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

DELHI FALLS
which had gone towards Jumma Musjid. Though there
was no resistance till the mosque was reached, as soon as
the troop came there, a terrible war-cry was heard and,
in the subsequent fight, Campbell was wounded.
Thus ended the first day of the assault on Delhi. Of the
four columns, three had their chief commanders wounded;
sixty-six officers, and eleven hundred and four soldiers
were killed ! Reckoning in the evening the advantages
gained at this expense, the English commander, Wilson,
found that he had taken only one-forth of Delhi! Fear,
despair, and anxiety maddened general Wilson and he said
that an immediate retreat must be ordered. “The town is
yet unconquered; and thousands of the Revolutionaries are
proudly inviting those that remain alive to come forth
for battle. Shall we now sacrifice everyone of us or suffer
the ignominy of defeat ? We must now retreat ! ”—such
was the opinion of Wilson.
When the dying Nicholson who had been taken to the
hospital heard the news, that hero said, “ Retreat ! By
God’s grace, I have still strength enough in me to shoot
the retreating Wilson ! ” All the living Englishmen
agreed with this dying hero and, on the night of the 14th
of September, the English troops stuck to the posts they
had conquered.
The English council of war overruled General Wilson’s
opinion as to retreat. The movements in the Revolu-
tionary camp itself that night showed that the force of
the Revolutionaries was spent. One party declared that
it was better to give up Delhi and renew the war in the
province, and the other insisted that Delhi should never
be surrendered, even if everyone of them was killed. In
the English camp, whatever the differences of opinion,
the majority was always respected and the differences
were merged in the unanimity of action. This virtue,
however, was conspicuous in the confused Sepoy ranks
341

THE CONFLAGRATION
by its absence, and the two parties, instead of uniting to
form a common plan of action, went each their own way.
Some Sepoys left Delhi, but others resolved not to go
back an inch till the end, stuck to Delhi, and came out
on the battle-field ready. This party fought for Delhi
from the 15th to the 24th of September! And that
too, with such determination, such bravery, and such
steadiness that, when an English detachment would enter
a mosque or a palace, a guardsman would stand with his
hand on the trigger, would aim calmly when the English
came near, and would fire the last shot for his country
and religion when they approached him. After doing
this last service for his motherland, he would court death!
When three fourths of Delhi fell into the hands of the
English, the commander-in-chief at Delhi, Bakht Khan,
went to the Emperor and said, “Delhi has now slipped
out of our hands. But this does not mean that all chances
of victory are over. Even now, the plan of harassing the
enemy in the open country rather than protecting an
enclosed place is certain to bring victory in the end. I
am going to fight my way out of Delhi, after selecting
the warriors who are ready to keep their swords drawn
till the end in this war of liberty. I think it more advis-
able to go out fighting rather than surrender to the enemy.
At this time, you should also come with us, and under
your banner, we will fight to the last for Swaraj.” If
this old Mogul had even a hundredth part of the valour
of Babar, Humayun, or Akbar in him, he would have
accepted this valiant invitation and would have marched
out of Delhi with the valiant Bakht Khan. If he was
to die, he should have died like a king. But despairing on
account of old age, slow on account of long enjoyment
of luxuries, and frightened by defeat, the Emperor Baha-
dur Shah maintained an undetermined and vacillating
attitude till the end. On the last day, he hid himself in
Humayun’s grave, and, after refusing Bakht Khan’s invi-
tation, began to decide upon surrender to the English,
342

DELHI FALLS
according to the advice of Ilahi Baksh Mirza. This
Ilahi Baksh was a first-class traitor ! He gave the news
to the English, who immediately sent thither Captain
Hodson. After a promise to spare his life, the Emperor
surrendered, was brought to the palace by the English,
and imprisoned. Just then, the traitorous dogs, Ilahi
Baksh and Munshi Rajab Ali, came up running and said,
“ But the princes are yet hiding in Humayun’s tomb ! ”
Again, Hodson ran ; the princes surrendered to him, were
put in a carriage, and taken to the town. As soon as the
cavalcade entered the town, Hodson ran up to the carriage
and shouted out that those who killed English women
and children deserved death alone. So saying, Hodson
turned towards the surrendered princes, who were dragg-
ed out of the carriage, and robbed of all valuables on the
person, and helpless stood before him. Three shots put
an end to the lives of the three princes ! Hodson cut
away this last sprout of Timur’s family ! But his revenge
was not satisfied by simply shooting dead these illustrious
princes. It is only savages that wreak a vengeance till
death. If Hodson had stopped there, where would be
the humanity of civilised English vindictiveness ? There-
fore, the dead bodies of the princes were thrown right
before the police station. When the vultures had fed on
them for some time, the rotting bodies were dragged and
thrown into the river. Oh Time ! what changes are
wrought by thee ! That there should be no one to give
the last burial rites to the descendants of the great Em-
peror Akbar ! And now, the Sikhs thought that the
prophecy in their books was fulfilled ! But, in what way?
