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

BEHAR
started towards Jagadishpur. Kumar Singh was greatly
handicapped and recognised that it was impossible, with
his disheartened followers, to oppose in open battle the
English army, well-disciplined and victorious, and that,
too, near a capital town. He, therefore, decided to use
guerilla tactics and, after two sharp skirmishes, came out
of Jagadishpur. And Eyre, with the English army, pitch-
ed his tent in Kumar Singh’s palace on the 14th of August!
Though the English destroyed the palace, the Hindu tem-
ples, and other buildings at Jagadishpur, still, the idol of
the temples, the king of the palaces, and the owner of the
buildings, Kumar Singh, was as unconquerable after the
battle as before it. Other kings might be cowed down by
the fall of their capitals, but the king of Jagadishpur was
not of that sort. His motto was, “ Wherever I am, there
is Jagadishpur ! ” So, to hold Jagadishpur without cap-
turing him was only a vain endeavour. Now that his
home was lost—the battlefield itself had become his home.
329

CHAPTER IV
DELHI FALLS
WHEN the third chief commander of the
English army before Delhi became hopeless
of taking the town and resigned, Brigadier-
General Wilson replaced him. At that time,
in the camp of the English army maddened
by the attacks of the Revolutionaries, it was seriously dis-
cussed, in despair, whether the siege should be raised. It is
difficult to say what would have been the course of the
Revolution of 1857 if this plan had been resolved upon.
Still, it is clear that this one movement on the part of the
English would have harmed their cause more than many
defeats at the hands of the Revolutionaries. The English
330

DELHI FALLS
had a strategic advantage in thus besieging the town of
Delhi, because the Revolutionary army was shut up there
in one place. If that vast host had spread over the pro-
vince instead of being thus bottled up and had harassed
the English after forming small detachments everywhere,
this guerilla warfare would have soon reduced the small
English force to impotence. But Delhi being besieged, the
battlefield was restricted, the English force had not to put
up with an unbearable strain, and the Revolutionaries
were inconveniently huddled up together in one city and
thus were more liable to attack. In these circumstances,
to raise the siege of Delhi was to break the dam and let
the Revolutionary forces inundate the whole country.
Even if Delhi were captured, the Sepoys would no doubt
have spread all around. But there was a vast difference
between driving them out of Delhi, defeated and dejected,
and making them elated by raising the siege and allow-
ing them to fall upon the English. Though the English
commander thoroughly understood this difference, despair,
discouragement, and the fierce onslaughts of the Revolu-
tionaries made him think of raising the siege. At that
moment, the English power in India hung in the balance.
It was, indeed, fortunate for the English that there was,
at this time, a bold and desperately courageous officer
like Baird-Smith in the English camp outside Delhi. When
all other officers were thinking of a retreat, he said with
determination, “We must not release our hold of Delhi
even by an inch ! Our noose, fallen round her neck like
cruel death, must be constant and thorough ! If we raise
the siege of Delhi, the Panjab will be out of hand, India
will be gone, and the Empire ruined forever ! ”
Encouraged by the words of Baird-Smith, Brigadier Wil-
son determined not to turn back without taking Delhi.
The Revolutionaries, on the other hand, sustained the siege
with rare ability and courage. They would make a
sudden sortie, attack either the right or the left wing, kill
as many people as possible, and retreat quickly when the
331

