Siege of Delhi

The Siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian rebellion of 1857.

The rebellion against the authority of the East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass uprising by the sepoys of the units of the Army which the company had itself raised in its Bengal Presidency (which actually covered a vast area from Assam to Peshawar). Seeking a symbol around which to rally, the first sepoys to rebel sought to reinstate the power of the Mughal Empire, which had ruled much of India during the previous centuries. Lacking overall direction, many who subsequently rebelled also flocked to Delhi.

This made the siege decisive for two reasons. Firstly, large numbers of rebels were committed to the defence of a single fixed point, perhaps to the detriment of their prospects elsewhere, and their defeat at Delhi was thus a very major military setback. Secondly, the British recapture of Delhi and the refusal of the aged Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II to continue the struggle, deprived the rebellion of much of its national character. Although the rebels still held large areas, there was little co-ordination between them and the British were inevitably able to overcome them separately.

Siege of Delhi (1804)

The Siege of Delhi (8 – 19 October 1804) was conducted by the Maratha leader Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar against forces the British East India Company that were defending Delhi during the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Holkar's force of 60,000 cavalry and 15,000 infantry confronted the British commanded by Lt. Col.s Ochterlony and Burn. "The important gates - Ajmeri Gate, Kashmiri Gate, and Lahori Gate - saw stiff fighting." Holkar abandoned the siege after reinforcements led by Gerard Lake arrived on 18 Sept.

References

Battle of Delhi (1757)

The Battle of Delhi, 1757 was a battle fought on 11 August 1757 between Maratha Empire under the command of Raghunath Rao and Rohilla Afghans under Najib-ud-Daula. The battle was waged by the Marathas for the control of Delhi, the former Mughal capital which was now under the control of Rohilla chief Najib-ud-Daula, as a consequence of fourth invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Background

Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded North India for the fourth time in early 1757. He entered Delhi in January 1757 and kept the Mughal emperor under arrest. On his return in April 1757, Abdali re-installed the Mughal emperor Alamgir II on Delhi throne as a titular head. However, the actual control of Delhi was given to Najib-ud-Daula, who had promised to pay an annual tribute to of 20 lakh rupees to Abdali. Najib had also assisted Abdali in his fourth invasion and had already won the trust of the Afghan emperor. It can be said that he worked as the agent of Abdali in Delhi court. So, Najib was now the de facto ruler of Delhi with Alamgir II as a puppet emperor in his control.

Delhi

Delhi (/ˈdɛli/, Hindustani pronunciation: [d̪ɪlliː] Dilli), officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi, is the capital territory of India. Delhi is historically and culturally connected to both the Upper Doab of the Yamuna-Ganges river system and the Punjab region. It is bordered by Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh to the east. It is the largest city in India in terms of geographical area - about 1,484 square kilometres (573 sq mi). It has a population of about 16.3 million, making it the second most populous city and second most populous urban agglomeration in India and 3^rd largest urban area in the world. Such is the nature of urban expansion in Delhi that its growth has expanded beyond the NCT to incorporate towns in neighbouring states and at its largest extent can count a population of about 25 million residents as of 2014.

Delhi has been continuously inhabited since the 6th century BC. Through most of its history, Delhi has served as a capital of various kingdoms and empires. It has been captured, ransacked and rebuilt several times, particularly during the medieval period, and modern Delhi is a cluster of a number of cities spread across the metropolitan region.

Delhi, Ontario

Delhi (pronounced DEL-High) is a former township (now an unincorporated community) located off of the junction of Ontario Highways 59 and 3. Delhi is known as the "Heart of Tobacco Country." Prior to 1880, this community was known for its lumber industry.

Founded by Frederick Sovereign as Sovereign's Corners around 1826, the community was renamed Fredericksburg and eventually to its present-day name of Delhi. The name is usually attributed locally to a postmaster honouring a major city of the British Empire, Delhi, India.

History

Delhi Cemetery was first established sometime in the 19th century. While it was originally a cemetery exclusively for residents who were religiously involved in the Roman Catholic Church, changes in cemetery policy made it possible to have anyone buried or interned on their property. At least 111 people and/or families hold their final resting place here. The last names of the graves belong to different ethnic groups ranging from Anglo-Saxon, French Canadian, Eastern European, and those of Belgian descent. There are even few Chinese families buried within the cemetery and a wide amount of tombstones are written in languages other than English.

Ethnic groups in Delhi

Delhi's ethnic groups are diverse. During the British Raj, Delhi was a district city of the Punjab Province of British India and is still historically and culturally connected to the Punjab region. The Yamuna river was the historical boundary between the Punjab and the rest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and its flood plains provide fertile alluvial soil suitable for agriculture but are prone to recurrent floods. The Yamuna, a sacred river in Hinduism, is the only major river flowing through Delhi. The original natives of Delhi are those whose ancestors lived in the Yamuna basin, a region which spreads radially from the capital up to a distance of approximately 200 kilometres. Today the migrant population consists largely of Bhojpuris and Biharis.

Migrants

The Indian censuses record the native languages, but not the descent of the citizens. Linguistic data cannot accurately predict ethnicity: for example, many descendants of the Punjabi Hindu and Sikh refugees who came to Delhi following the partition of India now speak Hindi natively. Thus, there is no concrete official data on the ethnic makeup of Delhi.