By what means ? To what end ? For whose benefit ?
Then began terrible looting and a general massacre at
Delhi. After hearing the accounts, Lord Elphinstone
writes to Sir John Lawrence, “ After the siege was over,
the outrages committed by our army are simply heart-
rending. A wholesale vengeance is being taken without
distinction of friend and foe. As regards the looting, we
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THE CONFLAGRATION
have indeed surpassed Nadir Shah ! ” ⁵ General Outram
was of opinion that Delhi should be burnt !
The English army, both European and Indian, engaged
at the siege of Delhi, was about ten thousand men. Of
those, about four thousand fell on the field, killed and
wounded. Such a terrible death-roll is not found even
in a struggle like the Crimean war ! Though it is im-
possible to form a reliable estimate of the losses of the
Revolutionaries from English accounts, they must have
been about five to six thousand.⁶
In this manner this historical town, inspired by the noble
sentiments of Swadharma and Swaraj, fought with a
powerful enemy like the English for a hundred and
thirty-four days and nights. On the whole, the fight was
one befitting a high and exalted principle ! From the
day on which Delhi threw away the Feringhi flag from
her walls and proclaimed the establishment of Swaraj,
from the day on which Delhi smashed the chains of
slavery and established freedom, from the day on which
Delhi first pronounced the formula of unity for the vast
and extended continent of Hindusthan under a national
banner, from that day onward, to the day on which
English swords drank Swadeshi blood in the palace of
Bahadur Shah, this town had done not a few deeds of
noble and unselfish heroism befitting the holy war of
freedom ! Without a leader, without good organisation,
having to fight a well-trained enemy like the English,
and having to oppose Swadeshi swords no less brave,—
why, braver than the Feringhi ones—ready to pronounce
upon their compatriots—in spite of all these disadvant-
ages, the Revolutionaries fought a splendid fight. But
disunion and want of organisation—the result of the lack
5. Life of Lawrence, Vol. II, page 262.
6. Rotton says : “The casualties of the mutineers were often
manifested beyond all due bounds.”—Page 175.
344

DELHI FALLS
of a great leader filled their camp and greatly handicap-
ped them. Despite all these enormous difficulties, the
Sepoys at Delhi fought like real national and religious
martyrs. Their virtues, and even their faults, will be
looked upon with reverence by future generations ! “ The
elephant breaking his tusk, in trying to smash a moun-
tain, is noble !” Throughout all the faults and all the
virtues lurks constantly the fire of the love of Swadharma
and Swaraj and freedom and sacrifice for a noble
principle. And so, both these are living sermons on
moral heroism !
345

CHAPTER V
LUCKNOW
ON the day on which the Revolutionaries were
successful in the battle of Chinhat, the English
power in Oudh came to an end and the revolt
had openly assumed the form of a national
Revolution. The Sepoys, princes, and people began
by establishing a ruler liked by them on the vacant
throne of Lucknow. The anarchy which raged every-
where for the space of a week after the battle of
Chinhat had to be first suppressed before preparations for
war could be made. Therefore, the Revolutionaries set
themselves to the task of administration at Lucknow,
though the week’s interval gave an opportunity to the Eng-
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LUCKNOW
lish of fortifying their defences. The late Nabob of Luck-
now, Wajid Ali Shah, being a prisoner of the English at
Calcutta, they unanimously elected and placed on the
throne his son, Prince Birjis Kadir. This Birjis Kadar
being a minor, the regency of the kingdom of Oudh was
given in the hands of his mother, Queen Hazrat Mahal.
