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

RANEE LAKSHMI BAI
the best interests of the British government lay in advanc-
ing on Jhansi, Sir Robert Hamilton took upon himself
the whole responsibility of disobeying the orders of the
two highest authorities in Hindusthan ; and the British
army, emboldened by a high national feeling, advanced
towards Jhansi, hopeful of victory. But the English army
suffered enormously as soon as they set foot on the soil
of Jhansi. For they found, to their great surprise, that all
the tract of land surrounding Jhansi had been laid waste
by order of the Queen in order that the enemy should have
no supplies of any sort. Not a blade of corn in the fields,
not a vestige of grass on the meadows, not a tree which
could afford shelter; So had William of Orange, when there
appeared to be a possibility of the Netherlands falling into
the hands of the Spanish tyrant and invader, ordered that
the dykes be opened and the sea let in, rather than that
the country should fall in the hands of the enemy. And
this day Jhansi had adopted a similar course.
The same terrible thunder is in her voice ; her eyes are
spouting forth the red flames of anger ! Mardan Singh,
Raja of Banapur, the enraged chief of Shahagarh, the
brave Thakurs, with their lives in their hands, Sirdars of
Bundelkhand, resolute as ever, with their many followers
—all these hot incendiary elements in the interior of
Jhansi are burning and flame-red. The flames leap up
even as the Jaripatka ; and look, the central figure of the
whole fight is there, shining above all ! Aye, she is the
central idea, the flashing impersonation of Swaraj ! She is
the inspiration, she is the incarnation of Liberty !
In spite of the barrenness of the country around, the
English approached Jhansi. For, thanks to the loyalty
of the Scindia and the Raja of Tehri, the force was
throughout the operations abundantly supplied with grass,
firewood, and vegetables.² As the Scindia and the Raja
2. Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. V, page 110.
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