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

THE VOLCANO
very things prohibited by the two religions were used and
even factories for their manufacture were opened right in
India ! After ascertaining well this fact from the low
caste Indians working in those factories, the sepoys of
Barrackpore spread this news all over India. Even light-
ning travels not so quick ! Within a fortnight, not a Hindu
or a Mahomedan but was talking of cartridges and no-
thing but cartridges, wherever he was. And the stronger
this public indignation grew, the stronger and more
frequent grew the assertions on the part of the autho-
rities, from the Governor-General down to the lowest
white soldier, that the story of the cartridges was a
mere fabrication.
These statements of the Feringhi Government were not
only absolutely false, but they were put forward deli-
berately with the knowledge that they were false. The
fact that the very Commander-in-Chief was aware of
four years before, was now being openly denied by the
Government. That in the factory at Dum-Dum cartridges
were not greased with cows' and pigs' fat, that the igno-
rant and superstitious sepoys had started this wholly un-
founded rumour—such were the assertions of the English
historians until a very recent date. But now, there does
not seem to be the slightest doubt that the Government
was well aware of this fact. The contractor who had
undertaken to supply the fat for the cartridges had, in clear
words, made a distinct agreement in his contract deed,
drawn at that very time, to supply cows' fat. The agree-
ment was that the cartridges should be greased with the
fat of the cow, the Sacred Mother, buying the same at the
rate of twopence (two annas) per pound. And the sepoys
should bite these cartridges with their teeth ! When this
cunning scheme was exposed, the Feringhi Government
immediately issued orders that, thereafter, whatever fat
was to be used for the cartridges should . be only from
sheep or goats, and that cows' and pigs' fat should never
be used. If these orders mean anything they mean that
64

ADDING FUEL TO FIRE
so far the cartridges were being greased with cows' and
pigs' fat. It was necessary for them to issue this new
regulation because they knew this fact. From the Gov-
ernment documents published by Forrest it is clear beyond
a doubt that, in the fat used for the cartridges, cows' and
pigs' fat was mixed, and that this fact was known to the
highest English authorities in the land.⁵ And when the
sepoys refused to bite these cartridges, the Feringhi mili-
tary authorities used to swear that this was altogether
false. Not only that, but they were threatened with severe
punishment if they refused to obey the military orders
through their silly prejudices. But when, regardless of
these threats, it appeared that the sepoys were going to
dare everything for the protection of their Dharma, then
the Sirkar quietly retreated back and yielded on one point,
allowing the sepoys to use a certain paper instead of fat.
But what guarantee was there that a Government which
could stoop to the meanness of using pigs' and cows' fat
would not use some other mean trick of the same nature
to make the paper substituted for the lubricating mixture
smooth ? If once unconsciously they were defiled with
cows' and pigs' meat thrust in their mouths, then the
missionary colonels and padre commanders would say,
"Look here, you have now been christianised!" If, on
the one hand, the military superiors tried to soothe the
indignation and anger of the sepoys by false denials and
lowly retractations, on the other hand, they provoked them
still more by distributing on the parades thousands of big
pamphlets full of abuse of Rama and Mahomed to spite
their religions. The beginning of the agitation against the
5. Says Kaye : "There is no question that beef fat was used
in the composition of this tallow." (Vol. I, p. 381). Says Lord
Roberts : " The recent researches of Mr. Forrest in the records of
the Government of India prove that the lubricating mixture used in
preparing the cartridges was actually composed of the objectionable
ingredients, cows' fat and lard and that incredible disregard of the
soldiers' religious prejudices was displayed in the manufacture of
these cartridges."—Forty Years in India, p. 431.
65
5

