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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Indian revolutionary (1797-1859)}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = General Bakht Khan<br />
| image = General Bakht Khan.jpg<br />
| caption = General Bakht Khan<br />
| birth_date = {{birth year|1797}}<ref name=GoogleBooks/><br />
| death_date = 13 May {{death year and age|1859|1797}}<ref name=GoogleBooks/><br />
| birth_place = [[Bijnor, Rohilkhand]], [[Maratha Confederacy]]<ref name=GoogleBooks/><br />
| death_place = [[Buner]], [[ Yusufzai State of Swat ]] (today [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Pakistan]])<br />
| occupation = [[Subedar]] in the [[Honourable East India Company|British East India Company]], Commander-in-chief of Indian Rebels under Mughal Emperor<ref name=GoogleBooks/><br />
| known for = Indian Revolution of 1857<br />
}}<br />
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'''[[General officer|General]] Bakht Khan''' (1797–13 May 1859) was commander-in-chief of the Indian independent forces in the region of Delhi during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] against the [[East India Company]].<ref name=GoogleBooks>[https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=fms4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT39&lpg=PT39&dq=bakht+khan+freedom+fighter&source=bl&ots=p6vyWOedBB&sig=U1x3TaSmPh8r6FBMn0iMOyIGG5g&hl=en&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwinjqCgzKnKAhUIcI4KHR_PADAQ6AEIYTAO#v=onepage&q=bakht%20khan%20freedom%20fighter&f=false Profile of Bakht Khan on GoogleBooks] Retrieved 1 January 2018</ref><ref name=Tribune>[http://tribune.com.pk/story/109675/bakht-khan-shrouded-by-the-sands-of-time/ Bakht Khan: shrouded by the sands of time] The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 27 January 2011, Retrieved 1 January 2018</ref><br />
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==Life story==<br />
General Bakht Khan was of [[Rohilla|Rohilla Yousafzai]] heritage on his father's side while his mother was an [[Oudh State|Awadhi]] princess.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hussain |first1=Sayyid Mahdi |title=Bahadur Shah II and the war of 1857 |page=230}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=William |first1=Dalrymple |title=The last Mughal : the fall of a dynasty, Delhi, 1857 |date=2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=1408800926 |page=284}}</ref> He was born in [[Bijnor]] in [[Rohilkhand]] and later became a [[subedar]], the chief native commanding officer, in the army of the [[East India Company]], gaining forty years of experience in the Bengal horse [[artillery]] and seeing action in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]].<ref name=Tribune/><br />
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Before 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 being "a most intelligent character" who was "very fond of English society".<ref>{{cite book|first=William|last=Dalrymple|page=[https://archive.org/details/lastmughalfallof0000dalr/page/285 285]|title=The Last Mughal|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7475-8726-2|url=https://archive.org/details/lastmughalfallof0000dalr/page/285}}</ref><br />
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==The revolt==<br />
[[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] started when a group of [[sepoys]] rebelled against the introduction of rifle cartridges that were allegedly greased with pig or beef fat. This offended both Muslim soldiers, who did not eat pork and Hindu soldiers, who did not eat beef. The uprising spread rapidly in the surrounding areas of Delhi against the British.<ref name=Tribune/><ref name=Dawn>[https://www.dawn.com/news/681169 Time check: British India War of independence] Dawn (newspaper), Published 17 December 2011, Retrieved 1 January 2018</ref><br />
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With the outbreak of the mutiny in [[Bareilly]], Subhedar Bahadur Khan had been acclaimed as general by the [[sepoys]] involved. When Bakht Khan heard of the rebellion in [[Meerut]], he decided to march to [[Delhi]] to support the [[Mughal emperors|Mughal emperor]] Bahadur Shah Zafar's army. <br />