THE CONFLAGRATION
English rose vigorously to repel the attack. When the
English army would have been decoyed near the fort in
pursuit of the Sepoys, the Revolutionary guns would at
once open a tremendous fire. With these tactics, the
Revolutionaries so often deceived the English and killed
so many of their number that Brigadier Wilson had to
issue a special order that on no account was a pursuit
of the Sepoys to be attempted. As the English numbers
began to dwindle by this new ruse of the Revolutionaries,
their commander's eyes were turned towards the expected
siege-train from the Panjab. All means of communication
in North Hindusthan—telegraphs, railways, and posts—
were completely destroyed, and the English army at Delhi
was as much besieged as the Revolutionaries. The Eng-
lish had no adequate knowledge as to what was going on
in the south of Delhi, or as to where the army sent from
Calcutta had arrived, or as to the state of affairs in the
towns of Lucknow, Cawnpore, Benares, and other places.
A month after Sir Hugh Wheeler was killed, the English
army at Delhi got ‘reliable’ information that he was
hastening to come to their help! There was no hope of
getting any reinforcements from Calcutta and the whole
strain fell upon the Panjab. Sir John Lawrence had borne
his burden well and had often sent reinforcements of Eng-
lish as well as Sikh soldiers. This time, too, he did not
refuse the new request for a siege-train and more rein-
forcements but sent two thousand troops under the com-
mand of Nicholson. When the news of the arrival of this
army reached the English camp at Delhi, every face
beamed with joy, hope, and encouragement. The fact
that Nicholson was the commander encouraged them more
than that two thousand soldiers were coming. A leader
like Nicholson is worth thousands of soldiers! In the
dispirited English ranks, everyone would say, “ Now that
Nicholson is coming, there is no doubt about the victory!”
As the acquisition of good leaders removed the doubts as
to victory in the English camp, so the lack of good leaders
332

DELHI FALLS
among the Revolutionaries made their defeat more and
more certain. The Emperor, whom they had set upon a
rejuvenated throne, though of praiseworthy qualities of
kindness and mercy fit for times of peace, was quite in-
experienced in war and unequal to military leader-
ship. There was no lack of brave Sepoys at Delhi. Those
who had even surpassed English troops in warfare when
fighting on their side, those who had learnt their drill and
discipline under the English themselves, those whose
swords had extended English rule right up to Afghanistan
—there were fifty thousand of such heroes within the walls
of Delhi. But there was wanted at least one capable head
to command and lead to victory these fifty thousand men.
All honour to these fifty thousand men who fought and
failed. The wonder is that they held on for so long with-
out a capable leader to lead them! Even the old Emperor
whom they had placed on the throne was as anxious to
find a good leader for them as they were themselves. He
tried many experiments, but they did not work. He gave
all the power in the hands of Bakht Khan. He appointed
three generals to manage the army. He then ordered that
a committee of six—three Delhi citizens and three Sepoy
leaders—should together look after all the affairs of the
army. And when this representative council also proved
fruitless, the noble and patriotic Emperor, fearing that,
perhaps, the Revolution was being destroyed on account
of his fault and that capable men were leaving his side on
account of his being at the head, announced publicly that
he was ready to give up all his power and abdicate. Rather
than India come back under the English, rather than
the constantly wheeling vulture of foreign domination tear
the entrails of long-suffering India, rather than India be
always submerged in the mire of slavery, the old Mogul
proclaimed that the rule of any man over Hindusthan
who would give her freedom and Swaraj would be a hun-
dred times more pleasing to him than the continuance
of his own rule. He sent letters written in his own hand
to the Rajas of Jeypore, Jodhpur, Bikaneer, Alwar, etc.
333

