Major Leaders of the Revolt of 1857 - General Knowledge of Modern India

Major Leaders of the Revolt of 1857 - General Knowledge of Modern India

In the revolt of 1857, some prominent leaders fought firmly with the British. The revolutionaries who led this rebellion were Bahadur Shah, Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi, Nana Saheb, Begum Hazratmahal, Veer Kunwar Singh and Maulvi Ahmadullah.

Read More History: Important Revolts before 1857 - General Knowledge of Modern India

Bahadur Shah

The revolutionaries conducted the revolution under the leadership of the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah. By the way, the Mughal emperor was incapable and old and did not want to get into all this mess, yet he had to be a part of this revolution by the request of the revolutionaries. All the revolutionaries accepted Bahadur Shah Zafar as the undisputed leader of the rebellion. But Bahadur Shah failed to provide leadership. He was taken prisoner. He was arrested and sent to Rangoon where he died.

Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi

After the death of Gangadhar Rao in 1853 AD, Jhansi was annexed to the British state. The queen was given pension. Lakshmibai was very angry with this. Initially, he did not show interest in the rebellion, but due to the circumstances, he started supporting the rebels. When Hugh Rose attacked Jhansi in March, 1858 AD, the queen resolutely fought the British. Knowing Jhansi insecure In April, the queen left Jhansi with her adopted son and went to Kalpi. The queen also had to face defeat in Kalpi. From there she reached Gwalior with Tantya Tope. The rebels captured Gwalior by defeating Scindia, who was a friend of the British.  Scindia had to flee to Agra. Nana Saheb was declared Peshwa but in the meantime the British army also dripped in Gwalior. On June 17, 1858, the queen attained martyrdom while fighting the British. Tantya Tope was arrested and hanged. Despite being a woman, Rani Lakshmibai faced the British with bravery, this thing holds a special place in Indian history.

Nana Saheb

The revolt in Kanpur was conducted under the leadership of Nana Saheb. He was the adopted son of the last Peshwa Bajirao II. After the death of Bajirao, the British stopped his pension. This angered Nana Saheb and he thought of taking revenge on the British. When the rebellion started in Meerut, after that Nana Saheb captured Kanpur and declared himself Peshwa. He declared the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah as the emperor of India and himself as its governor. With the help of Tantya Tope and Azimullah, Nana Saheb fought many wars with the British. The English army was strong. Gradually the British captured Kanpur, Bithoor and other bases of Nana Saheb. Defeated, Nana Saheb hid in the jungles of Nepal. Till today no one knows where he went after that and what happened to him?

Begum Hazrat Mahal

Awadh was a major center of revolutionaries. Begum Hazratmahal conducted the revolution of Awadh. After the ouster of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the Begum declared Birjis Kadar, a minor son, as the Nawab and took over the administration. Begum got the support of all the zamindars, farmers, soldiers etc. of Awadh. With their help, Begum Hazratmahal defeated the British at many places and eventually forced the British to take refuge in the residency of Lucknow. It was only after many difficulties that the British were able to recapture Lucknow and quell the rebellion in Awadh.

Kunwar Singh

The leader of the rebels in Bihar was Babu Kunwar, the Zamindar of Jagdishpur. Although to say that he was a very big landowner, but his financial condition was not good. He wanted to hand over the management of his zamindari to the Board of Revenue but he failed in this task. After a few days, Kunwar Singh reached a state of financial bankruptcy. Some revolutionaries revolting in Danapur reached Ara and asked Kunwar Singh to take over the responsibility of the rebellion. Kunwar Singh was old but still he decided to conduct this rebellion.  Together with Nana Saheb, he also fought in Awadh and Central India. He defeated the British at Jagdishpur, Arrah etc. He was badly injured while crossing the Ganges near Ballia. He had been shot in the arm.  He himself cut off his own arm. He died on 23 April 1858 in Jagdishpur. After him, his brother Amar Singh also continued the struggle with the British, but he could not stand in front of them for long and he had to leave Jagdishpur and run away.

Maulvi Ahmadullah

Maulvi Ahmadullah of Faizabad also played an important role in the revolt of 1857. He was originally from Madras. In Madras also he had planned an armed rebellion against the British. He came to Faizabad on January 1857. The British government was already alert to his arrival. The company sent an army to capture them. The cleric fought back boldly. He also played an important role in the Awadh Revolution and emerged as a prominent leader. When the British captured Lucknow, Maulvi Ahmadullah started leading Rohilkhand. It was here that the king of Puwain killed the cleric. In return for this work, that deceitful king got a reward of Rs 50,000 by the British.