoys.
• In Kanpur, Nana Sahib proclaimed himself the Peshwa. His troops were led by Azimullah and Tatya Tope.
• In Luknow, Begum Hazrat Mahal led the revolt. She was assisted by Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah.

Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah

• In Jhansi, Rani Laksmi Bai challenged the British authority.

Read More: Go to rsgr.in/sh0161 and read an inspiring poem on Rani Lakshmi Bai, written by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan.

• In Bareilly, Khan Bhadur Khan led the rebels.
• In Arrah and other places in Bihar and Jharkhand, Kunwar Singh organised and led the revolt.

Kunwar Singh

How many Britishers died in the revolt?

There are 2,392 fatalities recorded on the British Casualties, Indian Mutiny 1857-1859 register. The record includes those British subjects or servicemen who died during the conflict. It is drawn from various sources including individual graves, memorials, plaques, medal rolls and other relevant sources.