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

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
must not allow the British forces under Lugard to step
upon this bridge till the whole army of Kumar Singh
has gone out of the range of the enemy's sight! You
have been selected by your chief in the belief that you
alone would rise equal to the occasion. May your bravery
not belie his confidence! Let one thought, one deter-
mination, one vow alone be yours, namely, not to let
the enemy capture this bridge till Kumar Singh had led
off in safety his whole force out of the sight of the duped
enemy! As Baji Deshpande, the Mahratta soldier, held
out in the famous gorge of Pavankhind till Shri Shivaji
could reach the fort of Rangana in safety, even so fight
on hard and hot till Kumar's order is carried out to the
letter, his forces saved and his confidence vindicated!
Lugard, too, led assaults after assaults on this handful of
the Revolutionary band as often as Fazul did against the
Mahratta, but he could not gain a foot-hold on the bridge
even for a second. Every charge of the English was firm-
ly and vigorously repulsed by the Revolutionary forces
who were defending it. Till Kumar Singh signalled to
them his safe departure from Azimgarh and his successful
march on the way to Ghazipur, the veteran band held this
bridge, contesting it inch by inch! Col. Malleson says,
"They held the bridge of boats with a resolution and
perseverence worthy of veterans, and it was not until they
had by their long resistance ensured the safety of their
comrades, that they fell back."⁴ Thus, the brave band
accomplished its mission, fell back with perfect order,
and, as settled, succeeded in rejoining their chief, Raja
Kumar Singh.
Seeing the sudden evacuation of the bridge, Lugard rush-
ed on, but found, to his utter dismay, the magic-like
disappearance of the whole army of Kumar Singh, as if
it never was there! So to pursue and find out this invisi-
ble force, he despatched a detachment of European
4. Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV, page 330.
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