THE VOLCANO
cartridges was started early in January and, before the
month had ended, the Government had to yield on yet
another point—a fresh regulation allowed the soldiers to
use the fat they themselves prepared. Further, Birch, at
the same time, by means of another Government memo-
randum, assured all the sepoys that not a single objection-
able cartridge had been sent into the army ! The Prince
of Lies could not have been more versatile ! Twenty-two
thousand and five-hundred cartridges from the Umballa
depôt alone and fourteen thousand from the Sialkot depôt
had been already sent in 1856 ! In the rifle classes in
various places, even at that very moment, practice in the
use of these cartridges was being given ! In the Gurkha
Regiments, the cartridges were being openly introduced !
And military authorities used to threaten the sepoys that
they would be physically forced to use the cartridges.
Why, in one or two places, when the sepoys were obsti-
nate in their refusal to use these cartridges, whole regi-
ments were punished severely.
So, the sepoys determined that, whether they had to
use these cartridges or not, they would not rest quiet until
they had destroyed this political slavery and this depend-
ence which was at the root of all this trouble. What reli-
gion can a slave have ? The first step towards Dharma is
to be a free man of a free country.
Rise, then, O Hindusthan, rise ! Even as Shri Ram-
das exhorted "Die for Dharma ; while dying, kill all your
enemies and win back Swarajya ; while killing, kill well."
Murmuring such sentiments to himself, every sepoy in
India began to sharpen his sword for the fight for Swa-
dharma and Swarajya !
66

CHAPTER VI
LIT UP
THE SACRIFICIAL FIRE
IT is then inevitable that we must resist sword
in hand and wage a relentless struggle to win
back our political independence and to safe-
guard the honour of the ashes of our fathers and
the temples of our gods. We must hence hasten
first to propitiate the God of War, the Lord
of Hosts, even as Indrajit did before he marched on to the
battlefield, as the ‘Puranas’ tell us, to secure the uncon-
querable Chariot which he expected to appear forth out
of the blazing Sacrificial Fire. True it is that Indrajit was
foiled in his attempt to secure it because unrighteous was
his cause. But our cause is just, is righteous ! We need
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
67

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not fear frustration. Even though we know that to fight
for what we call Right does not unfailingly win through
its inherent justifiability or righteousness unless and
until it is upheld by proportionate Might, even
then to fight for our Right to the best of our might
is in itself a heroic joy which fills the warrior with
a divine intoxication.
Lit up the Sacrificial Fire then, for we must propi-
tiate the Lord of Hosts, the God of War !
Dig the Sacrificial Fire-pit on the altar wider and
wider, deeper and deeper ! Well and good : Lo !
the Fire of National Indignation is already bursting forth
into flames ! As the first sacramental rite, the Sankalpa,
the declamatory vow, has already been proclaimed a
hundred years ago as early as the year 1757 A.D. So, as the
first sacrificial offering, throw the Field of Plassey into
the flaming pit !
Where is the Kohinoor of the Panjab ? Here has
Dalhousie himself offered to help us and brought it,
snatching it away from its rightful owner the Khalsa of
Guru Govindsingh ! What sacrificial offering can be more
igniting the hungry Fire than the Gem of “ the purest
ray serene ”, this ancient historical emblem of Indian
Sovereignty ? Throw then, the Kohinoor of Punjab in.
The next immediate offering must be Burma. So let
its King Theeba be exiled and into this crackling Fire pit,
throw in the kingdom of Burma too.
How do you forget the Throne of Shivaji himself ?
What is the good of its keeping rotting at Satara ? We
must respect the right of precedence due to it ! Help us
Oh, obliging Britania by doing your worst with your
ravenous claws and relegating the kings there to the
graves—where they might yet rule freely—bring here the
68

