NCERT Book Class 12 History Chapter 10 Rebels and the Raj

258 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART III

Rebels and the Raj
THEME
The R e volt of 185
Re 7
857
TEN and Its R epr
Repr esent
epresent ations
esentations

Late in the afternoon of 10 May 1857, the sepoys in the cantonment
of Meerut broke out in mutiny. It began in the lines of the native
infantry, spread very swiftly to the cavalry and then to the city.
The ordinary people of the town and surrounding villages joined
the sepoys. The sepoys captured the bell of arms where the arms
and ammunition were kept and proceeded to attack white people,
and to ransack and burn their bungalows and property.
Government buildings – the record office, jail, court, post office,
treasury, etc. – were destroyed and plundered. The telegraph line
to Delhi was cut. As darkness descended, a group of sepoys rode
off towards Delhi.
The sepoys arrived at the gates of the Red
Fort early in the morning on 11 May. It was
the month of Ramzan, the Muslim holy month
of prayer and fasting. The old Mughal emperor,
Bahadur Shah, had just finished his prayers
and meal before the sun rose and the fast
began. He heard the commotion at the gates.
The sepoys who had gathered under his window
told him: “We have come from Meerut after
killing all the Englishmen there, because they
asked us to bite bullets that were coated with
the fat of cows and pigs with our teeth. This
has corrupted the faith of Hindus and Muslims
alike.’’ Another group of sepoys also entered
Delhi, and the ordinary people of the city joined
them. Europeans were killed in large numbers;
the rich of Delhi were attacked and looted. It
was clear that Delhi had gone out of British
control. Some sepoys rode into the Red Fort,
without observing the elaborate court etiquette
expected of them. They demanded that the
emperor give them his blessings. Surrounded
by the sepoys, Bahadur Shah had no other
option but to comply. The revolt thus acquired
a kind of legitimacy because it could now be
Fig. 10.1
Portrait of Bahadur Shah
carried on in the name of the Mughal emperor.