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

The battle-scarred KASHMIR GATE at Delhi. Tenaciously held by the
Revolutionaries, the British could only take it after a very hard struggle and
heavy sacrifice of life.
KAISER BAGH, LUCKNOW, the palace of the Nawabs of Oudh.

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2nd infantry regiment and a battery of artillery. When
there were signs of a rising here, the English women and
children were sent to Lucknow. On the morning of the
9th of June, many English officers voluntarily repaired
to the Raja of Balarampur for refuge. Only the chief
officer of the artillery, Bonham, retained his faith in the
Sepoys and would not leave his post. But, in the evening,
the Sepoys plainly told him that they did not wish to
injure him personally but that they would not fight
against their countrymen, because the English rule was
at an end. At this, Bonham had to leave the station.
The Sepoys showed him the safest way and he reached
Lucknow safely. When the news of Sikrora's independ-
ence reached Gonda, that town also rose for freedom.
Then the commissioner, Wingfield, together with all the
Englishmen ran for safety to the Raja of Balrampur.
This Raja protected nearly twenty-five English people and
sent them to an English camp at a suitable opportunity.
The news of the liberty of Sikrora and Gonda soon reach-
ed Barhaitch. The English officers there, without waiting
for a rising, left the chief town of the district and ran
towards Lucknow, on the 10th of June. But, since the Re-
volutionaries had their out-posts at various places all over
the province of Oudh, they disguised themselves as Indians
and tried to cross the river Gogra in a boat. First, they
did not attract any attention; but when half-way, there
was a sudden cry of " Feringhi ! Feringhi !!" The boat-
men jumped away out of the boats and the English officers
were killed. With these officers vanished the British
power in Barhaitch.
Though there was no military station at Melapore, still
the popular outburst compelled the English officers to run
away from the district. A Raja helped them as far as
possible in their flight. But, soon, they fell victims partly
to the swords of the Revolutionaries and partly to the
hardships of the forest.
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
249

THE ERUPTION
Fyzabad was the chief town of the eastern part of Oudh
and was also the residence of Commissioner Goldney of the
province. In the province of Fyzabad, there were three
districts, Sultanpur, Saloni, and Fyzabad. In the city of
Fyzabad were stationed, at the time, the 22nd infantry,
the 6th irregular infantry, some cavalry, and some artil-
lery, all under the command of Colonel Lennox. In the
district of Fyzabad, the oppression of the English govern-
ment was at its worst. Sir Henry Lawrence himself writes,
“The Talukdars have also, I fear, been hardly dealt with.
At least in the Fyzabad district, they have lost half their
villages, some Talukdars have lost all.”¹ Immediately
after the news of Meerut, the English officers at Fyza-
bad were afraid that this oppression would soon be aveng-
ed, and anxiety to save themselves took possession of their
minds. They could not send their families to Lucknow,
because the road was thoroughly guarded by the Revolu-
tionaries. They could not prepare to fight at Fyzabad,
because the whole army there was composed of Indians.
Finding themselves in this dilemma, these officers at last
went to Raja Man Singh for protection. Raja Man
Singh was the great leader of all the Hindus in the pro-
vince of Oudh. His sword was always drawn to protect
the Hindu religion under the Nabobs. In the May of
1857, this proud Raja had been imprisoned by the English
for some begatelle about revenue. But, since the English
had been weakened by the Meerut rising, they had releas-
ed him in order to curry favour with him and gain him
to their side.
With very great difficulty, he consented to give refuge to
English women and children in his castle. He still said that
the people would not like his action and would not even
scruple to attack his castle for it. On the 1st of June, how-
ever, the families of the English officers went to Man
Singh for refuge and lived safely in his Shahganj Castle.

1. Kaye and Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. III, p. 266.
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While the English were taking these measures of precau-
tion, the Revolutionary fire began to burn brighter at
Fyzabad. Moulvie Ahmad Shah, a name which finds a
place now in Indian history, was one of the several Taluk-
dars whose property had been confiscated by the English.