As in the palace of Delhi, on account of the extreme old
age of Emperor Bahadur Shah, the affairs of state were
looked after by Begum Zinat Mahal in the Emperor's
name, so in the palace at Lucknow, the Nabob being a
minor, the Government depended on his mother, Begum
Hazrat Mahal. This Begum of Oudh, though not quite
another Lakshmi Bai, was undoubtedly a great organiser,
full of love of liberty and the spirit of daring. She had
perfect confidence in an Omrah (nobleman) of the court,
called Mahbub Khan. She appointed various officers to
the judicial, revenue, police, and military departments.
These officers selected were such as were loved and ho-
noured by the representatives of the Sepoys, by Mahbub
Khan and other leading Sirdars, and also by the large
numbers of the people who hurried from all parts of Oudh
to Lucknow to join in the great War of Independence.
Every day, a Durbar was held to discuss political affairs,
and there, the Begum Sahiba exercised authority in the
name of the Nabob. The news that Oudh was free and
that not a trace of English rule remained there was sent
to the Emperor of Delhi, under the Begum's seal, along
with valuable presents. Letters were sent to all the neigh-
bouring Zemindars and vassal Rajas to come to Lucknow
with armed followers. From the appointment of the
various civil officers, from the good order in all the depart-
ments of Government, from the daily Durbars, and other
signs, it was apparent that the revolt had ended and con-
structive government had begun. But, unfortunately, the
Revolutionaries did not show as much zeal in obeying the
officers appointed as they showed in participating in their
appointment. In all Revolutions this common blunder is
committed, and this sows the seeds of destruction of the
347

THE CONFLAGRATION
Revolution in the very beginning. Every Revolution is
started by cutting down the laws of existing authority by
the sword. But when once the habit is formed of mowing
down by the sword the unjust laws of unconstitutional
authority, then in the heat of the moment, the vicious
habit develops of setting at nought all laws at will. The
sword used for destroying wicked and cruel laws tends
to destroy all law. The heroes, who start out for over-
throwing foreign rule, soon get into the habit of over-
throwing all rule. In the excitement of breaking the bonds
of foreign rule, they begin to dislike all bonds, even those
of just and normal rule. And in this way, Revolution
ends in Anarchy, virtue in vice, and what ought to be a
great benefit ends in loss. The destruction of individuals,
of society, and of kingdoms is caused as much by anarchy
as by foreign rule, as much by the absence of any bond
as by the presence of cruel bonds. If any Revolution
forgets this sociological truth, it generally kills itself in
the end. Just as a man who begins to take wine as a
cure for some distemper does not get rid of the habit of
drinking wine even after he is cured ; similarly, the habit
of breaking bonds, in order to remove bad rule, persists
even after its work is done and makes men disorderly and
anarchical. That Revolution which destroys injustice and
oppression is holy. But when a Revolution roots out one
kind of injustice and oppression but plants, at the same
moment, the seeds of another kind, it becomes at once
unholy, and the seeds of destruction accompanying that
sin soon put an end to its life.
Therefore, those who want to take the wine of Revolution
to cure the disease of foreign slavery must be on their
guard not to get addicted to the vicious habit. The mind
must be trained from the beginning to honour one’s own
rule as much as to hate foreign rule. In wiping out foreign
misrule, care must be taken to discourage, by all possible
means, internal disorder. In smiting down foreign rule
and foreign authority, one’s own rule and authority should
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LUCKNOW
be worshipped as sacred. The moment the foreign power
is destroyed, in order to guard the country from the evils
of anarchy, a constitution liked by the majority of the
people should be at once established and that constitution
should be obeyed with reverence by all. The orders of
all officers thus appointed must be implicitly carried out,
discipline must be observed, individual caprice must give
way to devotion to the principle of the common good and,
if any change in this constitution is thought desirable and
just, it must be attempted only by means of the voice of
the majority. In short, the rule should be Revolution
outside and Constitution within, chaos outside and cosmos
within, sword outside and law within.