THE CONFLAGRATION
“ It is my ardent wish to see that the Feringhi is driven
out of Hindusthan by all means and at any cost. It is
my ardent wish that the whole of Hindusthan should be
free. But the Revolutionary War that has been waged
for this purpose cannot be crowned with success unless a
man capable of sustaining the whole burden of the move-
ment, who can organise and concentrate the different forces
of the nation and will unify the whole people in himself,
comes forward to guide this rising. I have no desire left
in me of ruling over India, after the expulsion of the Eng-
lish, to my own personal aggrandisement. If all of you
native Rajas are ready to unsheath your sword to drive
away the enemy, then, I am willing to resign my Imperial
powers and authority in the hands of any confederacy of
the native princes who are chosen to exercise it.”⁴
This is the letter written by the leader of Indian Maho-
medans, the Emperor of Delhi to the Hindu kings in
India ! This unique and typical letter shows how the
noble words—Swatantrya, Swaraj, Swadesh, and Swa-
dharma—were thoroughly understood in Hindusthan.
Seeing the religious instincts of Hindus and Mahomedans
thus completely united together in patriotic harmony,
Charles Ball says, “ Such unexpected, surprising, and ex-
traordinary transformation is rarely to be seen in the
history of the world ! ”
But this extraordinary transformation had been completely
effected only in one province of the vast land of Hindu-
sthan, and the immediate result of the Proclamation was
not a perfect success. Though it is in the main, and in
this sense, true that, before the walls of Delhi, a fight was
going on between freedom and slavery, in another and in
an important sense, we can say that there never was a
true fight there between Indians and Feringhis as such.
The author of the famous work The Siege of Delhi, says,
4. The autograph letter:—Native Narrative by Metcalfe, p. 226.
334

DELHI FALLS
"There were four times as many natives as Europeans
in the artillery. For every European horseman there were
two native horsemen. It was not possible to move a step
without the help of the natives." The vigorous life in
one part of the country was killed by the treacherous
activity in other parts. In spite of this, even towards
the end of August, the Revolutionaries gave the English
no opportunity to attack, but always pursued the offensive
and continuously directed attacks on the English camp.
This is not a mean indication of their devotion to the
principle of Swaraj.
While all this heroic devotion on the part of the Revolu-
tionaries was rendered powerless for want of a capable
leader, the camp of the enemy got the advantage of a
commander like Nicholson. Now was to be seen, for the
first time, a shadow of despair in Delhi. The armies of
Neemuch and Bareilly began to accuse each other for the
present state of affairs ; and riotous Sepoys, though regu-
larly paid, clamoured for more pay and threatened to loot
the rich men of the town if their demands were not satis-
fied. Then, at the command of the Emperor, Bakht Khan
assembled together the Sepoy leaders, Sepoys, and pro-
minent citizens and asked them the question, "War or
surrender!" At once, the cry went ringing up to the
sky, "War, war, war!" (Ladhai!) At this display of
enthusiasm there was hope everywhere, and the Revolu-
tionary army, not excepting the Bareilly and Neemuch
Sepoys, marched towards Najafgarh to attack and carry
the English siege-train. After reaching Najafgarh, the
Neemuch army would not encamp where the Bareilly
brigade was encamped; and, instead of preparing to fall
together on the enemy, they disobeyed Bakht Khan's
orders and encamped at a neighbouring village. When
the English heard this news, the new commander, Nichol-
son, took a select and sufficient force and marched in all
haste towards Najafgarh. He suddenly attacked the Nee-
much brigade which had encamped at a distance disobey-
335

THE CONFLAGRATION
ing the orders of Bakht Khan. The Revolutionaries were
lying scattered, unprepared, and unformed—the attack was
cautious and well-ordered and under the command of
Nicholson ! The destruction of the Neemuch sepoys was
complete. They fought ; they fought with great courage;
they fought with such bravery that the enemy applauded
them. But this was vain bravery ! The Revolutionaries
had never suffered such a defeat since the battle of Bundel-
ki-Serai. The whole Neemuch brigade fell this day on
the field ! This was the fruit of self-willed action and
disobedience of the orders of their own elected commander!
Undisciplined bravery is as useless as cowardice !
This victory of the 25th of August removed altogether the
cloud of despair in the English Camp. This was their
only real victory since the month of June. Everyone
was anxious now to assault Delhi. Commander Wilson
gave the order to Baird-Smith to prepare the plan of
the final attack. This Baird-Smith who, by his persist-
ence, had retained the English army at Delhi when it
was thinking of raising the siege, prepared the map as
ordered. The new siege-train from the Panjab also arriv-
ed safely in the English camp. The English commander
sent a message to his troops in the following strain.
" This city of Delhi has baulked the English army and
three generals' military skill for the last three months!
The time has certainly come near when your efforts up
to now will be rewarded by the razing to dust of
that city ! "
After the arrival of reinforcements from the Panjab, the
English army consisted of three thousand and five hun-
dred English soldiers, five thousand Sikhs, Panjabees, etc.,
two thousand and five hundred Kashmiris—altogether
eleven thousand men. Besides, the Raja of Jhind him-
self was there, with hundreds of his men to assist in the
fall of Delhi. In the first half of September, the English
commander assumed the offensive and began to construct
336

This page is blank and contains no legible text to transcribe.

