He as a man was very unlike his famous predecesors, not being very brave when the time called for it nor was he a general who could organize his soldiers and lead them to battle being very much a poet at heart.Think about 1856, the Indians working at that time for the British Army faced a lot of social barriers and prejudices which were nearly impossible for them to overcome mainly because of their social status, traditions and their deep beleif in their faith. It was rumoured then that even more additional Indian soldiers were going to be recruited in Burma where they could not follow the rules of their religion. In addition to this a lot of Christian missionary efforts on part of the British among the Indian soldiers was to receive official backing and full support. If Anti-British feeling was not at it's full height now, the next incident by the Britisher's led to the uprising. The British had developed a new type of cartridge which was rumoured to be greased with oil from the fat of animals. For the Hindus, the cow was and still is sacred to them and for it to be used in such a way was an insult to their whole religion and for the Muslims the use of pig fat was repelling enough and also for them to even come in contact with it stood totally against their religion.
The start of the uprising was in Meerut on the 10th of May, 1857, when violence broke out between the Indian soldiers serving the British Army with Mangal Pandey shooting dead his commanding officer for forcing them to use the controversial rifles. The Indian solidiers constituted approximately 290,000 of the 300,000 British Army with the highest positions occupied by the British Generals. Since the number of Indians within the army was so high, the violence against the British quickly spread with all the local deposed prince's joining in hoping to get some of their lost legacies and lands back. Delhi, the capital of India was captured after a bloody battle on the famous ridge of Badli Sari overlooking the city and Bahadur Shah Zafar was proclaimed the Emperor of India. On the 8th of June, a British relief force led by John Nicholson recaptured Delhi after 6 days of street fighting. All of Bahadur Shah Zafar's male relatives were executed including his two sons, to make sure no male heir could lay claim to the throne and the emperor himself was exiled to Burma where he later died in captivity.
The rebellion had also spread to other parts of India and despite having the loyalty of the Sikh troops and the Gurkha's it wasn't until April 1859 that the mutiny was supressed after the capture and execution of the Maratha General Tatya Tope.
I have to also mention Rani Lakshmi Bai, the Rani(Queen) of Jhansi who symbolised the bravery of Indian women and their sacrifices for their country. Without any leader to stand up against the British, the revolt was soon pacified.I think one of the major reasons for the failure of the revolt was the decision of the Sikh soldiers to remain loyal to the British throughout because they had been captured seven years before by the British with the help of the Indian soldiers and also the fact that the most powerful native empire's remained neutral and would only change their position if the rebellion spread to their parts.
The failure of this uprising sealed India's fate as a British colony for the next 100 years with the British Crown assuming control from the East India Company in August of 1858 and Queen Victoria being pronounced the Empress of India in 1877. India was finally Independent on the 15th of August, 1947.
I will also include the poem (I'm sorry for not transalting it for those who don't know Hindi or Urdu, because I just feel I can't do justice to these beautiful words by transaltating them as I'm not that capable) Bahadur Shah Zafar wrote when he was in a state of exile in Burma knowing his family was all dead and he would never see home again.
"Lagta nahin hain dil mera, ujde dayar mein,
kiski bani hain aan mein, na paayedar mein,
kah do in hasraton sein, kahin aur jaa base,
itni jagah kahan hain, dil zar zar mein,
Umre daraz maang ke, laaye the char din,
do aarzo mein kat gaye, do intezaar mein,
do aarzo mein kat gaye, do intezaar mein,
itna hain badnaseeb Zafar,
dafan ke liye,
do gaz zameen bhi na mili,
kuen yaar mein,
lagta nahin hain dil mera, ujde dayar mein"
