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

THE INTERLUDE AND THE PUNJAB
asked them, ‘Why do you join the Feringhis and become
traitors to Swaraj? Won’t you be better off under
Swaraj? Therefore, at least for your own gain, you
ought to join the Emperor of Delhi!’ To this they re-
plied, ‘See, we are all waiting for the opportunity. As
soon as we get the order of the Emperor, we will kill
these Kaffirs in a day.’....But I believe they are
thoroughly untrustworthy.” So when horsemen came,
with the order from the Emperor to the Sikh kings, they
were assassinated! This was the first and most important
reason why the English found it so easy to keep their hold
on the Panjab; yet we cannot say that it was impossible
to drive the English away from the Punjab, in spite of the
opposition of the Sikhs. If advantage had been taken of
the laxity of the English till the month of May, and if
there had been a simultaneous rising according to the
original plan, then, the Sikhs too would have been terroris-
ed to join the Revolutionaries, or, at least, there would
have been a division among them; and, whatever else
might have happened, the English could not possibly have
taken hold of thousands of Sepoys separately and put
them down. It cannot be maintained that in the Punjab
there was no desire for Swaraj. The Brahmins of Thanes-
war and the Moulvies of Ludhiana, the shop-keepers of
Ferozepore and the Mussalmans of Peshawar, were
wandering about, preaching everywhere a holy war for
the sake of Swadharma and Swaraj. The writer of the
above-mentioned letter says, “If a Sirdar from the Em-
peror together with an army can be sent thither, the
Panjab will be free in a moment. The Sepoys at different
places will rise and rally round your banner. The English
will have to leave in haste. And I am certain that all
Hindus and Mahomedans will bow to your glorious
throne. Besides, it is desirable that the rising should be
made in this month of June, for English soldiers find it
hard to fight in the sun. They die quickly even before
fighting begins. As soon as you see this letter, you should
send a Sirdar with an army into the Panjab,” etc, etc.
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