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

THE CONFLAGRATION
by its absence, and the two parties, instead of uniting to
form a common plan of action, went each their own way.
Some Sepoys left Delhi, but others resolved not to go
back an inch till the end, stuck to Delhi, and came out
on the battle-field ready. This party fought for Delhi
from the 15th to the 24th of September! And that
too, with such determination, such bravery, and such
steadiness that, when an English detachment would enter
a mosque or a palace, a guardsman would stand with his
hand on the trigger, would aim calmly when the English
came near, and would fire the last shot for his country
and religion when they approached him. After doing
this last service for his motherland, he would court death!
When three fourths of Delhi fell into the hands of the
English, the commander-in-chief at Delhi, Bakht Khan,
went to the Emperor and said, “Delhi has now slipped
out of our hands. But this does not mean that all chances
of victory are over. Even now, the plan of harassing the
enemy in the open country rather than protecting an
enclosed place is certain to bring victory in the end. I
am going to fight my way out of Delhi, after selecting
the warriors who are ready to keep their swords drawn
till the end in this war of liberty. I think it more advis-
able to go out fighting rather than surrender to the enemy.
At this time, you should also come with us, and under
your banner, we will fight to the last for Swaraj.” If
this old Mogul had even a hundredth part of the valour
of Babar, Humayun, or Akbar in him, he would have
accepted this valiant invitation and would have marched
out of Delhi with the valiant Bakht Khan. If he was
to die, he should have died like a king. But despairing on
account of old age, slow on account of long enjoyment
of luxuries, and frightened by defeat, the Emperor Baha-
dur Shah maintained an undetermined and vacillating
attitude till the end. On the last day, he hid himself in
Humayun’s grave, and, after refusing Bakht Khan’s invi-
tation, began to decide upon surrender to the English,
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