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

THE INTERLUDE AND THE PUNJAB
One more thing must be told here. Those English
historians who vie with each other in dramatic descrip-
tions of the massacres committed by the Revolutionaries,
attempt at the same time to suppress purposely and cons-
ciously the inexcusable, unprecedented, and inhuman atro-
cities committed by their own countrymen. Before the
massacre of this unfortunate but patriotic regiment,
Heaven alone knows what brutal tortures they were sub-
jected to by the demoniacal English! For English
historians have clean wiped off from history this incident
and left no trace of it at all. Kaye himself says, "Though
I have plenty of letters with me describing the terrible
and cruel tortures committed by our officers, I do not
write a word about it, so that this subject should be no
longer before the world!" Here is a historian, indeed!
What proof have we that the ruffians, who stuffed cow's
flesh in the mouths of harmless inoffensive peasants on the
road to Delhi, did not also cram the throats of these brave
Hindu Sepoys of the 55th regiment in the same manner
before blowing them from guns!
While these inhuman atrocities were going on in the
direction of Peshawar, here, in Jullunder, the smouldering
fire of the Revolution was bursting into flame. John
Lawrence had started the policy of disarming Sepoys
wholesale, in the Panjab ; and Jullunder and Pilhur would
have been so treated long ago but for the admirable self-
restraint and organising power of the Pilhur Sepoys. The
Sepoys in the Jullunder Doab, like their comrades all over
the Punjab, had made preparations for a rising. It was
clearly given out by a patriotic Hawaldar, taken prisoner
in the assault on Delhi, and the Government reports have
recorded the same, that, all over the Jullunder Doab, it
had been decided to rise simultaneously. The plan was
that when the Jullunder army should send a corps to
Hoshiarpur, the 31st infantry should rise and march to
Pilhur ; on their arrival, the 3rd regiment at Pilhur was
to rise and all together were to march to Delhi. Similar
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THE ERUPTION
plans had also been made in other places ; but, before the
time of putting them into execution, the secret leaked out
and the English were forewarned. The Pilhur regiment,
however, observed great secrecy till the last moment. When
the siege-train was being taken to Delhi, they could easily
have broken it up, but not to spoil the general plan, this
regiment kept outward peace till the right moment. At
last, on the 9th of June, the signal agreed upon was made
at Jullunder—the bungalow of the colonel of the Queen’s
Regiment was set on fire. At this signal, the Jullunder
Sepoys rose in revolt at midnight. As a matter of fact,
the English had European soldiers and artillery there, but
the rising of the Sepoys was so unanimous and sudden
that, at their terrible war-cries, the English lost their nerve.
English men, women, and children began to run away
to places of safety. But the Jullunder Sepoys had no time
to waste in massacres. Since the English guns were aim-
ed at the flag of freedom in Delhi, every heart was drawn
towards that place. When Adjutant Bagshawe began to
interfere unnecessarily, one horseman galloped towards
him and shot him dead. The English military officers of
the place had, to the end, confidence in the Sepoys and
informed the higher authorities that they need not be
disarmed ; and they really did trust the Sepoys. For this,
the Sepoys not only refrained from massacring them
wholesale but spared the life of those also that had not
yet left the place. Thus, the Jullunder army kept its plan
well and the officers who trusted them were spared their
life. In this, the Sepoys showed great magnanimity.⁸ And
8. The English have circulated a myth and have called it the
Black Hole of Calcutta and the whole world is execrating the memory
of Siraj-ud-daulah for this wild invention of an English forger’s
brain. Here is a blood-curdling story of a real black hole which
the perpetrator himself has confessed to. “ In the Panjab, near
Ajnala, in a small island, many a Sepoy who had simply fled away
from a regiment, which was working under the reasonable fear of
being disarmed and shot by the Government for suspicion, was hiding
himself. Cooper with a loyal body of troops took them prisoner.