These elementary principles of all constitutions so neces-
sary for the success of Revolutions were fairly well ob-
served in the first half of the Rising. Immediately after
the Revolution began, attention was given to organise
administration with all possible speed at Delhi, Lucknow,
Cawnpore, and other cities. In all these big towns, no
impostor set himself up with the desire of individual
aggrandisement. The undoubted hereditary and popular
rulers were set up on the various thrones. These rulers
did not even evince any desire to take advantage of the
Revolution to further their own selfish ends and increase
their power. Nay, more ; written documents are publish-
ed which prove that they were ready to relinquish all
their rights if their persons were in the way of the coun-
try's independence.¹ Thus, in 1857, the first part of con-
structive administration was successfully achieved in a
spirit of adorable nobility. But, in this organisation, the
important and major section being composed of common
sepoys, they began to feel all bonds unbearable when
they had once removed the shackles of foreign rule. And,
at the time of the crisis, all discipline became lax. There-
fore, even those officers, whom they appointed at the first

1. See page 273, above.
   349

THE CONFLAGRATION
impulse of the ideal of Swaraj, they later on insulted, dis-
obeyed, and mocked. And thus, the Revolution tended
to end in anarchy. Under these circumstances, had there
arisen a hero who, by his individual prowess and the might
of his all-conquering sword, could have won the hearts or
awe of those followers who, incapable of being unified by
an abstract ideal, could have still been bound together
by a common hero-worship, the Revolution might have
been crowned with success. But, in the absence of such
a hero on the one side and the inherent tendency of an
uncontrolled Revolution to lapse into anarchy on the other,
there were more rabble than disciplined soldiers in the
army of the kingdom of Oudh. The martyrs, by their
undaunted, unconquered, and unconquerable determina-
tion to do and die, kept the field busy for three years ! In
the camp at Lucknow, the men of the first kind were much
more numerous than those of the second, and the orders
of several officers appointed by Begum Hazrat Mahal
were never strictly obeyed. And the Sepoys became im-
pudent, oppressive, disorderly, and self-willed.
But still some brave heroic spirits who were staying among
them inspired the Sepoys with their bravery, noble ideas,
and natural excellence of spirit. And as these valiant
men insisted, it was resolved to make the first great attack
on the besieged Residency on the 20th of July.
On the morning of the 20th of July, the Revolutionary
artillery which had been very active so long, suddenly
stopped firing. About eight o'clock, the Revolutionary
party laid some mines under the Residency walls and filled
them with dynamite. The mines were blown up and the
Sepoy ranks rushed forth after the explosion. At the
same time, the guns again began a terrible fire on the
English. The Revolutionary army fell upon the English
from different directions—toward the Redan, on the house
of Innes, on the Cawnpore Battery. The part of the
army which attacked the Cawnpore battery made a des-
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LUCKNOW
perate rush on the English guns. Again and again, they
rushed against the guns. Their heroic leader, fluttering the
flag of Swaraj in his hand, jumped into the ditch and called
upon the others to follow, shouting, “Chalô, Bahadur !
Chalô ! ” (Come, brave men, come!) He crossed the ditch
and began to plant the Revolutionary flag on English
guns ! ² But this brave soldier was soon shot down by
an English bullet. Instead of thousands rushing forth
over his dead body at this time and avenging the death
of the martyr the crowd of camp followers retreated instead
of advancing. But, bravo ! You ladder-men ! You did
not imitate the cowardly camp-followers but rushed forth
like real Sepoys. Plant the ladders in the ditch and mount
up quickly in spite of the fire of the English ! The first
batch has fallen—but let the next one come. But where
are the others who dare risk it ? This is the difference
between the English army and the Revolutionaries ! The
English never allowed the blood of their comrades to be
shed in vain ; if one falls, ten rush forward in his place.
We do not care where those who fled behind will go to ;
but, you heroes, you martyrs, you have reached Heaven !
