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

THE CONFLAGRATION
ordinary man were so superb that whole regiments of
rude Sepoys would be ready to rise in his favour with one
mind in the course of a single day. When the necessity
for reinforcements arose, Tatia had gone straight to Sheo-
rajpur and enlisted the 42nd regiment—lately risen—for
the new cause. Meanwhile, Havelock had been preparing
to cross the Ganges and advance on Lucknow ; so, Tatia
decided to harass his rear. How the English commander
was, thus, dragged back to Cawnpore, how on his return
he saw, to his surprise, the extraordinary Mahratta ruling
in his palace at Brahmavarta, how the English army was
forced to give battle at this place, and how, in the en-
counter, the army of the Revolutionaries was defeated on
the 16th of August—all this has been described in a pre-
vious chapter. After the defeat, Tatia swam the Ganges
with his whole army and joined Nana at Fatehpur. Re-
inforcements were again necessary. The same problem
rose again. But why need Nana worry about reinforce-
ments so long as Tatia Topé was there? The army in
the cantonments of Gwalior—anxious to meet the Feringhi
in battle—had so far been obliged to keep quiet, because
of the ‘loyalty’ of the Scindia. To Gwalior, then, some-
one must be sent—and who fitter than the wily Mahratta
who, like the magician who weaves a spell round his au-
dience, had seduced and kept within the hollow of his
hand whole regiments of Sepoys? Tatia, then, went to
Gwalior incognito. And shortly after, he had seduced the
whole army—infantry, cavalry, artillery and all—at
Morar, and had even brought them as far as Kalpi. From
a military point of view, Kalpi would have been of great
help to the Revolutionaries. As the river Jumna flowed
between Kalpi and Cawnpore, it could serve as a cover
against the English army. Tatia realised, then, that after
Cawnpore no better base could be secured than the fort
of Kalpi and so he took the fort. When Nana heard that
he had got a good army and the fort of Kalpi, he consent-
ed to make Kalpi his base and sent Shrimant Bala Sahib,
as his representative, to occupy the fort and look after it.
378

TATIA TOPÉ IN THE BATTLE AT KALPI
Tatia Topé's career as a general bears the
stamp of a great military genius. He was well
skilled in military tactics and had made the
old predatory system of Maratha warfare
his study. His success lay in the celerity of his
marches, his knowledge of the country, and the
free-booting manner he adopted to obtain sup-
plies. He carried along with him neither bag-
gage nor commissariat, compelling the coun-
tries through which he passed to provide him
with everything his army required. With an
enemy less perseverent than the British, Tatia
might have founded a great State and rebuilt
the Maratha power. He seemed to mock at
defeat and, at the time, his name became more
familiar to Europe than that of most of the
English Generals. His reputation was by no
means undeserved. The problems before him
were not easy. He had to keep together an
army of beaten soldiers, bound by no tie to
his person and bound to each other by one
common hate—the hate of the British name.
He had to keep this ill-assorted army in constant motion, at a
pace which would baffle not only the enemies who pursued but
enemies who streamed down at right angles to his line of march. He
had, while thus urging his half-disciplined host to mad flight, to
take some dozen cities, obtain fresh stores, collect new cannon and
above all induce recruits to join voluntarily a service which pro-
mised only incessant flight at sixty miles a day. That he ac-
complished these ends with the means at his disposal indicates
ability of no mean kind. He was of the class to which Hyder
Ali belonged and had he carried out the plan attributed to him
and penetrated from Nagpur to Madras, he might have been as
formidable as his proto-type. He gave no mercy and he sued for
none, stern and relentless to the last, he yielded up his life without
a murmur or a struggle, betraying little symptoms of nature or
humanity on the scaffold at Sipri. He seemed to feel that the end
was come and it was easy to perceive in his general demeanour, that
he was quite prepared to yield up the life he had hazarded upon
the cast of the die. While imprisoned in the camp, although heavily
fettered, his bearing was dignified and consistent. Sentenced to be
hanged, by the court martial, he mounted the ricketty ladder of the
scaffold with as much firmness as handcuffs would allow him, and
deliberately put his head into the noose.

This page is blank and contains no text to transcribe.

TATIA TOPE
While Bala Sahib was holding the fort, Tatia began to
think of attacking the English army.
At this time, General Wyndham who had earned fame in
the battle-fields of Europe was the chief commander of the
Cawnpore regiments. Sir Colin had gone towards Luck-
now leaving this small army to protect Cawnpore. Tatia,
then, had got his opportunity. The Revolutionaries of
Lucknow were engaging the huge army of Sir Colin and
keeping it busy ; it would be difficult for general Wyn-
dham to get help from outside ; and hence, this was the
time to surprise him, engage him, and, if possible, to get
rid of him. Such was the plan of Tatia. Bala Sahib
thought well of this plan and Tatia himself was made com-
mander of the forces. A mere clerk yesterday, this poor
Brahmin of the Durbar of Nana was the commander of
to-day. He crossed the Jumna and engaged openly in
battle with General Wyndham who had spent a lifetime
on the battlefields of Europe ! And with what means ?
With the recently risen unorganised Sepoy mass and with
the peasant rabble who had accompanied them ! He stood
face to face with the English army which had all the ad-
vantages that organisation, military training, and disci-
pline could give. It was instructive to watch such an
encounter, to see how the spirit of independence could
meet all the overwhelming advantages on the opposite
side. It was a living example and lesson showing to what
extent an army without the advantages of discipline but
with the spirit of liberty could fight, illustrating with what
success it might have fought had it all the advantages of
discipline. With the troops of Gwalior which had joined
him, Tatia had reached Kalpi on the 9th of November.
Kalpi is situated about forty-six miles from Cawnpore.
Having accurately ascertained the exact whereabouts of
the English army, he left Kalpi, crossed the Jumna, enter-
ed the Doab, and, leaving all his treasure and other things
at Jalna, occupied some villages adjoining Cawnpore. He
was playing a deep game in not rushing on to Cawnpore
379

