Bakht Khan was one of the key commanders of the Indian Liberation Forces fighting against the British for independence of India.
From his early life, It is known that he was enlisted in British Forces in India (Possibly was still enlisted when the Indian mutiny started?). He even rose to the rank of Subedar which was the second highest rank available to Indian native soldiers serving in British forces back then which means he was:
- Capable in terms of leadership skills
- Fluent in English which means he was adopting to British culture somewhat or at least that he had accepted to live with it.
- At good terms with his British officers otherwise he would not have been promoted
He even fought for the British in First Anglo-Afghan war despite being an ethnic Afghan (From Yusufzai tribe) himself.
Yet when Indians rose up against the British in 1857, Bakht Khan brought his contingent of Rohilla Pashtun Soldiers to the Imperial Capital city of Delhi and decided to fight for the Old Emperor and was eventually granted the title of "Lord Governor General".
Why did he do that? He appears to have no qualms in fighting for the British in the past, even against his own Folk be it in India or Afghanistan. He seems to have never shown any resistence to the British in the past, otherwise he would not have been promoted to Subedar rank.
Yet in 1857, he rises against the British even though many Indians including the 21 Princely states of India were fighting on the British side.
I know a simple assumption would be that he was motivated by patriotism or by his conscience finally waking up. But I am looking for something he may have said in this regard or some Historian may have established about it.
Is there any reasoning provided for his act in contemporary or modern works on the Indian War of Independence?
Another Question but you may ignore it if you want as I don't want to broaden the scope. Was he still enlisted in British Forces when the Rebellion started?