Begum Zinat Mahal was the youngest and
the most favourite of the wives of Emperor
Bahadur Shah and, as such, had great influence
over him. Being disappointed in getting esta-
blished her son's claim to the throne of Delhi
she became highly resentful towards the British.
It was she, in fact, who first enthusiastically
welcomed the idea of the Revolution and urged
the Emperor to join it whole-heartedly. When
Bahadur Shah was transported to Burma she
accompanied him there and shared his fate.
BEGUM ZINAT MAHAL in her old age, as an exile at Tonghoo in Burma.

BEGUM ZINAT MAHAL
Wife of Emperor Bahadur Shah
From an old miniature painting
Zinat Mahal, the beloved, clever, and determined Begum of the
Emperor had decided that this last opportunity of regaining the
lost glory should not be allowed to go by, and, if dying was the only
recourse then they should die the death which would only befit an
Emperor and an Empress.
— Author, p. 78

This page is blank and contains no text to transcribe.

DELHI FALLS
new batteries. This produced consternation among the
Delhi Sepoys. While, outside the walls, the English were
steadily advancing in good order, inside there was a cli-
max of disorder, anarchy, and disobedience among the
Indian troops ! The Indians on the English side worked
so arduously in the work of constructing the battery, in
spite of the artillery-fire of Delhi, that Forrest writes,
“ The natives excelled in steady and unparalleled bravery.
When man after man was being killed, they would keep
up their work. If the man in front was killed by a bomb,
they would stop for a moment, shed a tear or two for
the dead, put the new body in the line of corpses, and
begin work again in that terrible place ! ” The Indians
under the English worked with such discipline, while
those in the town of Delhi shirked their work. From
this difference, what a lesson has to be learnt ! Honour-
ing the officers and obeying their word of order is the
very essence of discipline. But this principle was being
trampled down everywhere at Delhi. Most of the fault
lay on the incapable officers, and the rest on disorderly
sepoys, and, now, there was disheartening despair to
crown all ! The 14th of September came. The English
army was divided into four columns—three under Nichol-
son stood on the left and the fourth under Major Reid
stood on the right to force the Kabul gate and enter Delhi.
When the sun rose, the English guns which had been so
long shattering the walls stopped suddenly. There was a
dead silence for a moment in the English camp and im-
mediately the force under Nicholson dashed against the
wall. The first column went up to the breach which had
been effected in the Kashmir Bastion. From within, the
guns of the Revolutionaries kept up a hot fire. The
English fell in heaps one upon another in the trenches but
some reached the walls. A ladder was placed over the
wall and the English army began to scale up the ladder.
The Revolutionaries fought desperately and shot down
hundreds after hundreds of the Feringhi army. But the
337
22

