The Beginning and the Spread of the Revolt of 1857

🌟 The Beginning of the Revolt (Meerut, 10 May 1857)

• The revolt began in Meerut, where sepoys refused to bite the Enfield cartridges suspected of being greased with cow and pig fat.
• On 24 April, 90 men of the 3rd Native Cavalry refused the drill; by 9 May, 85 of them were court-martialled and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
• On 10 May 1857, their comrades rebelled:
  • Released the imprisoned sepoys.
  • Killed European officers.
  • Burnt down government buildings (jail, treasury, court, post office, record office).
• Importantly, common townspeople and nearby villagers joined the sepoys — showing that discontent was not limited to soldiers.

👉 Note: Even before Meerut, Mangal Pandey at Barrackpore (29 March 1857) had attacked his officer and was executed — seen as an early spark of defiance.

🏰 Legitimacy from Delhi: Bahadur Shah Zafar

• On the night of 10 May, the sepoys marched from Meerut to Delhi (about 65 km) and entered the Red Fort.
• They demanded that the aging Bahadur Shah Zafar accept leadership.
• Though reluctant, the emperor agreed, and was proclaimed “Shahenshah-e-Hindustan” (Emperor of India).

👉 This was a turning point:

• The revolt now had symbolic legitimacy in the name of the Mughal emperor.
• It gave sepoys and civilians across India a rallying point.
• Rebel leaders in different regions automatically declared loyalty to him.
• Bahadur Shah himself wrote letters to Indian princes, urging them to form a confederacy against British rule.

Thus, a local mutiny acquired the character of a national revolt.

🤝 Why Smaller Rulers Supported the Revolt

• Many smaller chieftains had historically ruled as subordinates of the Mughal emperor.
• With British expansion threatening their survival, they felt that if the Mughal throne was restored, they too could regain authority under its umbrella.
• This explains why so many regional rulers and their armies gave support, even if hesitantly.

🌍 Spread of the Mutiny

• Initially, between 12–13 May, North India was quiet, waiting to see events unfold.
• Once it was known that Delhi had fallen into rebel hands, the rebellion spread rapidly:
  • Almost every cantonment in Bengal Presidency rose.
  • A few in Bombay Presidency also revolted.
  • Only the Madras Army stayed loyal.

Examples:

• Sindhia of Gwalior remained loyal to the British, but 20,000 of his troops went over to Tantia Tope and Rani Lakshmibai.
• Holkar of Indore also supported the British, but his forces mutinied.

👉 This shows how loyalty of rulers and loyalty of soldiers diverged—a sign that popular resentment was far deeper than royal diplomacy.

🔥 From Mutiny to Rebellion

The revolt spread from the barracks to the countryside:

• In North-Western Provinces and Awadh, where most sepoys were recruited, civilian uprisings quickly followed.
• Peasants and zamindars attacked moneylenders, new zamindars, and government offices.
• Debt records, revenue files, law courts, and police stations were destroyed.
• Ordinary villagers armed themselves with crude weapons—axes, lathis, bows, arrows, and muskets.

👉 Thus, what began as a military mutiny became a popular rebellion.

🌾 The Link Between Sepoys and the Rural World

A very important feature:

• Most sepoys of the Bengal Army came from Awadh and Eastern U.P.
• Their families lived in the same villages affected by British revenue policies and moneylender exploitation.
• This meant that sepoy grievances and peasant grievances were interconnected.
  • Villagers influenced sepoys with their anger.
  • Sepoys carried news of injustices back home.
• Hence, when sepoys rose, villagers also poured into towns to fight.

This rural–military connection explains why the revolt spread so quickly and widely in North India.

🌟 Leadership of the Revolt

For any mass uprising, leadership is essential. In 1857, leadership came from different layers of society:

1. Traditional rulers — nawabs, rajas, ranis, taluqdars, zamindars, who saw in the revolt a chance to regain lost authority.
2. Religious leaders and preachers — who gave moral legitimacy, often in the name of dharma.
3. Local leaders and commoners — peasants, dispossessed landlords, and adventurers, who provided grassroots strength.

