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

THE ERUPTION
delivering sweet speeches to pacify the Sepoys ! But the
days were gone when such empty lectures would have
pacified soldiers. The 31st of May dawned, and the
Barracks at Benares were set fire to, the sign for the
other Sepoys in the province to rise. So, the rising must
take place in the first week of June. To-day is the 3rd
of June and a good day. For, don’t you see that the
treasure of Gorakhpore, together with the treasure of
Azimgarh—altogether seven lakhs of Rupees—is being
sent to Benares ? What better opportunity can you
desire or expect ?
The twilight of the 3rd of June was slowly changing to the
darkness of the night at Azimgarh. All the English
officers of Sepoy regiments were dining together at the
club, and the women and children were playing and frolic-
king near by. Immediately, the party heard a tremendous
noise. The English had by the first week of June learnt
by heart the meaning of these sudden crashes. Even the
sudden hush in the midst of their jollity looked like a
mutual whisper of “ The Sepoys have risen ! ” Just then
followed a thundering noise of drums and clarionets !
Not a moment passed before the white people, with the
picture of the Meerut events before their mind’s eye,
started running for dear life. Officers, women and chil-
dren despaired of life. But the Azimgarh Sepoys, seeing
this unfortunate people suffering a worse agony of death,
relinquished all thoughts of revenge. They took charge
of them in order to protect them from being harmed by
stray Sepoys, and ordered them to leave Azimgarh at
once. But what about some of the over enthusiastic Sepoys
who had sworn to shed English blood on that day ? ³
Well then, Lieutenant Hutchinson and Quarter-Sergeant
Lewis, at least your bodies must fall a prey to our bullets!
Enough, let the rest run away alive. If they cannot run,
we have no objection to their leaving in carriages ! But
3. Narrative, p. 58.
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BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
the officers and their wives complained, "Who will give
us carriages now?" But the Sepoys replied gallantly,
"Do not be anxious; we will give you carriages." With
such extraordinary magnanimity, the Sepoys brought
carriages, took away the handcuffs of the English, put
them in carriages, and even gave a few Sepoys as guard;
and thus, the whole caravan, including all the flags and
other signs of English rule, started forth for Benares!
On the other side, the treasure of seven lakhs, the English
store of ammunition, the prison bearing the stamp of
British rule, offices, roads, barracks—all fell into the hands
of the Sepoys. And who was foremost in all this work?
It was the police, the police whom the English trusted for
information about a possible rising in order to save their
lives! The police were as well undermined and as harm-
less on the surface as the Sepoys. When the appointed
time came, they began by hoisting the flag of Swaraj on
the English houses and prisons. Some Englishmen who
did not find room in the carriages going to Benares ran
away in the night to Ghazipur. When the sun rose the
next day, it gazed in admiration at the marvellous trans-
formation that had taken place during its short absence,
and shone delightfully on the revolutionary flag flying at
Azimgarh. The Sepoys, in the flush of victory, drew up
a great military procession; and, to the strains of martial
music and banners unfurled marched away to Fyzabad.
Although the news of the freedom of Azimgarh reached
Benares, there were hopes amongst the English that
Benares at least would be safe. Since the news of the
Meerut rising, John Lawrence in the Panjab and Lord
Canning in Calcutta had been straining every nerve to send
English troops to the chief centres of the Revolution.
Since the northern army was busy in the siege of Delhi,
there was perfect helplessness in the parts south of Delhi,
and English officers sent pathetic requests to Calcutta,
saying, "For God's sake, send us Europeans!" We have
already described how, by this time, Lord Canning had
183

