Nana Saheb

Nana Saheb was one of the most influential rulers after the reign of Shivaji. He was also called Balaji
Bajirao. When Chattrapati Shahu died in 1749 he made the Peshwas the rulers of the Maratha
Empire. He did not have an heir to his kingdom so he appointed the brave Peshwas as the heir to
his kingdom,
Nana Saheb had two brothers, Raghunathrao and Janardan. Raghunathrao betrayed the Marathas
by joining hands with the British, and Janardan, died in his early youth. Nana Saheb ruled the
Maratha kingdom for 20 years (1740 to 1761).

Being a ruler of the Maratha Empire, Nana Saheb contributed heavily to the development of the city
of Pune. During his reign, he totally changed Poona from a village into a city. He gave the city a new
look by establishing new neighborhoods, temples, and bridges. He also set up a reservoir in the
town of Katraj. Nana Saheb was a very ambitious ruler and a man with a multifaceted personality. In
1741, his uncle Chimnaji died, as a result he returned from the northern districts and spent about a
year to improve the civil administration of Pune. In the Deccan, the period from 1741 to 1745 was
considered a period of calm and peace. He encouraged agriculture, gave protection to the villagers
and brought a considerable improvement in the state.

In 1761, at the third Battle of Panipat, the Marathas were defeated against Ahmedshah Abdali, who
was a great from Afganistan warrior. Marathas tried to save Mughal rule and also their power in the
north. In the battle Nanasaheb's cousin, Sadashivrao Bhau (the son of Chimaji Appa), and his eldest
son, Vishwasrao, were killed. The early demise of his son and cousin was a severe shock for him.
After that Nana Saheb also did not survive for a long period. His second son Madhavrao Peshwa
succeeded to the throne after his death.

Mangal Pandey
Mangal Pandey, (born July 19, 1827, Akbarpur, India—died April 8, 1857, Barrackpore), Indian
soldier, whose attack on British officers on March 29, 1857, was the first major incident of what came
to be known as the Indian, or Sepoy, Mutiny (in India the uprising is often called the First War of
Independence and other similar names).
Pandey was born in a town near Faizabad in what is now eastern Uttar Pradesh state in northern
India, although some give his birth place as a small village near Lalitpur (in present-day
southwestern Uttar Pradesh). He was from a high-caste Brahman landowning family that professed
strong Hindu beliefs. Pandey joined the army of the British East India Company in 1849, some
accounts suggesting that he was recruited by a brigade that marched past him. He was made a
soldier (sepoy) in the 6th Company of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry, which included a large
number of Brahmans. Pandey was ambitious and viewed his profession as a sepoy as a stepping-
stone to future success.
Pandey’s career ambitions, however, came into conflict with his religious beliefs. While he was
posted at the garrison in Barrackpore in the mid-1850s, a new Enfield rifle was introduced into India
that required a soldier to bite off the ends of greased cartridges in order to load the weapon. A
rumour spread that the lubricant used was either cow or pig lard, which was repugnant to Hindus or
Muslims, respectively. The belief arose among the sepoys that the British had deliberately used the
lard on the cartridges.
There have been various accounts of the events of March 29, 1857. However, the general
agreement is that Pandey attempted to incite his fellow sepoys to rise up against their British
officers, attacked two of those officers, attempted to shoot himself after having been restrained, and
eventually was overpowered and arrested. Some contemporary reports suggested that he was
under the influence of drugs—possibly cannabis or opium—and was not fully aware of his actions.
Pandey was soon tried and sentenced to death. His execution (by hanging) was set for April 18, but
British authorities, fearing the outbreak of a large-scale revolt if they waited until then, moved the
date up to April 8. Resistance to the use of Enfield cartridges later that month in Meerut led to the
outbreak of a revolt there in May and the start of the larger insurrection.
In India, Pandey has been remembered as a freedom fighter against British rule. A commemorative
postage stamp with his image on it was issued by the Indian government in 1984. In addition, a
movie and stage play that depicted his life both appeared in 2005.

Bahadur Shah Zafar

Bahadur Shah Zafar, also known as Bahadur Shah II, was the last Mughal emperor of India who
reigned from 1837 to 1857 for a period of 20 years. As the second son of Akbar Shah II and Lal Bai,
he was not his father’s original choice to ascend the throne. However, circumstances ultimately led
to his ascension to the throne after his father’s death. Even as an emperor he did not rule over a
large empire; his empire barely extended beyond Delhi's Red Fort. By that time the East India
Company was gaining political power in India and the emperor was no longer accorded any real
power over the country which had by now fragmented into hundreds of kingdoms and principalities.
He was not a very ambitious ruler and thus the British believed that he posed no real threat to them.
However, Zafar did play a prominent role during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, fighting for India’s
independence from British Rule. Though most famous for being the last Mughal emperor, Zafar was
also a very talented Urdu poet and musician in his own right. He had written a large number of
ghazals and his court was home to several Urdu writers of great repute including Mirza Ghalib,
Dagh, Mumin, and Zauq.

