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

THE INTERLUDE AND THE PUNJAB
was a tremendous uproar at Simla ! A rumour was
abroad that the Gurkha Naziri battalion had also risen,
and at that the English at Simla lost all courage. In that
year, the heat was unsufferable to the English even at
Simla ! It appeared that the English would now have to
pay a very heavy price for the royal pleasures, which they
had so long enjoyed in cool bungalows and beautiful plea-
sure-gardens. There was a general uproar that the
Gurkha regiment was coming, and women and children
ran wherever they could get away. In this race, the
men, naturally, even with loads on their backs, left the
women and children far behind ! This exhibition of Eng-
lish courage was open for two days, but it was closed
afterwards as no Gurkhas were to be seen. About this
time, similar scenes were being enacted, also, at Calcutta.
Often the rumour would get about that the regiment at
Barrackpore was in arms against the English ; and Eng-
lish men, women, and children would be seen running to-
wards the fort. Some booked passages to England, some
prepared all their luggage in readiness to run away to the
fort, and some would hide in corners in their offices and
leave their work aside ! Such was the panic created by
Meerut and by Delhi—and yet Cawnpore was still
to come.
As soon as Anson arrived at Umballa, he began to
prepare the siege-trains to besiege Delhi. There was
never such a danger to the English in India before ; but,
now that it appeared, their real weakness came forth into
prominence. Their state was absolutely deplorable. It be-
came impossible for Anson to expedite matters. The
English officers ordered about Indian soldiers just as they
liked, but they could not do the same to their own
soldiers ! How could the English soldier give up in a
day his haughtiness and his luxurious habits ? And it
was now out of the question to get an Indian to help in
everything. Carriages, labourers, provisions, even stret-
chers and ambulances for the wounded could not be got !
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