THE CONFLAGRATION
English force pushed on in spite of the terrible onslaught.
At last, the English effected a big breach and carried it.
Delhi's walls yielded and the bugle of victory sounded !
In the same manner, near the breach at the Water-Bastion
also, there was a terrible hand to hand fight, and the
second column, killing and dying at every step, carried
the breach and jumped inside the city.
The third column was marching towards the Kashmir
gate. When Lieutenants Home and Salkeld came in front
of the gate to blow it up with dynamite, from the walls,
from the windows, from everywhere came a perfect
shower of grape. The draw-bridge over the trench in
front of the Kashmir gate is broken. Only one plank
remains. Enough, march forward on it, one by one !
The sergeant is killed, this Mahadoo has fallen—but,
Home, rush forth. Home ran forth and placed the dy-
namite near the gate. Others then rushed forward on the
plank to apply the fire to it. Lieutenant Salkeld has
fallen, shot by a bullet ; rush forth, you, Captain Burgess;
why, you are also shot ; never mind, the hero has set
fire to it, even as he was dying ! A terrible crash like
thunder ! The Kashmir gate was blown up by the terrific
force of the dynamite. But even this sound was not
heard, in the din of battle, by the English commander
who was waiting for the Kashmir gate to open ! Should
he advance or should he not ? But, though he had not
heard the bugle of victory, he had not the slightest doubt
about the success of the English heroes who had rushed
forth. After waiting for a time, he marched forth. With
absolute confidence in his soldiers, Campbell gave the
order for an assault. The troops came near the ditches.
They saw their victorious and dying comrades in the
ditches, rushed through the breach in the Kashmir gate,
and jumped into Delhi.
The fourth column under Major Reid had started from
338

DELHI FALLS
the English right to take the Kabul gate. When it
reached Sabzi Mandi, it met the Sepoys who had come
out of Delhi to oppose it. Major Reid fell in the first
encounter, the English advance was checked, there was
confusion in the English camp, the Revolutionaries were
elated, and it seemed that the English would be routed.
But Hope Grant brought up the cavalry and the battle
again became equal. Though the English artillery opened
a terrible fire from every house and garden of Kishenganj,
the Revolutionaries sent bullets flying and shed pools of
blood. The English cavalry also found it impossible to
advance. But it was also impossible to return for fear
that the Revolutionaries might capture the guns. The
English cavalry stuck to their posts to die. Not a man
moved from his place, except by death. Of the grand
bravery and discipline of the Indian cavalrymen, their
commander, Hope Grant, says : “ The native cavalrymen
remained firm. Their valour is unparalleled. When I
began to encourage them, they said : Do not be anxious!
We will stand this fire as long as you wish ! ”
Equal bravery was shown by the Indians who were fight-
ing for love of country and freedom. The infuriated
Revolutionaries, fighting every inch of space, made a great
effort near the Idgarh. More and more desperate attacks.
When the English force, trying to capture Idgarh, was
wavering, the Revolutionaries delivered another fierce
attack. The English retired. The Revolutionaries
pursued, vigorously attacking them all the way, up to
their guns and cavalry. Now, at last, the English forces
are leaving the field after abandoning the position which
they held so long ! Bravo, Revolutionaries, bravo ! You
have shown a splendid fight ! If all of you had been as
brave, and as disciplined !—
While the fourth column was being thus foiled, the three
English columns that had entered Delhi waited for a
short time at the Kashmir gate and then rushed forth to
339

THE CONFLAGRATION
attack the town. The three chief commanders, Campbell,
Jones, and Nicholson, taking their followers, fought their
way to the Kabul gate. The guns found in the way were
captured ; on every tower and pillar was placed a British
flag, and the force went fighting right up to the Burn
Bastion. But, from this place onwards, instead of empty
guns, lifeless hillocks, and vacant fields, they encountered
the fierce war-cry of the Revolutionary force. The Revo-
lutionaries opened a terrible fire ; fierce bloodshed and
death marked every foot of ground they covered ; the
English army which had advanced far in the heat of
victory was forced back beaten. When thus the English
force received this check, Nicholson dashed forth like a
tiger. His motto was nothing is impossible, in this world,
to a brave warrior. When the irritated Nicholson left
the Water Bastion and again entered the Gully—the
bloody battle was renewed. Whichever Englishman
stepped forth was shot down by the Revolutionaries fight-
ing for freedom. From the roofs, from the windows, from
the porches, from the verandahs, this obstinate, freedom-
loving Gully began to pour forth fire and forced even
Nicholson to retire. The brave Major Jacob also fell in
it ! Now, rush forth, Nicholson ! All other English
officers, except you, have been killed by this Gully ! Oh!
freedom-loving Gully ! Nicholson himself is coming
forth—now is the true test ! The fight began in a dead
encounter. Suddenly, there was a cry in the English
army, as if it had been struck by lightning descending
upon it ! Nicholson, Nicholson ! Where is he now ?
Some brave Sepoy had singled him out and hit him—and
he was rolling on the ground ! There was an uproar
— “ Hato ! ” (Retire!) in the English army, and “Chato”
(Cut down!)” in the Sepoy ranks ! The dreadful Gully!
Every inch of her length was the grave of an Englishman!
Hardly did this column of the English army retreat
through this heroic Gully and reach the Kashmir gate,
when the bugle also sounded for the retreat of the column
340

