how did the rebellion spread in …

After the British were routed from Delhi, there was no uprising for almost a week.  Then, a spurt of mutinies began in other parts of India.

(i)Regiment after regiment mutinied and took to join other troops at nodal points like Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow. After them, the people of the towns and villages also rose up in rebellion. They rallied around local leaders, zamindars and chiefs who were prepared to establish their authority and fight the British.

(ii)Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the late Peshwa Baji Rao who lived near Kanpur, gathered armed forces and expelled the British Garrison from the city. He proclaimed himself Peshwa. He delcared that he was a Governor under emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

(iii)In Lucknow, Birjis Qadr, the son of the deposed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, was proclaimed the new Nawab. He too acknowledged the suzerainty of Bahadur Shah Zafar. In Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai joined the rebel sepoys and fought the British alongwith Tantia Tope, the General of Nana Saheb.

(iv)A situation of widespread rebellion also developed in the region of Awadh. Many new leaders also came up and joined the revolt. Ahmadullah Shah, a maulvi from Faizabad, raised a large force of supporters. He came to Lucknow to fight the British.

(v)In Delhi, a large number of religious warriors came together to wipe out the white people. Bakht Khan, a soldier from Bareilly, took charge of a large force of fighters who came to Delhi.