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

THE CONFLAGRATION
of the English that he did not dare to fight against them!
Was the glory and might of England indeed so awe-
inspiring ? If Jung Bahadur had been to England, Azi-
mullah, the minister of Nana, too, had been there; and so,
also, Rango Bapuji; and history clearly records how this
might have affected them, and how for every indication of
that power, they only formed a fresh resolve to shatter it
to pieces. The might of England alone would not explain
the conduct of Jung Bahadur. The English glory only
gave an additional stimulus to the patriotic hearts of
Azimullah and Rango to make their Mother-Country a
crowned queen with the tilaka of Independence adorning
her brow. On the other hand, the sight of English power
whispered to snake-like Treachery that, if it helped to
keep the Mother a slave of this might, perhaps two more
crumbs would fall to its lot.
And this Jung Bahadur, ready to sell his Mother for a
mess of pottage, sent his Nepalese to the English. First,
three thousand Gurkhas from Khatmandu, in the begin-
ning of August 1857, descended on Azimgarh and Jawan-
pur to the east of Ayodhya. Mahomed Hussein, the
leader of the Gorakhpur Revolutionaries, was ready to
meet them on the field. When the English were fighting
in the Doab, Veni Madhav, Mahomed Hussein, and Raja
Nadir Khan had, with credit to themselves, reconquered
completely the parts round Benares and to the east of
Ayodhya. Even before the English troops had time to
look to Oudh, the Nepalese had pressed back the Revolu-
tionaries towards Oudh. Within a few more days, Jung
Bahadur and the British came to a definite agreement and
three armies were ready to advance on this province. On
the 23rd of December 1857, Jung Bahadur started with
his nine thousand Gurkhas ; General Franks and Rowcroft
started each with a large division of the British army.
And, crushing the Revolutionary armies on the way, on
the north of Benares and to the east of Oudh, these three
armies began to enter Oudh.
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