DELHI FALLS
which had gone towards Jumma Musjid. Though there
was no resistance till the mosque was reached, as soon as
the troop came there, a terrible war-cry was heard and,
in the subsequent fight, Campbell was wounded.
Thus ended the first day of the assault on Delhi. Of the
four columns, three had their chief commanders wounded;
sixty-six officers, and eleven hundred and four soldiers
were killed ! Reckoning in the evening the advantages
gained at this expense, the English commander, Wilson,
found that he had taken only one-forth of Delhi! Fear,
despair, and anxiety maddened general Wilson and he said
that an immediate retreat must be ordered. “The town is
yet unconquered; and thousands of the Revolutionaries are
proudly inviting those that remain alive to come forth
for battle. Shall we now sacrifice everyone of us or suffer
the ignominy of defeat ? We must now retreat ! ”—such
was the opinion of Wilson.
When the dying Nicholson who had been taken to the
hospital heard the news, that hero said, “ Retreat ! By
God’s grace, I have still strength enough in me to shoot
the retreating Wilson ! ” All the living Englishmen
agreed with this dying hero and, on the night of the 14th
of September, the English troops stuck to the posts they
had conquered.
The English council of war overruled General Wilson’s
opinion as to retreat. The movements in the Revolu-
tionary camp itself that night showed that the force of
the Revolutionaries was spent. One party declared that
it was better to give up Delhi and renew the war in the
province, and the other insisted that Delhi should never
be surrendered, even if everyone of them was killed. In
the English camp, whatever the differences of opinion,
the majority was always respected and the differences
were merged in the unanimity of action. This virtue,
however, was conspicuous in the confused Sepoy ranks
341

THE CONFLAGRATION
by its absence, and the two parties, instead of uniting to
form a common plan of action, went each their own way.
Some Sepoys left Delhi, but others resolved not to go
back an inch till the end, stuck to Delhi, and came out
on the battle-field ready. This party fought for Delhi
from the 15th to the 24th of September! And that
too, with such determination, such bravery, and such
steadiness that, when an English detachment would enter
a mosque or a palace, a guardsman would stand with his
hand on the trigger, would aim calmly when the English
came near, and would fire the last shot for his country
and religion when they approached him. After doing
this last service for his motherland, he would court death!
When three fourths of Delhi fell into the hands of the
English, the commander-in-chief at Delhi, Bakht Khan,
went to the Emperor and said, “Delhi has now slipped
out of our hands. But this does not mean that all chances
of victory are over. Even now, the plan of harassing the
enemy in the open country rather than protecting an
enclosed place is certain to bring victory in the end. I
am going to fight my way out of Delhi, after selecting
the warriors who are ready to keep their swords drawn
till the end in this war of liberty. I think it more advis-
able to go out fighting rather than surrender to the enemy.
At this time, you should also come with us, and under
your banner, we will fight to the last for Swaraj.” If
this old Mogul had even a hundredth part of the valour
of Babar, Humayun, or Akbar in him, he would have
accepted this valiant invitation and would have marched
out of Delhi with the valiant Bakht Khan. If he was
to die, he should have died like a king. But despairing on
account of old age, slow on account of long enjoyment
of luxuries, and frightened by defeat, the Emperor Baha-
dur Shah maintained an undetermined and vacillating
attitude till the end. On the last day, he hid himself in
Humayun’s grave, and, after refusing Bakht Khan’s invi-
tation, began to decide upon surrender to the English,
342