Those who took the flag of Swaraj in their own hands; in
order that it might not be polluted by the touch of coward-
ly living corpses, those who went up to put that flag on the
enemy’s fire-spitting guns, by their glorious, holy blood
—that flag will be eternally pure and shine with a divine
splendour ! The flag of Swaraj looks its best only in such
wounded and bleeding arms ! One whose wrists are not
bespattered with blood should not touch and pollute the
holy flag of independence !
After this first assault was repulsed, the Revolutionaries
had, daily, small skirmishes with the English. They did
their best in dynamiting the houses in the Residency.
From above, the fire of terrible guns, and from below,
dynamite explosions ! No Englishman was sure when the

2. Gubbins’s Mutinies, page 218.
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THE CONFLAGRATION
ground beneath his feet would burst and swallow him.
Acccording to Brigadier Innes's calculation, the Revolu-
tionaries dynamited the Residency thirty-seven times !
The Revolutionary guns were, also, constantly active. The
Sepoys would send splendidly aimed shots against the
English and the English would reply to them. There were
death-dealing fights between bands of scouts which set
out at night to get secret information from the opposite
camps. Often, the secret whisperings of a group of men
either within or without the walls were heard by the other
party and nullified their plans. The Revolutionaries
amused themselves often by aiming a ball exactly at the
English flag and destroying it. And the English, also,
unfailingly hauled up a new one at the Residency as soon
as night fell. At such ghastly jokes, the battlefield of
Lucknow would open her terrible jaws and smile a deathly
smile ! Every night the messengers of the Revolutionaries
would go hiding near a part of the fort occupied by the
Sikhs or other Indians and ask them, " Why do you play
the traitor (Nimak haram) with the nation and thrust
the sword of the Feringhis into the bodies of your own
brethren ? " If any night these questions became persis-
tent, the " loyal " Sikhs, to have some fun, would ask
them to come near in order to converse better and, as soon
as they came, would make an Englishman who had hither-
to kept himself concealed stand up before them ! Seeing
such treachery, the Revolutionaries would return cursing
their baseness. Of all the splendid and untiring shots
among the Revolutionaries, an African eunuch who had
been in the service of the late Nabob spread terror in the
English Residency. He was nicknamed " Othello " by
the English.
About this time, Major Banks who had taken charge of
the office of chief commissioner of Oudh, after the death
of Sir Henry Lawrence, also fell dead by the bullet of a
Revolutionary. This was the second English chief com-
missioner killed during the siege ! But on account of the
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LUCKNOW
fixed, regular, and orderly organisation of the English
army, even during the uncertain terrors of a siege, the
death of a commander had no more effect than the death
of a common soldier as regards the efficiency of the army.
When the second commissioner fell, Brigadier Inglis took
charge as commissioner, and the work of defence went on
as before. At this time, however, the losses, deaths,
the removal of leaders, the scarcity of food, and
the activity of the Revolutionaries had made the
English at Lucknow fairly desperate, though not
altogether hopeless.
Just then Angad returned from Cawnpore ! This Angad
was an Indian formerly employed in the English army and
now a pensioner. Since the siege of Lucknow, it had be-
come impossible for any white messenger to go out and
return with information. His white skin, his yellowish
hair, and his blue eyes could never escape the swords of
the Revolutionaries. Therefore, it became necessary to
employ brown men on the English messages, and thus,
many “ loyal ” brown messengers had been sent out from
Lucknow. But, out of all these, only Angad returned
alive ! He did not bring any letter or anything else
suspicious with him for fear of the Revolutionaries, but
he gave commander Inglis the assurance that he had him-
self seen the English army set out from Cawnpore for the
relief of Lucknow. Encouraged by this news, the English
told Angad to go back and get a written reply. Angad
left Lucknow on the 22nd and returned at eleven o’clock
on the night of the 25th. With him was Havelock’s letter,
“ Havelock is coming with an army sufficient for all odds.
Lucknow will be relieved in five or six days.” In order
to furnish Havelock, who was coming to relieve them,
with all information, the English gave military plans and
maps to Angad and told him to go to Havelock again.
That marvellous scout again went to Havelock’s camp
and delivered to him all the military maps of Lucknow.