‘ The entire number, amounting to two hundred and eighty-two,
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THE INTERLUDE AND THE PUNJAB
yet, although the Government and their officers had treated
them kindly and they were thankful to them for their
trust, they did not allow these private relations to come
in the way of the national cause, and they gave up their
body and soul to the cause, when the war-bugle for coun-
try and freedom sounded.
Before beginning the revolt at midnight, they had
despatched a horseman to inform their Pilhur comrades.
As soon as this messenger of freedom from Jullunder
arrived, the Pilhur regiment also rose. Now it only re-
mained for the Jullunder men to march to Pilhur! It
was not an easy task, for it was necessary to avoid the
English artillery and cavalry; but such was the tumult
and confusion among the English and so clear was the
map drawn by the Revolutionaries that, at last, all the
Jullunder Sepoys arrived at Pilhur in perfect order. See-
ing thousands of their comrades coming to meet them, the
were then conveyed by Cooper to Ajnala. Then came the question
what was to be done with them! There was no means of trans-
porting them to a place where they could be tried formally. On
the other hand, if they were summarily executed, other regiments
and intending rebels might take warning by their fate, and thus,
further bloodshed might be prevented. For these reasons, Cooper,
fully conscious as he was of the enormous responsibility which he
was undertaking, resolved to put them all to death. Next morn-
ing, accordingly, he brought them out in tens and made some Sikhs
shoot them. In this way, two hundred and sixteen perished. But,
there still remained sixty-six others who had been confined in one
of the bastions of the Tahsil. Expecting resistance, Cooper ordered
the door to be opened. But not a sound issued from the room;
forty-five of them were dead bodies lying on the floor. For, un-
known to Cooper, the windows had been closely shut and the wretch-
ed prisoners had found in the bastion a second Black-Hole. The
remaining twenty-one were shot, like their comrades. 1—8—’57.
For this splendid assumption of responsibility, Cooper was assailed
by the hysterical cries of ignorant humanitarians. But Robert
Montgomery unanswerably vindicated his character by proving that
he had saved the Lahore division.”—Holmes’s History of the Indian
Mutiny, page 363.
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THE ERUPTION
Sepoys of Pilhur marched in a body to receive them. The
comrades heartily embraced each other, and the vast army
under the leadership of Swadeshi Jamadars and Subahdars
marched towards Delhi. On the way was a river and
beyond the river was the city of Ludhiana awaiting to kiss
the dust of these heroes' feet. The very morning, the
English officers of Ludhiana had received a telegram an-
nouncing the rising at Jullunder. But it was too late.
The officers had no hope of keeping the Sepoys there
under control. For, before the Government telegram
arrived, the Sepoys had got the information that their
comrades had already left Jullunder ! The English officers
at Ludhiana resolved to bar the way of the army coming
from Pilhur on the river Sutlij which flows between the
two towns. The bridge of boats on the river was des-
troyed and the English, the Sikhs, and the auxiliary troops
of the Raja of Nabha were protecting the bank of the
river. When the Revolutionaries got this information they
began to cross the river at night, four miles up the river.
Some of their number had just crossed the river in boats,
some were still crossing, while some were yet on the other
bank. In this state, the English and the Sikhs began
their artillery-fire on them. It was about ten at night and
the Revolutionaries could not find the whereabouts of the
English army. Besides, their guns had not yet crossed the
river. In this difficult situation, the English and the Sikhs,
with their artillery, fell upon them. But, when the shock
of the first attack was passed, the Sepoys, without moving
an inch, kept up a steady fire on the enemy. The ranks
of the Sepoys, though disordered for a moment on account
of the sudden attack of the enemy defended their position
for about two hours. Just then, a Sepoy's bullet went
right into the chest of the English commander, Williams,
and he fell dead on the field. Now, the moon had arisen
to dispel the midnight darkness and to throw her cool
rays on the heads of the devotees of freedom. In this
moonlight, the Revolutionaries saw the whole strategy of
the English, and they left their position and attacked the
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
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THE INTERLUDE AND THE PUNJAB
English boldly. Not being able to hold out before this
attack, the English army as well as the loyal Sikhs took
to their heels !