LIT UP THE SACRIFICIAL FIRE
Maratha throne quick ! That the Fire of National indig-
nation may get more and more fed, fat and fierce, throw
the throne of Satara in !
The Gadi of Nagpur by itself could be but a poor offer-
ing for such a wild, warlike God. Hence bring ye, with
the Gadi all the empty palaces, elephants, horses and
the very Rânees too, not only with their jewels, rudely
robbed but with their shrieks and weepings and wailings
and in this Sacrificial Blazing pit throw it all altogether !
Even though the flames are rising like huge columns
leaping forth into the skies higher and higher yet they
must be lit still more intensely and fiercely. So throw the
lightning of Zansi in !
Ah ! Hear you not now the rambling so deep, so
roaring in the bowels of this blazing fire pit, this
‘ Yadnya-Kund ’ ? Surely some great explosive Revolu-
tionary Birth is getting into line, form and figure ! Feed
up, Feed up the mighty sacrificial fire with anything and
everything that is intensely combustible and at hand. So
throw the Nabob of Oudh in ! In with the Gadi of Tanjore !
In with the Nabob of Arcot ! Push in Raj Anguli, Sam-
balpur, all the Talukdars, Jahagirdars, Inamdars, Vatan-
dars in fact all those who can affix a ‘ Dâr ’ to their titles,
depriving them of all their proprietary rights and posses-
sions and making them all ‘ Nâdârs ’—throw in, throw in !
And now has come the time for Dum Dum ! Hasten
ye all, friends and foes, and bring all the new cartridges
in millions from the Dum Dum type factories spread
throughout India, dip them in cow’s blood, boil them in
pig’s fat and throw them into this all absorbing, all con-
suming Jaw of Fire ! There, from the white-heat point
the wild fire has risen to War-heat !
Dancing on the blazing flames out of the Sacrificial
69

THE VOLCANO
fire pit, Behold, arises at last the presiding Deity, terrible
to look at! Salutes innumerable to Thee, O War God,
O Lord of Hosts! Under whose fierce insolence tyranny
and injustice are ground and burnt to ashes, by the
mighty hammer in whose hands the shackles of slavery
get knocked down to pieces and Nations are set free and
whose hundred and one red hot tongues are lolling out
from hundred and one mouths athirst to lick up battlefulls
of blood when loaded war clouds burst out on Nations
fighting for life, for death,—that aspect of Thee, O spirit
of War, O Har—the terrible! We contemplate, we wor-
ship! Be propitious! Wilt thou, O Lord, sharpen the
edge of our sword and bless it with Victory?
“ If not, perchance, with victory—with Vengeance will
I bless your sword ! !—yes vengeance, the force de-
terent, the Nemesis which tyranny dreads like death and
which holds in the hollow of its hands the seeds of a
Victory to come ! ! ”
70

CHAPTER VII
SECRET ORGANISATION
WHILE the forces of the Revolution were thus
maturing themselves all over India, as described
in the last chapter, in Brahmavarta a Program-
me was being prepared as to how to organise
properly all the materials for the war so as to
bring the War of Independence to a successful
conclusion.
In the third chapter, we left Rango Bapuji and Azim-
ullah Khan holding secret interviews with each other in
some London rooms. Though history cannot record the
exact conversation the Brahmin of Satara held with the
71

THE VOLCANO
Khan Sahib of Brahmavarta, still, it is as certain as any-
thing can be that the map of the rising was being pre-
pared by these two in London. After leaving London,
Rango Bapuji went straight to Satara, but it was not
possible for Azimullah Khan to go direct to Hindusthan.
The extent of the dominions and the diplomacy of those
against whom the war was to be waged were not now
confined to Hindusthan alone. Hence, it was necessary to
attack the British Empire in as many places as possible.
It was also essential that it should be ascertained from
what quarters in Europe direct help or moral sympathy
could be expected in the coming War of Independence. With
this object, Azimullah Khan made a tour in Europe before
returning to India. He went to the capital of the Sultan
of Turkey famed throughout the world as the Khalífa of
all Moslems. Being informed that, in the Russo-Turkish
War then going on, the English had been defeated in the
important battle of Sebastopol, he stayed some time in
Russia. Many English historians have a suspicion that
Azimullah had gone there to ascertain whether Russia
would pursue the war against England in Asia, and, if
possible, to enter into an offensive and defensive treaty.
When the trumpet of National War had been blown,
all people openly declared that the Nana had completed
a treaty with the Tsar of Russia and the Russian army
was ready to fight against the Feringhis. If we bear this
in mind, the above suspicion is strengthened. When
Azimullah was in Russia, he had an interview with the
well-known writer Russell, the military correspondent of
the London Times. The poor man could not have even
dreamt that, immediately after the Turko-Russian War,
he would have to send from Hindusthan news of the
wonderful activities of his guest. As soon as Azimullah
heard the news of the defeat of the English, and that the
Russians had beaten back the attack of the united forces
of the English and the French on the 18th of June, he
obtained admittance into the English camp. His dress
was Hindusthani and rich like that of a prince. As soon
72

