On 10 May 1857, the Sepoys of the third cavalry at Meerut openly revolted by swarming the prisons and releasing their comrades. They were immediately joined by the men of the 11th and 20th Native Infantries, and they murdered some English officers and then marched to Delhi. The arrival of Meerut sepoys at Delhi on 11th May and declared of Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of India. Delhi became the centre of the Great Revolt and Bahadur Shah, its symbol.
The revolt spread quickly. There were mutinies at Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Bareilly, Bihar, Faizabad, and many other places in north India. Many of them . found that it was a good opportunity to bum the papers of their landlords. Many others whose titles and pensions were abolished by the British who participated in it, inorder to take revenge. The Muslim leaders and Maulvis sought the opportunity of establishing the Muslim rule in India after turning out the British.