THE ERUPTION
called European troops from Bombay, Madras, and Ran-
goon, and had retained in India the army destined for the
now abandoned invasion of China. Out of these troops,
General Neill, with the Madras fusiliers had, about this
time, arrived at Benares. The first succour of European
troops, and that too under a bold, able, and cruel general
like Neill, restored the confidence of the English at Benares.
Just then, the English army at Danapur also came to
Benares. As there was extraordinary unrest in Benares
and there was clear evidence that the Sepoys were also
concerned in the Revolutionary propaganda, the English
thought that they should make an attempt to crush the
Revolution in its embryo. From the first, the English
were confident that this could easily be done by the com-
bined strength of General Neill's troops, the Sikh nobles
and soldiers, and the artillery. The news of Azimgarh
reached Benares on the 4th of June and it was decided
after considerable discussion that the Sepoys should be
disarmed before they rose. Accordingly, a general parade
was ordered that afternoon.
Hearing this order, the Sepoys guessed the rest. They
also got the secret information that the English held the
artillery in readiness. When on the parade maidan the
English officers gave them the order to lay down their
arms, it was clear to them that they would be first dis-
armed, and then blown from the mouth of guns. There-
fore, instead of laying down their arms, they attacked
the neighbouring arsenal and fell on the English officers
with fierce cries. Just then, there arrived on the scene
the Sikh regiment intended to overawe them. The Sikhs
were at the time possessed of such a spirit of loyalty to
England, that they fell at the feet of the English and
prayed to be given a chance of fighting the Sepoys, at
least for a short time ! A Hindu Sepoy attacked their
commander Guise and he dropped down dead in an
instant. Hardly had Brigadier Dodgson arrived to take
his place, when a Sikh Sepoy, at the inspiration of the
184

BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
moment, shot him ! But the other Sikhs, unable to for-
give this great crime, hacked him to pieces ! The Sikhs
were waiting for the reward of this loyal deed, when the
English artillery opened fire on them all ! Seeing the
confusion going on between the Hindu and the Sikh
Sepoys, the English authorities must have suspected that
the Sikh regiment also had deserted them. On account
of this misunderstanding, they opened fire on all indis-
criminately. Now the unfortunate Sikhs had no other
way left but to join the Revolutionaries ! All the Indians,
together, attacked the artillery thrice. This was about
the only prominent occasion in the history of 1857 when
Hindus, Mahomedans, and Sikhs, unitedly fell upon the
English ! But, at that very moment, the Sikhs were mak-
ing extraordinary efforts to expiate this sin ! While the
battle between the English and the Sepoys was raging
near the barracks, there was a fear that the townsmen
would also rise. In this fear, English officers, women,
and children were running about in the streets. Then
the Sikh Sirdar, Surat Singh, rushed forward to protect
them. The treasury at Benares, besides containing lakhs
of Rupees, also contained the most valuable ornaments
wrested by the English from the late Sikh Queen. And
this treasury was guarded by the Sikhs ! It was here im-
possible that the Sikhs would not entertain the idea of
taking hold of the treasury and taking back the ornaments
belonging to their Queen who had been deported by the
English. But their leader, the loyal Surat Singh, came
forward and arranged that his co-religionists should not
touch any of them ! And, soon, the treasure was trans-
ferred to the guard of English soldiers. At this time, a
Pundit, called Gokul Chand, had also joined the side of
the English. Even the Raja of Benares placed his all—
his influence, his wealth, and his power—his everything at
the feet of his lord—not Kashi Vishweshwara, but—the
English ! The Sepoys alone did not surrender in spite of
the hot fire, but retired fighting out of the field and
spread all over the province.
185

THE ERUPTION
No doubt, the English, following John Lawrence’s plan
in the Panjab, crushed the Benares rising in embryo ; but
the news that Benares had risen spread with lightning
rapidity all over Northern India, and the different Revo-
lutionary centres, which were waiting with their eyes
directed towards Benares, began a series of risings. Javan-
pur rose on the 5th of June. When the news arrived at
Javanpur that the Sepoys from Benares were coming there
in all haste, the English officers began to deliver lectures
on loyalty to the Sikh Sepoys stationed there. But these
lectures had hardly ended when the tramp of Benares
Sepoys was heard rapidly approaching ! The few Sikh
Sepoys at Javanpur who belonged to the Sikh regiment at
Benares at once joined the Revolutionaries, and the
whole was ablaze in the flames of the Revolution. Seeing
this, the joint magistrate, Cuppage, again stood up to
lecture, but, from the audience, came a whizzing bullet
instead of applause, and the magistrate sahib fell down
dead ! Commanding officer Lieutenant Mara also fell
shot by a bullet. After this, the Revolutionaries attacked
the treasury and ordered all the English to clear out of
Javanpur. Now, the Benares cavalry too entered the
town. They had taken terrible oaths to kill every English-
man they met. Seeing an old deputy collector running,
the Sowars ran after him. Some Javanpur men tried to
mediate, “ Give the poor man his life, he has treated us
very kindly.” But the Sepoys replied, “Can’t help it ;
he is an Englishman and must die ! ” ⁴
Even in times of such excessive hatred, the Revolutionaries
gave permission to Englishmen who surrendered, to lay
down their arms and run away quietly. Making use of
this permission, most of the Englishmen vacated Javanpur
and departed in a short time. They hired boats on the
banks of the Ganges to go to Benares. But, when in the
middle of the stream, the boatmen looted them and left
4. Charles Ball’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page 245.
186

BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
them on the sands ! There, at Javanpur, the whole town
came out, looted and burnt English houses, and mixed
into dust all the signs of their power. The Sepoys took
as much treasure as they could carry and marched towards
Ayodhya. Then, the old women of the town and paupers
who had never had a Rupee in their lives, were placed in
charge of the remaining treasure. They helped themselves
with it plentifully, and showered blessings heartily on
Swaraj and the Revolution !
In this way rose Azimgarh on the 3rd of June, Benares on
the 4th, and Javanpur on the 5th. The whole province
of Benares was in flames. If the chief town of a province
falls to the enemy, the Revolution, as a rule, loses strength
in that province. For the whole province to depend on
the capital in times of Revolution is regarded as a most
dangerous fault in Revolutionarv tactics. Mazzini says,
“ Wherever our flag flies, that is our capital.” The capital
must follow the Revolution and not vice versa. How-
ever accurately the map of a Revolution might have been
drawn in the beginning, it is impossible that events will
happen in a settled order during its course ; therefore,
though it fails in the capital, the province must never give
it up. Undoubtedly, Benares gave a very good illustration
of this principle. For though the capital of the province,
the city of Benares, fell into the grip of the English, in
the province itself, the cyclone of the Revolution arose at
once and enshrouded the whole atmosphere. Zemindars,
peasants, Sepoys,—all began to consider English rule as
unholy as cow’s flesh ! Even small villages, if they heard
that an Englishman was within their boundaries, would
beat and drive him out ! ⁵ Especially the people were so
5. At every successive stage of this military revolt, the fact of
a deep-seated and widespread feeling of hatred and an unappeasable
revengefulness for an assumed wrong is more plainly developed.
The desire for plunder was only a secondary influence in producing
the calamities to which the European residents of various places
were exposed.”—Charles Ball’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page 245.
187

THE ERUPTION
disgusted not only with Englishmen but with everything
they had done, that they could not bear to see anything
connected with the English before their eyes! They
drove away Zemindars appointed by the English—good or
bad—and put the old hereditary Zemindars instead. In
one week disappeared, completely, English methods of
taxation, their prisons, and their courts of ‘ justice ’ ! The
telegraph lines were cut off ; the railway lines were dug
up ; behind every hillock and every bush were hidden
villagers thirsting for English blood and money ; and most
of all, in village boundaries, warders were parading so that
the English should get not only no provisions but not
even any information! In these circumstances, the
misery of the English knew no bounds! And still, the
city of Benares had been frustrated in its attempt at
freedom, and the Sepoys who rose had marched to Oudh!
When the attempt of the 4th of June at Benares failed
and wholesale arrests followed, an important fact came to
light.⁶ Only from such incidental events it is possible to
understand how the machinery of the Secret Organisation
had been worked. Three of the most active agitators and
a millionaire banker were arrested at Benares. When
their houses were searched, some very violent letters
written in cipher and received from the chief centre of
the Revolutionary organisation, fell into the hands of the
Government. The most important of these letters came
from “a head leader.” Their substance was as follows :—
“The Benares citizens should rise at once. Kill Gubbins,
Lind, and other Englishmen. The money for this work
will be given by the banker....” When the house of this
banker was searched, a store of 200 swords and
rifles was discovered!
6. “No sooner had it been known in the districts that there had
been an insurrection at Benares, than the whole country rose like
one man. Communications were cut off with the neighbouring
stations and it appeared as if the Ryots and the Zemindars were
about to attempt the execution of the project which the Sepoys
failed to accomplish in Benares.”—Red Pamphlet, page 91.
188

BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
This is a short account of the rising of the province of
Benares. Here the people never massacred Englishmen
as at Meerut or Delhi. In the whole province not a single
English woman was killed. Nay more, when national
anger in the heart was demanding " Revenge ! ", the peo-
ple cordially bid farewell to the English there, themselves
assisting sometimes to yoke the animals to their carriages.
Look on this picture and on that which will now follow !
We do not say that the English should have sympathised
with Benares in its attempts to attain Swaraj. But we do
maintain that the English could never be justified in the
atrocities that they committed in the Benares province,
so totally incommensurable with the provocation they
received either from the Sepoys or the people in that pro-
vince. The English have never spared to hurl the most
vile and lying abuses on the heads of the Revolutionaries,
and hence, on all Indians, for their " cruelties." Now,
when we shall have described below how a brave com-
mander of the " civilised " English army treated the peo-
ple in the Benares province, and when it is said that all
the facts that we shall give are from the accounts of the
English themselves, it will be snperfluous and unnecessary
to add anything to it. Let the imperial world judge
for itself.
After the Benares rising, General Neill organised detach-
ments of the English and Sikhs to keep ' order ' in the
neighbouring villages. These bands used to enter villages
occupied by defenceless peasants. Anybody whom they
met was either cut down or hanged. The supply of those
to be hanged was so great that one scaffold was soon found
to be insufficient, even though worked day and night ;
therefore, a long line of permanent scaffolds was erected.
Though, on this long range, people were half killed and
thrown away, still, there was a crowd of waiting candida-
tes ! The English officers gave up as hopeless the silly
idea of cutting down trees and erecting scaffolds ; so,
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THE ERUPTION
thenceforth, the trees themselves were turned into scaffolds.
But if only one man were to be hanged on each tree, what
has God given so many branches to a tree for ? So,
“ natives ” were left hanging on every branch, with their
necks tightly roped to them. This “ military duty ” and
this Christian mission went on incessantly night and day.
No wonder the brave English got tired of it. So the
necessary seriousness in this religious and noble duty was
mixed with a little humour for the sake of amusement. The
rude manner of catching hold of peasants and hanging
them on the trees was altered to suit the taste of art.
They were first made to mount on elephants. Then the
elephants were taken near a high branch, and after the
necks were tied tightly to it, the elephants would be
moved away.⁷ Still, when the elephants were gone, the
countless unshapely corpses used to hang on the branches
and the English passers-by were bored with the unchang-
ing monotony of the scene. Therefore, when “natives” were
hanged, instead of being hanged straight, they were made
into all sorts of figures. Some were killed in the shape
of the English figure “8”, and some in the shape of “9”!⁸
But in spite of these various efforts in different directions,
there were still hundreds of thousands of ‘ black ’ men
living ! Now, to hang all these would require an amount
of rope that could not easily be had ! The “ civilised ”
and “ Christian ” nation of England was landed in this
unthought-of difficulty. By the grace of their God Him-
self, they hit upon a new plan, and the first experiment
was so successful that, thenceforth, hanging was aban-
7. Narrative, page 69.
8. “ Volunteer hanging parties went out into the districts and
amateur executioners were not wanting to the occasion. One gentle-
man boasted of the numbers he had finished off quite “ in an artistic
manner,” with mango trees for gibbets and elephants as drops, the
victims of this wild justice being strung up, as though for pastime,
in “ the form of a figure of eight.” ”—Kaye and Malleson's History
of the Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 177.
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BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
doned for the new and scientific method. Village after
village could thus be razed to the ground ! After setting
villages on fire, and keeping the guns in position to over-
awe them, how long will it take to burn thousands of
natives ? This setting fire to villages on all sides and
burning the inhabitants, was so amusing to many English-
men that they sent letters to England giving a humorous
description of these scenes. The fires were so quickly and
skilfully lighted that no villager had any chance of escape
at all ! Poor peasants, learned Brahmins, harmless
Mussalmans, school children, women with infants in their
arms, young girls, old men, blind and lame, all were burnt
in the mass of flames ! Mothers with suckling babes also
succumbed to these fires ! Old men and women, and those
unable to move away even a step from the fire, were burnt
in their beds ! ⁹ And if a solitary man were to escape
the fire, what then ? One Englishman says in his letter,
“ We set fire to a large village which was full of them.
We surrounded them, and when they came rushing out of
the flames, we shot them ! ” ¹⁰
And was it only a solitary village that was thus treated ?
The English sent various detachments to the various parts
of the province to burn villages. Out of the many batches,
one officer, out of the many officers of a batch, says of one
of his many outings, “ You will, however, be gratified to
learn that twenty villages were razed to the ground !”
And all this account is only a summary of what has ac-
cidentally appeared in the works of English historians,
who openly swear, “ it is better not to write anything
about General Neill's revenge ! ”
Enough ! To add even a word more of our own to it, is
to spoil this naked picture of the inhuman barbarity of
the English !
9. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, pp. 243-244.
10. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, pp. 243-244.
191