Peshwa Nana Saheb of Bithoor was the eldest
adopted son of Baji Rao II the last ruling Peshwa of
Poona. Having failed in all his constitutional at-
tempts to establish his claim to the gadi and the
pension of the Peshwa, he organised a country-wide
plot to overthrow the British domination in India
by actually waging an armed revolutionary war.
With the full co-operation and assistance of his
younger brother Bala Rao, his nephew Rao Saheb,
his Commander-in-Chief Tatia Tope, Rani Lakshmi-
bai of Jhansi and several other Rajahs he took a
prominent part in the Revolutionary War of 1857.
After the capture of Cawnpore by the Revolutionary
forces he was proclaimed Peshwa.
In the end when he realised that the tide had
turned against the Revolutionaries and that the war
was lost, he decided to stage a retreat and did so,
keeping the enemy engaged all the time. With a large
army, and a retinue of captives and adherents he
forced an entry into the State of Nepal and there
disappeared. His disappearance and end are, even to
this day, one of the unsolved mysteries of history.
Ruins of the residence of Nana Saheb at Bithoor — once a grand palace
where Indians and Europeans alike were lavishly entertained.
NANA SAHEB PESHWA OF BITHOOR
From an old portrait
“Nothing could exceed the cordiality which he constantly displayed in
his intercourse with our countrymen. The persons in authority
placed an implicit confidence in his friendliness and good faith, and
the ensigns emphatically pronounced him a capital fellow.”
Trevelyan in — Cawnpore

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SECRET ORGANISATION
as Russell came out, Azimullah said to him, "I want to
see this famous city and those great Rustoms, the Rus-
sians, who have beaten the French and the English
together." $^{1}$ Undoubtedly, Azimullah was a past master
in irony and satire. This curiosity on the part of Azim-
ullah to see these brave Rustoms who defeated both the
English and the French Russell undertook to satisfy, by
inviting him to his tent. On that day, till the shades of
sunset closed round them completely, "he was looking
with marked interest at the fire of the Russian guns." One
cannon-ball of the Russian guns burst right at his feet, but
he did not move. The gay Azimullah, before returning
home in the evening, said to Russell, "I have my serious
doubts whether you could ever capture this strong forti-
fied position." That night, Azim slept in Russell's tent,
and he left next day, early in the morning. On the table
was left this note :—"Azimullah Khan presents his com-
pliments to Russell, Esq., and begs to thank him most
truly for his kind attentions."
It is difficult to say where Azimullah went after leaving
Russia. Yet, from the mention in the Proclamation of Cawn-
pore later on, it would appear as certain that he was trying
to put through some diplomatic scheme in Egypt also.$^{2}$

1. The above account is published in Russell's Diary, a very
   well-known book. Russell was military correspondent of the Lon-
   don "Times" in the war of 1857. He was personally present in
   most of the affairs that he describes.
2. Lord Roberts has come across a genuine letter from Azim-
   ullah to the Sultan of Turkey about the oppression in Hindusthan.
   He says regarding this "There were numerous letters from his Eng-
   lish fiancées and two from a Frenchman . . . . It seems probable
   that 'les principales choses' to which Lafont hopes to bring satis-
   factory answers were invitations to the disaffected and disloyal in
   Calcutta and, perhaps, the French settlers in Chandernagore to assist
   in the effort about to be made to throw off the British yoke. A
   portion of the correspondence was unopened and there were several
   letters in Azimullah's own handwriting. Two of these were to Omar
   Pasha of Constantinople and told of the Sepoy's discontent and the
   troubled state of India generally."—Forty Years in India, p. 429.
   73

