Bakht Khan

Bakht Khan Rohilla (1797 - 1859) was nominal commander-in-chief of Indian rebel forces in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British East India Company.

Background

Bakht Khan was a Pashtun related to the family of Rohilla chief Najib-ul-Daula, from the a branch of the Yusufzai tribe. He was born in Bijnor in Rohilkhand and later became a subedar 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.

The Rebellion

When sepoys in Meerut revolted against the British in May 1857, Bakht Khan organized the Rohilla sepoys and then left for Delhi.

By the time he arrived at Delhi on July 1 1857, the city had already taken by rebel forces and Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah II proclaimed Emperor of India. The emperor's eldest son Mirza Mughal had been given the titular chief generalship, but Bakht Khan's superior abilities quickly became evident and the emperor gave him actual authority and the title of Saheb-I-Alam Bhadur (Lord Governor General).

The situation around Delhi proceeded to deteriorate rapidly; Bakht Khan's leadership could not compensate for the rebels' lack of organization, supplies and strength on the part of their monarch. Delhi was besieged on June 8. On September 14 the British assaulted the Kashmiri Gate and Badur Shah fled to Humayun's Tomb before surrendering to the British, against Bakht Khan's pleas, on September 20 1857.

Bakht Khan himself fled Delhi and joined rebel forces in Lucknow and Shahjahanpur. In 1857 he was mortally wounded and died unattended in the dense forests of Terai.