He had taken the vow not only to get his Talukdari back
but to free his country. Since the English annexed the
kingdom of Oudh, Talukdar Ahmad Shah had given his
all-in-all for the service of his country and religion. He
became a Moulvie and set out on a tour through Hindus-
than to preach Revolution. Wherever this political saint
went, there was seen an extraordinary awakening amongst
the people. He personally saw the great leaders of the
Revolutionary party. His voice was law in the royal fami-
ly of Oudh. He formed a branch of the Secret Society at
Agra. At Lucknow, he openly preached the destruction
of the British power. He was beloved by the masses in
Oudh. With his body, his mind, his speech, and his intelli-
gence, he worked incessantly in preaching freedom and
weaving a perfect net of secret societies. He then took up
the pen also. He wrote Revolutionary pamphlets and
began to spread them broadcast in the province of Oudh.
In one hand the sword and in the other the pen! Seeing
this, the English ordered his arrest. But the Oudh police
did not help to arrest the popular leader! So, a military
force was sent to fetch him! He was tried for sedition,
sentenced to be hanged, and detained for a time in the
Fyzabad prison.² The race began between the Moulvie
2. "Before the mutiny broke out, the Moulvie travelled
through India, on a roving commission, to excite the minds of his
compatriots to the steps then contemplated by the master spirits
of the plot. Certain it is that, in 1857, he circulated seditious papers
throughout Oudh; that the police did not arrest him; and, to
obtain that end, armed force was required. He was then tried and
condemned to death. But, before the sentence could be executed
Oudh broke into revolt and, like many a political criminal in Eu-
rope, he stepped at once from the floor of a dungeon to the footsteps
of a throne!"—Malleson, Vol. IV, page 379. Says Gubbins :—
"The Moulvie of Fyzabad was released from jail by the mutineers.
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THE ERUPTION
and the English power to hang each other ! While the
Moulvie was preparing to hang the English power, the
latter was hurrying to erect a scaffold to hang the Moul-
vie. But, in the hurry, they retained the Moulvie in the
Fyzabad prison and thus erected scaffolds for themselves.
For the Moulvie's arrest was the spark that set fire to and
exploded the Revolutionary magazine at Fyzabad. The
whole town, including the army, rose at once. When the
English officers went to the parade ground to keep the
Sepoys in order, the Sepoys on their part informed them
boldly that thenceforth they would only obey the orders
of Swadeshi officers and that their leader was the Subah-
dar Dhuleep Singh. Subahdar Dhuleep Singh then im-
prisoned the English officers ; they were prohibited from
going beyond a distance of twelve steps. Then, the towns-
men and the Sepoys ran to the prison which had been
sanctified by the feet of the popular hero. The door of
the prison creaked and amidst the loving shouts of the
populace, the Moulvie Ahmad Shah threw away the chains
which had now been broken to pieces and walked up to
the crowd ! This was the Moulvie's rebirth ! The Eng-
lish power which was about to hang him was itself hanged
by him at last ! As soon as he was released, he accepted
the leadership of the Revolution at Fyzabad, and the first
thing which he did, in revenge for the sentence of death
passed on him, was to send a message to Colonel Lennox,
now kept under guard, thanking him for his permission
to allow the use of a Hookah while he was in prison.³
After thanking for the gift of a Hookah the man who
gave him the death sentence, the noble-souled Moulvie
warned the English officers to leave Fyzabad immediately.
To prevent looting and disorder at Fyzabad, as happened
He came from Madras and was of a respectable Mahomedan
family and had traversed much of upper India, exciting the people to
sedition. He had been expelled from Agra for 'preaching sedition."
Etc., etc.
3. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page 394.