THE ERUPTION
And, therefore, you terror-struck eyes, look now towards
the love-waves of the happy union of the Bhagirathi and
the Kalindi rivers. The city of Allahabad, eternally
laved by the calm, noble, and graceful waters at the union
(Sangama) , is situated about seventy miles from Benares.
To the holy purity of the Prayaga-Kshetra, the vast fort
built under the reign of Akbar, gave an additional beauty.
Allahabad is the key to all the important roads leading
from Calcutta towards the Punjab and Delhi. Here, the
fort of Allahabad has the imperial grace of a tall, strong,
and great commander appointed to guard over the move-
ments of these provinces. In the Revolution of 1857, he
who held this fort held the key to the whole province.
Such being the case, both sides made extraordinary efforts
to acquire or retain the command of this most important
fort. The plan of the Revolutionary party was that the
Sepoys as well as all the citizens of Allahabad should rise
simultaneously. While the secret organisation was work-
ing up towards this goal, the Prayaga Brahmins had been
of the greatest use in inspiring into the cities the ideals
of Swaraj. These influential Hindu priests had been long
sowing the seeds of the Revolutionary War, not only
among the citizens of Allahabad, but also among the
Hindu population in the whole province. With the
traditional Hindu prayer at the time of the bath, was
coupled the holy and religious prayers of the Revolution.
Also, among the vast Mussalman population of the town,
the Mullahs were very busy. Thousands of Mussalmans
were only awaiting the signal with a firm determination
to offer their blood on the battle-field in the cause of
country and religion. The English, at the time, quite
expected this. They seem to have been firmly convinced
that all Mussalmans were their mortal enemies. The well-
known writer of the Red Pamphlet says, “ The Mahome-
dans, too, have shown that they cherish in their hearts
the proselytising doctrines of their religion and that, as
Christians, they will ever detest and take advantage of
every opportunity of destroying Feringhis.” True as this
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BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
is in general, it was more true still in this city. At
Allahabad, the Moslems were more advanced than the
Hindus. They were most prominent in the management
of the machinery of the secret society. The efforts of
Hindus and Mahomedans for the freedom of their country
became, at last, so great that the very judges and Munsiffs
of the Government joined the secret society ! 11
Allahabad being the chief station of the province, the
English should have taken extraordinary precautions to
guard the fort. But, on account of the ignorance till the
beginning of May about the internal agitation in the
whole country, the military preparations at Allahabad had
been very bad. At Allahabad itself, the men who were
spreading all around the fire of Revolution had kept such
skilful secrecy that the Government did not think it neces-
sary even to keep a single English soldier there ! When
the news from Meerut came, this important station had
only the 6th Sepoy regiment and about two hundred men
of a Sikh regiment from Ferozepur. Soon after, the Oudh
cavalry was brought there, and the fort, together with the
vast store of arms and ammunition, was kept entirely in
the hands of the Sepoys. The English officers at the
head of these Sepoys were strong in the belief that their
Sepoys were very loyal. Especially the 6th regiment was
undoubtedly the first in loyalty ! One day, after hearing
the news of Delhi, they sent word to their officers, “ Kha-
vind, give us the order to go to Delhi and cut those
mutineers to pieces. We are anxiously waiting.” This
extraordinary symptom of loyalty was admired every-
where. From the Governor-General himself came the order
to give public thanks to the 6th regiment, “ for this
unparalleled faithfulness and loyalty.” Just then
a citizen brought the information that the 6th regiment
was secretly hand in glove with the Revolutionaries ! See-
ing this, the 6th regiment caught two revolutionary
11. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page 268.
193
13