Now, all English eyes were turned towards the direction
353
23

THE CONFLAGRATION
from which they expected Havelock's victorious flag to
march over the dead bodies of the Revolutionaries. They
even heard some distant sounds of artillery-fire. Could
they be Havelock's guns ?
The English had not long been fondly hoping that Have-
lock was coming to help them when they discovered that
it meant a second assault from the Revolutionary side !
The Revolutionaries at first opened fire on the Cawnpore
battery, Johannes' House, Begum Kothi, and other places.
On that day, the Revolutionary dynamite did splendid
work. There was a tremendously big breach in the Eng-
lish wall, enough for a whole regiment to march in in good
order. But where was the regiment that would go in ?
If the English had effected such a breach in the enemy's
wall, they would have captured the place in half an hour.
Some heroes among the Revolutionaries fought bravely
till two in the afternoon. The Indians on the English side,
however, excelled in bravery, discipline, and contempt of
death! What a misfortune! This bravery in treachery and
this cowardice in patriotism ! What a contrast ! Run up,
some one, to remove this stain ! It is now five and the
attack is almost repulsed, but run up, someone, though
not for immediate victory at least for ever-lasting glory !
Captain Saunders, beware ! The furious march of heroes
devoted to principle is coming ! It is come ; this band of
infuriated heroes are marching straight on—they are ob-
structed by the English wall but they are trying bodily to
push it away. The English, at this crisis, left their guns
and took up their bayonets. Hail, Freedom ! Some
snatched away the bayonets with their own hands and
at last, fallen a prey to an English bullet ! But they have
saved the disgrace of their country on the field and exhi-
bited bravery admired even by enemies. The fight was such
that the English themselves took photographs of these
heroes who struggled to wrest away English bayonets
from the walls and fought with the frenzy of lions
till death !
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LUCKNOW
On the 18th of August, the Revolutionaries made another
attack on the English. On this day, as usual, a breach was
first made by dynamite and, then, the Revolutionaries
rushed forth. Malleson writes :—" One of their officers,
a very gallant fellow, sprang at once to the top of the
breach and, waving his sword, called on his men to follow.
Before, however, his summons was responded to, a bullet
had laid him low. His place was instantly occupied by
another, but he was as instantly killed. Etc., etc."
The bravery of the three men, as described even by Ferin-
ghis, was a match to Nicholson’s bravery at Delhi. But
it went in vain on account of the timidity of their fol-
lowers. Instead of pushing forth with redoubled vigour
at the death of the three, the thousands behind them
thought it prudent to retire. From this one event, what
a lesson ought to be learnt ?
These frequent attacks were not all. Before the terrible
daily fire of artillery and guns, the English found it un-
bearable to hold out much longer in spite of the excellent
assistance of the " loyal " Indians. Just then, Angad
again returned to Lucknow ! As the English commander
was about to ask him, in eager joy, how far Havelock
had marched according to his promise, the scout delivered
to him Havelock’s letter, " I cannot come towards Luck-
now for at least twenty-five days to come " ! Nothing is
more unbearable than despair following hope. Not only
dying patients and emaciated women but soldiers and
officers became extremely dispirited, sad, and frightened.
A death-like shadow came over the whole English force.
Food became dear and all were ordered to live on half-
rations ! Why this delay ? Why is a warrior like Have-
lock not coming to such an important work as the relief
of Lucknow ?
Without the delay of a moment, Havelock had left Cawn-
pore and crossed the Ganges as far back as the 29th
355

THE CONFLAGRATION
of July, in order to save his comrades at Lucknow. He
had a thousand and five hundred men and thirteen guns
and had written a letter of assurance to them, promising
to relieve them without fail within five or six days. But
as soon as he crossed the Ganges and stepped into Oudh,
the imaginary ease of the task began to melt away like
a cloud ! Every inch of the way through Oudh had risen
in revolt ! Every Zemindar had collected a few hundred
men under him and had begun the fight for independence.
Every village flew the national Revolutionary flag. See-
ing this terrible state of affairs, Havelock became very
much dejected in mind. He was dejected but he did not
despair. He marched on. The Revolutionaries encounter-
ed him first at Onao but flew away soon. After this skir-
mish at Onao, Havelock gave his soldiers only time for
eating and, after that, the march continued. At Bashi-
ratganj, a second skirmish took place with a similar result.