Proud of victory that they had just won against the
combined forces of the English and the Sikhs, the Sepoys
entered the town of Ludhiana about midday. In the city,
there was a certain Moulvie who always used to preach
to the people to break away from English slavery and
establish Swaraj. On account of the Moulvie’s lectures,
this town had become a powerful centre of the Revolu-
tionary party in the Panjab. When the sign came that
the time had come to deal the last blows at the chains
of slavery, the whole town rose. The Government stores
were looted and burnt. Churches, the houses of English-
men, the presses of English newspapers, all were burnt.
There was rivalry among the citizens to accompany the
Sepoys and show them the stations of Englishmen and
especially the houses of “ native dogs ” who used to wag
their tails under the protection of the Englishmen ! Pri-
sons were broken. Whatever belonged to the Government
and whatever was English was burnt down. That which
could not be burnt down was razed to the ground. In
this manner, Ludhiana also began to glow with the Revo-
lutionary fire.
But it was desirable for the Revolutionaries to go to
Delhi. It would have been a great strategic and moral
advantage if the Sepoys could have held Ludhiana fort,
as it was the key to the Panjab ; and if Ludhiana had
also been a centre of the Revolution, like Delhi, it would
have been a terrible shock to the English power. This
was, no doubt, known to the Sepoys. But it was im-
possible for them to remain in Ludhiana under the cir-
cumstances. They were all mere Sepoys, without a leader.
They had no ammunition. If, at such a juncture, there
had been at Ludhiana a Nana Sahib, or a Khan Bahadur
Khan, or a Moulvie Ahmad Shah, they would never have
155

THE ERUPTION
left Ludhiana. Now, they could do nothing but march
towards Delhi. And so they proceeded towards Delhi,
crying that they would now decide, at the walls of Delhi
itself, the question of slavery or Swaraj. The English
were so much demoralised then that, though the Sepoys
used to march in procession by day, yet no one dared to
suggest pursuit !
But the enforced idleness of the Revolutionary party
at other places for three weeks after the Meerut rising,
was completely taken advantage of by the English in the
Panjab. Because there were large forces of European
troops in the Panjab, it became easy either to disarm
the Sepoys, or compel them to revolt under odds of time
and place, and then destroy them. Seeing that the Sikh
princes and people were joining them instead of the Re-
volutionaries, the English expelled all the Hindusthanees
in the Panjab from the frontier up to the Sutlij and crush-
ed the seeds of the Revolution in that part of the country.
At this time, not only the Sepoys, but thousands of peace-
ful and well-to-do non-Punjabee Hindusthanees in towns
and villages, were deported at the mere will of the autho-
rities. And when the Punjab was, thus, completely in
hand, the movement of European troops towards Delhi
began on a large scale. There were two chief reasons why
the Panjab remained in English hands. One was that the
Sikhs sided with the English. If they had even been
indifferent, the English could not have retained the Panjab
for a single day. The Revolutionaries, naturally, spared
no pains to bring over the Sikhs to their side. As soon
as Delhi was free, a devoted servant of the Emperor sent
him a long, detailed, and very interesting account of the
state of feeling in the Panjab. In it, the faithful
servant Taju Din says, "The Sikh Sirdars in the Panjab
are all idle and cowardly, and unlikely to join the Revo-
lutionaries. They have become the playthings of the
Feringhis. I saw them personally in private, had conver-
sations with them, and spoke to them most earnestly. I
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THE INTERLUDE AND THE PUNJAB
asked them, ‘Why do you join the Feringhis and become
traitors to Swaraj? Won’t you be better off under
Swaraj? Therefore, at least for your own gain, you
ought to join the Emperor of Delhi!’ To this they re-
plied, ‘See, we are all waiting for the opportunity. As
soon as we get the order of the Emperor, we will kill
these Kaffirs in a day.’....But I believe they are
thoroughly untrustworthy.” So when horsemen came,
with the order from the Emperor to the Sikh kings, they
were assassinated! This was the first and most important
reason why the English found it so easy to keep their hold
on the Panjab; yet we cannot say that it was impossible
to drive the English away from the Punjab, in spite of the