252

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in some other places, detachments of Sepoys were sent
out as guards. The arsenal and other public buildings
were also guarded by Sepoys. The Sepoys of the 15th
regiment elected a committee of war which resolved that
the English officers should be killed. But the chief officers
decided that the first promise should not be broken and
so they let them go away alive. They were even informed
that they might take with them all private property, but
no public property as that belonged to the King of Oudh !
Thereafter, the Revolutionaries themselves got boats ready
for the English and gave them some money ; then the
officers took leave of all the Sepoys and went away along
the Gogra in boats. On the morning of the 9th of June,
a Proclamation was issued that Fyzabad had become
independent, that the Company's rule was at an end, and
Wajid Ali Shah had recommenced to rule !
While the English were floating along in the boats, the
Sepoys of the 17th regiment saw them. They had received
a letter from Fyzabad Sepoys asking them to kill all the
Englishmen coming from there. The attack on the boats
commenced. The chief commissioner, Goldney, was killed;
so also Lieutenant Thomas, Ritchie, Mill, Edwardes,
Currie and others. Those that went to the town of
Mohadaba were killed by the police themselves. Only
one boat and its occupants concealed themselves success-
fully till the end and reached the English camp safely
with the help of the boat-men. While Raja Man Singh's
household was anxious about the safety of English women
and children given in his charge, many more men came
there again for refuge. Man Singh was, at the time, at
the chief city of Oudh. He wrote home that he had just
made an agreement with the Revolutionaries by which
they allowed him to give shelter to women and children,
provided that he did not take there any Englishmen, and
that it had been decided that his house should be searched
to see whether he observed the conditions. Therefore, the
Englishmen in his fort, with their families, left to cross the
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THE ERUPTION
river Gogra. They encountered many dangers and hard-
ships on the way and those of them that survived arrived
safely at the house of the Raja of Gopalpur. That Raja
entertained the twenty-nine English with great hospitality,
for some days, and then sent them safely to the English
camp. Most of the Englishmen who escaped in the trials
of 1857 have written long accounts of their experiences.
They are all very instructive and are a living monument
to the nobility of sentiment of the people of our nation.
Though there was so much hatred all over Oudh against
the English, they were entertained hospitably, when they
surrendered, even in the houses of those Rajas who fought
on the side of the Revolutionaries. And such examples are
not isolated. Busher writes: “Now, I alone remained. Run-
ning on, I came across a village on the way. The first
man I saw there was a Brahmin. I asked of him some
water to drink. He saw my misery and took pity on me
and told me that that village consisted of Brahmins and
that my life was safe.... Buli Singh came up in pursuit.
I ran into a gully when an old woman came up to me and
pointed out a cottage. I went in and hid myself in the
grass. Shortly after came Buli Singh’s men and began
to pierce everywhere with the ends of their swords to
find me. They soon found me and dragged me out by
my hair. The people in the village began to heap curses
on the Feringhis ! Then, Buli Singh conducted me to
another place, amidst the hootings of the village crowd.
My execution was postponed everyday. I fell on my
knees and craved for mercy. In this way, I was taken,
at last, to Buli Singh’s house.” After a long time, he was
sent away to the English. Colonel Lennox writes : “While
we were running, the men of Nazim Hossein Khan caught
us. One of them drew out his revolver, gnashed his teeth
and said that his hands were throbbing to despatch the
Feringhis away in an instant but that he could not do it !
We were next taken up to Nazim. He was sitting in the
Durbar leaning on a cushion. He told us to drink a little
sherbet and rest, and not to be frightened. When the
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question arose as to what quarters should be given to us,
an angry servant suggested the horse-stables near by.
Nazim rebuked him for this, but immediately another
broke forth, ‘Why all this trouble? I will just kill these
Feringhi dogs!’ Nazim thundered against them all and
promised us our lives. We hid near the Zenana through
fear of the mutineers. We got good food, clothing, and
rest.” Then, Nazim disguised all these as Indians and
sent them safely to the English camp.
