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

MEERUT
no revolutionaries played the part of a traitor ! At last,
the Commander-in-Chief Anson wrote to the Governor-
General in despair, “ It is really strange that the incen-
diaries should never be detected. Every one is on the alert
here, but still there is no clue to trace the offenders.” To-
wards the end of April, he writes further : “We have not
been able to detect any of the incendiaries at Umballa.
This appears to me extraordinary ; but it shows how close
are the combinations among the miscreants who have
recourse to this mode of revenging what they conceive to
be their wrongs, and how great is the dread of retaliation
to any one who would dare to become an informer ! ” The
English Empire is based on Indian treachery ! So, in
Umballa, when not a single man turned traitor, the
Commander-in-Chief of the English became helpless and
began to thirst secretly for revenge, at the same time
wondering at the secret conspiracy of the Sepoys !
These fires had now begun in various places in
Hindusthan. It is but natural that there should be sparks
blown up here and there before the vast final conflagration
broke out. Since the visit of Nana Sahib, Lucknow was
in commotion. There also the houses of foreigners and
traitors began to take fire ! The plan fixed upon was that
on the 31st of May the whole of Hindusthan should burst
out in a universal conflagration, so that the English
should have no room to escape and thus die in the coun-
try they wanted to keep enslaved ! Though the Lucknow
branch of the Secret Society had consented to this plan,
the valiant Sepoys could not restrain themselves. Be-
sides, the exciting speeches every night in the meetings of
the Society and the sight of burning houses inflamed them
still more. On the 3rd of May, four such uncontrollable
Sepoys rushed into the tent of Lieutenant Mecham, and
said, “Personally, we have no quarrel with you, but you
are a Feringhi and must die!”² The lieutenant, frightened
2. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page 52.
109

THE ERUPTION
out of his wits at the sight of the fierce-looking Sepoys, im-
plored them for mercy and said, “ If you like you can
kill me in a second. But what will you get by killing
a poor individual like me ? Some other man will come and
take my place. The fault is not mine but of the system
of Government. Then why don’t you spare my life ? ”
At these words, the Sepoys cooled down and remembered
that their real aim was to annihilate the whole system
at once, and returned. But this news reached the officers,
and Sir Henry Lawrence disarmed the regiment by means
of a trick.
But at Meerut, things were taking a more lively turn.
Some Englishmen formed the novel idea of testing if the
Sepoys really objected to the cartridges. And they decid-
ed to force them on a company of cavalry on the 6th of
May. It seems only five of the ninety Sepoys there touch-
ed the cartridges ! Once more the same cartridges were
given them to be used. Again they all refused to touch
them, and went away to their camps. When this news
reached the General, he tried them before a court-martial
and sentenced all the eighty-five Sepoys to rigorous im-
prisonment ranging from eight to ten years !
This heart-rending scene occurred on the 9th of May.
These eighty-five Sepoys were made to stand under the
guard of European infantry and artillery. All the Indian
Sepoys were also ordered to stand by to witness the scene.
Then the eighty-five patriots were ordered to take off
their uniforms. Their uniforms were torn away, their
arms were snatched off; and all the eighty-five were hand-
cuffed. Those hands which so long held only swords to
pierce into the hearts of the enemy, such martial hands
were now loaded with handcuffs ! This sight inflamed
the hearts of all the Sepoys present ; but, seeing the
artillery on the other side, they did not draw their swords
then and there. Then the eighty-five Sepoys were told
that they were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for ten
110