Havelock's army fought two such skirmishes on the 29th
and got the better of the Revolutionaries in both.
But, was this a real victory ? In one day, the handful
of his army lost one sixth of its number. And the Revolu-
tionaries were not in the least broken up. Nay, more ;
it is doubtful whether the Revolutionaries were really
defeated and chased away or they had hit upon the new
plan of harassing the enemy considerably without suffer-
ing any losses themselves ! And just then the news had
come that the Danapur sepoys had also joined the Revo-
lution. This threatening state of affairs compelled Have-
lock to stop his forward march on the 30th and retire
back to Mangalwar.
Hearing that Havelock's army had left Cawnpore, Nana
Sahib Peshwa again resumed operations round about
Cawnpore. While Havelock left Cawnpore and crossed
the Ganges to enter Oudh, Nana Sahib left Oudh and was
crossing the same river to re-enter Cawnpore ! Not to
be caught in this trap of Nana Sahib, Havelock had to
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LUCKNOW
remain encamped at Mangalwar till the 4th of August.
Instead of Havelock driving the Revolutionaries within a
week to the banks of the Gotami, Nana Sahib had made
Havelock stick to the Ganges. Just then the Revolution-
aries in his front came up again to Bashiratganj. Irritated
by the persistent harassing, Havelock became desperate
and started towards Lucknow with his troops. At Bashi-
ratganj he again gave battle to the Revolutionaries and
drove them away. But here, also, the question was whe-
ther it was a victory or a defeat. For, in this fight, Have-
lock lost three hundred men and his troops were so fatigued
that, instead of advancing towards Lucknow, he began to
retire on the Ganges. On that day, out of the one thou-
sand and five hundred men that started with him there
remained only eight hundred and fifty !
Hearing that Havelock had again retreated to Mangalwar
on the 5th of August, the Revolutionaries once more
captured Bashiratganj and encamped there. In this army
of the Revolutionaries, the greater number were well-to-do
Zemindars. "All the men killed yesterday were Zemin-
dars."³ For the sake of their country, for the sake of
independence and Swaraj, those rich and happy men had
discarded their soft beds and had resolved to go to the
battle-field and risk all its dangers and risks. Seeing this
enthusiasm on their part, the English historian Innes
says : "At least, the struggle of the Oudhians must be
characterised as a war of independence." The Revolu-
tionary army was constantly hovering round Havelock's
camp, destiny-like. As soon as Havelock retired to
Mangalwar, the Revolutionaries, as we said before, again
encamped at Bashiratganj. Therefore, on the 11th of
August, Havelock pushed forward to Bashiratganj for the
third time—and for the third time there was a fight and
the Revolutionaries fled away ; but Havelock asked him-
self, for the third time, "Is this victory or defeat?"
3. Kaye and Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. III, p. 340.
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THE CONFLAGRATION
It was neither a victory nor a defeat. Therefore, instead
of advancing, Havelock fell back on Mangalwar. In the
meanwhile, Nana’s plans were becoming ripe. The Revo-
lutionaries of Sagar and of Gwalior and bands of volunteers
came and joined him. Taking them with him, Nana
marched to Bithoor and threatened to attack Cawnpore.
General Neill had not enough troops to march against him
and so sent word to Havelock of his critical position.
It was now impossible to think of proceeding to Lucknow.
Therefore, on the 12th of August, Havelock had to recross
the Ganges and go back to Cawnpore ! When the English
bands sounded the retreat, everywhere there were joyful
shouts of acclamation as if the victorious drum of inde-
pendence was being beaten ! You faithful Zemindars, you
have served your country well in thus shedding your blood
and driving away the foreign foe, and wanted to re-enter
Oudh, away on the other side of the Ganges ! Innes
writes : “ This retirement from Oudh produced a result
which he had, doubtless, never contemplated. The
Talukdars openly construed it as the British evacuation
of the province and now formally recognised the Durbar
at Lucknow as the de facto government ; and, though
they refrained from supporting it by their own presence,
they obeyed its orders which they had hitherto disregard-
ed, and sent to the scene of warfare the contingents which
they had been called upon to provide.”⁴
The victory of the Revolutionaries was not a direct but
an indirect one. If, in the above four or five skirmishes
fought by Havelock, he had been defeated and driven away
to Cawnpore, a greater self-confidence would have been
seen in the Revolutionary ranks than was to be seen now
by simply forcing him to retire by harassing his rear.