Childhood & Early Life

 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.
 He developed a love for poetry from two of his teachers, Ibrahim Zauq and Asad Ullah
Khan Ghalib. He was not much ambitious from childhood and had more interest in
Sufism, music and literature than in the political matters of the country.

Lakshmi Bai

Rani Lakshmi Bai was one of the leading warriors of the India's first struggle for independence. A
symbol of bravery, patriotism and honour, Rani Lakshmi Bai was born on 19 November 1828 at
Poona. Her actual name was Manikarnika. Her father Moropant Tabme was a court advisor, and
mother Bhagirathi was a scholarly woman. At a very early age she lost her mother. Her father raised
her in an unconventional way and supported her to learn to ride elephants and horses and also to
use weapons effectively. She grew up with Nana Sahib and Tatya Tope, who were active
participants in the first revolt of independence.

In 1842, Rani Lakshmi Bai got married to Raja Gangadhar Rao who was the Maharaja of Jhansi.
After her marriage, she came to be known as Lakshmi Bai. In 1851, she gave birth to a son but
unfortunately he died in his fourth month. After this tragic incident, Damodar Rao was adopted by the
Maharaja of Jhansi as his son. Moved by the death of his son and his poor health, Maharaja
Gangadhar Rao also died on 21 November 1853. When the Maharaja died, Rani Lakshmi Bai was
just eighteen years old, but she didn't lose her courage and took up her responsibility.

Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India at that time, was a very shrewd person who tried to
take advantage of the misfortune of Jhansi to expand the British Empire. The British rulers did not
accept little Damodar Rao, as the legal heir of late Maharaja Gangadhar Rao and Rani Lakshmi Bai.
Their plan was to annex Jhansi on the ground that it did not have any legal heir. In March 1854, Rani
of Jhansi was granted an annual pension of 60,000 and was ordered to leave the Jhansi fort. She
was firm on the decision not to give up the dominion of Jhansi to the British.

For strengthening the defence of Jhansi, Rani Lakshmi Bai assembled an army of rebellions, which
also included women. For this great cause she was supported by brave warriors like Gulam Gaus
Khan, Dost Khan, Khuda Baksh, Sunder-Mundar, Kashi Bai, Lala Bhau Bakshi, Moti Bai, Deewan
Raghunath Singh and Deewan Jawahar Singh. She assembled 14,000 rebels and organised an
army for the defence of the city.

In March 1858, when the British attacked Jhansi, Rani Lakshmi Bai's army decided to fight and the
war continued for about two weeks. The army fought very bravely, even though Jhansi lost to the
British forces. After a fierce war when the British army entered Jhansi, Rani Lakshmi Bai, tied her
son Damodar Rao to her back and fought bravely using two swords in both her hands. She escaped
to the fortress of Kalpi under the cover of darkness and was accompanied by many other rebellions.
She departed to Gwalior and a fierce battle was fought between the British and the Rani's army. On
the unfortunate day of 17 June of 1858, this great warrior martyred her life for India's freedom.

TATYA TOPE
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.

Of the very large number of freedom fighters, who led the struggle, four are being commemorated
through the present series, which is a part of the larger series on India's Struggle for Freedom.

Tatya Tope also known as Ram Chandra Pandurang was born in 1814 at village Gola in
Maharashtra. His father, Pandurang Rao Tope was an important noble at the court of the Peshwa
Baji Rao-II. He shifted his family with the ill-fated Peshwa to Bithur where his son became the most
intimate friend of the Peshwa's adopted son, Nana Dhundu Pant, known as Nana Saheb.

In 1851, when Lord Dalhousie deprived Nana Saheb of his father's pension, Tatya Tope also
became a sworn enemy of the British. In May 1857, when the political storm was gaining
momentum, he won over the Indian troops of the East India Company, stationed at Kanpur,
established Nana Saheb's authority and became the Commander-in-Chief of his revolutionary
forces.
After the reoccupation of Kanpur and separatoni from Nana Saheb, Tatya Tope shifted his
headquarters to Kalpi to join hands with Rani Lakshmi Bai and led a revolt in Bundelkhand. He was
routed at Betwa, Koonch, and Kalpi, but reached Gwalior and declared Nana Saheb as Peshwa with
the support of the Gwalior contingent. Before he could consolidate his position he was defeated by
General Rose in a memorable battle in which Rani Lakshmi Bai suffered martyrdom.

After losing Gwalior to the British, he launched a successful guerilla campaign in the Sagar and
Narmada regions and in Khandesh and Rajasthan. The British forces failed to subdue him for over a
year. He was, however, betrayed into the hands of the British by his trusted friend Man Singh, Chief
of Narwar, while asleep in his camp in the Paron forest. He was captured and taken to Sipri where
he was tried by a military court and executed at the gallows on April 18, 1859.