MEERUT
years, and these religious martyrs were hurried away to
their prisons, bending under the heavy prisoners' chains !
What sign their compatriots made to these religious
martyrs at the time, the future will soon unfold. This
sign must have encouraged them ! We will destroy the
foreign slavery, under which to refuse cartridges mixed
with the blood of cows and pigs is an offence punishable
with ten years' hard labour ! We will soon break not only
the chains tightening round your legs but also the chains
of slavery riveted for one hundred years round the
feet of our dear Motherland ! This must have been the
meaning of the sign that they made.
This was in the morning. The Sepoys could not
possibly control themselves any longer. They returned
to their barracks, smarting inwardly under the insult and
shame of seeing their brethren being imprisoned by foreig-
ners for what was nothing more than an act of self-respect
in defence of their religion. When they strolled out in
the bazaars, the womenfolk of the town said to them
scornfully, “ Your brothers are in prison, and you are
lounging about here killing flies ! Fie upon your life ! ”³
How could they, already chafing under injury, hear wo-
men taunting them so in the open street, and still remain
doing nothing ? All over the lines that night there was
a number of secret meetings of the Sepoys. Were they
to wait now till the 31st of May ? Were they to sit like
dummies, while their compatriots were rotting in prisons?
Were they going to wait till others rose, when even the
women and children of the town were calling them traitors
in the streets? The 31st was yet very far off, and were they
to remain till then under the banner of the Feringhis ?
No, no. To-morrow is Sunday, and before the sun of
to-morrow sets, the chains of these patriots must be
smashed, the chains of the Motherland must be smashed,
and the banner of Independence must wave forth ! Im-
3. J. C. Wilson.
111

THE ERUPTION
mediately messengers were sent to Delhi, “ We will be
there on the 11th or the 12th, keep everything ready.”⁴
Sunday dawned on the 10th of May. The English
had so little information about the secret preparations of
1857, that they had no idea about the meetings of the
Sepoys at Meerut, much less of their communications with
other Sepoys. They began their day with the usual peace-
ful pursuits. Horse-carriages, cold appliances, fragrant
flowers, airing, music and singing, all was going on in
full swing. The servants in a few Englishmen’s houses
suddenly left their services, but this did not cause more
than a moment’s surprise. But here in the Sepoys’ camp
the point was being debated, whether there should be a
general massacre or not. The 20th regiment said that,
when the English were in church, they should rise with
the shout of “ Har, Har, Mahadev ! ” and massacre all
the English, civil and military, men and women, on the
way to Delhi. This plan was agreed upon at last. At
that time, the church bells began to toll in the air. The
Englishmen with their wives were strolling towards the
church. Meanwhile in the town of Meerut, thousands of
people, even from the villages, were gathering together with
old and broken weapons ! The citizens of Meerut also
prepared themselves for the country’s cause. Still the
English had not any serious information about this ! At
five o’clock, the bells were tolling for prayer— only it
was the last prayer of the Englishmen before they were
despatched to give an account of their sins ! There, in
the Sepoy lines, however, the air resounded to the fierce
shout “ Mâro Feringhikô ! ”—“ Kill the foreigner ! ”
At first hundreds of horsemen galloped towards the
prisons to free their compatriots. The jailors, also, being
members of the revolutionary party, left the prison and
joined their brethren, when they heard the cry, “ Mâro
4. Red Pamphlet.
112

MEERUT
Feringhiko!" In a moment, the walls of the prisons were
razed to the ground! A patriotic blacksmith came forth
and smashed the chains of all the prisoners. What a
wonderful sight when the liberated prisoners embraced
heartily their brethren; their deliverers! With a loud
war-cry, the heroes rode their horses and marched towards
the church along with their brethren, leaving the hated
prison behind. In the meantime a company of infantry
already started the Revolution. Colonel Finnis of the
11th regiment had approached towards them on horseback
and begun to threaten them haughtily in the usual manner.
But the Sepoys rushed at him like death. A Sepoy of
the 20th regiment emptied his pistol at him, and both the
horse and the rider fell dead on the ground. Infantry
and artillery, Hindu and Muslim, were thirsting for the
blood of the Englishmen! This news spread to the
bazaars of Meerut and Meerut was ablaze; and every-
where the Englishman was killed, wherever he was found.
The people of the bazaars took swords, lances, sticks,
knives, anything in fact that came to hand and were run-
ning about in the lanes. All the buildings that were in
any way connected with English domination—bungalows,
offices, public buildings, hotels—all were burning in a
blaze. The very sky of Meerut wore a threatening aspect;
there rose clouds of smoke, terrible flames of fire, and
confused shouts from a thousand throats; and, above all
of them could be heard the terrible cry, "Mâro Feringhi-
ko!" As soon as the Revolution began, according to
the plan previously agreed upon, the telegraph wires to
Delhi were cut and the railway line was strictly guarded.
The night being dark, the English who survived were
utterly confused. Some hid themselves in stables; some
passed the night under trees; some on the third floor of
their houses; some in a ditch; some disguised themselves
as peasants, while others fell at the feet of their butlers.
When darkness was falling, the Sepoys were already
marching to Delhi, and it was the townsmen of Meerut
that were accomplishing the work of revenge for the
113
8