THE ERUPTION
preachers and handed them over to the officers as a
tangible proof of their loyalty. Now, why base suspi-
cions ? But, if the Government still suspects our loyalty,
then the officers should come amongst us and see for them-
selves how pure our hearts are ! The English officers
came on the 6th of June into the lines and saw that their
heart was indeed full to the brim with loyalty everywhere.
Nay, some of the Sepoys actually ran up to the officers,
embraced them heartily, and affectionately kissed them
on both cheeks.¹²
And the same night, everyone of the Sepoys of the 6th
regiment rushed out, sword in hand, shouting “ Mâro
Feringhiko !” ( Kill the Feringhis !) .
While the Sepoys were moving heaven and earth in order
that their plans might not be frustrated and they them-
selves might not be disarmed as at Benares, the English
were removing their families into the fort for protection
under the charge of the Sikhs and the cavalry. The news
from Benares came to Allahabad on the 5th. On that day,
there was so much agitation in the town that the English
pointed some guns in the direction of the bridge towards
the Benares side and closed the castle-gates. At night,
the English officers whom the Sepoys had only then affec-
tionately kissed had assembled at the mess for dinner,
when at a distance the terrible bugle began to blow !
The sounds of the bugle, as it were, conveyed the informa-
tion that the loyal 6th regiment had also risen !
That evening, the order had been given to the Sepoys to
take the guns which were on the Benares bridge into the
fort. But it seemed that the hitherto traditional loyal
practice of obeying all the orders of the English was
suddenly discontinued that evening ; for, the Sepoys them-
selves issued an order that the guns shall be taken not to
12. Narrative.
194

BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
the fort but to the cantonment ! The officers called the
Oudh cavalry to punish the Sepoys for this extraordinary
disobedience. The young and promising officers, Lieute-
nant Alexander and Lieutenant Harvard, got the cavalry
in order and marched on the Sepoys. At this time the
morning was just rising. When the cavalry was brought
face to face with the insolent Sepoys, the English officers
gave the order to attack and rushed boldly forward, hop-
ing that thousands of horses would gallop behind them
and trample down the handful of Sepoys. But, behold !
the cavalry refused to draw their swords against their own
countrymen and did not move ! At this, the Sepoys
raised a tremendous shout of applause. Lieutenant Ale-
xander was hit in the chest and fell down, his body was
cut to pieces, and then all the Indian Sepoys embraced
each other and marched to the camp. Two horsemen had
already galloped to the camp and given the news to their
brethren in the camp. The scene that followed on the
parade ground was unparalleled ! Whenever an English
officer gave a word of command, whiz came a bullet !
Plunkett, Adjutant Steward, Quarter-Master Hawes,
Pringle, Munro, Birch, Lieutenant Innes,—all fell down
dead ! The excited mass of humanity on the parade
ground was now going about setting fire to the houses of
Englishmen. When they heard that there were many
Englishmen at the mess-house, an attack was made and
every Englishman there was killed ! It has been already
said that the most important thing in Allahabad was the
possession of the fort. In it were the English women and
children and a vast store of ammunition, and it was
entirely in the hands of the Sikhs. All the Sepoys were
now waiting for the firing of the gun, the settled sign that
the Sikhs and the few Sepoys with them had also risen
and driven out the English.
But within the fort, the Sikhs showed their true treachery!
They not only refused to take away the English flag from
the fort but helped the English officers to disarm and
195

