Bakht Khan

Lore & Background

Bakht Khan was born in 1797 in the Bijnor district of Rohilkhand, in the North-Western Provinces. He served in the East India Company's army, rising to the rank of subedar, the chief native commanding officer, and gained forty years of experience in the Bengal Horse Artillery. He saw action in the First Anglo-Afghan War and was well known to several British officers, including those who later served against him during the Siege of Delhi. One colonel described him as 'a most intelligent character'.

When the Indian Rebellion of 1857 broke out, Bakht Khan was acclaimed as general by sepoys in Bareilly. Hearing of the rebellion in Meerut, he marched to Delhi with a large force of Rohilla sepoys, arriving on 1 July 1857. The city had already been taken by rebels, and Bahadur Shah Zafar had been proclaimed Emperor. The Bareilly Brigade, under Khan, included four regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, one of cavalry, and a battery of artillery. The emperor granted Khan actual authority and the title Saheb-e-Alam Bahadur (Lord Governor General), though Mirza Mughal remained nominal commander-in-chief.

Khan faced severe financial and logistical problems. He obtained authority from the emperor to collect taxes, but the British siege of Delhi, which began on 8 June 1857, tightened. On 14 September, the British captured the Kashmiri Gate; Bahadur Shah fled and surrendered on 20 September against Khan's pleas. Khan left Delhi and joined rebel forces in Lucknow and Shahjahanpur. He was mortally wounded by the British in the last days of the mutiny and died in the Terai plains of Nepal in 1859, having entered there with Begum Hazrat Mahal after Awadh fell under British control.

Reader's Guide

Bakht Khan's significance lies in his role as a key military leader of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, commanding the rebel forces in Delhi during its siege. His forty years of experience in the Bengal Horse Artillery and his reputation among British officers as 'the most intelligent character' highlight his competence. However, his leadership could not overcome the rebels' lack of organization, supplies, and military strength, leading to the fall of Delhi. His legacy is tied to the broader failure of the rebellion, but his actions—marching to Delhi, obtaining tax authority, and resisting British pressure—illustrate the challenges faced by rebel commanders. After the rebellion, he died in Nepal, and an apocryphal claim places his tomb in Pakistan, reflecting contested memory. His story underscores the transition from loyal Company servant to rebel leader, a common trajectory among sepoys in 1857.

Did You Know?

• He was described as 'the most intelligent character' of the rebellion by a British colonel.
• He was granted the title Saheb-e-Alam Bahadur by Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
• An unnamed tomb in Buner district, Pakistan, is apocryphally claimed to be his.