opposition of the Sikhs. If advantage had been taken of
the laxity of the English till the month of May, and if
there had been a simultaneous rising according to the
original plan, then, the Sikhs too would have been terroris-
ed to join the Revolutionaries, or, at least, there would
have been a division among them; and, whatever else
might have happened, the English could not possibly have
taken hold of thousands of Sepoys separately and put
them down. It cannot be maintained that in the Punjab
there was no desire for Swaraj. The Brahmins of Thanes-
war and the Moulvies of Ludhiana, the shop-keepers of
Ferozepore and the Mussalmans of Peshawar, were
wandering about, preaching everywhere a holy war for
the sake of Swadharma and Swaraj. The writer of the
above-mentioned letter says, “If a Sirdar from the Em-
peror together with an army can be sent thither, the
Panjab will be free in a moment. The Sepoys at different
places will rise and rally round your banner. The English
will have to leave in haste. And I am certain that all
Hindus and Mahomedans will bow to your glorious
throne. Besides, it is desirable that the rising should be
made in this month of June, for English soldiers find it
hard to fight in the sun. They die quickly even before
fighting begins. As soon as you see this letter, you should
send a Sirdar with an army into the Panjab,” etc, etc.
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THE ERUPTION
Though popular sympathy in the Panjab was with Delhi,
the Revolutionaries could not take advantage of it. The
reason is that the wave of Revolution was inevitably
checked for three weeks after the freedom of Delhi. If,
according to the pre-arranged plan, there had been uni-
versal and simultaneous risings, the English could not
have moved anywhere ; solitary and helpless regiments
could not have been disarmed in the Panjab ; the wave
of Revolution would have daily gained in volume, and
undecided and hesitating people like the Sikhs would
have been carried away with it ; and, seeing a glorious
and successful beginning, those who sympathised but
dared not throw in their lot with the Revolution would
have become emboldened and,—India would have
been free.
In short, on account of the treachery of the Sikhs and
the premature rising at Meerut, the roots of the Revolu-
tion in the Panjab were all weeded out. And the Panjab
being the backbone of Delhi, the news was very discourag-
ing to the Delhi patriots.
We have given, above, the movements of the Revolu-
tionaries and of the English in Delhi and the Panjab
during the three weeks. The English had been making
all possible preparations during these three weeks, and
large contingents of European troops were constantly be-
ing sent from Calcutta to Allahabad. In Bombay and
Madras, in Rajputana and Sind, a minute inquiry was
made as to the sympathisers of the Revolutionary move-
ment, and great efforts were being made to crush it in
time, as was done in the Panjab. And, thanking God
for this previous warning of the Revolution, they began
to be confident that they had extinguished the flames in
various places. While these preparations were going on
during these weeks on the side of the English, on the side
of the Revolutionaries all possible outward quiet was
maintained in general, except for some small risings that
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THE INTERLUDE AND THE PUNJAB
took place here and there. This was the state of affairs,
on both sides, on the 30th of May. We must now turn
to the succeeding events—how this was immediately
altered, how the growing confidence of the English was
dashed to the ground, how the flames of the Revolution
burst again with redoubled vigour in spite of the great
losses it had sustained during these three weeks. Revolu-
tions are not regulated by fixed laws. They are not
accurately working machines like clocks or watches. They
have their own way of marching. They can only be
regulated by a general principle ; but they brush away
minor rules by their very shock. Revolution has only
one watchword—" Dash on ! " All sorts of new and
unthought of circumstances might arise during its progress,
but one must stop ; one must overcome them and
press forward.
Tell us now, O Muse of History, how Nana Sahib,
the Moulvie of Lucknow, the Ranee of Jhansi, and other
grand heroes clung to this principle with such extraordi-
nary persistence ! And fail not to tell, also, O History,
how all Indians could not cling to it as these heroes did !
Come and sing the songs of glory and of praise with us in
the first part, and, also, come and weep with us later on !
