Ch1

 CHAPTER 1. THE FIRST MAJOR 

 CHALLENGE: THE

 REVOLT OF 1857

It was the morning of 11 May 1857. The city of Delhi had Not yet woken up when a band of Sepoys from Meerut, who had Defied and killed the European officers the previous day, crossed The Jamuna, set the toll house on fire and marched to the Red Fort. They entered the Red Fort through the Raj Ghat gate, Followed by an excited crowd, to appeal to Bahadur Shah II, the Moghul Emperor— a pensioner of the British East India Company, who possessed nothing but the name of the mighty Mughals — to become their leader, thus, give legitimacy to their Cause. Bahadur Shah vacillated as he was neither sure of the Intentions of the sepoys nor of his own ability to play an effective Role. He was however persuaded, if not coerced, to give in and Was proclaimed the Shahenshah-e-Hindustan. The sepoys, then, Set out to capture and control the imperial city of Delhi. Simon Fraser, the Political Agent and several other Englishmen were Killed; the public offices were either occupied or destroyed. The Revolt of an unsuccessful but heroic effort to eliminate foreign Rule, had begun. The capture of Delhi and the proclamation of Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan gave a positive Political meaning to the revolt and provided a rallying point for The rebels by recalling the past glory of the imperial city.

The Revolt at Meerut and the capture of Delhi was the Precursor to a widespread mutiny by the sepoys and rebellion Almost all over North India, as well as Central and Western India. 

South India remained quiet and Punjab and Bengal were only Marginally affected. Almost half the Company’s sepoy strength of 2,32,224 opted out of their loyalty to their regimental colors and 

Overcame the ideology of the army, meticulously constructed over A period of time through training and discipline. 

Even before the Meerut incident, there were rumblings of Resentment in various cantonments. The 19th Native Infantry at Berhampur which refused to use the newly introduced Enfield Rifle, was disbanded in March 1857. A young sepoy of the 34thNative Infantry, Mangal Pande, went a step further and fired at The Sergeant Major of his regiment. He was overpowered and Executed and his regiment too, was disbanded. The 7th Oudh Regiment which defied its officers met with a similar fate.