As soon as the English officers left the city of Fyzabad,
the other districts in the province also hoisted the flag of
freedom. Sultanpur rose on the same day, i.e. the 9th
of June. The third district town, Saloni, rose on the 10th.
The officers of the latter place were running for their lives.
The Sirdar Rustom Shah saved some of them, and Raja
Hanumant Singh also saved some. The gallant and brave
princes of Oudh did not rest content merely by sparing
the lives of those who surrendered but also entertained the
English most hospitably. As a matter of fact, the Eng-
lish had inflicted terrible losses on, and offered great
insults to, almost all these Zemindars. Not that the
Zemindars ever forgot that their Swaraj had been des-
troyed and their religion was trodden under foot. Follow-
ed by their Sepoys, they were openly warring against the
English and many had taken oaths never to rest until the
English were out of the country. But, to match this
heroic patriotism and love of freedom, they all showed
equally heroic gallantry. While the common people were
massacring the English in a fit of rage and revenge, they
treated the English women and children hospitably and
showed them clemency! Even those officers who had
but now persecuted them were given their lives, when they
came to surrender! Though the mass of the people
insisted that it was not desirable to leave the officers, for
they might again come to fight—as the officers did in the
latter part of the war—they did not shrink from showing
them generosity! In how many other countries except
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THE ERUPTION
in India can be found, in Revolutionary times, this gallan-
try and this nobility of heart, even when it enraged
the masses ?
Raja Hanamant Singh was the chief of Kala and, though
not behind anybody in his anxiety to fight in the cause
of his nation, his nobility forced even his enemies to speak
of him in the following terms : “ This noble Rajput had
been dispossessed, by the action of the revenue system
introduced by the British, of the greater part of his pro-
perty. Keenly as he felt the tyranny and the disgrace,
his noble nature yet declined to regard the fugitive chiefs
of the nation which had nearly ruined him in any other
light than as people in distress. He helped them in that
distress ; he saw them in safety to their own fortress. But
when, on bidding him farewell, Captain Barrow expressed
a hope that he would aid in suppressing the revolt, he
stood erect, as he replied, ‘ Sahib, your countrymen came
into our country and drove out our king. You sent your
officers round the districts to examine the titles of the
estates. At one blow, you took from me lands which,
from time immemorial, had been in my family. I sub-
mitted. Suddenly misfortune fell upon you. You came
to me whom you had despoiled. I have saved you. But
now,—now I march at the head of my retainers to Luck-
now to try and drive you from the country .’”⁴
This generosity on the part of the people of Oudh was not
a sign of weakness. Between the 31st of May and the end
of the first week of June, the whole province rose in Revo-
lution like a big machine suddenly setting to work ! In
the whole province, the Zemindars, Jagirdars, and Rajas ;
the thousands of Sepoys under the British—infantry,
cavalry, and artillery ; all the servants of the civil depart-
ments ; peasants, merchants, and students ; in short, all,
whether Hindu or Mahomedan, rose like one man for
4. Malleson’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. III, page 273 (foot-note).
256

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freeing their country. Private enmity, differences of
religion and caste and rank were all forgotten.
Every one felt in his heart that he was jumping
into the battlefield for a war of justice. It was
the masses who re-established Wajid Ali Shah on the
throne of Oudh in ten days. What a statesmanlike answer
this to Dalhousie's contention that he deposed Wajid Ali
Shah for the good of the people ! At the end of the first
week of June, there was scarcely a village in the whole
Oudh province that had not given such a statesmanlike
reply to Dalhousie, by tearing to pieces the English flag !
