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

TEMPORARY PACIFICATION
Such desperate encounters took place in East Oudh, in
Middle Oudh, in North Oudh and, practically, all over
Oudh. And that not with the enemy alone but with
traitors like Man Singh and Powenkar who had been
lured to join the enemy by the proclamation of pardon.
Oudh began to fight such a double battle. They directed
attacks on Powen ; they were fighting towards Lucknow ;
they fought at Sultanpur ; they shut up the traitor Man
Singh in his fort ; they obstructed English routes ; they
sacked English stations ; and, by their noble sacrifice
they made every space of the ground there worth
worshipping as sacred soil ! Cutting the cordon which
the English drew round them, the patriots rushed
about from place to place still persevering in their
cry for war and revenge. Considerations of space
alone forbid us from minutely following all their
movements.
Such was the terrible fight that Ayodhya fought ! At
last, in October, 1858, the English Commander-in-Chief
again arranged a mass of white and brown troops in
systematic order, made them march simultaneously from
all sides against the Revolutionaries and, thus pressing
them on all sides, gave orders to push them northwards
towards Nepal. Still, Oudh would not be exhausted and
would not retreat a step without fighting !
Veni Madhav's town, Shankarpur, was surrounded on
three sides by three different armies. He was now weak
in resources and the enemy was very strong ; still, Veni
Madhav would not lay down his arms. Then, the Eng-
lish Commander-in-Chief himself sent him a message
telling him that a further continuance of the fight would
mean only useless bloodshed, as he had no hope of victory.
If he surrendered, he was promised full pardon and com-
plete restoration of his property. Veni Madhav replied:
" It being henceforth impossible to defend the fort, I am
going to leave it. But I will never surrender myself to
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