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

AYODHYA
English could endure no more ! For, one day the Nawab
was present when some stallions were let on the mares
for breeding purposes.
It is a wonder that malicious as the English historians
were, trying hard to noise far and wide the incapacity
of the Nabob for good administration, by such silly,
trifling accusations, they should have taken the trouble
to come to Hindusthan to witness such occurrences as
these. Even in their own country, throughout the various
royal palaces, they could have gathered enough material
of worse nature ; and in that case, their time would cer-
tainly have been more profitably employed in annexing
and confiscating the estates of their own princes and lords,
in order to put an end to violations and outrages of a far
more nefarious kind !
As soon as the British Resident received the order that
the Nabob should be informed of the decision of
Dalhousie—a lasting stain on his regime—the Resident
went to the Nabob's palace and began to insist that the
Nabob should sign a document stating that he was per-
fectly willing to give over his dominions to the Company.
The Nabob read the document and flatly refused to sign.
To make the Nabob sign this document, the Resident
began attempts to bribe the Ranee and the Vizier and the
threat was also given that a refusal by the Nabob to sign
the document would result in even his pension being
stopped. The Nabob was overwhelmed with grief at this
and began even to weep. But it was of no use. Seeing at
the end of three days that the refusal was still persisted
in, the British army, insolently setting aside the Nabob's
authority, entered Lucknow and took forcible possession
of the whole Ryâsat, including his palace. The Zenanas
were looted, the Begums were insulted, the Nabob was
hurled from the throne, palaces were turned into stables
for the soldiers of the English and thus began a happy
beginning of the good administration of the so-far-badly-
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