Tatya Tope

Ramachandra Pandurang Tope (1814 18 April 1859) was an Indian leader in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and one of its notable generals. He is
better known by his nickname Tatya Tope, which is also transliterated as Tantya Tope or Tantia Topi.[1]
A personal adherent of Nana Sahib of Bithur, he progressed with the Gwalior contingent after the British reoccupied Kanpur and forced General
Windham to retreat from the city. Later on, he came to the relief of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and with her seized the city of Gwalior. However, he was
defeated by General Napier's British Indian troops at Ranod and after a further defeat at Sikar abandoned the campaign.[2]He was executed by the
British Government at Shivpuri on 18 April 1859.

To know the core principle of freedom fight of 1857, we need to understand one aspect of Tatya Topes life with minute details. After
we lost this battle, Tatya Tope was fighting it for following ten months like a guerilla war, feinting, parrying, with sudden raids, he
harried the British army. Sometimes he used to come in the range of enemy attack and his army also used to get routed.

The First War of Independence (1857-58) was the first general widespread uprising against the rule of the
British East India Company. The Doctrine of Lapse, issue of cartridges greased with animal fat to Indian
soldiers, introduction of British system of education and a number of social reforms had infuriated a very wide
section of the Indian people, who rose in revolt at a number of places all over India. The East India Company
was brought under the direct rule of the British Crown as a result of this uprising.

Nana Sahib
Nana Sahib (born 19 May 1824 disappeared 1857), born as Dhondu Pant, was an Indian Maratha aristocrat and fighter, who led the rebellion in
Cawnpore (Kanpur) during the 1857 uprising. As the adopted son of the exiled Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II, he was entitled to a pension from
the English East India Company. The Company's refusal to continue the pension after his father's death, as well as what he perceived as high-handed
policies, compelled him to revolt and seek freedom from company rule in India. He forced the British garrison in Cawnpore to surrender, then murdered
the survivors, gaining control of Cawnpore for a few days. He later disappeared, after his forces were defeated by a British force that recaptured
Cawnpore.
Balaji Baji Rao was one of the most renowned Peshwas of the Maratha Empire who was well remembered in the history for his
phenomenal achievements that are multifarious in nature. Besides military achievements and able support rendered to the empire
in expansion and administration, he has also recorded a notable contribution to the development of the Maratha Empire in several
ways.

The First War of Independence (1857-58) was the first general widespread uprising against the rule of the British East
India Company. The Doctrine of Lapse, issue of cartridges greased with animal fat to Indian soldiers, introduction of
British system of education and a number of social reforms had infuriated a very wide section of the Indian people,
who rose in revolt at a number of places all over India. The East India Company was brought under the direct rule of
the British Crown as a result of this uprising.]

Rani of Jhansi
Lakshmibai was born on 19 November 1828 [2][3][4][5] in the holy town of Varanasi into a Marathi Brahmin family.[6][7] She was named Manikarnika
and was nicknamed Manu.[8] Her father was Moropant Tambe (a retainer of Chimnaji Appa, the brother of Baji Rao) [9] and her mother
Bhagirathi Sapre (Bhagirathi Bai). Her parents came from Maharashtra. Her mother died when she was four. Her father worked for a

court Peshwa of Bithoor district who brought up Manikarnika like his own daughter.[10] The Peshwa called her "Chhabili", which means
"playful". She was educated at home and was more independent in her childhood than others of her age; her studies included shooting,

horsemanship, and fencing.

She was born on November 19, 1828 in Kashi (present day Varanasi) to Moropanth Tambe, a court adviser, and his wife, Bhagirathi Sapre, an intelligent
and religious lady. Her parents belonged to the Maharashtrian Brahmin community.
Her childhood name was Mannikarnika (Manu). She lost her mother at the age of four and the complete responsibility of young Manu fell on her father.
She grew up with Nana Sahib and Tatya Topethe three of them would eventually become active participants in Indias first war of independence.

On 7th March 1854, the British issued a gazette dissolving the State of Jhansi. Rani Lakshmibai was enraged due to the injustice
when an English officer, Major Ellis came to meet Lakshmibai. He read out the official declaration dissolving the State. The furious
Rani Lakshmibai told Ellis Meri Jhansi Nahin Doongi (I shall not part with my Jhansi) when he sought her permission to leave. Ellis
heard her and left. Battle of 1857 The battle for freedom that started from January 1857 engulfed even Meerut on 10th May.

