Answer:

Explanation:

Indian soldiers, known as sepoys, set off a rebellion against the British rule in 1857, often referred to as the first war of independence. Ordinary farmers took up arms to support them in the fight against the British, but their contribution has been largely FORGOTTEN. A group of RESEARCHERS is now trying to revive their MEMORY, writes Sunaina Kumar.

The village of Bijraul, on the outskirts of Meerut district in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, had a small celebration on 10 May to mark the 160th ANNIVERSARY of the uprising of 1857 - a rebellion against the rule of the British East India Company.

The residents of the village paid tributes to their ancestor Shah Mal for his role in the revolt. He INSPIRED thousands of peasants across nearly 84 villages to leave their fields and take up arms in 1857.

But not many people in India have heard of this prosperous landlord.

"People of the district were in a fever of excitement to know whether 'their raj' or ours was to triumph," wrote Robert Henry Wallace Dunlop, a civil officer, in Service and Adventure with the Khakhee Resallah, a record of the volunteer corps formed to quell the uprising.