And, proportionately, the English forces would have been
more demoralised. The English army perceived that the
retreat to Cawnpore was due not to lack of bravery but
4. The Sepoy Revolt, page 174.
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LUCKNOW
to lack of numbers and, though baulked of its fruits, its
vigour, self-confidence, and pride were not a whit diminish-
ed by this indirect defeat. And, therefore, Havelock
encamped at Cawnpore with the full confidence that he
would start again for Lucknow as soon as he got rein-
forcements.
At this time, there was a serious quarrel between Havelock
and Neill on account of personal jealousy. This is clearly
seen in the following letter written by Havelock to Neill :
“ I wrote to you confidentially on the state of affairs. You
send me back a letter of censure of my measures, reproof,
and advice for the future. I do not want and will not
receive any of them from an officer under my command,
be his experience what it may. Understand this distinctly,
and that a consideration of the obstruction that would
arise to the public service at this moment alone prevents
me from taking the stronger step of keeping you under
arrest. You now stand warned. Attempt no further
dictation.”⁵ In this letter, one sentence is an excellent
indication of the sense of duty towards the nation,
ingrained in the bones of all Englishmen. Even in the
height of passion, Havelock says that “ consideration of
the obstruction that would arise to the public service
alone ” prevented him from then and there avenging his
personal insult ! In this dispute between the two generals
Neill and Havelock at this critical time, not only did both
of them behave calmly in order that their national enemy
might not take advantage of this division, but both helped
each other, as far as possible, for their common end. In
that society where, individualism is held in check by
regard for public advantage, in that society alone can
wealth and intellect, and fame and independence last long.
The first news that Havelock received when he came to
Cawnpore was that Nana Sahib’s army had re-occupied
5. Quoted by Malleson, Indian Mutiny, Vol. III, p. 337, note.
359

THE CONFLAGRATION
the town of Brahmavarta. Seeing that the Revolutionaries
had thus advanced again close to the Cawnpore army,
Havelock marched against them at once. On this day, at
the battle of Brahmavarta, when the English came up fight-
ing within twenty yards of the Revolutionary ranks, the
42nd regiment on the Revolutionary side began to use
their bayonets. The English so long used to think that,
when all other means failed, bayonets would surely
frighten away the Revolutionaries. But to-day, the brave
heroes of freedom, themselves, began to attack with
bayonets. At the same time, the Revolutionary cavalry
fell upon the English rear and carried off their provisions.
Thus, the English army was attacked both in front and
the rear by the gallant Revolutionaries. Even the English
commander saw that the Revolutionaries were gradually
becoming more and more valiant. But this bravery and
heroism was not properly moulded by discipline as it was
on the English side and, even after all this valour, the
Revolutionaries were defeated and had to retire. When
Havelock retired to Cawnpore on the 17th of August after
inflicting this defeat on the Revolutionaries, he perceived
that the whole army of Nana Sahib was not at Brahma-
varta but that he had a vast and fully equipped force in
the town of Kalpi, on the banks of the Jumna. Harassed
from Kalpi, harassed from Brahmavarta, harassed from
Oudh, harassed on both sides of the Ganges! Thus
harassed on all sides, the " victorious " Havelock wrote
to Calcutta : " We are in a terrible fix. If new reinforce-
ments do not arrive, the British army cannot escape the
fate of abandoning Lucknow and retreating to Allahabad."
Havelock awaited a reply to this appeal, from Calcutta.
He expected to receive reinforcements according to his
request and hoped that he would crown all his victories
and defeats by the relief of Lucknow. But, suddenly, he
got an order that the command of the army to be sent to
Lucknow was taken from him and given to Sir James
Outram! English punishment is so severe! Even
though victorious, Neill was a little late in going to Cawn-
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
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