THE VOLCANO
So, Azimullah then completed his European tour
and returned to Brahmavarta. As soon as Azim
reached Brahmavarta, the whole political atmosphere of
the palace was changed. The Jaripatka which had waved
triumphant and victorious all over India lay so long in
dust in the palace ; the glorious drum of the Peshwas at
the beating of which thousands of Mahratta swords had
advanced on the battlefields and performed such deeds of
wondrous valour, that drum hitherto only sounded melan-
choly to the ear ; and the royal signet of the Peshwas on
the sealing of which had depended the fate of the Mogul
Empire had so far been lying sealing its own widowhood
in the palace. But now all these appeared to be thrilled
with extraordinary life. The dust-soiled Jaripatka shone
forth again ; the old drums which had almost forgotten
their martial music were practising again the forgotten
military airs ; and the regal seals seemed to be eager,
extremely eager. The eyes of Shrimant Nana Sahib,
“excited like those of a tiger, brilliant and fierce,”
since the arrival of Azimullah Khan, flashed more
fierce from injured pride and shone more brilliant
as he drank inspiration from the words of Shri
Krishna, “Therefore, get ready for battle”. Every corner
of Brahmavarta echoed with those eternal words, Tasmat
yuddhaya yujyaswa. For, in Swadesh, even in their own
Hindusthan, the people have been reduced to be slaves and
have foreign masters : the Swaraj is no more, they have
lost their natural rights of liberty ! All the attempts to
win back the country and its independence by conciliation
and by money, and by appeal, had so far failed ; hence,
be ready for war. “If you are killed, you will get to
heaven ; if you win, you will enjoy the earth ; so, be ready
for war ; you will not be committing any sin thereby”—
it was such heavenly inspiration that gave to Nana’s eyes
extraordinary brilliance ! ³ He studied the conditions of
3. “Nana’s object, then, was to lay the foundations of his
74

SECRET ORGANISATION
his country, saw the sufferings of his countrymen, noticed
the destruction of his religion and, diagnosing all these
chronic symptoms, he came to the conclusion that nothing
but the sword could cure that terrible disease of slavery.
Though it is not clear what was the ultimate ideal which
he set before himself, still, it would appear that, in his
opinion, the first thing to do was to drive the English out
by unsheathing the sword and thus get independence ; and
then, to set up an Indian Government under the banner
of the united authority of all the Indian princes. Before
his eyes rose clear the history of how Swadesh fell into
slavery through the turmoil of internecine quarrels. Before
him, on one side was the portrait of Shivaji Maharaj, on
the other of Baji Rao, his father. By seeing these two
pictures side by side, he could well contrast the past glory
and the present shame ! And, hence, Nana’s programme
was first to fight a united fight, to make India free and,
by removing internecine warfare, to establish the rule of
the United States of India which would, thus, take its
rightful place in the council of the free nations of
the earth.
He, also, felt that the meaning of “ Hindusthan ” was
thereafter the united nation of the adherents of Islam as
well as Hinduism. As long as the Mahomedans lived in
India in the capacity of the alien rulers, so long, to be
willing to live with them like brothers was to acknowledge
national weakness. Hence, it was, up to then, necessary
for the Hindus to consider the Mahomedans as foreigners.
And moreover this rulership of the Mahomedans, Guru
Govind in the Panjab, Rana Pratap in Rajputana, Chha-
trasal in Bundelkhand, and the Maharattas by even sitting
upon the throne at Delhi, had destroyed ; and, after a
future sovereignty at Cawnpore. The mighty power exercised by the
Peshwas was to be restored.; and to himself, the architect of his
own fortunes, would belong the glory of replacing that vanished
sceptre. There can be no doubt that some such thoughts influenced
him.”—Trevelyan : p. 133.
75