By the time Bakht Khan arrived at Delhi on 1 July 1857, with a large number of [[Rohilla]] sepoys, the city had already been taken by rebel forces and the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] ruler [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]] had been proclaimed [[Emperor of India]].<ref name=Tribune/> The Bareilly Brigade led by Bakht Khan included four regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, one of cavalry and a battery of artillery. The appearance of this substantial reinforcement, marching in good order, dismayed the British besieging Delhi and impressed Bahadur Shah Zafar. Bakht and his officers were quickly summoned to meet with the emperor.<ref>{{cite book|first=Saul|last=David|page=272|title=The Indian Mutiny|date=4 September 2003|isbn=0-141-00554-8}}</ref><br />
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The emperor's eldest son, [[Mirza Mughal]], also called Mirza Zahiruddin, had been given the title of chief general, but this prince had no military experience. <ref>{{cite book|first=William|last=Dalrymple|page=[https://archive.org/details/lastmughalfallof0000dalr/page/287 287]|title=The Last Mughal|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7475-8726-2|url=https://archive.org/details/lastmughalfallof0000dalr/page/287}}</ref> This was the moment when Bakht Khan along with his forces arrived in Delhi. With his arrival, the leadership position did improve. Bakht Khan's administrative abilities quickly became evident, and the emperor gave him actual authority and the title of ''Saheb-e-Alam Bahadur'', or Lord Governor General. Khan was virtual commander of the sepoy forces, although Mirza Zahiruudin was still the commander-in-chief.<ref name=Tribune/><br />
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Bakht Khan faced many problems which needed his immediate attention. The first and foremost problem was financial, to solve it he obtained from the Emperor authority to collect taxes. The second problem was the logistical one of supplies, which became more and more acute with the passage of time and even more so when British forces assaulted the city in September 1857. The British had many spies and agents in the city and were constantly pressuring Bahadur Shah to surrender. The situation around Delhi proceeded to deteriorate rapidly; Bakht Khan's leadership could not compensate for the rebels' lack of organization, supplies and military strength.<ref name=Dawn/> Delhi was [[Siege of Delhi|besieged]] by the British on 8 June 1857. On 14 September, the British captured the ''Kashmiri Gate'' and Bahadur Shah fled to [[Humayun's Tomb]] before surrendering to the British (against Bakht Khan's pleas) on 20 September. The emperor was arrested, and his sons [[Mirza Abu Bakr (Mughal prince)|Mirza Abu Bakr]] and [[Mirza Khizr Sultan]] were executed by the British. In the aftermath of the city's capture, the victorious troops sacked the city for several days before order was eventually restored.<ref name=Tribune/><ref name=Dawn1/><br />
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Bakht Khan himself left Delhi and joined rebel forces in [[Lucknow]] and [[Shahjahanpur]].<ref name=GoogleBooks/> Later, Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried on the charges of treason and exiled to [[Rangoon]], [[Burma]] where he died in 1862.<ref name=Dawn/><ref name=Dawn1>[https://www.dawn.com/news/686078 Time check: British India: Bahadur Shah Zafar] Dawn (newspaper), Published 6 January 2012, Retrieved 1 January 2018</ref><br />
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==Burial==<br />
On 13 May 1859, he was mortally wounded and died. He was buried in the graveyard of Nanser, then part of Swat; now in District [[Buner]], [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] Province of Pakistan. One expert in the matters of [[Swat, Pakistan|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]].<ref name=Tribune/><br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* {{EI3|last=Metcalf|first=Thomas|title=Bakht Khān|year=2009|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/bakht-khan-COM_23321?s.num=53&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-3&s.start=40&s.q=dynasty+india}}<br />
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{{Indian independence movement}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakht Khan}}<br />
[[Category:1797 births]]<br />
[[Category:1859 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:People of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]<br />
[[Category:Revolutionaries of the Indian Rebellion of 1857]]<br />
[[Category:Indian people of Pashtun descent]]<br />
[[Category:People from Bijnor]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Pashtun people]]<br />
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:People from Bijnor district]]</div>2600:8806:403:5100:3137:67D6:19B5:F7F9