Bakht Khan

General Bakht Khan (1797–1859) was the commander-in-chief of the Indian rebel forces in the city of Delhi during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company.

Khan was born in 1797 and died in 1859. He was born in the region of United Provinces (Rohilkhand) in the district of Bijnor. Later, in the army of the East India Company, he became a subedar (the chief native commanding officer). He gained forty years of experience in the Bengal Horse Artillery. Khan was popular among the British Officers before he became a rebel. He was even familiar with those officers who were to serve against him during the blockade of Delhi in 1857. He was described as the “most intelligent character” of the rebellion by British officers. He suffered a financial crisis during the time of war. After being deported from Delhi, he was wounded by the British during the time of rebellion and died in the Terai plains of Nepal in 1859.

Early life Bakht Khan was a native of Bijnor in Rohilkhand, he 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.

Before the rebellion, Bakht Khan was well known to several 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".

The revolt

The 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.

With the outbreak of the mutiny in Bareilly, Subedar 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 emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar's army. By the time Bakht Khan arrived at Delhi on 1 July 1857, with a large number of Rohilla sepoys, rebel forces had already taken the city and the Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar had been proclaimed Emperor of India.

The emperor's eldest son, Mirza Mughal, also called Mirza Zahir-ud-din, had been given the title of chief general, but this prince had no military experience. 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 granted him actual authority and the title of Saheb-e-Alam Bahadur, or Lord Governor General. Khan was the virtual commander of sepoy forces, although Mirza Zahir-ud-din was still the commander-in-chief.

Death After being forced out of Delhi, he was mortally wounded by the British in the last days of the mutiny and died in the Terai plains of Nepal in 1859 which he is said to have entered along with Begum Hazrat Mahal in 1858/1859 after Awadh came under British control.

An unnamed tomb in the graveyard of Nanser village in Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan has been apocryphally claimed by local historians to be that of Khan, who say that he came to the region after the war was lost and spent the rest of his life under the protection of Akhund of Swat.