Begum Hazrat Mahal

Begum Hazrat Mahal (Urdu: ; c. 1820 7 April 1879), also known as Begum of Awadh, was the first wife of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.
She rebelled against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After her husband had been exiled to Calcutta, she took
charge of the affairs in the state of Awadh and seized control of Lucknow. She also arranged for her son, Prince Birjis Qadra, to become Wali (ruler) of
Awadh; However, he was forced to abandon this role after a short reign. She finally found asylum in Nepal where she died in 1879
She was born as Muhammadi Khanum in 1820 in Faizabad, Awadh, India, to a poor Syed family, descendants of
Prophet Muhammad.
She was a courtesan by profession and after being sold by her parents, she was taken into the royal harem as a khawasin.
Later she was sold to Royal agents and was promoted to be a pari.

The First War of Independence (1857-58) was the first general widespread uprising against the
rule of the British East India Company. The Doctrine of Lapse, issue of cartridges greased with
animal fat to Indian soldiers, introduction of British system of education and a number of social
reforms had infuriated a very wide section of the Indian people, who rose in revolt at a number of
places all over India. The East India Company was brought under the direct rule of the British
Crown as a result of this uprising

Kunwar Singh
Kunwar Singh was born in November 1777 to Raja Shahabzada Singh and Rani Panchratan Devi, in Jagdispur of the Shahabad (now Bhojpur) District,
in the state of Bihar. He belonged to the UjjainiyaRajput clan. He married the daughter of Raja Fateh Naraiyan Singh (a Mewari Sisodiya Rajput), a
wealthy zamindar of Gaya district, Bihar and a descendant of Maharana Pratap of Mewar.
Kunwar Singh led the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Bihar. He was nearly eighty and in failing health when he was called upon to take up arms. He gave a
good fight and harried British forces for nearly a year and remained invincible until the end. He was an expert in the art of guerilla warfare. His tactics
left British puzzled!.[1]
Veer Kunwar Singh was a brave freedom fighter who fought in the first freedom struggle in 1857, against the British Regime, at the age of 80 years. Fighting
against British, he is the only freedom fighter in the world who had offered his injured hand to the river Ganga after receiving shot in the arm, fired by the British
army .Jagdishpur, is a famous village under the then Shahabad District (at present Bhojpur) situated at a distance of 25 K.M. from the District Head Quarter, Ara.,
Where Babu Veer Kunwar Singh born .His father name was SAHEBJADA SINGH and mother name was PANNCHRATNA KUNWARI.His younger brother name
was AMMER SINGH , also a brave freedom fighter who fought in the first freedom struggle in 1857 with Veer Kunwar Singh.

It was about 1777 AD and was destined to die a hero in the Great Rising of 1857.When the people of all parts of India rose against
British authority in 1857, Babu Kunwar Singh was already past his prime being nearly eighty years old. In that age, he fought against
the British East India Company. Despite his age and failing health, when the call to fight came, Kunwar Singh plunged into the thick
of it and for nearly a year battled against the British forces with grim determination and undaunted courage.
In Bihar, Kunwar Singh was the Chieftain against the British. He assumed command of the soldiers who had revolted at Danapur on
5th July. Two days later he occupied Arrah, the district headquarters. Major Vincent Eyre relieved the town on 3rd August, defeated
Kunwar Singh's force and destroyed Jagdishpur. Kunwar Singh left his ancestral village and reached Lucknow in December 1857.

Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last Mughal emperor. He became the successor to his father, Akbar II with his
death on 28 September 1837. He used Zafar,(translation: victory) a part of his name, [1] for his nom de plume (takhallus) as an Urdu poet, and wrote
many Urdu ghazals. He was a nominal Emperor, as the Mughal Empire existed in name only and his authority was limited only to the city of
Delhi(Shahjahanbad). Following his involvement in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British exiled him to Rangoon in British-controlled Burma, after
convicting him on conspiracy charges in a kangaroo court.

He was born on October 24, 1775, as one of the 14 sons of Mughal emperor Akbar II. His mother was a Hindu Rajput, Lal Bai. His full
name was Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar.

As a young boy he received education in Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Being a prince, he was also trained in the military arts of
horsemanship, swordsmanship, shooting with bow and arrow and with fire-arms.

Bahadur Shah Zafar presided over a Mughal Empire that only ruled the city Delhi. The Maratha Empire had brought an end to the Mughal Empire in the
18th century and the regions of India under Mughal rule had either been absorbed by the Marathas or declared independence and turned into smaller
kingdoms. The Marathas installed Shah Alam II in the throne in 1772, under the protection of the Maratha general Mahadaji Shinde and maintained
suzerainty over Mughal affairs in Delhi. TheEast India Company became the dominant political and military power in mid-nineteenth century India.
Outside the region controlled by the Company, hundreds of kingdoms and principalities, fragmented their land. The emperor was respected by