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

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,
189

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.
190

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
192

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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Muhammad Bahadur Shah, an old man of about
seventy-five. years, was the titular .Emperor of Delhi
in 1857. After some outward hesitation, he agreed
to be the head of the Revolution and was proclaimed
sovereign of India. Revolutionary armies from all
quarters poured into Delhi, and for nearly four months
the City was in their hands. Later, it was stormed and
captured by the British troops.
On the capture of Delhi, Bahadur Shah fled from the
city with his family, but was eventually caught and made
to surrender. He was then publicly tried before a
military court and was sentenced, on March 9, 1858,
‘to be transported across the seas as a felon’. Accord-
ingly he was taken to Rangoon and thence to Tonghoo,
an inland station in Burma.
Bahadur Shah was a poet of considerable merit and
of a philosophical turn of mind.
BAHADUR SHAH in his last days at Tonghoo in Burma.

EMPEROR BAHADUR SHAH II OF DELHI
From an old miniature painting
In 1857 the raising of Bahadur Shah to the throne of India was no
mere restoration but the declaration that the long standing war between
the Hindu and the Mohamadan had ended, that tyranny had ceased
and that the people of the soil were once more free to choose their own
Monarch. Bahadur Shah was raised by the free voice of the people
both Hindus and Mohamadans, civil and military, to be their emperor
and the head of the War of Independence.
— Author, p. 285

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BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
Revolutionaries without a shot being fired ! General
Neill was so afraid of this that he marched with his Eng-
lish troops in haste to Allahabad. Neill arrived there on
the 11th of June. He had no hope that the Sikhs would
protect the fort and its English occupants till his arrival.
He was, therefore, overjoyed when he saw the English flag
still flying on the walls of the fort. He, immediately, kept
the English soldiers to garrison the fort and sent the loyal
Sikhs out to do the fighting. It is clearly seen from this
how little faith Neill had in the Sikh Sepoys. Though
Neill had no faith in the Sikhs, the Sikhs had complete
faith in him ; for, they refused to join the Revolutionaries
even after this insult, and consented to burn the neigh-
bouring villages. On the 17th of June, the English army
began to push its way into the town. Describing the inci-
dents, the Moulvie, in his report to the Emperor, says,
"Of the traitorous sinners who have joined the enemy,
some have spread the rumour that the English are going
to blow up the whole town. The people have left their
homes and have announced that they are going away in
order to save their lives ! Therefore, the whole town is be-
ing deserted in spite of assurances of protection." As this
unfortunate report of the Moulvie had set out on its
way to Delhi, the English attack on Khusru Bagh began.
The Revolutionaries defended the place that day ; but the
Moulvie soon saw that it was madness to attempt to hold
Allahabad from a dilapidated garden while the fort was
in the hands of the enemy. So, on the night of the 17th,
he left for Cawnpore with all his followers. The next
day, on the 18th, the English re-entered Allahabad together
with the 'loyal Sikhs.'
Though Allahabad followed the example of Benares and
fell into the English hands, the Revolutionaries did not
lose courage at all. Seeing the enemy thus safely protect-
ed in the chief forts, the people of the province were all
the more enraged and every village put up entrenchments
and prepared to make a stand. The days were gone when
201

THE ERUPTION
such determined people could be seduced by bribery. The
war was a war of principle, and though Neill offered re-
wards of thousands of Rupees for the heads of even minor
leaders, the penurious peasants themselves were unwilling
to help him. An English officer of the time has expressed
his surprise at this noble stand for the sake of principle.
He writes of one village : “ The magistrate offered a re-
ward of one thousand rupees for the head or the person
of the leader of rebels who is well-known to the natives ;
yet, such is their hatred towards us that no one would
give him up ! ¹⁵ Let alone betraying the leaders, it was
considered, at that time, a great sin even to sell for money
any commodity to the English. If anyone did commit
that offence, he was immediately given a harsh punish-
ment by the community. “ Anyone who had worked for
the Europeans, these murderers killed. So, if the popula-
tion is to a man against us, we should stand but a bad
chance. A poor baker was found with his hand cut off
and his nose slit, because he had sent in bread to us.”
This is the report of the 23rd of June. Simply because the
baker gave bread to the English, the villagers cut off his
hands and nose. When this national and armed boycott
was proclaimed, the misery of the Feringhis knew no
bounds. It is true they had taken the fort of Allahabad.
But, they found it impossible to move even a step one way
or the other. They could get neither oxen, nor carts, nor
even medicine ! No dolies for sick soldiers and no men
to lift them ! There were sick men lying about in various
places. Their shrill cries were so fearful that some Eng-
lish women died by hearing them. The days were hot.
And the trick of the Revolutionaries in rising in June, so
that the Englishmen might die of heat also, now came to
be understood. All Englishmen were busy bathing their
heads in cold water ! Besides, the provisions always fell
short. Nobody could be found who would sell even a
grain of corn to the English. “ Up to to-day, we have
15. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. 1.
202

BENARES AND ALLAHABAD
had little to eat ; indeed, I could not have fed a dog with
my yesterday's breakfast ! " So writes an officer from
Allahabad ! This heat and this starvation brought on
cholera in the English camp. To add to the troubles,
English soldiers regularly started getting drunk ! All
discipline was gone. These drunkards began to disobey
Neill's orders to such an extent that he wrote to Canning
that he had decided to hang a few of them ! The English
army, beset with these numerous difficulties, was chained
to Allahabad city. Though urgent messages requesting
help were coming frequently from the English of Cawnpore,
a dashing warrior like General Neill, had to see the first
of July dawn in Allahabad itself !
It is important to note that General Neill and his fusiliers
had been brought from Madras. If, at this time, there
had been even a slight tremor of a Revolution towards
Madras, the English would have been unable to bear the
strain even for a day. For, though the resolute Indians
of Allahabad had all but succeeded in the cleverly organis-
ed plan of shutting up English soldiers in the forts, the
English had no real reason to be disheartened. For
Madras, Bombay, Rajputana, the Panjab, Nepal, and
other parts were still lying like dead weights hampering
the national movement. When some of these parts did
begin to move, they fell on their own countrymen, like
demons. Were not thousands of Sikh Sepoys ready to
help the English in Benares itself ? However, whatever
the others might do, the Brahmin priests and Mullahs of
Prayag, Talukdars and peasants, teachers and students,
shopkeepers and customers—in spite of various difficulties,
in spite of the want of a great military leader who could
lead them to battle, in spite of defeat, discouragement,
and anarchy—showed a confirmed and inveterate hatred
of slavery. Of the great sacrifices, including the sacrifice
of life itself, made by these noble patriots for the
lofty ideals of Swaraj and freedom, History will
ever be proud !
203