After giving a true picture of this state of things, the
famous historical researcher, Forrest, says in his preface,
"Thus in the course of ten days, the English administra-
tion in Oudh vanished like a dream and left not a wreck
behind. The troops mutinied, the people threw off their
allegiance. But there was no revenge, no cruelty. The
brave and turbulent population, with a few exceptions,
treated the fugitives of the ruling race with marked kind-
ness, and the high courtesy and chivalry of the people of
Oudh was conspicuous in their dealings with their fallen
masters who, in the days of their power, had, from the
best (?) of motives, inflicted on many of them a grave
wrong."⁵ If the experienced and able English officers had
not been thus spared by the heroic nobility of the people
of Oudh, Oudh could not have been reconquered merely
by the English novices ! For, as we shall see later on these
were English officers and were returned with the new
forces sent by the English and wreaked terrible vengeance
on the Revolutionary leaders and followers who had,
through misplaced generosity saved their lives as
shown above !
About the 10th of June, the whole province of Oudh be-
came independent and all the Sepoys and volunteers
5. Forrest's State Papers, Vol. II, page 37.
257
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THE ERUPTION
marched towards Lucknow. In that city, the great Eng-
lish leader, Henry Lawrence, was moving heaven and
earth to inspire life into the dying English power. Though
he had lost the whole province, he had still kept his hold
on the capital. He had smelt the Revolution from afar
and had fortified the two places, Machi Bhawan and the
Residency, as has been already mentioned. When the
Sepoys revolted on the 31st of May and went away,
Lawrence formed a splendid regiment of Sikhs and an-
other of the “ most loyal ” Hindusthanees. The remain-
ing division of the old Sepoy army had rebelled before the
12th of June. This revolt pleased Sir Henry in a way,
for now he had with him a select and faithful army
consisting of the English regiment and artillery and the
two regiments of Sikhs and Hindusthanees, whose loyalty
to the English had been proved by severe tests. Sir
Henry was now waiting, ready to give battle.
The Sepoys and young fighting men of the province of
Oudh were collecting together around the city of Luck-
now. Both sides, before commencing the fight, were
awaiting the issue of another struggle. The siege of
Cawnpore was at its height, and neither the English nor
the Revolutionaries started the battle until the final news
from Cawnpore came. Each party based its hopes on the
result of Cawnpore. Sir Henry wrote hopefully to Lord
Canning, on the 23rd of June, “If Cawnpore stands, it
is doubtful whether Lucknow will be besieged at all.” On
the 28th, the news came to Lucknow that not a single
Englishman was left alive at Cawnpore! The Revolu-
tionaries were flushed with the victory and marched up
to Chinhut to attack the English.
The terrible defeat of the English at Cawnpore shook the
basis of English prestige everywhere. Sir Henry Lawrence
thought that, unless this defeat were counteracted, not
only the Residency at Lucknow but even Fort William
of Calcutta would not be safe, and resolved to wash away
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the insult of Cawnpore with the blood of the Revolutiona-
ries. The English army assembled near the iron bridge,
on the 29th of June. Sir Henry left Lucknow with four
hundred English soldiers, four hundred traitor Sepoys
and ten guns. He marched a long distance without seeing
any sign of the enemy. At last, he came across the front
ranks of the Revolutionaries. Sir Henry, then, ordered
his sepoys to take a very important village on his right.
The sepoys attacked that village and it fell into the hands
of the English. The English soldiers, also, took the village
of Ismailganj on the left. The Indian and English officers
of the guns rained such a fire against the guns of the
Revolutionaries that the latter was silenced. The English
almost won the day at Chinhut. But, suddenly the cry
arose that the Revolutionaries had entered unobserved the
village on the left ; the English soldiers were suddenly
attacked and driven out, and the village was captured by
the Revolutionaries, who now attacked the English centre
and rear. As the English soldiers retired, the Revolu-
tionaries rushed on. There was confusion in the English
ranks and Sir Henry, seeing that a further stand would
result in the ruin of the whole army, sounded a retreat !