159

CHAPTER V
ALIGARH & NASIRABAD
JUST as the tremendous shock was shaking
the whole of North-Western India, towards
Umballa and the Panjab, so also in the
South, another part of the country was trembling
through another of its waves. In the town of
Aligarh, below Delhi, there was the regiment called
the "9th Native Infantry." Some detachments of
this regiment were stationed at Minpur, Itawa, and
Boland. The Government had such confidence in this
regiment, that they thought that it would never revolt
even though all the Sepoys in India should rise against
them. Though the officials heard rumours that, in the
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ALIGARH AND NASIRABAD
bazaars of Boland, secret revolutionary societies were rife,
they believed that the 9th regiment was sure to stand aloof
from them, and remained idle in this sense of false security.
About the month of May, the places about Boland
selected from amongst them a revered, faithful, and free-
dom-loving Brahmin, and deputed him immediately to
Boland town. The Brahmin walked away with quick
steps, his heart overwhelmed with conflicting emotions of
hope of success and fear of failure of the errand on which
he went, towards the military station of Boland, which
on the one hand was relied upon by the English for
loyalty, and, on the other, was looked upon with hopeful
eyes by the Mother-country. Will my compatriots listen
to my pleadings for the freedom of the Mother-country
and for the protection of religion ? Or will they cling
again to the dread and dark narcotic of slavery ? and draw
their swords against me for having disturbed their sleep,
when I wanted to wake them and show them the brilliant
vision ? ” With such feelings surging in his heart, but
with his face beaming with a quiet light of peace, this
Brahmin entered the station with his extraordinary
message. He was well received and his message was wel-
comed. As to the plan of rising, the Brahmin said that
they should all rise suddenly amidst the noisy jollity of a
great marriage procession, massacre the English, and pro-
ceed to Delhi. Of course, there was nobody there against
the principle of overthrowing English dominion, but a
discussion began as to the fitness of this mode of realising
the principle at Boland. Just then the Brahmin was ar-
rested on the information of three Sepoys of the regiment.
He was immediately sent from Boland to Aligarh, the
chief station of the regiment, and sentenced to be hanged
in the presence of all the Sepoys. While this was happen-
ing at Aligarh, the three loyal Sepoys were being disgrac-
ed and spat upon at Boland. The whole camp of Boland
heaped curses on them and went, without the permission
of their officers, to Aligarh where the Revolutionary
161
11

THE ERUPTION
messenger had been taken. On the evening of the 20th
May, the Brahmin was to be hanged. The whole regiment
was made to attend at the execution. What was to be
done now ? If they were to wait till the 31st of May, the
Brahmin would be hanged. As they whispered to each
other, “ He is going ! ”, and looked up, they beheld that
the Brahmin’s body was hanging on the scaffold, deliver-
ing a terrible oration of REVENGE ! What an oration !
Instead of strings of words, streaks of blood were flowing
incessantly ! The dead Brahmin could never in his life
have delivered such an oration as he was delivering from
the scaffold without uttering a single word ! For, in an
instant, a Sepoy broke forth from the ranks and, pointing
his sword towards the body of the Brahmin, he exclaimed,
“ Friends ! This martyr bathes in blood ! ” This shaft
from the mouth of that brave Sepoy, entered the heart of
the thousands of Sepoys quicker, even, than it takes for a
spark to explode a powder-magazine ! They, at once, drew
out their swords ; and these thousands of Sepoys, mad
with rage, began to dance with delirium, thundering,
“ Death to the Feringhi rule ! ”
It is no wonder that the English officers were at their
wits’ end after this scene. Not only did the “ most loyal ”
9th regiment rise, but it spoke out that, if the English
wanted to save their lives, they should leave Aligarh at
once ! Taking advantage of this generosity, the officers
at Aligarh with their wives and children, and all the other
Englishmen and women there, including Lady Outram,
left Aligarh quietly. Before midnight not a trace of Eng-
lish rule remained at Aligarh !
The news of the freedom of Aligarh arrived at Minpur
on the evening of the 22nd May. It has been said above
that a detachment of the 9th infantry was stationed here.