THE VOLCANO
struggle of centuries, Hindu sovereignty had defeated the
rulership of the Mahomedans and had come to its own
all over India. It was no national shame to join hands
with Mahomedans then, but it would, on the contrary,
be an act of generosity. So, now, the original antagonism
between the Hindus and the Mahomedans might be con-
signed to the Past. Their present relation was one not of
rulers and ruled, foreigner and native, but simply that of
brothers with the one difference between them of religion
alone. For, they were both children of the soil of Hindus-
than. Their names were different, but they were all children
of the same Mother ; India therefore being the common
mother of these two, they were brothers by blood. Nana
Sahib, Bahadur Shah of Delhi, Moulvi Ahmad Shah,
Khan Bahadur Khan, and other leaders of 1857 felt this
relationship to some extent and, so, gathered round the flag
of Swadesh leaving aside their enmity, now so unreason-
able and stupid. In short, the broad features of the policy
of Nana Sahib and Azimullah were that the Hindus and
the Mahomedans should unite and fight shoulder to
shoulder for the independence of their country and that,
when freedom was gained, the United States of India
should be formed under the Indian rulers and princes.
How to achieve this ideal was the one all-absorbing
thought of everyone in the palace of Brahmavarta. Two
things were necessary for the success of this terrible war
that was to be waged to win back freedom. The first thing
was to create a passionate desire in Hindusthan for this
ideal ; the second was to make all the country rise simul-
taneously for the purpose of achieving it. To turn India's
mind into the channels of freedom and to guide India's
hand to strike for freedom, these two things it was neces-
sary to accomplish ; and this in such a manner that the
Company's government should not suspect anything
while the scheme was yet unripe. Not forgetting historical
experience but guided by it, a secret organisation was re-
solved upon and, at once, started at Brahmavarta.
76

SECRET ORGANISATION
To obtain all information about this secret society,
either now or in the immediate future, is as difficult as it
is to obtain the information about any other secret society.
But upon the facts that occasionally come to light, one
cannot but admire the skill of the organisers.⁴
A little before 1856, Nana began to send missionaries
all over India to initiate people into this political ideal.
In addition to sending missionaries to awaken the people,
Nana also sent tried and able men to the different princes
from Delhi to Mysore, to fill their minds with the glorious
ideal of the United States of India and to induce them to
join in the Revolution. These letters, which were sent
into every Durbar secretly, clearly pointed out how the
English were playing the game of reducing India to in-
significance by annexing Swadeshi kingdoms under the
pretext of “ no heir,” how those states which were spared
yet would soon be reduced to the same fate as the others
and how, under the yoke of slavery, country and religion
were both being trampled under foot ; and they concluded
by exhorting the princes to work for the Revolution which
was to make them free. Direct evidence is available that
messengers and letters from Nana were sent to the states
of Kolhapur and Patwardhan, to the Kings in Oudh, the
princes in Bundelkhand, and others. The English arrested
one of such messengers at the Durbar of Mysore. The
evidence given by this man is so important that we give
it word for word below :—“ Two or three months before
Oudh was annexed, Shrimant Nana Sahib had begun send-
ing letters. First, no one would reply, for no one hoped for
any success. After Oudh was annexed, however, Nana
began a regular battery of letters and, then, the opinions
of Nana began to appeal to the Sirkars of Lucknow. Raja
4. Trevelyan says in reference to this : “ No society of rich and
civilised Christians who ever undertook to preach the gospel of peace
and goodwill can have employed a more perfect system of orga-
nisation than was adopted by these rascals whose mission it was
to preach the gospel of sedition and slaughter.”—Cawnpore, p. 39.
77