👉 Example: The very first act of sepoys from Meerut was to rush to Delhi and ask the Mughal Emperor to take charge. This shows how rebels instinctively turned to symbols of older authority.

🔥 Storm Centres of the Revolt

Though the uprising spread across northern and central India, certain regions became the epicentres of resistance.

🏰 Delhi

• Symbolic centre because of the Mughal throne.
• Bahadur Shah Zafar was the nominal leader, but the real command was exercised by a council of soldiers led by Bakht Khan (from Bareilly).
• Bakht Khan was an experienced artillery officer. After Delhi fell to the British in September 1857, he escaped to Lucknow and continued resistance until his death in 1859.

⚔️ Kanpur

• Leader: Nana Sahib, adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II.
• Nana Sahib expelled the British, proclaimed himself Peshwa, and declared loyalty to Bahadur Shah Zafar.
• Supported by:
  • Tantia Tope — brilliant general, bore the chief burden of fighting.
  • Azimullah Khan — Nana’s political advisor and strategist.

Kanpur thus became one of the fiercest battlefields of the revolt.

👑 Lucknow (Awadh)

• Leader: Begum Hazrat Mahal, wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (exiled).
• She proclaimed her young son Birjis Qadir as Nawab.
• She gained support of sepoys, zamindars, and peasants, launching a sustained resistance in Awadh.

🐎 Jhansi

• Leader: Rani Lakshmibai, denied recognition of her adopted son under the Doctrine of Lapse.
• She fought valiantly with the support of sepoys and Tantia Tope.
• Captured Gwalior with Afghan guards and rebels.
• Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior supported the British, but many of his troops defected to the Rani.

Her bravery made her the legendary heroine of 1857.

🌾 Madhya Pradesh

• Leader: Rani Avantibai Lodhi of Ramgarh (present-day Dindori).
• Administered the state after her husband’s death and mobilised 4,000 soldiers against British interference.
• Ordered farmers not to obey British instructions.
• Became a symbol of peasant-based resistance.

🕌 Bareilly (Rohilkhand)

• Leader: Khan Bahadur, grandson of Nawab Hafiz Rahmat Khan.
• Organised his own government and army, declared independence from British.

🌿 Bihar

• Leader: Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur (near Arrah).
• Despite being 80 years old, he proved to be a brilliant strategist.
• Initially fought in Bihar, then moved with forces to Awadh and Central India.
• His reputation as a fearless commander made him one of the most outstanding leaders of the revolt.

🙌 Local and Religious Leaders

Alongside rulers and zamindars, many religious preachers and peasants inspired popular mobilisation.

📿 Ahmadullah Shah (Maulvi of Faizabad)

• Preached jihad against the British.
• Moved in a palanquin with drumbeaters, earning the title “Danka Shah” (maulvi with a drum).
• Played a key role in the Battle of Chinhat (30 June 1857), where Indian rebels under Barkat Ahmad defeated British forces led by Sir Henry Lawrence.

🌾 Shah Mal (Peasant Leader, Baraut, U.P.)

• Mobilised cultivators of 84 villages (Chaurassi des) against British rule.
• His men:
  • Attacked moneylenders and traders.
  • Destroyed the Yamuna boat bridge at Baghpat, disrupting British communication with Meerut.
  • Supplied provisions to Delhi rebels.
• Converted an English officer’s bungalow into a “hall of justice.”
• Created a parallel government for a time, making people believe firangi raj had ended.

Excellent — now we reach the final phase of the Revolt of 1857: its suppression, repression, and the fate of the leaders. This stage is crucial because it explains how the British, despite being outnumbered, managed to crush the largest anti-colonial uprising of the 19th century.

⚔️ The British Response: Fear and Ruthlessness

The Revolt shook the Company to its core. For the first time since Plassey (1757), their very rule was under mortal threat. The Company responded with:

1. Massive reinforcements from England.
2. New laws giving sweeping powers to curb rebellion.
3. Divide-and-rule tactics to weaken unity among rebels.

