English Essay on Events of the War

Events of the War

English Essay on "Events of the War"

First event of the war took place on 26th February 1857 when the native soldiers of the 19th Native Infantry at Behrampur refused to use the greased cartridges. Then on 19th march 1857, Mangal Pande a native soldier of the 34th native infantry fired at his British officers. His fellows did not join him. As a result he was caught and hanged. However, all the 34th native infantry was disbanded on 6th May 1857. Thus the war was triggered on and the flames of war soon spread to all parts of the country. Meerat, Delhi, Lucknow, Baraille, Kanpur and Jhansi were the prominent centres of the struggle for independence.

Meerat shot into prominence on 23rd April 1857 when 80 soldiers disobeyed the orders of Colonel Smyth to use the cartridges. Consequently on 8th May 1857 the 80 soldiers were sentenced to ten years imprisonment. However two days late their colleagues attacked the jail and freed the 80 soldiers. This incident led to a general revolt and the freedom fighter marched to Delhi.

Delhi: The freedom fighters of Meerat reached Delhi and occupied the city without any resistance. They placed Bahadur Shah Zafar the last Mughal Emperor on the throne.educationsight.blogspot.com The revolutionaries were no doubt full of emotions but they lacked discipline. However soon afterwards Bakht Khan arrived from Baraille with a strong contingent. The Mughal prince was made in charge of the revolutionaries. The British faced much difficulty. They appealed to the Sikhs of Punjab for assistance. The Sikhs joined hands with the British to fight against the Muslims. As a result combined forces of the English and the Sikhs under Sir John Shore recovered the city of Delhi. Bahadur Shah Zafar was deposed and deported to Rangoon forever. The Mughal princes were shot dead.

Lucknow was another important centre of the war. The people of Oudh and the disbanded soldiers of the state rose in unison to overthrow the British domination. The freedom fighters defeated the small British garrison and placed a ten years old prince Bergees Qadir on the throne. Queen Hazrat Mahal, widow of the late Nawab became the regent. Ahmed Ullah was among the prominent leaders of the war. Some time later the British forces led by General Outram and Havelock succeeded in defeating the revolutionaries at Lucknow. Baraille, the capital of Rohil Khand too, took a prominent part in the war of independence. Khan Bahadur Khan son of Hafiz Rehmat Khan was incharge of all operations. The garrison at Baraille was joined by defeated troops from Delhi and Lucknow. The struggle continued till the freedom fighters were defeated y combined forces of Sikhs, Gurkhas and the British.

Kanpur was a great centre of the freedom fighters. Nana Sahib the adopted son of the last Peshwa Baji Rao II raised the standard of revolution. He declared himself Peshwa and occupied the city of Kanpur. He massacred the English soldiers. However, the British recovered Kanpur and perpetrated great atrocities on the people.

Rani Jhansi Bai the widow of Raja Gangadhar Rao led the fight in Jhansi, another important centre of war of independence. She raised an army of more than 20000 freedom fighters.. She captured Gwalior with the help of Tanta Topia. Te British troops attacked Jhansi and captured the city in June 1858. Rani Jhansi laid down her life while fighting gallantly. Bihar: Kanwar Singh, a great military leader, led the freedom fighters in Bihar. He defeated the British troops at Arrah. He received fatal wounds and died. The British succeeded in taking control of Bihar after great struggle.

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