Correct option is B
The correct answer is (B) September 1857
Explanation:
• The recapture of Delhi by British colonial forces was one of the most critical turning points in suppressing the Uprising of 1857.
• Following the initial outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut on May 10, 1857, the rebel sepoys quickly marched to Delhi, seized control of the city, and declared the aging Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as the symbolic leader of the pan-Indian rebellion.
• Recognizing that Delhi was the political heart of the uprising, the British army organized a major counter-offensive, establishing a strategic base on the Delhi Ridge to commence a grueling months-long siege.
• Reinforcements, including British units and loyal Punjabi and Gorkha troops, arrived under the command of officers like John Nicholson, who led a fierce, bloody breach through the city walls.
• Following several days of intense, house-to-house urban street fighting that resulted in massive casualties on both sides, the British fully reoccupied and established absolute control over Delhi on September 20, 1857.
Information Booster:
• After the city fell, Bahadur Shah Zafar fled and took refuge at Humayun's Tomb. He was captured by British officer Major William Hodson, put on trial for treason, and exiled to Rangoon (Burma), while his sons were summarily shot near the city gates, bringing a formal end to the centuries-old Mughal Empire.
Additional Knowledge:
• June 1857 (Option A): This marks the period when British forces first arrived at the outskirts of Delhi and fought the Battle of Badli-ki-Serai to secure the Delhi Ridge, beginning the long siege operations rather than concluding them.
• January 1858 (Option C): By this time, having already secured Delhi, the British military forces were re-routing troops and consolidating power across the North-Western Provinces to plan campaigns into Central India.
• March 1858 (Option D): This marks the period when British forces under Sir Colin Campbell executed the recapture of Lucknow, liberating it from the control of Begum Hazrat Mahal and her rebel troops.