THE ERUPTION
drive out the few Sepoys that had found their way inside.
The English express even now a sense of astonishment as
to how the Sikhs stuck to them at that juncture. In half
an hour, the extensive fort of Allahabad would have fallen
into the hands of the Revolutionaries. That is to say,
in half an hour, the backbone of English rule would have
been smashed ! But the Sikhs spent that half an hour in
hacking their own countrymen and their mother country!
Though the Sepoys in the fort rose again and again, the
Sikhs, instead of joining them, disarmed them and drove
them out at the orders of the English. And thus, the fort
continued to be in English hands.
But Allahabad did not fortunately consist of these four
hundred Sikh traitors alone ! As the time for the Sepoy
rising in the fort approached, the city of Allahabad rose
also. The terrible shouts on the parade-ground were
echoed from the town itself. At first, the houses of Eng-
lishmen were destroyed ; then, Sepoys and the people
together broke the prison. No hearts could be more full
of hatred against the English than those of the hundreds
of prisoners there. So, as soon as they were released, they
shouted hoarse cries and ran first to the quarters where
the English resided ! The Revolutionaries had a special
eye on railways and telegraphs ! The railway officers,
the lines, the telegraph poles and wires, engines, were all
crushed to pieces ! In spite of all the precautions taken
by the English, some Englishmen fell into the hands of
the Revolutionaries. They despatched them quickly !
Then, the half Feringhis, who, relying on the protection
of the English, used to treat the “ natives ” with insolence,
came in for their turn. Those who had been against the
Revolution had their houses attacked. The lives of only
those were saved who took oaths, “ We will fight against
the English ! ” On the morning of the 17th, the Revolu-
tionaries captured the treasury containing nearly thirty
lakhs of Rupees. Then, in the afternoon, a great Revolu-
tionary flag was taken in procession and hoisted on the
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
196

BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
police station. And while the town and the fort were
thus involved in the flames of Revolution, all the Sepoys
and the citizens saluted it !
Almost at the same moment, the whole province of Allaha-
bad rose like one man ! Everywhere, things were altered
so quickly that, after a short time, no one would have
believed that the English had ever been ruling there ! In
every village the embroidered flag was hoisted and a stray
Englishman was beaten away or killed and the roots of
English rule were, as it were, uprooted ! Oh, how super-
ficial really are the roots of slavery in spite of the centuries
of efforts made to drive them in ! And, especially, an
unnatural seed like that of slavery, how can it take root?
Most of the Talukdars in the Allahabad province were
Mahomedans and their tenants were Hindus. Thus, the
English had considered it impossible that these two would
unite and that the whole mass of the people would rise
against them. But, in this memorable first week of June,
how many of such impossibilities were realised ! With-
out even waiting to hear about the rising of the city of
Allahabad, all the villages of the province rose simultane-
ously and declared their independence ! Hindus and
Mahomedans, because they fed on the same Mother's
milk, rose together to strike blows at English rule ! Not
only the able-bodied Sepoys, but also old military pen-
sioners enrolled themselves as national volunteers.
Twisting their white moustaches, they would organise
bands. Those who were too weak and old to do anything
themselves would explain to younger men important
points in military strategy and give advice on knotty
points of tactics. Can we wonder that the noble ideals
of Swadharma and Swaraj which thrilled youth even in
superannuated Sepoys had thoroughly permeated all
classes of the population ?¹³ Shopkeepers, Marwaris, and
13. "And with them went on not only the Sepoys who, a day
197

THE ERUPTION
Banias, even, took such an important part in that popular
agitation that General Neill in his report makes a special
reference to their hatred of the English ! “ The majority
of the chief merchants and others have shown the worst
spirit towards us. Many of them have taken active part
against us.” But, even after this, the English were
boasting that the peasants would take their side. But
Allahabad shattered this vain delusion to pieces ! The
peasants took a leading part in the Revolutionary War
of 1857, as, perhaps, they never had done in any political
agitation before. Under the banner of their old Talukdars
—not the new ones appointed by the English—the pea-
sants threw their ploughs and ran with lightning speed
to join the war for freedom. They had compared the
English Company with their old kings ; and they were
firmly convinced that their own Swaraj was a thousand
times better than the Feringhi Company’s rule. There-
fore, when the hour of consummation arrived, they began
the work of revenge for the wrongs of decades. Every-
where, Swaraj was hailed with shouts of delight and even
the children in the streets began to spit on slavery ! It
is true ; even children spat, for children of twelve or
fourteen would organise processions in the streets with the
Revolutionary flag. The English arrested such a proces-
sion and sentenced the little boys to death ! Hearing this
sentence, an English officer felt so ashamed that, with
tears in his eyes, he came to the chief commandant and
requested him to release the children. But it was of no
use ! And the children who committed the crime of rais-
ing the flag of independence were all publicly hanged !
Will not the murder of these little angels fall back on the
head of the assassins ? The whole province shook with
tremor ; peasants and Talukdars, old and young, men and