During the retreat the English suffered excessive hard-
ships ; for, the Revolutionaries did not stop with the
victory of Chinhut but started a hot pursuit. The Sepoys
manning the English artillery now began to slack. But
the rest of the Indian cavalry and artillery showed even
greater bravery than the English soldiers and ably covered
the retreat. But, in a short time, the retreat ended in a
rout ! The despairing English army began to run towards
Lucknow. Out of the four hundred English soldiers,
nearly one hundred and fifty died that day. We need not
count the Indian loyalists ! The English left on the field
two guns and a big howitzer. They had also to leave
there the revenge of Cawnpore. Beaten in this manner,
Sir Henry re-entered the Residency at Lucknow. Still,
the Revolutionaries were following him. When the English
and the Sikhs and other loyalists came within the shelter
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THE ERUPTION
of the guns at the Residency, the battle of Chinhut came
to an end. But, its results still remained. The Revolu-
tionaries now surrounded both Machi Bhawan and the
Residency. Sir Henry, therefore, decided to vacate Machi
Bhavan in order to render his defence more effective. The
arsenal there, containing a large quantity of ammunition,
was blown up, and all the Englishmen now came into the
Residency. This Residency had enough stores of provi-
sions, arms, and ammunition to stand a siege. There were
now, in the Residency, about a thousand Englishmen and
eight hundred Indian sepoys. They prepared to defend
themselves against the vast number of Revolutionaries
collecting outside. Seeing the preparations of the
English general to defend the Residency after the
battle of Chinhut, the Revolutionaries commenced a
regular siege. Thousands of the Revolutionaries were
mustering strong and chafing to put an end to the
slavery and foreign domination.
In this manner, the enraged Ayodhya beat and pursued
and imprisoned the English Power in this little Residency
of Lucknow.⁶
6. The well-known writer of the Red Pamphlet says :—" All
Oudh has been in arms against us. Not only the regular troops
but sixty thousand men of the army of the ex-king, the Zemindars,
and their retainers, the two hundred and fifty forts—most of them
heavily armed with guns—have been working against us. They have
balanced the rule of the Company with the sovereignty of their own
kings and have pronounced, almost unanimously, in favour of the
latter. The very pensioners who have served in the army have
declared against us and to a man joined in the insurrection."
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CHAPTER X
THE SUMMING UP
WHAT effect had this spirit of freedom which
inspired life in the dead or dying thrones of
Delhi, Cawnpore, Lucknow, and Bareilly on the
other states which were still, more or less, living?
The mass of the people, in 1857, had thoroughly
understood that, so long as foreign domination over
Hindusthan remained, the living states were as useless
as the dead ones were lifeless. The Revolution in 1857,
inspired by the holiest and the highest ideal of freedom,
was not fighting furiously for the sake of this king or that
heir. Individuals—peasants or kings—may live or die,
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THE ERUPTION
but the nation should not die, must not die. The ideal
was the establishment of the country's freedom by break-
ing the dreadful chains of slavery, and the universal war
was sounded for the attainment of this noble end, even
though the way to it was over the ashes of cottages and
of thrones. He is a king who would free his country. The
other kings were as well dead as alive.
The people in the states like Gwalior, Indore, Rajpootana,
and Bharatpur were, also, full of the spirit of the Revo-
tionary War, as much as those in territories which had
completely lost their independence. None of them enter-
tained the sordid idea of keeping away from risk and
danger, because his own native state was safe; nor looked
upon his own tiny state as the whole nation, and upon the
annexed provinces as people having exclusive interests
and belonging to a foreign system. Foreigner! One son
of the Mother, a foreigner to another! No; 1857 has come
and all India is one; one in life; one in destiny!
Now, then, you Scindia of Gwalior! Give us the order to
fight against the English. Give us not only the order but
come and be our leader; Raise the holy cry of "Swadesh"
and "Swadharma" on the battlefield and march on with
the army to complete the half-done work of Mahadaji.
The whole country is hanging on the one word of Jayaji
Scindia! Say "War!", and Agra falls, Delhi is liberated,
the Dekhan rises amidst thunder, the foreigner is expelled
from the country, the land is free, and you are the man
who shall give it the gift of freedom! The lives of two
hundred millions of men depended on the tongue of one
man. Such an occasion is verily Historical!