Anybody can imagine from the account of their brethren’s
doings at Aligarh, what the thoughts of the Sepoys of this
detachment would have been. The officers at Minpur got
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ALIGARH AND NASIRABAD
information that a certain Rajé Nath Singh, who had
fought against the English at Meerut, had gone to a place
called Jivanti. They, therefore, sent some Sepoys to arrest
him. But these Sepoys of the 9th regiment, instead of ar-
resting him, took him safely out of Jivanti and reported to
the officers that no one of that name stayed there. A Sepoy
called Ram Din Singh was sent by the officers under
guard to Aligarh, for disobedience. When he was half-
way, the Sepoys on guard released him, broke his chains
and quietly returned to Minpur! This regiment, fired
with patriotism, was only waiting for the signal to rise.
But in order that the enemy might not cripple them before
the simultaneous rising, they apparently kept such good
behaviour that the 9th regiment was regarded as the
"most loyal" regiment in the whole of India! But since
the above-mentioned tour of the Brahmin, not only the
Sepoys, but the whole mass of the people of the Aligarh
district also, were in a rage. The Minpur detachment of
the 9th regiment had been sent to the Aligarh district to
quell the growing discontent, and, when it returned to
Aligarh, the butchers, and even loafers in the bazaars, ask-
ed them questions like, "When are you going to kill the
Feringhis?", "When are you going to rise for freedom?",
How would Sepoys have liked to postpone a work for
which even butchers and loafers were impatient? Just
then came the news of Aligarh. Seeing that their com-
rades had risen, they thought it disgraceful to wait any
longer, and so they rose that same day. They, also, spared
the life of all Englishmen who fell into their hands, took
plenty of arms and ammunition from the arsenal, loaded
it on camels, and started on the 23rd to Delhi.
At the same time, a similar movement was going on
amongst the garrison of Itawa. The chief magistrate and
collector at Itawa, Allen O. Hume, as soon as he heard
the news from Meerut, formed a select corps to guard the
roads round about Itawa, with the help of the assistant
magistrate Daniell. On the 19th this corps met a handful
163

THE ERUPTION
of Sepoys coming from Meerut. The few Sepoys sur-
rendered and were ordered to lay down their arms. The
Meerut Sepoys pretended to obey the order, disarmed the
enemy of his suspicion, and then suddenly took up their
arms and massacred their captors! Before this news got
about, the Sepoys entered a Hindu temple near by, and hid
themselves there with all their arms. When the collector of
Itawa, Mr. A. O. Hume, heard this, he and Daniell took
some Indian soldiers and marched to attack the temple.
At first, Mr. Hume was confident that the handful of
Sepoys must have been killed by the populace even before
his little corps attacked them ! But, when they came near
the temple, they discovered that the townsmen, instead of
killing them, were singing their praises and giving them
provisions. Though the villagers thus belied his ex-
pectations, Daniell thought that at least his Sepoys and
police would stand by him. 'With immense confidence,
he gave the order to attack the temple and himself rushed
forward. But who followed him ? Only a single Sepoy
was inclined to obey his order ! But this white com-
mandant and his black slave were both despatched in an
instant by bullets from the Sepoys in the temple, and Mr.
Hume, who was proudly coming up, left the Sepoys in
peace at the temple and took to his heels !
On this day, the 19th of May, a rumour was afloat that
the army at Itawa was going to rise. But the head-quar-
ters were at Aligarh, and, as the order to rise had not yet
come, the Sepoys at Itawa remained quiet. And it would
have remained so till the 31st of May but for the fact
that in the meantime the self-sacrifice of the Brahmin
martyr set the Revolutionary flames glowing. When, on
the 22nd, the news came that Aligarh had risen, Itawa
rose also. On the 23rd of May, the whole army rose,
shouting, "Har ! Har ! Mahadev !", sword in one hand
and a lighted torch in the other. The Sepoys then attack-
ed the English camp. They looted the treasury, broke
prisons, and told the English that, unless they left the
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ALIGARH AND NASIRABAD
place instantly, they would be indiscriminately massacred.