before, had licked our hands, but the superannuated pensioners of
the Company’s native army who though feeble for action, were
earnest in their efforts to stimulate others to deeds of cowardice
and cruelty.”—Kaye’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 193.
See also Red Pamphlet.
198

BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
women, all arose with the cry, "Har, Har," to smite the
chains of political slavery. "For, not only in the districts
beyond the Ganges but in those lying between the two
rivers, the rural population had risen . . . . and, soon, there
was scarcely a man of either faith who was not arraigned
against us."¹⁴ And, for the success of these huge efforts
of the whole populace and for the freedom of the Mother-
land, the Prayaga Brahmins and Mullahs began to send
forth prayers unto Heaven!
It is difficult to find in Indian history another Revolution,
so exciting, so quick, so terrible, and so universal! It
was almost an unheard of thing in India that the powers
of the people should awaken with a start and begin to
shed pools of blood for the freedom of the country, even
as thundering clouds shed rain. Besides, the sight of
Hindus and Mahomedans fighting side by side for
Hindusthan realizing their true interests and natural com-
radeship, was truly magnificent and inspiring. After
having set up such a terrible whirlwind, shall we wonder
that Hindusthan could not firmly keep it under control?
The wonder is that Hindusthan could raise such a whirl-
wind at all. For, no nation has been able to control a
Revolution suddenly. If we compare the Rising with the
French Revolution, we will find that the inevitable inci-
dents of any Revolution—like anarchy, confusion, outrage,
selfishness, and looting, were not fewer there than in
India. This was a vast experiment made by India. So,
we need not be surprised if, in the province of Allahabad
where the experiment was so successful, there were, also,
some mistakes and confusion. The hereditary feuds of
Zemindars, the excessive poverty—the corollary of long
slavery, and the enmity of centuries between Hindus and
Mahomedans and the natural occasional misunderstand-
ings during the efforts to extinguish it, all these made it im-
possible that there should not be anarchy for some time,
14. Kaye's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 195.
199

THE ERUPTION
when the first shock of the Rising was sensibly felt. After
the Creation, there comes often the Deluge. Whoever
wants a Revolution must be prepared to meet these diffi-
culties in carrying it out !
However, when the week of looting and burning was over,
all the dangers of anarchy melted away and the Revolu-
tion assumed some organised form in Allahabad. In that
province, as in all places where a Revolution due to
popular agitation takes place, the difficulty after the rising
is that of finding capable leaders. This difficulty was soon
got over in the city of Allahabad ; for, an ardent lover
of liberty, called Leakat Ali, soon became the leader of
the Revolution. The only information we have about this
extraordinary man is that he was a religious preacher
among the weavers. Before the Rising, he had worked
as a teacher in a school. He was adored by all people for
the holy purity of his life. When the province of Allaha-
bad became free, the Zemindars of the Chauvis Parganas
brought this Moulvie in a few days to Allahabad and
appointed him chief officer there. And he was proclaimed
in great ceremony as the representative of the Emperor of
Delhi. This Moulvie established his head-quarters in a
fortified garden called Khusru Bagh and began the work
of organising the Revolutionaries in the province. He
soon put all the affairs of state in good order. He did
not stop with merely saying that he was the Subahdar of
the Emperor but he continued to send, to the last, reports
of the events in Allahabad to the Emperor of Delhi.
The first thing that Moulvie Leakat Ali had to do was to
capture the fort of Allahabad. He had begun the attempts
to organise and prepare the army that collected under him
and direct an attack on the fort, when the news came that
General Neill was marching from Benares towards Allaha-
bad. Even now, if the four hundred Sikhs in the fort had
come to their senses, the whole fort, together with the
guns, arms, and ammunition, would have fallen to the
200

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