THE ERUPTION
wrongs and oppressions of a century. The hatred to-
wards the English was so violent that stone houses where
they resided, which could not be burnt, were pounded
down! The bungalow of Commissioner Greathed was
set fire to. He was still hiding inside. The rumour went
about that the people of Meerut had risen in arms and
surrounded his bungalow. Then the Commissioner fell
at the feet of his butler and implored him for his and his
family’s life. The butler gave the mob a ruse and led
them away, and the Commissioner fled away from the
crumbling bungalow. The mob dragged Mrs. Chambers
out of her bungalow and killed her with knives. Captain
Craigie clothed his wife and children in horse clothes to
disguise their colour, and hid them all night in an
old demolished temple. Dr. Christie and Veterinary
surgeon Phillips were battered to death. Captain Taylor,
Captain MacDonald, and Lieutenant Henderson were
hotly pursued and killed. Many women and children
died in the burning houses. As more and more English
blood was spilled, the terrible cry of the Revolutionaries
and their spirit became more and more violent. Passers-
by began to kick about English corpses! If in the middle
somebody showed pity in striking down the English,
thousands of men used to run there crying, “Mâro
Feringhiko!” They would point to the mark of the hand-
cuffs round the wrist of any lately manacled Sepoy pre-
sent in the company and would shout, “We must revenge
this!” Then swords flashed out without any thought
of mercy.
Meerut was about the last place where the Revolu-
tion should have started in the natural course of events.
There were only two Sepoy regiments of infantry and one
of cavalry, while there was a complete riflemen battalion
and a regiment of dragoons of Europeans there. Besides,
the whole of the artillery was in the hands of the Euro-
peans. Under these circumstances, the Sepoys had no
chance of success. Therefore was it that, immediately
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MEERUT
after the rising, the Sepoys went away towards Delhi,
leaving the work of revenge to the townsmen of Meerut.
It was very easy to have stopped the Sepoys on the way
and to have crushed them. But even English historians
are ashamed of the cowardice, mismanagement, and want
of foresight among the civil and military officers there.
Colonel Smyth of the Indian cavalry ran away to save his
life when he heard that his regiment had risen against
the English. When the chief officer of the artillery was
getting his guns ready and parading them, the Sepoys
were already on the way to Delhi. Even then, the English
army, instead of following them, remained inactive all
night, as if cowed down. To tell the truth, when Meerut
rose, the English were absolutely dumbfounded. They
could not form any idea of this unprecedented and sudden
rising till the next day ! On the other hand, the Sepoys
had a clear programme before them. It was this : to rise
immediately, to release the prisoners, and massacre the
English. Either the English were frightened at the sudden
rising, or the citizens of Meerut, plundering and burning
on all sides, made it impossible for the English to see where
the real rising was. When they would be busy taking
their bearings, the Sepoys were to have marched towards
Delhi. This march towards Delhi was a very cleverly
organised plan. There is not the least doubt that the
leaders of the Secret Society showed unexampled skill in
taking hold of Delhi at the first heat, thus making the
Rising openly national in a moment, and destroying the
prestige of the English. And the plan was as quickly
executed as it was cleverly arranged. Before the English
got news of the rising, the telegraph wires between Meerut
and Delhi were cut, the road was guarded, the patriotic
heroes were liberated from prison, the blood of English
despots was flowing on the ground, and two thousand
Sepoys, with their drawn swords wet with English blood,
raised the significant cry of, " To Delhi, to Delhi ! "
115

CHAPTER III
DELHI
NANA Sahib Peshwa had been to Delhi towards
the end of April and all were anxiously awaiting
Sunday, the 31st of May, agreed upon as the
day of rising. If the whole of Hindusthan had
risen simultaneously on the 31st of May, history
would not have had to wait longer than 1857 to
record the destruction of the English empire and the
victorious Independence of India. But the premature
rising of Meerut benefited the English much more than
the Revolutionaries.¹ It is true that the spirited and