But, the one tongue of the Scindia first would not move
at all and, when it did move, it said "Friendship!" in-
stead of "War!" The Scindia resolved to preserve his
friendship—not with the country but with the English!
At this, the people rose in a fury. If the Scindia does not
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THE SUMMING UP
wish to fight, we shall fight ! If you do not run to save
the Motherland, we will run to liberate her without you,
and, if it comes to that, in spite of you. To-day is Sunday,
the 14th of June. We have waited for the Scindia till
to-day. We will only wait for the sun to set to-day; when
the sun sets—Har ! Har, Mahadev ! Who is there driving
in that carriage ? Mr. and Mrs. Coopland. How dare
anyone salaam to them ? Salaam a Feringhi after the
14th of June ? Not only this Feringhi but, see there,
the brigadier is coming, and no one raises his hand or
moves his head to salute him ! Brigadier, indeed ! But
who made him brigadier ? Is it not the Feringhis ? A
crow, though standing at the top of a palace, does not
become an eagle. So, march on right in the face of the
brigadier and pay no attention to him. And so, the Sepoys
of the Gwalior contingent passed the brigadier without
saluting him.¹ Still there was no disturbance till the even-
ing. In the evening, one bungalow took fire. Yes ; now
comes the time of rising. Artillery ! rise in revolt ! In-
fantry ! take burning torches in one hand and shining
swords in the other and dance about in all directions,
roaring like lions. See the colour of every man you meet
in the street ; if he is dark, embrace him ; if white, kill him.
Marô Feringhiko ! You are hiding in the house ; all right,
we will set fire to it ! Who is this running out of the
bungalow to save himself from the fire ? Is he a white
man ? Cut his head off ! Who is this again ? A white
woman. “ Mat Marô ! Mat Marô !” (Don't kill!) “ We
do not want to kill women !”² The whole night, the
ghostly dance is going on. There must be no Englishman
in Gwalior, not even in the Scindia’s palace. The white
men were driven out of the Scindia’s dominions—right up
to Agra. The white women were collected together and
put in prison. But, it is improper not to speak to them.

1. Mrs. Coopland's Narrative.
2. Mrs. Coopland's Narrative.
   263

THE ERUPTION
See there an English woman suffering in the sun. Let us
speak to her. So, one man asks her, “ Well, madam, how
do you like the sun of this place ? Is it not too hot ? You
are feeling it very much just now—are you ? If you had
remained in your own cold country, there would have
been no such difficulty for you ! ” After listening to this
“ devilish ” bit of advice given to this woman, listen to
what another of them says : “ What, you want to be sent
to Agra ? Ha, ha ! Your people have been killed long
ago and Agra now belongs to the Revolutionaries. Do
you still wish to go there ? ” And so arose a wave of
mirthful laughter. The Scindia was made lifeless like a
dummy ; the Gwalior contingent forces revolted, split the
blood of their officers, drove out English women, the Eng-
lish flag, and English power out of the limits of Gwalior
state and made Gwalior perfectly independent. They next
began to order the Scindia : “ Come and be our leader ;
come out with the whole army towards Agra, Cawnpore,
and Delhi to liberate Hindusthan ! ” Scindia kept them
quiet for many days by constant promises. Until Tatia
Topé comes secretly to Gwalior and leads them, the troops
are to remain thus inactive.³
And, therefore it is that the English at Agra have still
some hope. For the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-
3. “ It was a most favourable moment for recovering his lost
authority. It was merely necessary to accede to the proposal of
the mutinous contingents and to revenge himself on the British.
Had he so acceded, had he put himself at their head and, accom-
panied likewise by his trusty Mahrattas, proceeded to the scene
of action, the consequences would have been most disastrous to our-
selves. He would have brought at least twenty thousand troops,
one half of them drilled and disciplined by European officers, on
our weak points. Agra and Lucknow would have at once fallen.
