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

THE ERUPTION
holy passion of love of their country and religion that
inspired the heroes of the war of 1857.¹ We cannot suffi-
ciently admire the skill of the leaders like Nana Sahib,
Moulvie Ahmad Shah, and Vizier Ali Nakkhi Khan, who
perfected that organisation with such secrecy under the
very nose of the English officials in Hindusthan. It is
difficult to find a parallel to the capacity for secret organi-
sation displayed by these men, who successfully taught
the necessity of mutual help and united action to the
Hindus and Mahomedans, and infused the revolutionary
spirit among all classes of the people—sepoys, police,
zemindars, civil officials, peasants, merchants, and bankers;
and who harmonised all these conflicting elements into an
army fired with the sacred purpose of freeing the mother-
land ; and all this, without letting the English have any
adequate suspicion of this vast upheaval. Just as this
secret organisation was becoming ripe, the Government
began to force the greased cartridge on the soldiers in
Bengal. It appeared probable that the first experiment
would be made on the 19th regiment. It was the month
of February. Of all the regiments stationed in Bengal,
the 34th was most anxious to start the Revolution. This

1. Malleson says : “ In this lesser sense, then, and in this
   only, did the cartridges produce the mutiny. They were instruments
   used by the conspirators, and those conspirators were successful in
   their use of the instruments only because, in the manner I have
   endeavoured to point out, the mind of the Sepoys and of certain sec-
   tions of the population had been prepared to believe every act
   testifying bad faith on the part of their foreign masters.”
   Medley says : “ But, in fact, the greased cartridges was merely
   the match that exploded the mine which had, owing to a variety
   of causes, been for a long time preparing.”
   “ Mr. Disraeli dismissed the greasing of the cartridges with the
   remark that nobody believed that to have been the real cause of
   the outbreak.”—Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page. 629.
   One author goes further and says : “ That the fear about the
   cartridges was mere pretext with many is shown beyond all question.
   They have not hesitated to use freely when fighting against us, the
   cartridges which, they declared, would, if used, have destroyed their
   caste.”
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