In this terrible plight, the English took their wives and
children with them and ran wherever they found a way !
Mr. Hume himself, profiting by the magnanimity of the
Sepoys, disguised himself as an Indian woman and ran
away.¹ When Hume ran away, it was proclaimed by beat
of drum that Itawa was independent, and all the Sepoys
went away to join the chief division of the regiment
marching towards Delhi.
Thus the regiment rose like one man. In places so far
apart as Aligarh, Boland, Minpur, and Itawa, the pro-
gramme was perfectly carried out—looting the treasury,
announcing freedom, sparing the life of the English when
at the mercy of the sword, and after securing a good sup-
ply of provisions and ammunition, marching to Delhi.
The regiment which the English thought would be the
last to rise, thus rose sword in hand long before the
others. The English, thereafter, could not feel them-
selves secure of anything !
There is a small town called Nasirabad about twelve miles
from Ajmere. In this town there was a company of Eng-
lish soldiers and the 30th native infantry, besides the
artillery. There were, also, the 1st Bombay Lancers and
the 15th regiment which had been lately brought from
Meerut. In the last regiment, the hatred of the English
and the desire for driving them out were strongest. And
it would have been a wonder, if the thousand political
preachers from Meerut would have let go this opportunity
of explaining personally to the Nasirabad Sepoys the
resolutions of the Secret Society at Meerut. Excepting
some men of the Bombay Lancers, the whole Sepoy army
was unanimous, and resolved only to wait a suitable op-
portunity. This came on the 28th of May, for, on that
day, the discipline in the artillery was very lax. Thus, at

1. Red Pamphlet, part II, page 70.
   165

THE ERUPTION

the appointed signal, the 15th regiment from Meerut took
possession of the artillery. To take it back the English
officers together with the Bombay Lancers marched upon
them. But, in a very short time, the Lancers retired
with wisdom, and the English officers fell dead on the
ground. Newbury was not only killed but his body was
blown to pieces! Colonel Penny and Captain Spottis-
woode also fell in this skirmish. Then, leaving all hope
of the city, the English ran away to Biau. The Revolu-
tionaries took the treasury, and their unanimously elected
commander gave presents to the Sepoys in the name of
the Emperor of Delhi. The houses of the Englishmen
were burnt. Then that army composed of thousands of
Sepoys marched towards Delhi brandishing their arms
to the tune of enthusiastic military airs!

166

CHAPTER VI
ROHILKHAND
BAREILLY was the capital of the province of
Rohilkhand. The English had wrested the king-
dom away from the Rohilla Pathans who had
been ruling the province. There was a popula-
tion there of brave, strong, and spirited Mussul-
mans, biding their time to take revenge for this
insult. Rohilkhand and its capital must also be counted
among the places where the Revolutionary propaganda
against English rule was spreading fast about the year
1857. In Bareilly, at this time, were stationed the 8th
Irregular Cavalry, and 18th and 68th regiments of infantry,
and a battery of Indian artillery. Over this force, the
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chief officer was Brigadier Sibbald. About the month of
April, some Sepoys had expressed their doubt about the
cartridges, but the Government did not pay any serious
attention to them, and forced the Sepoys singly to accept
them. Once or twice again there was some tumult and
growing disaffection among the Sepoys, but the Govern-
ment could not see its danger.
