Question

is the sepoys declared bahadur shah zafar as ruler of india

Answer 1

yes bahadur shah Zafar as ruler of India

Answer 2

He was the last mughal emperor of india . No one was ready to lead the revolt at that time. Many rebels were worried about their own kingdoms. Also, there was no other Indian king left at that time when rebels asked him. There was no one to lead all the states rather than Bahadur Shah Zafar. Peshwa and the son of the deposed Nawab of Lucknow, Birjis Qadr acknowledged the suzerainty of Bahadur Shah Zafar. So, the rebels marched towards Delhi and declared Bahadur Shah Zafar as the Emperor of India, though he was not very popular, powerless and very old also.