<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India in 1857--58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown . It is known by many names, including the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection, and India's First War of Independence . </P> <P> The rebellion began on 12 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the Company's army in the garrison town of Meerut, 40 miles northeast of Delhi (now Old Delhi). It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east . The rebellion posed a considerable threat to British power in that region, and was contained only with the rebels' defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858 . On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities formally to have ended until 8 July 1859 . </P> <P> The Indian rebellion was fed by resentments born of diverse perceptions, including invasive British - style social reforms, harsh land taxes, summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes, as well as scepticism about the improvements brought about by British rule . Many Indians did rise against the British, however, very many also fought for the British, and the majority remained seemingly compliant to British rule . Violence, which sometimes betrayed exceptional cruelty, was inflicted on both sides, on British officers, and civilians, including women and children, by the rebels, and on the rebels, and their supporters, including sometimes entire villages, by British reprisals; the cities of Delhi and Lucknow were laid waste in the fighting and the British retaliation . </P>

Who started the revolt of 1857 in northern and central india