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

AYODHYA
policy, and this absorbed all his attention. It would have
been out of the question to “ conquer ” Oudh by sending
an expedition into the territory as was done in the case
of the Panjab or Brahmadesh (Burma), for as yet not a
single man in the Oudh territory was for the English.
The charge that the Nabob did not carry out the friendly
intentions he professed was also out of the question, for
had not the Nabob helped the English on all occasions,
when help was needed ? And had not the Nabob freely
supplied the English with money from his pocket ? Had
he not supplied the English even with provisions, when
they were pressed hard in many of their campaigns ?
Nor could there be any excuse, as in the case of Nag-
pur, that the Nabob had no direct heir ; the palace was
full of the Nabob’s legitimate children. Nor was there
trouble about adoption as in the case of Jhansi, for the
present king was the legitimate son of the late king and
had, further, sat on the throne for years. In short the
Nabob of Oudh had not committed any of the above
“ crimes ” which cost other princes their kingdoms. But
though the Nabob had thus avoided every other “ crime ”,
still the demented fool had committed one unpardonable
crime ! What crime could cry louder than this, that the
land of Oudh was very fertile, teeming with crops and rich
in every way ? Even the dry language of the Blue Book
has broken forth into poetic eloquence when describing
the beautiful and rich land of Oudh !
The Blue Book says :—“ In this beautiful land, every-
where within twenty feet, and in some places even within
ten feet, of the surface, there is a plentiful supply of
water. This splendid tract is most charming, nodding
with whole forests of tall and towering bamboo trees,
cooled by the shade of mango trees and green with rich
and verdant crops. The deep shade of the tamarind, the
fragrance of the orange trees, the rich hue of the fig
trees, and the sweet all-pervading scent of the pollen of
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