1. "It is certain, however, that if this sudden rising in all
   116

DELHI
patriotic women of the Meerut bazaars, who taunted the
soldiers and goaded them on to release their comrades.
have added one more honourable episode to our history.
But the Meerut Sepoys, by their rising, unconsciously put
their brethren in unforeseen confusion by warning the
enemy beforehand !² All the Sepoys at Delhi were Indian.
They too had become restless since the heroic martyrdom
of Mangal Panday. But the Emperor Bahadur Shah and
the Empress Zinat Mahal had tactfully restrained them.
Just at this moment, a message from the Meerut branch
of the Society was delivered to the Delhi branch, “ We
are coming to-morrow ; make the necessary preparations!”
Hardly had this unexpected and strange message been
delivered at Delhi when two thousand Sepoys were al-
ready on the march from Meerut, shouting, “ Delhi !
Delhi !” Night herself was then sleepless. How could
she sleep amidst the terrible noise produced by thousands
of horses stamping and neighing, the clanging of swords
and bayonets, and the fierce shouts and secret whisperings
of the marching revolutionaries ? When day dawned,
the Sepoys were astonished to find that the Meerut
artillery had not been following them. The Sepoys
forgot all the fatigues of the night and, without

parts of India had found the English unprepared but few of our
people would have escaped the swift destruction. It would then have
been the hard task of the British nation to reconquer India or else
to suffer our Eastern empire to pass into an ignominious tradition.”
Malleson, Vol. V. “The calamitous revolt at Meerut was, how-
ever, of signal service to us in one respect : inasmuch as it was a
premature outbreak which disarranged the preconcerted plan of
simultaneous mutiny of Sepoys all over the country, settled to take
place on Sunday, the 31st of May, 1857.’—White’s History, page 17.
2. “From this combined and simultaneous massacre on the
31st of May, 1857, we were, humanly speaking, saved by the frail
ones of the bazaar. The mine had been prepared and the train
had been laid, and it was not intended to light the slow match for
another three weeks. The spark which fell from the female lips
ignited it at once and the night of the 10th of May saw the com-
mencement of the tragedy never before witnessed since India passed
under British sway.”—J. C. Wilson's Official Narrative.
117

THE ERUPTION
losing a minute, marched on with vigour. Delhi is about
thirty-two miles from Meerut. At about eight in the
morning, the first part of the army was in sight of the
sacred Jumna. Seeing the holy Jumna which seemed, by
its cool breezes, consciously to encourage the heroes bent
on the holy work of Freedom, thousands of soldiers salut-
ed her, shouting, "Jai Jumnaji!" Horses began to gallop
on the bridge of boats leading to Delhi. But did the river
Jumna understand their sacred mission? It was neces-
sary to let her know this and get her blessings before
marching on. Then, catch hold of that Englishman there
walking along the bridge, and let his blood be poured into
the dark Jumna! This blood will tell her the reason why
these Sepoys are galloping so hurriedly towards Delhi!
After crossing the bridge of boats, the Sepoys were
already at the walls of Delhi. When the rumour reached
the English officers, they collected the Sepoys on the
parade-ground and began to treat them to lectures on
loyalty. Colonel Ripley, with the 54th regiment started
to oppose the Meerut Sepoys. The Sepoys of the 54th
regiment told their Colonel when starting, "Show us the
Sepoys of Meerut and we will then see." The colonel
said "Shabash" (Well done!) and the regiment march-
ed towards the Revolutionaries. As they advanced, they
saw the Meerut cavalry galloping towards the fort. Just
behind the cavalry, there were also coming on, the in-
fantry dressed in red garments and thirsty for English
blood. As soon as the two armies saw each other, they
saluted; and the army of Delhi met that of Meerut on
friendly terms! When the Meerut army raised the
cries of "Let the English rule be destroyed!" and
"Long live the Emperor!", the Delhi army replied by
shouting, "Kill the Feringhis!" In a moment, Colonel
Ripley, who, in confusion, began to shout, "What is
this!", "What is this!", was riddled with bullets and
fell down dead. All the English officers of the army of
Delhi were similarly killed. After having thus sealed their
118