The news of the Meerut rising reached Bareilly on the
14th of May. Thereupon, the Englishmen sent all their
families towards Naini Tal and ordered the cavalry to be
in readiness. The cavalry was also Indian, but it had
the special and complete confidence of the English. All
the Sepoys, including the cavalry, were called on parade
on the 15th of May, and the chief English officer preached
to them loyalty and good behaviour. He said that the
new cartridges were thenceforth to be stopped, and that
the Sepoys should use the old cartridges to which they
had no objection. Nay more, he said he would himself
trample into the dust any new cartridges which he saw
on the field and thus tried to remove the Sepoy's fear
about the cartridges. As a matter of fact, to dilate upon
cartridges now was superfluous. The Commander-in-
Chief had issued an order that throughout Hindusthan,
the new cartridges were, thenceforth, to be stopped. When
the Government thus drew back immediately after the
Meerut rising, and stopped, of their own accord, the use
of the cartridges upon which they insisted so much before
the month of May, the people and the Sepoys saw in the
new order nothing but a sign of fear and weakness. The
error of the theory that the Sepoys revolted solely on ac-
count of the cartridges, was now to be clearly proved at
Bareilly. The Brigadier told the Sepoys that he would
himself smash these cartridges, and tried to reassure
them ; but the days were gone when such words could
pacify them. What was the use of giving orders about
cartridges ? Where the question at issue was whether
the English should any longer have the power of giving
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any orders whatsoever in the land, to give further orders
was to inflame the quarrel. To lecture now about good
or bad cartridges was an unpardonable digression !
For the people of Rohilkhand had now received an
urgent and pressing invitation from the Swadeshi throne
of Delhi to hold aloft the flag of Indian freedom. Was
this invitation one that could be lightly treated ?
“ From the commander of the army at Delhi to the com-
mander of the army at Bareilly, hearty embraces. Brothers,
there is a fight with the English proceeding at Delhi. By
the grace of God, even the first defeat that they have
received at our hands has demoralised them more than ten
defeats would have done them at other times. Innumer-
able Swadeshi heroes are coming to Delhi. At such a
time, if you are dining there, come here to wash your
hands. The Padishah of Shahs and the Home Splendour,
our Emperor of Delhi, will give you a great welcome and
fitly reward your services. Our ears are anxious for the
sound of your cannon and our eyes are thirsting to see
you. Come ! Come at once ! For, Brethren, how will
the rose-tree flower without spring ? How will a child
live without milk ? ”
Was this an invitation to be rejected ? While the invita-
tion was on its way, Khan Bahadur Khan, the descendant
of Hafiz Rahmat, the last independent Rohilla chief, was
weaving the nets of the secret society. Khan Bahadur
Khan used to get two pensions from the English, one as
the descendant of Hafiz Rahmat, and the other as a judi-
cial officer under the English. He was known throughout
the province as a great favourite of the English. The
Government also had great confidence in him. And he
was the life and centre of all the secret societies of Bareilly!
But, though this invitation asked the people of Bareilly
to come at once, they decided to wait till the 31st of May,
in accordance with the plans originally arranged. All the
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Sepoys were doing their duties without, in the least, dis-
obeying the English officers. A few days before, a hundred
of the revolted Meerut Sepoys came and lived secretly in
the " lines " themselves, and stirred up the revolutionary
spirit by the narrative of the events at Meerut, and then
left. Still, the Sepoys kept the peace outwardly. The
Subahdars of the regiments even went so far as to request
the Europeans to bring their families ! But before this
request was fulfilled, a rumour arose on the 29th of May
that the Sepoys had taken oath, at the time of the morning
bath in the river, that they would massacre the English
at two o'clock ! Immediately the English got ready the
loyal cavalry regiment. They, also, came together and
formed without murmur. But the whole day passed and
the Sepoys never rose. The English retired at night, say-
ing that though the rumour was false, it at least incident-
ally proved that the cavalry could be relied upon. Just
then, sure and certain information came that the cavalry
had sworn, long before, never to lift their swords against
their comrades or help the English ! The English now
could not make up their minds what to believe. Not
only the 29th, but also the 30th passed away
without any incident. And, on the latter day, the
conduct of the Sepoys was so good—if anything,
it was more loyal than ever—that the civil and
military authorities made up their minds that the
danger was surely past and that there was no
longer any reason for fear !
The 31st of May dawned. Early in the morning, the house
of Captain Brownlow was set on fire. But the English
had not much reason to be particularly fearful of any-
thing serious. The day was Sunday. The Sunday mili-
tary parade passed off smoothly, as well as the reports
of native officers. The English officers even observed that
the Sepoys were more than usually quiet that day. The
English prayed in their churches. There was not the least
sign of trouble anywhere.
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