General Bakht Khan (Aged 62), born in 1797 in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India, was the commander-in-chief of the Indian independent forces in the Delhi region during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company. Bakht Khan’s father was of Rohilla Yousafzai heritage, while his mother was an Awadhi princess. He gained forty years of experience in the Bengal horse artillery and saw action in the First Anglo-Afghan War before becoming a subedar, the chief native commanding officer, in the army of the East India Company.
Prior to the rebellion, Subedar Bakht Khan was well known to a number of British officers, including several who were to serve against him during the siege of Delhi in 1857. One colonel described him as “a most intelligent character” who was “very fond of English society.” When Bakht Khan heard of the rebellion in Meerut, he decided to march to Delhi to support the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar’s army. By the time Bakht Khan arrived in Delhi on 1 July 1857, the Mughal ruler had already been proclaimed Emperor of India.
Bakht Khan’s arrival improved the leadership position. His administrative abilities quickly became evident, and the emperor gave him actual authority and the title of Saheb-e-Alam Bahadur, or Lord Governor General. Although Mirza Zahiruudin was still the commander-in-chief, Khan was the virtual commander of the sepoy forces.
The British assaulted the Kashmiri Gate on 14 September 1857, and Bahadur Shah fled to Humayun’s Tomb before surrendering to the British against Bakht Khan’s pleas on 20 September 1857. Later, Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried on charges of treason and exiled to Rangoon, Burma, where he died in 1862.
Bakht Khan was mortally wounded on 13 May 1859 and died. He was buried in the graveyard of Nanser, then part of Swat and now in District Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. One expert in the matters of Swat history claims that he came to Swat after the war was lost and spent the rest of his life under the protection of Akhund of Swat.
Bakht Khan
(1797 – 1859) – (Uttar Pradesh)
General Bakht Khan (Aged 62), born in 1797 in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India, was the commander-in-chief of the Indian independent forces in the Delhi region during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company. Bakht Khan’s father was of Rohilla Yousafzai heritage, while his mother was an Awadhi princess. He gained forty years of experience in the Bengal horse artillery and saw action in the First Anglo-Afghan War before becoming a subedar, the chief native commanding officer, in the army of the East India Company.
Prior to the rebellion, Subedar Bakht Khan was well known to a number of British officers, including several who were to serve against him during the siege of Delhi in 1857. One colonel described him as “a most intelligent character” who was “very fond of English society.” When Bakht Khan heard of the rebellion in Meerut, he decided to march to Delhi to support the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar’s army. By the time Bakht Khan arrived in Delhi on 1 July 1857, the Mughal ruler had already been proclaimed Emperor of India.
Bakht Khan’s arrival improved the leadership position. His administrative abilities quickly became evident, and the emperor gave him actual authority and the title of Saheb-e-Alam Bahadur, or Lord Governor General. Although Mirza Zahiruudin was still the commander-in-chief, Khan was the virtual commander of the sepoy forces.
The British assaulted the Kashmiri Gate on 14 September 1857, and Bahadur Shah fled to Humayun’s Tomb before surrendering to the British against Bakht Khan’s pleas on 20 September 1857. Later, Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried on charges of treason and exiled to Rangoon, Burma, where he died in 1862.
Bakht Khan was mortally wounded on 13 May 1859 and died. He was buried in the graveyard of Nanser, then part of Swat and now in District Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. One expert in the matters of Swat history claims that he came to Swat after the war was lost and spent the rest of his life under the protection of Akhund of Swat.
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