Indian rebellion of 1857

The term Indian Independence Movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of... ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia. The independence movement saw various national and regional campaigns, agitations and efforts, some nonviolent and others not so. During the first quarter of the 19th century, Rammohan Roy introduced modern education into India. Swami Vivekananda was the chief architect who profoundly projected the rich culture of India to the west at the end of 19th century. Many of the country's political leaders of the 19th and 20th century, including Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, were influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. The first organized militant movements were in Bengal, but they later took to the political stage in the form of a mainstream movement in the then newly formed Indian National Congress , with prominent moderate leaders seeking only their basic right to appear for Indian Civil Service examinations, as well as more rights, economic in nature, for the people of the soil.
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The Battle of Badli-ki-Serai was fought early in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, or First War of Indian Independence as it has since been termed in... Indian histories of the events. A British and Gurkha force defeated a force of sepoys who had rebelled against the British East India Company. The British victory allowed them to besiege and ultimately capture Delhi. Tension between the East India Company and the sepoys of its Bengal Army had been growing for several years, and increased rapidly during 1857. The rebellion finally broke out when the Company attempted to introduce a new Enfield rifle. The cartridges for this were believed by the sepoys to be greased with beef and pork fat. A Hindu soldier who bit the cartridge open to load the rifle would lose caste, and a Moslem soldier would be defiled. The sepoys believed that the Company was attempting to force them to become Christians. The first revolt occurred on 10 May at Meerut, 60 miles north-west of Delhi. After killing many of their British officers and some civilians, three regiments of Bengal infantry and cavalry marched to Delhi.
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The Battle of Aong took place on July 15, 1857, during the Indian rebellion of 1857, between the East India Company forces and Nana Sahib's forces.... The East India Company forces under the command of General Sir Henry Havelock were advancing to Kanpur , which had been besieged by Nana Sahib, supported by the rebel Company sepoys. Nana Sahib had earlier sent an army to check the advance of General Havelock to Kanpur, but it was defeated by Havelock's forces at Fatehpur on July 12. Nana Sahib then sent another force under the command of his brother, Bala Rao. On July 15, the British forces under General Havelock defeated Bala Rao's army in the Battle of Aong, just outside the Aong village. During the battle, Havelock was able to capture some of the rebel soldiers, who informed him that there was an army of 5,000 rebel soldiers with eight artillery pieces further up the road. This enabled Havelock to decide his further strategy.
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The Second Battle of Cawnpore was a battle of Indian rebellion of 1857. It was decisive as it thwarted the rebels' last chance to regain the... initiative and recapture the cities of Kanpur and Lucknow. During the 1857 uprising against the East India Company, Kanpur had fallen to the rebel leader Nana Sahib. The Company forces led by Major General Henry Havelock recaptured the town on 17 July 1857. Soon after he arrived at Cawnpore, Havelock received news that Henry Lawrence, the British Resident in Awadh had died, and that the Company forces were besieged and facing a defeat at Lucknow. Havelock decided to attempt to relieve Lucknow. He fought against the rebel forces blocking his way, winning victories at Unnao and Bashiratganj , though at a high cost in casualties. However, he was soon informed that the Gwalior army had also rebelled against Company rule. Havelock realized that his forces were not strong enough to fight their way to Lucknow, and returned to Cawnpore on 13 August to await reinforcements.
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The Siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged British in Cawnpore were unprepared for an extended siege and... surrendered to rebel Indian forces under Nana Sahib, in return for a safe passage to Allahabad. However, under ambiguous circumstances, their evacuation from Cawnpore turned into a massacre, and most of them were killed. Those captured were later executed, as an East India Company rescue force from Allahabad approached Cawnpore; in what came to be known as the Bibighar Massacre, 120 British women and children captured by the Sepoy forces were hacked to death and dismembered with meat cleavers, with the remains being thrown down a nearby well in an attempt to hide the evidence. Following the recapture of Cawnpore and the discovery of the massacre, the outraged British forces engaged in widespread retaliatory counter-atrocities against the captured rebel Indian soldiers and civilians. The murders greatly embittered the British rank-and-file against the Sepoy rebels and inspired the war cry "Remember Cawnpore!". Cawnpore was an important garrison town for the East India Company forces.
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