Barrackpore
Meerut
On 8th May, 1857, a special parade was called by Capt. Carmichael Smith in Parade Ground over the dispute regarding the greased cartridges among the sepoys. He ordered them to use the cartridges. 85 soldiers refused to use the cartridges. On 9th May, 1857 the 85 soldiers were called to the Parade Ground. In the presence of other native and British soldiers, their uniforms and muskets were taken away leaving them in vest and shorts. They were shackled. Following this they were paraded all the way to Jail in the sultry heat.
Delhi
Delhi, the capital of India also faced and experienced the sparks of first war of independence. In the year 1857 Delhi was ruled by the Mughals under the kingship of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was a weak administrator. He was far away from the admin work of the dynasty and was more into Urdu poetry. On 11 May 1857 the sepoys entered into Delhi from one of the seven gates of Delhi. The city of Delhi had not yet woken up when a band of sepoys from Meerut, who had defied and killed the European officers the previous day, crossed the Yamuna, set the toll house on fire and marched to the Red Fort. They entered the Red Fort through the Raj Ghat gate, followed by an excited crowd, to appeal to Bahadur Shah II, the Moghul Emperor a pensioner of the British East India Company, who possessed nothing but the name of the mighty Moghuls to become their leader, thus, give legitimacy to their cause. Bahadur Shah vacillated as he was neither sure of the intentions of the sepoys nor of his own ability to play an effective role. He was however persuaded, if not coerced, to give in and was proclaimed the Shahenshah-e-Hindustan.
Lucknow
Lucknow was founded by an Iranian adventurer named Saadat Ali khan in the year 1722. After the death of Saadat Ali Khan, his son Abdul Masoor Khan took over and he was titled “Safdarjang”. As this dynasty moved forward, in the year 1764 this dynasty was ruled by Shuja-Ud-Daulah. He was defeated by the Britishers. This led to entry of Britishers into the land of Awadh and city of Lucknow. After him his son ascended the throne. His name was Nawab Asaf-Ud-Daulah and he contributed the most into developing the city with gardens and monuments. A time came when Lucknow also came to be known as the city of palaces and gardens. Awadh was a very fertile and prosperous province of northern India (modern Uttar Pradesh) with a very high population density. The opulence in the courts of the Nawabs (kings of Awadh) and their prosperity were noticed by the British East India Company. This resulted in the direct interference of the British in internal political matters of Awadh. In 1815, Marquis Hastings of the East India Company persuaded the then ruling Nawab to become an independent king which he did on 8 of October 1819.
Kanpur
On 27 June, Wheeler’s bedraggled garrison, many too sick to walk unaided, climbed upon a number of thatched-roof boats, guided in by helpful mutineers. But then, as the boats prepared to depart, the British were shot at. Flaming arrows set the thatched roofs ablaze and soon bodies, shot or beheaded, clogged up the shallow waters. Those who tried to swim to the opposite shore were caught and hacked to death. Among those killed was Sir Wheeler. The surviving women and children, 210 in number, were spared. Only to later face an even worse ordeal. They were marched back to town and incarcerated in a single-storey house, the Bibighar, the ‘House of Ladies’, built by an Englishman for his Indian mistress. Deprived of sustenance and suffering in the July heat, the prisoners weakened. After over two weeks of torment, on 15 July, Nana Sahib received news that a relieving force of British troops was on its way. Panicked, Nana ordered the women and children killed.
Jhansi