DELHI
patriotism with English blood, the horsemen of the Meerut
cavalry descended and heartily embraced their comrades
from Delhi ! Just then the historic Kashmir gate of Delhi
opened, and this army of the heroes of liberty entered the
town of Delhi with the cries of " Din ! Din ! "
The second part of the Meerut army was also trying
to enter Delhi by the Calcutta gate. The gate was first
barred, but at the terrible knock of the Sepoys, it began
to open slowly, and soon the watchman at gate joined the
Sepoys with cries of " Din ! Din !! " The Sepoys who
entered by the Calcutta gate turned towards the bunga-
lows of the English at Daryaganj, and the buildings there
were all ablaze before long. Those Englishmen who
escaped the fire succumbed to the sword. The English
hospital was near by and it was found that it had given
shelter to the English bottles ! It is natural that the Se-
poys were enraged at the temerity of this hospital, after it
had seen the example of the bungalows of Daryaganj be-
ing razed to the ground for sheltering Englishmen ! So
they broke all bottles and after punishing the hospital,
they began the hunt for English blood in all the houses of
Delhi ! But what is an army without a banner and what
are mere cloth banners for an army like this ? So, where-
ver an English head was found, it was stuck at the ends
of lances, and with such terror-striking flags did the army
push forward at a rapid pace !
In the royal palace of Delhi, Sepoys and townsmen
were crowding together, shouting, " Victory to the Em-
peror." Commissioner Fraser was entering the gates of
the palace, wounded. A man called Nuzul Beg standing
near him pierced him in the cheek. At the sign, all the
Revolutionaries ran up the stairs, trampling Fraser down
all the way up. The Sepoys did not stop there, trampling
him, but went upstairs to the room in which Jennings
and his family were living. An attempt was made by
someone from inside to bolt the door, but a furious knock
119

THE ERUPTION
of the Sepoys burst it open. Jennings, his daughter, and
a guest fell to the sword in an instant. Where is that
Captain Douglas, who was running already dying with
terror, all through the streets of Delhi ? Kill him, too !
And this Collector hiding in the corner ? Give him also
leave of life ! Well, now there is not a trace of Feringhi
authority left in the palace of Delhi ! Now, Sepoys, you
can surely rest a while ! Let the cavalry pitch their
quarters in the palace, and let the Sepoys who had march-
ed all night take a little rest in the palace in the Dewan-
i-Khas.
In this way the palace of Delhi came into the hands
of the army of the people, and the Emperor, the Empress,
and the leaders of the Sepoys held a conference as to
future plans. It was now evidently foolish to wait till the
31st of May as previously arranged ; so after a little hesi-
tation, the Emperor decided openly to take the side of the
Revolutionaries. As this was going on, a large part of
the artillery of Meerut, who had also risen, arrived at
Delhi. They entered the palace and gave a salute of
twenty-one guns in honour of the Emperor and of free-
dom. The little hesitation that remained in the mind of
the Emperor, even after the pleadings and arguments of
the Revolutionary Sepoys, now completely disappeared
after this thunder of cannon ; and the hundred Imperial
yearnings in his heart awoke with a flash. The leaders
of the Sepoys, with their swords dipped in English blood,
stood before the dignified and magnificent person of the
Emperor, and said, “ Khavind ! the English are defeated
at Meerut, Delhi is in your hands, and all the Sepoys
and people, from Peshawar up to Calcutta, are awaiting
your orders. The whole of Hindusthan had arisen to
break the chains of English slavery, and to acquire their
God-given independence. At this time, take up the flag
of Liberty in your own hands, so that all the warriors of
India may assemble to fight under it ! Hindusthan has
begun to fight to get back Swaraj and if you accept her
120

