१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

ADDING FUEL TO FIRE
Seeing that the Sepoys in the army were poor, igno-
rant, and short-sighted ; feeling that when the military
was christianised, the christianising of the people was only
a question of time ; considering the question every way,
the English had come to the conclusion that the chief
attack must be delivered on the Sepoy in the army. And
in accordance with this opinion, from many directions,
secret and open attacks on the Hindu and Moslem faiths
had already begun to be delivered. Not only that, but
some commanders and colonels did not hesitate even to
declare publicly, through newspapers, that they had
entered the army with the express purpose and object of
destroying the religion of the Sepoy. The Commander of
the Bengal Infantry himself writes in the Government
Report that he had been continuing uninterruptedly for
28 years the policy of christianising the military and that
it was a part of military duty to save the souls of heath-
ens from Satan ! Who could dare to say that the fears of
the Sepoy were unreasonable as to the impossibility of
preserving their religion in the face of the attempts to
undermine it, continued day and night by these padre
heroes who stumped the country with port-folios of
military orders on the one hand, and the Bible in the
other ? Everywhere there was a strong conviction that
the Government had determined to destroy the religions
of the country and make Christianity the paramount
religion of the land.
An Englishman, to show how the hatred of the Feringhi
was raging tumultuously in the hearts of both Hindus
and Mahomedans, says :—“A Moulvie of my acqu-
aintance, living outwardly on terms of intimacy with
me, was on his death-bed. I was with him at the time
and I asked him what was his last wish before he died.
He looked very disconsolate and gloomy at this question.
On being asked why he looked so gloomy, he said, ‘Truly,
I assure you that I repent exceedingly that I did not kill
even two Feringhis in my life !’ On another occasion a
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