THE VOLCANO
Man Singh, the leader of the Purbhayas, was also won
over. Then the Sepoys began to organise amongst them-
selves and the Sirkars of Lucknow began to help them.
No replies to letters were received till Oudh was annexed ;
but as soon as that was accomplished, hundreds of people
came forward boldly and replied confidentially to Nana.
Next came the affair of the cartridges and, then, the dis-
affection was so great that letters were simply showered
on Nana".⁵ This very agent has given a long list of the
letters sent by Nana to the various Durbars.
While agents of Nana were moving from one Durbar
to another from Delhi to Mysore in order to draw them
into the War of Independence, it was in the Déwan-i-Khas
of Delhi, more than in any other Durbar, the seeds of
Revolution began to take root. The English had not
stopped at merely taking away the Padshahi of the
Padshah of Delhi, but had recently decided even to take
away the title of Padshah from the descendants of Babar.
The Emperor, though reduced to such an extremity, and
Zinat Mahal, the beloved, clever, and determined Begum
of the Emperor, had already decided that this last oppor-
tunity of regaining the lost glory should not be allowed
to go by, and, if dying was the only resource, then, they
should die the death which would only befit an Emperor
and an Empress. At this juncture, the English were
engaged in a war with Persia. Seeing that a simultaneous
5. "For months, for years indeed, they had been spreading
their network of intrigues all over the country. From one native
court to another, from one extremity to another of the great conti-
nent of India, the agents of the Nana Sahib had passed with over-
tures and invitations discreetly, perhaps mysteriously, worded to
princes and chiefs of different races and religions, but most hopefully
of all to the Mahrattas . . . . There is nothing in my mind more
substantiated than the complicity of Nana Sahib in widespread intri-
gues before the outbreak of the Mutiny. The concurrent testimony
of witnesses examined in parts of the country widely distinct from
each other takes this story altogether out of the regions of the
conjectural." Kaye's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, pp. 24-25.
78