DELHI
leadership, in a moment, we will either drown all these
Feringhi demons in the oceans or give them as food to
the vultures ! ” ³ The Emperor grew spirited after hearing
this unanimous and exciting eloquence on the part of the
leaders, both Hindu and Mahomedan. The memories of
Shah Jahan and Akbar rose before his mind's eye, and a
divine inspiration inflamed into his heart, that, rather than
continue in slavery, it would be preferable even to die,
in the attempt of liberating one's country. The Emperor
said to the Sepoys, “ I have no treasury and you will get
no pay ! ” The Sepoys replied, “ We will loot the English
treasuries all over India and lay them at your feet ! ” ⁴
When the Emperor, at last, declared that he would accept
the leadership of the Revolution, there was a thundering
roar of applause in the vast multitude assembled
in the palace !
While all this was going on in the palace, in the city
outside there was terrible confusion. Hundreds of the
citizens of Delhi took up any arms they could get hold
of, and joined the Revolutionaries and were roaming about
to kill any stray Englishmen in the streets. About twelve
o'clock, the bank of Delhi was besieged. The family of
Beresford, the manager of the bank, was killed, and the
whole bank was demolished. The mob then turned to the
printing office of the ‘ Delhi Gazette.’ The compositors
were busy setting into type the news from Meerut. Sud-
denly, there was a roar of “ Din ! Din ! ! ” outside, and
in a moment, all the Christians in the building were des-
patched. The types were thrown away, the machinery
was smashed, and everything that was made impure by
the touch of the Englishmen was destroyed. The great
wave of Revolution then rushed on ! But see the yonder
church ! Is it fair that it should hold its head high in
the march of this Revolutionary War ? From this very
3. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page 74.
4. Metcalfe.
121

THE ERUPTION
church have prayers gone forth to Heaven to perpetuate
English dominion in India ! Has this church preached
once at least to its congregation that their dominion in
India is a sin and a crime against liberty ? On the con-
trary, this partisan church has sheltered under her wings
these tyrants, to protect them and to look after their
material more than their spiritual welfare. We have al-
ready got the reward for allowing this den of cruelty to
be established in our midst, in the shape of cartridges
mixed with cows' and pigs' blood ! Run to that church !
Why are you looking on ? Smash that cross, take away
those pictures from the walls, pound down that pew, and
shout, " Din ! " Every day the bells ring in the church.
We shall, also, peal them on our way back. Peal on,
bells, peal on ! You are pealing so much to-day and still
no Englishman comes to the church ! How do you like
the touch of these brown hands ? Fall down on the
ground ! Our comrades are ready to trample you down !
When all the bells fell down with a crash, the mob smiled
to each other in a ghastly way and said to one another,
" Kya tamasha hai ! " " what fun ! "
But there, on the other side, there was even a more
ghastly scene taking place. There was a big arsenal of
the English army near the palace. In this arsenal there
was a vast quantity of ammunition useful for war. At
least 900,000 cartridges, 8 to 10 thousand rifles, guns, and
siege-trains were there. The Revolutionaries decided to
capture this arsenal. But this work was not at all so
easy. If the Englishmen in the arsenal were so inclined,
they could kill a large number of the attacking force ;
they had only to light a match. It was thus very danger-
ous to attempt to capture the arsenal. Still, without it,
the life of the Revolution was not safe for a moment ; so
thousands of Sepoys made ready to carry out the task.
They sent a message in the name of the Emperor to the
officers of the arsenal, asking them to surrender. But
such paper messages never conquer kingdoms ! Lieute-
122

DELHI
nant Willoughby did not even condescend to reply to the
note. At this insult, thousands of infuriated Sepoys began
to mount the walls of the arsenal. Within the walls were
nine Englishmen and some Indians. When they saw the
flag of the Emperor of Delhi flying on the Fort, the Indians
speedily joined their comrades, and the nine Englishmen
began to fight with the courage which despair gives. It
was evident that the handful of Englishmen could not
hold out long before the terrible onslaught of the Sepoys.
They had already determined to blow up the arsenal in
case all hope of saving it for England was gone ; because
they were not certain of their lives being spared even if
they were willingly to hand over the arsenal. On the
other hand, the Sepoys also, in spite of a certainty of
losing a large number if the arsenal was blown up, fiercely
continued the assault. To their aid came also hundreds
of the citizens of Delhi. Suddenly the terrible boom and
crash, as if of a thousand cannon, which both sides had
been expecting every moment, rent the air, and volumes
of flame and smoke went up to the skies ! The nine Eng-
lish heroes, instead of handing over the arsenal to the
enemy, set fire to it themselves and gave up their own
lives. With that one crash, twenty-five Sepoys and about
three hundred men in the neighbouring streets were
literally blown to pieces !
But it was not in vain that the Revolutionaries, at
last, got hold of the arsenal at the cost of so many men
who fell victims in the blowing up of the arsenal. The
Sepoys got a good store of arms, each getting four guns.
As long as the vast arsenal was in English hands, the
Indian Sepoys in the chief cantonment were under the
English officers. True, they had refused to attack their
brethren ; but they did not also rise against the English.
At about four o'clock in the evening, the thundering crash
was heard which shook the whole of Delhi. The Sepoys
in the cantonment suddenly came together and fell on the
Englishmen, crying " Mâro Feringhiko !" They killed
123

