Reports were reaching the officers that arms locally made were being purchased and probably secreted in the Lines; the 27th N.I. and 51st N.I. were suspected most. On 28 August, an order was issued that the sepoys were to move out into tents on the plain and precautions were also taken by their officers to meet resistance in case it was offered. About the midday when the work of search was still going on, the sepoys posted at quarterguard in the Lines of 51st N.I. made a sudden rush on Captain Barlett who was supervising the operations.
THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE: NARINJI, JULY 2, 1857 A.D.
Narinji is the mountainous village, strongly situated even for the police to dare going near it. Mawlawi Inayat Ali had been preaching Jihad in the neighbouring area for some time, and a number of people had come under his influence, including the Khan of Panjtar, Muqarrab Khan. The Khan sent a small party of the Revolutionaries, under the command of his cousin, Mir Baz Khan towards Mardan which was attacked by British force from Mardan, Major Vaughan, Commander of the Mardan fort fell upon the tiny group of the Revolutionaries on 2 July and overwhelmed them, killing Mir Baz Khan and other leaders. Jan Muhammad Khan and Malik Zarif were taken prisoners and hanged; two villages were totally burnt and some were put to fire.
THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE: MEERUT, MAY 10, 1857 A.D.
The orders for the parade were given on 23 April for the following morning, only ninety skrimishers from different troops were to attend. Colonel Smyth was informed by the Havildar-Major that the men of the last troop would not receive the catridges. Smyth was, however, determined to see his orders carried out. The parade was held and catridges were served. They were refused by all except five. ' We would get a bad namel ', the excuse was given. On repeated refusal, the Adjutant was ordered to dismiss the men. An enquiry into the matter was ordered.
The attitude of the Sikh States towards the Movement was important; if they had not preferred to cooperate and help the British, the course of the Revolution would have been entirely different. Delhi could not have been recaptured by the British if the line of communications had not been kept open in the Punjab, and the " important service ", was rendered by the Phulian Chiefs. The Revolutionary Government of Delhi had early realized the strategic importance of the territories of the Sikh States, particularly of Patiala. As early as 15 May, 1857, the Emperor had sent a farman to the Maharaja of Patiala. This was followed by several others, because Delhi was fully aware of the help which the British were receiving from these Chiefs.
THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE: LAHORE, JULY 30, 1857 A.D.
The Regiment posted at Mian Mir (Lahore) had been disarmed in May. On July 30, however, they rose, put to death their commanding officer, Major Spencer and escaped, but instead of proceeding Eastwards to Delhi they took the opposite direction. They were engaged by the Tehsildar of Ajnala and detained at the banks of the river until 31 July, when Frederick Cooper, Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, arrived on the scene with a small force. The Revolutionaries were in a sorry plight, famished and footsored, on an island, with no means of defence or escape. Some of them surrendered, and some were brought by the villagers who had seized them, when they were trying to escape. In all Cooper had '500 rebel sepoys' bound in ropes and taken to Ajnala.
The Officer and Sikh comrades fled towards the Europeans as soon as the sepoys started firing. The Multani Horse were ordered to charge; but the sepoys had taken shelter in the verandah, on the battlemented roof of the quarterguard and in their own huts. In a short contest, lasting ten minutes, of the 240 attackers, nine had fallen and 28 were wounded. The Infantry and the Artillery now came to enemy's help. The sepoys resisted the pressure, but were ultimately forced to make for the Lines of the 39th. They could not stay here for long as a Regimental magazine was blown up and then they moved on to the village Saemlee.
Gugera lies on the commercially important route which connects Lahore with Multan and also Sind and Bombay. Precautionary steps were taken by the local authorities as soon as the news of the outbreak of the Revolution had reached them. Despite precaution, the prisoners rose in Revolution on 26 July but savage measures were taken to control them, 51 prisoners were killed and wounded. Ahmad Khan Khurrul, the Chief Leader of the Revolutionaries in this area, was kept under surveillance for sometime and then released.
The public crier still prefaced the proclamation of the Company's orders with the words, " People belong to God, the Empire belongs to the Emperor, and the order is from the Company Bahadur "--the Empire did belong to the Emperor, no matter who governed it on his behalf or even against his will. It was, therefore, obvious that the Emperor would always welcome an opportunity of throwing off the yoke of their control. On the morning of 11 May, 1857, he was suddenly disturbed by the shouts of the troopers. The sawars of the 3rd Light Cavalry of Meerut had crossed Jamuna and were addressing the Emperor from below the walls of the Fort for assistance in their fight for the faith.
With the fall of Mysore state in 1799, the fate of Indians was sealed. States after states were annexed to the British rule. People became frustrated on the ground of inefficient administration, delayed justice, poor economic conditions and artisans' hardship. They wanted freedom from the British. Struggle started. Begum Hazarat Mahal, Khan Bahadur Khan, Maulvi Ahmad Ullah shah, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the Emperor and many more were the main leaders. This concerted action out across all barriers of caste and creed and linguistic and regional prejudice. Indians rose against the colonial domination as one body on 10 May, 1857.
The attempt at establishing undivided rule over the Balkans brought, Mehmed the conqueror, into conflict with Hungary across the Danube, and with Venice in Albania, Greece and the Aegean Sea. The papacy tried to lead the whole of Europe on a crusade in support of these two states. Mehmed led two expeditions into Serbia in 1454 and 1455 and succeeded in making Serbia more firmly a part of the Ottoman Empire. He failed, however, to defeat the Hungarians at Balgrade (1456). In the Morea a violent struggle developed between two princes. The Conqueror succeeded in occupying the Morea.