SECRET ORGANISATION
rising in India would be a help, the Shah of Persia began
to open diplomatic correspondence with the Emperor of
Delhi. In the Declaration of the Emperor of Delhi, it had
been made quite clear that a confidential agent had been
sent to Persia from the Delhi Durbar. While this intrigue
was going on at the Durbar of the Shah, right in the city
of Delhi agitation was started to stir the public feeling
to its very depths. For this work, even public Proclama-
tions were sometimes posted up on the walls of the town.
In the beginning of 1857, a Proclamation couched in the
following terms appeared boldly : “ The army of Persia
is going to free India from the hands of the Feringhis. So,
young and old, big and small, literate and illiterate, civil
and military, all Hindusthanee brothers should leap forth
into the field to free themselves from the Kaffirs.” ⁶
Though these Proclamations were ever and anon posted
in public places, still the English could hardly trace the
persons who posted these Proclamations ; and Indian
newspapers used to publish these Proclamations and to
criticise them in mysterious language. The various
Shahzadas and their retainers in the palaces of Delhi open-
ly and secretly spread disaffection, and were engaged in
weaving a net-work of conspiracies. In the grounds of
Prince Nawab Bakht, for six years, Sergeant Fleming’s
son had been practising riding. But when, in the begin-
ning of April 1857, this English youth went to the resi-
dence of Vizier Mahbub Ali, the prince, excited beyond
measure, said, “ Away, get away from here. I boil with
rage when I see the face of any Feringhi!” So saying, the
Prince spat on him ! ⁷ Other people were working more
secretly and quite differently from the manner of this
abusive prince. Mrs. Aldwell says in her evidence, that
she had personally heard Mahomedan mothers asking
6. Kaye’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, p. 30.
7. Military Narrative (p. 374): “ Jawan Bakht commenced
abusing, declaring that the sight of the Kaffir Feringhi disturbed his
serenity, spat in his face, and desired him to leave.”
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THE VOLCANO
their children to pray that the English should be destroyed
root and branch.⁸ Mukund Lal, Private Secretary of
the Emperor of Delhi, says :—"Sitting at the doors of
the royal palace, Moguls and others within the palace used
to discuss the Revolution openly. The Sepoys would rebel
soon ; the army of Delhi would rise against the English ;
and then, all people, along with the army, would throw
off the Feringhi yoke and enjoy Swaraj—such definite
opinions were current. All people were inspired with the
hope that, when once the Raj was won, all power and all
authority would remain in their own hands." Thus, in
every cellar, in every house in Delhi, the disaffection only
awaited for a spark which should explode everything up.
Like the capital cities of Delhi and Brahmavarta,
Lucknow also, the capital of Oudh, the last victim that
had fallen a prey to the greed of Dalhousie, began to catch
fire from the flames of the War of the Revolution. The
Nabob of Lucknow and his Vizier were now residing
near Calcutta. To all appearances, the Vizier of Lucknow
looked as if he was wasting his time in luxury ; as a
matter of fact, however, Vizier Ali Nakkhi Khan was as
much absorbed in his dangerous conspiracy near Calcutta
as Nana Sahib himself was. One cannot help feeling
wonderstruck at the schemes—secret, extensive, and daring
—which Ali Nakkhi Khan was weaving to seduce the
Sepoys in Bengal and to prepare them to join him at the
right moment already fixed upon. Confidential agents
were sent by him, in the garb of Fakirs or Sanyasis, to
preach 'sedition' to the Sepoys. He opened correspon-
dence with the Indian officers in the army to make them
understand fully what immense advantages Swaraj could
confer as compared with the service of the Company.
How the English had committed an unpardonable crime
in annexing Oudh, how the royal family of the Nabob
had been treated with insult, and how the very Queen and
Begums were expelled with violence from the palace—
8. Trial of the King of Delhi.
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SECRET ORGANISATION
pictures of such heart-rending tyranny were drawn with
such pathos that the brave Sepoys began to weep pro-
fusely. And, then and there, the Sepoys would take the
water of the Ganges in their hands, or would swear by the
Koran, that they would live only to achieve the destruc-
tion of the English rule. When Subahdar Majors, Subah-
dars, and Jamadars and the bigger officers were all sworn
in, the whole regiment was naturally bound over. The
Vizier of Oudh, by the use of such tactics, won over the
whole army in Bengal.⁹ In Fort William itself, in Cal-
cutta, the Revolutionary agents of Ali Nakkhi Khan
moved silently.
After sending letters to the various Durbars from
Brahmavarta, Nana exerted himself thoroughly to awaken
all the latent power of the people. When Brahmavarta,
Delhi, Lucknow, Satara, and such other big and promi-
nent princes figured conspicuously in the Revolutionary
Organisation, how could this organisation suffer for want
of money? To preach to all those who were a power
among the people, thousands of Fakirs, Pundits, and
Sanyasis were sent out in an incredibly short time. It is
not true to say that all these Fakirs were true Fakirs ;
for, some of the Fakirs and Sadhus lived with the gran-
deur of Amirs. Elephants were given them for travelling.
Guards armed to the teeth travelled with them, and every
stage on their way was a regular camp. Provided with
9. Some of the letters of the Sepoys of Barrackpore fell into
the hands of the English. Kaye adduces the following letters as
evidence for the above. "The second grenadier said that the whole
regiment is ready to join the Nabob of Oudh." "Subahdars said
that they would join the Nabob of Oudh." Subahdar Madarkhan,
Sirdar Khan, and Ram Shahi Lal said, "that in treachery no one
could come up to the level of the "Beti-choot" Feringhis. Though
the Nabob of Oudh gave up his kingdom, he could not even get a
pension". Many other letters, like this, the English came across
afterwards.—Kaye's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, p. 429. (These regi-
ments consisted of the sepoys from Oudh, Agra, and were only sta-
tioned in Bengal.—Author's note).
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