THE ERUPTION
Gordon Smith and Revely and, wherever an Englishman
was found, he was killed. The national vengeance
awakened after a century, crushed down men, women,
children, houses, stones, bricks, watches, tables, chairs,
blood, flesh, bones—anything that had any relation with
the English ! In the end, at the strict orders of the Em-
peror, many Englishmen were saved from massacre and
made prisoners in the palace. But such was the popular
fury against the Feringhi despots that, after a struggle of
four or five days, the Emperor was compelled to hand
over the fifty English prisoners to the mob ! On the
16th of May, the fifty Englishmen were taken to a public
maidan. Thousands of citizens, assembled to witness the
scene, burst forth in imprecations against English rule and
the faithlessness of the English. When the order was
given, the Sepoys killed the fifty in a second. If any
Englishman attempted to ward off a Sepoy's sword and
implored for mercy, loud cries of “ Revenge for handcuffs!”,
“ Revenge for slavery ! ”, “ Revenge for the arsenal ! ”,
would rise up, and the bent English head was soon severed
from the body ! The massacre of the English began on
the 11th and ended on the 16th. In the meanwhile hun-
dreds of Englishmen ran away from Delhi to avoid death.
Some blackened their faces and disguised themselves as
“ the despised ” Indians ; some died of heat, while run-
ning away, in the woods and forests ; some learnt by
heart the songs of Kabir and attempted to escape through
the villages in the guise of Sanyasis ; but were killed by
the villagers when the disguise was seen through. Some
were cut by the villagers as “ Feringhis ” when they sat
down under the trees in fatigue after walking long, long
distances ; and a few with the assistance and hospitality
of kindly villagers at last safely reached the English camp
at Meerut. The hatred against English rule was so great
that, at the news of the massacre of Delhi, hundreds of
villages determined never to allow an Englishman to set
foot within their limits. But in none of these villages,
not even in Delhi itself was a single Englishwoman out-
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DELHI
raged.⁵ The fact is proved by the enquiries of the English
themselves and is universally admitted by the English
historians. And still what lies were not circulated in
England by the English missionaries at that time ? We
have no hesitation in saying that nobody has ever dared
to make false statements more mean, despicable, or wick-
ed, than the false descriptions given, at the time, by
English missionaries “ from personal experience,” about
the events at the time of the massacre ! What can one
think of the love of truth of a nation which allows its
citizens to say falsely that English women were made to
walk about naked in the streets of Delhi, that they were
outraged openly, that their breasts were cut, the small
girls were outraged, and so on ? And these were priests,
too ! The Revolution of 1857 did not take place because
the Indians wanted white women ! It was brought about,
rather, to remove all traces of white women from India !
In this manner, the storm raised by the violent rav-
ings of the women of the Meerut bazaars, dug up, by the
roots, in one stroke, the poisonous tree of slavery which
had been standing in the country for a hundred years !
The chief cause for this extraordinary success of the Revo-
lutionaries in five days was the ardent desire among all
classes of the people to get rid of English slavery. From
the women of Meerut to the Emperor of Delhi, there was
a strong desire in every heart to achieve Swaraj and
protect religion. This desire had already been put into
shape by the secret societies. Therefore was it that in five
days the banner of Swaraj could be won on the historic
capital of Hindusthan, Delhi. On the 16th of May, there
was not even a trace left, in Delhi, of English domination.
Such was the hatred against things English that anyone
5. “However much of cruelty and bloodshed there was, the
tales which gained currency of dishonour to ladies were, so far as
my observation and enquiries went, devoid of any satisfactory proof.”
—Hon. Sir Wm. Muir, K.C.S.I., Head of the Intelligence Dept.
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THE ERUPTION
who uttered a word of English was mercilessly thrashed !
The rags of the English flag were being trodden down
upon the streets ; and the flag of Swaraj, from which
the strains of slavery had been washed away by hot blood,
was flying at the head of the Revolution ! The wave
of liberty rose so strong that in five days there was not
even one traitor in the whole of Delhi. Men and women,
rich and poor, young and old, Sepoys and citizens, Moul-
vies and Pandits, Hindus and Mahomedans—all attacked
the foreign slavery with their swords drawn under the
banner of their country. It was on account of this extra-
ordinary patriotism and love of freedom, and a confirmed
hatred of the English, that the words of the women of
Meerut could raise the throne at Delhi once more from
the dust !
These five days will be ever memorable in the history
of Hindusthan for yet another reason. Because these five
days proclaimed by beat of drum the end for the time
being at any rate of the continuous fight between the
Hindus and Mahomedans, dating from the invasion of
Mahmud of Ghazni. It was proclaimed first that the
Hindus and the Mahomedans are not rivals, not con-
querors and the conquered, but brethren ! Bharatamata
(Mother Ind) who was, in times past, freed from Maho-
medan yoke by Shivaji, Pratap Singh, Chattrasal, Pra-
tapaditya, Guru Govind Singh, and Mahadaji Scindia—
that Bharatamata gave the sacred mandate that day,
‘ Henceforward you are equal and brothers ; I am equal-
ly the mother of you both ! ” The five days during which
Hindus and Mahomedans proclaimed that India was
their country and that they were all brethren, the days
when Hindus and Mahomedans unanimously raised the
flag of national freedom at Delhi. Be those grand days
ever memorable in the history of Hindusthan !
126

