Discuss the spread of revolt of 1857
Answers
The revolt of the sepoys spread from Barrackpore to Meerut and thence to Delhi. On reaching Delhi the Sepoys declared Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan. Both at Meerut and Delhi the sepoys killed the Europeans wherever they came across. When the news of the occupation of Delhi by the sepoys reached Muzaffarnagar (May 13) the sepoys there also rose in revolt. Punjab, Naushera, Hatmardan, etc. also joined the revolt.
In Oudh and modern Uttar Pradesh the revolt took a serious turn, it became extremely wide-spread. Etwah, Mainpuri, Roorki, Etah, Hodal, Mathura, Lucknow, Bareilly. Shajahanpur, Moradabad, Bodao, Kanpur, Allahabad, Faizabad, Azamgarh, Dariabad, Fategarh, Fatepur, Hatrash and in other places revolt spread within a short time.
The sepoys threw open the prisons and looted the treasury in most of these places. Many civil population joined hands with the sepoys. In Oudh the Taluqdars who had been dispossessed of their estates after the occupation Oudh (1856) joined the revolt. The revolt spread throughout the length and breadth of Oudh and took the character of a national revolt.
Meerut, Delhi and Oudh apart, Kanpur rose in revolt under Nana Sahib. Jhansi under the Rani of Jhansi, and Jagadispur under Kunwar Singh. The Nawab of Banda in Bundelkhand as also the rulers of Banpur and Shahgarh took part in the revolt. As Bahadur Shah II was declared Emperor of Hindustan at Delhi, so was Nana Sahib declared himself as the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire.
The zamindars of Rohilkhand in Oudh declared themselves independent. Khan Bahadur Khan, a descendant of Hafiz Rahmat Khan proclaimed himself as the local representative of the Emperor of Delhi and began to rule in virtual independence in Bareilly. His example was followed by Mahmud Khan of Bijnor. In this way the feudal lords in different parts assumed independent status and thereby sought to put an end to the British rule.
In Danapur in Bihar the sepoys revolted under the leadership of Kunwar Singh, the sepoys of Deogarh also joined them. In Dacca and Chittagong the sepoys revolted but they were soon put down. The revolt also spread to the Deccan, Central India, Rajasthan etc.