Havelock would have been shut up in Allahabad ; and either that
fortress would have been besieged or the rebels, giving it a wide
berth, would have marched through Benares on to Calcutta. There
were no troops, no fortification to stop them.”—Red Pamphlet,
page 194.
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THE SUMMING UP
Western Province, Mr. Colvin, is at Agra, standing in
terror of death every minute. He had previously deliver-
ed a lecture on “ loyalty ” to Sepoys, agitated by the Mee-
rut news. He had issued a proclamation of pardon ! But
there was not even a single Sepoy weak-minded enough to
come to beg his pardon ; nay, more, as a reply to the pro-
clamation of pardon, they attacked Agra on the 5th of
July. The revolted regiments of Nasirabad and Neemuch
marched on Agra ; so, the “ loyal ” troops of the rulers
of Bitaoli and Bharatpur were sent against them ! The
troops sent by these states declared that though they
would refrain from rising against the English, for such
were the orders of their rulers, they would not lift their
swords against their own countrymen!” The English were
thus deceived and disappointed. The native states were
“ loyal ” ; but their people and armies “ would not lift
their swords against their countrymen ! ” So taking with
him the English troops alone, Brigadier Polwhele marched
upon the Revolutionaries coming to attack Agra. Both
armies met near Sassiah and the battle lasted the whole
day ; at last, the English force found it impossible to
stand the attack of the Revolutionaries, and retired. The
Revolutionaries, flushed with victory, pursued them hotly.
When the army entered Agra, the Revolutionaries were at
their heels with shouts of victory. Agra got the opportu-
nity it wanted. It was the 6th of July. The town of
Agra rose in revolt, headed by the police ! The police
officers were all in concert with the Revolutionary society.
The religious leaders of both Hindus and Mahomedans
organised a great procession. The Kotwal and other
police officers walked in the front line. They raised shouts
of victory for Swadharma and Swaraj and proclaimed
that the English rule was at an end and that the authority
had been transferred to the Emperor of Delhi !
When Agra thus became free, Mr. Colvin, together with
all the English there—ashamed of the defeat and anxious
for the future—retired into the fort. He had now one
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THE ERUPTION
great fear, and that was about the side that the Scindia
would take. The mere news that the Scindia had joined
the Revolutionaries would have made Mr. Colvin surrender
that impregnable fort! But as it was clear that the
Scindia was not against him, as was proved by his "loyal"
letters and help, the English flag at Agra seemed to revive.
But the weight of supporting it was too much and Mr.
Colvin died on the 9th of September, 1857, to the deepest
sorrow of the English government in India.
The Revolutionary spirit that exhibited itself among the
masses and the Sepoys at Gwalior had also burst forth in
a terrible manner at Indore. Secret communication was
established between all the troops in the English camp at
Mhow and the troops of Holkar, and a rebellion was
decided upon. On the 1st of July, Saadat Khan, a Maho-
medan nobleman at the Indore court, ordered the army
to fall upon the English at the Residency. He declared
that the Maharaja Holkar had given him the order. But
the Indian troops did not need any such declaration, even.
They raised the flag of freedom and, at once, marched
with their guns on the Residency. The Indian troops at
the Residency refused to fire on their countrymen on
behalf of the English. The English lost all hope ; they
quietly packed their bag and baggage and fled from
Indore. The Indian troops at the Residency had guaran-
teed them their lives and protected them till the end.
English authors always try hard to find out exactly whe-
ther the Maharaja Holkar sympathised with the English or
with the Revolutionaries. But one who minutely studies
the history and the conditions of 1857 would see at once
that during the Revolution, most of the states had purpose-
ly observed a dubious attitude. The desire of freedom
is innate in man. Most of the states intended to raise the
flag of freedom as soon as there was reasonable prospect
of the success of the Revolution. They did not join the
English, because they did not want to aid in the failure
of the Revolution. On the other hand, they did not want,
266