CHAPTER IV
THE INTERLUDE AND
THE PUNJAB
THE news of the liberation of Delhi travelled with
lightning rapidity, and by its suddenness ab-
solutely staggered for a moment Indians as well
as the foreigners. Englishmen could not even
grasp for a time the meaning of what had come
to their ears. Lord Canning was fast asleep there
in Calcutta, in the certainty that peace was reigning
all over India, and Commander-in-Chief Anson was pre-
paring to go to the cool heights of Simla. When first
Canning got a scrappy telegram to the effect that Delhi
was free, he could hardly believe his eyes. The Indians
were in a consternation quite as much as the Englishmen,
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THE ERUPTION
because this unthought-of rising at Delhi spoiled all the
preconcerted plans of the Secret Revolutionary Organisa-
tion. And the Englishmen were not, now, likely to repeat
the tactical mistakes which they committed while confused
at the sudden rising in Delhi. They got an opportunity
to retrieve their mistakes, being forewarned of the future
great danger by this sudden shock. The throne of Delhi
could now be wrested from the Emperor in a couple of
days by a sudden onslaught. Whereas, if the rising had
taken place simultaneously in all places on the 31st, as
arranged previously, the complete success of the Revolu-
tion would have been assured in the course of a single
day. Though that plan failed on account of the sudden
rising at Meerut, the taking of Delhi at once openly gave
the Revolution a national character, and the sudden news
had brought about an extraordinary awakening in the
whole of Hindusthan. Now, the question was whether to
take advantage of this awakening and rise at once, or
wait till 31st as arranged before. What were the plans
adopted by the Centres ? Would not a rising without
consultation of the rest produce confusion similar to that
of the rising at Meerut ? Such were the questions which
the Revolutionary leaders in other places put to them-
selves and wasted their time with. There is no other
life-killing poison to a revolution than indecision. The
sooner and the more sudden the spreading of a revolution
the greater are its chances of success. If a delay is made
after the first start and breathing time is given, the enemy
gets time to guard himself ; those who rise prematurely
lose confidence, when they see no one joining them ; and
a clever enemy, profiting by the past, puts obstacles in
the way of those who want to rise later. Therefore, to
give the enemy time between the first rising and the
spreading of a revolution is always harmful to the Revo-
lution. But that is exactly what happened. This sudden
rising in opposition to their previous plans confused the
Revolutionary leaders in various places and they could,
for the time being, neither hold back nor rise.
128