🏰 Recapture of Delhi (20 September 1857)

• The British understood that Delhi was the symbolic heart of the rebellion.
• After bitter fighting, they recaptured Delhi on 20 September 1857.
• The Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was taken prisoner.
• His sons (princes) were executed on the spot.
• He was exiled to Rangoon (Burma) with his wife Zinat Mahal, where he died in 1862.
• With him, the Mughal dynasty came to an end.

👉 But even after Delhi fell, the rebellion raged on for nearly two years in other centres.

🌟 Fate of Major Rebel Leaders

• Rani Avantibai Lodhi (Madhya Pradesh): Surrounded by British troops in March 1858, chose death over capture.
• Kunwar Singh (Bihar): Fought brilliantly, even while wounded; died on 27 April 1858 at Jagdishpur.
• Rani Lakshmibai (Jhansi–Gwalior): Fought heroically, killed in battle on 17 June 1858.
• Tantia Tope: Continued guerrilla warfare in Central India for nearly two years; betrayed by a zamindar friend and hanged on 15 April 1859.
• Begum Hazrat Mahal (Lucknow): Escaped to Nepal after Lucknow was retaken in March 1858.
• Nana Sahib (Kanpur): Defeated, fled to Nepal in 1859; his final fate remains uncertain.

🪤 Divide-and-Rule: Rewards to Landlords

• In Awadh and other regions, both peasants and taluqdars had fought together against the British.
• To break this unity, the British rewarded loyal landlords:
  • Promised restoration of estates.
  • Guaranteed traditional rights if they submitted.
• Many taluqdars switched sides, weakening the revolt from within.

This was a classic colonial strategy: co-opt the elites, isolate the masses.

🛡️ Key British Commanders

Several prominent officers became infamous (or famous) for their ruthless campaigns:

• John Lawrence
• Sir James Outram
• John Nicholson
• Sir Henry Havelock
• Brigadier General Neil
• Sir Colin Campbell
• Sir Hugh Rose (played a decisive role in Central India).

🎯 Battles at Key Centres

• Kanpur:
  • Sir Hugh Wheeler surrendered to Nana Sahib (27 June 1857).
  • Later, Colin Campbell defeated Tantia Tope (December 1857).
• Lucknow:
  • Chief Commissioner Henry Lawrence killed during siege.
  • Colin Campbell retook Lucknow in March 1858.
• Jhansi:
  • Rani Lakshmibai defended bravely when Hugh Rose besieged the fort (23 March 1858).
  • Tantia Tope, sent to relieve her, was defeated.
  • Later, Rani and Tantia captured Gwalior but were forced out by British counterattack.

🗂️ Storm Centres – Quick Revision Table

Here’s a concise UPSC-friendly summary:

Centre	Leader(s)	Cause of Grievance	British Officers
Delhi	Bahadur Shah Zafar, Bakht Khan	Decline of Mughal authority	Recaptured by John Nicholson, 1857
Kanpur	Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, Azimullah Khan	Denial of pension	Hugh Wheeler (surrender), Colin Campbell (victory)
Lucknow	Begum Hazrat Mahal, Birjis Qadir	Annexation of Awadh	Henry Lawrence (killed), Colin Campbell (recapture)
Jhansi	Rani Lakshmibai, Tantia Tope	Doctrine of Lapse (heir denied)	Hugh Rose besieged Jhansi, defeated Tantia
Bareilly	Khan Bahadur	Dispossession of Rohilla Nawabs	British commanders suppressed revolt
Bihar	Kunwar Singh	Loss of zamindari under Company policy	Defeated after guerrilla warfare
M.P. (Ramgarh)	Rani Avantibai Lodhi	British takeover of administration	British forces crushed rebellion

Perfect — now we are at the analysis stage of the Revolt of 1857: why it failed. This is one of the most frequently asked areas in UPSC because it highlights the difference between a great rebellion and a successful revolution. Let’s deal with this in the next section.