DELHI FALLS
according to the advice of Ilahi Baksh Mirza. This
Ilahi Baksh was a first-class traitor ! He gave the news
to the English, who immediately sent thither Captain
Hodson. After a promise to spare his life, the Emperor
surrendered, was brought to the palace by the English,
and imprisoned. Just then, the traitorous dogs, Ilahi
Baksh and Munshi Rajab Ali, came up running and said,
“ But the princes are yet hiding in Humayun’s tomb ! ”
Again, Hodson ran ; the princes surrendered to him, were
put in a carriage, and taken to the town. As soon as the
cavalcade entered the town, Hodson ran up to the carriage
and shouted out that those who killed English women
and children deserved death alone. So saying, Hodson
turned towards the surrendered princes, who were dragg-
ed out of the carriage, and robbed of all valuables on the
person, and helpless stood before him. Three shots put
an end to the lives of the three princes ! Hodson cut
away this last sprout of Timur’s family ! But his revenge
was not satisfied by simply shooting dead these illustrious
princes. It is only savages that wreak a vengeance till
death. If Hodson had stopped there, where would be
the humanity of civilised English vindictiveness ? There-
fore, the dead bodies of the princes were thrown right
before the police station. When the vultures had fed on
them for some time, the rotting bodies were dragged and
thrown into the river. Oh Time ! what changes are
wrought by thee ! That there should be no one to give
the last burial rites to the descendants of the great Em-
peror Akbar ! And now, the Sikhs thought that the
prophecy in their books was fulfilled ! But, in what way?
By what means ? To what end ? For whose benefit ?
Then began terrible looting and a general massacre at
Delhi. After hearing the accounts, Lord Elphinstone
writes to Sir John Lawrence, “ After the siege was over,
the outrages committed by our army are simply heart-
rending. A wholesale vengeance is being taken without
distinction of friend and foe. As regards the looting, we
343

THE CONFLAGRATION
have indeed surpassed Nadir Shah ! ” ⁵ General Outram
was of opinion that Delhi should be burnt !
The English army, both European and Indian, engaged
at the siege of Delhi, was about ten thousand men. Of
those, about four thousand fell on the field, killed and
wounded. Such a terrible death-roll is not found even
in a struggle like the Crimean war ! Though it is im-
possible to form a reliable estimate of the losses of the
Revolutionaries from English accounts, they must have
been about five to six thousand.⁶
In this manner this historical town, inspired by the noble
sentiments of Swadharma and Swaraj, fought with a
powerful enemy like the English for a hundred and
thirty-four days and nights. On the whole, the fight was
one befitting a high and exalted principle ! From the
day on which Delhi threw away the Feringhi flag from
her walls and proclaimed the establishment of Swaraj,
from the day on which Delhi smashed the chains of
slavery and established freedom, from the day on which
Delhi first pronounced the formula of unity for the vast
and extended continent of Hindusthan under a national
banner, from that day onward, to the day on which
English swords drank Swadeshi blood in the palace of
Bahadur Shah, this town had done not a few deeds of
noble and unselfish heroism befitting the holy war of
freedom ! Without a leader, without good organisation,
having to fight a well-trained enemy like the English,
and having to oppose Swadeshi swords no less brave,—
why, braver than the Feringhi ones—ready to pronounce
upon their compatriots—in spite of all these disadvant-
ages, the Revolutionaries fought a splendid fight. But
disunion and want of organisation—the result of the lack
5. Life of Lawrence, Vol. II, page 262.
6. Rotton says : “The casualties of the mutineers were often
manifested beyond all due bounds.”—Page 175.
344