THE CONFLAGRATION
immediately after crossing the Jumna. He did not want
to annoy Wyndham until news came that Sir Colin had
begun to engage in the fight at Lucknow. When that
news did reach him, he advanced on Sheorajpur, occupying
important positions on the way. About the 19th of No-
vember, Tatia, by these clever tactics, was able to cut off
all supplies from the British army. Meanwhile, the
famous commander of the English forces was certainly
not idle at Cawnpore. The stream of the English army
flowing from Calcutta was stopped at Cawnpore, and
Carthew was sent with a division to establish himself on
the road to Kalpi. Wyndham coolly awaited Tatia's
movements. Would Tatia go on to Ayodhya to cut off
the rear of Sir Colin's battalions or would he attack him
in Cawnpore itself ?
But Wyndham was not a commander who would wait for
ever. His daring nature ever pressed him forward. More-
over, he thoroughly believed in the superstition that Eng-
lish troops were superior not only to Indian troops but
all Asiatic troops in general and that the best means of
defeating Asiatics was to attack them boldly on the front
with one heavy charge. " Strong though you may be, the
least hesitation on your part to attack, the least delay,
and the Asiatic becomes proud and conscious of power,
and becomes aggressive. Thus, even if you are weak,
hesitate not, but charge boldly with one united charge,
and the Asiatics would be bewildered and fly before you
through mere fright." Such was the thorough belief of
the English and, out of the many occasions on which they
had acted on this belief, they had been successful on most.
It was considered, therefore, quite a rule well-established
by experiment, that it was not proportion of numbers but
bluff and bullying that was the sure road to victory ;
hence, the advisability of a handful of European troops
charging a large mass of Asiatics straight like an arrow !
Every English soldier coming out to India was made to
learn this rule by heart and every English historian who
380

TATIA TOPE
wrote a book brought this fact prominently before all.
General Wyndham, trained as he was in such warfare and
with such ideas, was not likely to allow Tatia to make his
movements unhampered. He left Cawnpore immediately
and moved towards the bridge over the canal near Kalpi.
Tatia, meanwhile, moved from Srikhandi to the river
Pandu on the 25th of November. When the daring enemy
approached so near, the English army prepared for battle
and the thoroughly-tried antidote against Asiatic courage
just referred to was used on the 26th. On that date,
Wyndham started his straight-as-an-arrow attack. The
Revolutionaries were ambushed in a thick jungle and they
began their cannonade on the English army. After a good
deal of exchange of shots, the English took three of the
guns of Tatia and Wyndham almost believed that,
once again, owing to his bold charge, his army was success-
ful. His army, too, felt the assurance of victory. But
it was a vain hope. For, soon the English troops were
forced to retire steadily. In an instant, the hope of victory
was changed into certain defeat and Tatia pursued him
until he had retreated up to Cawnpore. The Revolu-
tionary cavalry at their back would neither attack them
nor leave them! They wheeled round and round the
enemy, forced the enemy back, and themselves reached
the gates of Cawnpore. Instead of taking fright at the
charge of Wyndham, Tatia himself began the aggressive,
meeting charge with charge.
Says Malleson : “The leader of the rebel army was no
fool. The blow dealt by Wyndham, far from frightening
him, had disclosed to his mind the weakness of the British
leader. . . . Tatia Topé read, then, the necessities of Wyn-
dham's position as he would have read an open book and,
with the instincts of a real general, he resolved to take
advantage of them.”¹

1. Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV., page 167.
   381

THE CONFLAGRATION
Tatia ordered his army which had fought Wyndham for
twenty-four hours without a minute’s rest that they were
to be ready by the morning to march against the enemy.
But they were not to start the attack until another conting-
ent of the Revolutionaries coming from Shewoli and Sheo-
rajpur opened fire on the right flank of the English army.
As soon as that began, however, they were to begin the
attack in right earnest. Wyndham meanwhile had led
forth his army ready for battle ; but when, even after nine,
the army of the Revolutionaries did not begin the attack,
and not a sign of them was visible, the English army
returned to camp for breakfast. At eleven, the army was
made ready for battle. A vague uncertainty as to the
real intention of Tatia pervaded the atmosphere.
This was soon made known, however, in a terrible manner;
for, cannon-balls were sent flying from the Revolutionary
guns against the right wing of the English. The vanguard,
too, was attacked by Tatia. Directly after this, Wyndham
sent Carthew with six guns to the road to Brahmavarta
to protect that part of Cawnpore. And now a regular
cannonade began. Soon it appeared that the English
artillery-men were falling back. Tatia had arranged his
army in a semicircle and his game was to close on the
enemy from the front and the flanks. Wyndham tried
his best to break through the circle but the guns of Tatia
would not allow him to advance even a step. It seemed
they could not even maintain their position, and the Eng-
lish, within a short time, began to show signs of retiring.
Seeing that the left wing had retired leaving their guns
behind, the right wing held on for a time and tried to
keep the guns. But they could not hold much longer. As
they too retreated, the semicircle of the Revolutionaries
closed on them more tightly. By six in the evening, the
English army was thoroughly demoralised. A short while
more and the rout was complete. Thousands of tents
and oxen, a great quantity of provisions and clothing fell
into the hands of the Revolutionaries. Half of Cawnpore
382

TATIA TOPE
was now in the hands of Tatia. Thus, the second crown
of victory crowned this brave and stalwart Mahratta.
Yesterday’s battle gave him a victory which was but in-
direct and partial, but to-day’s victory was complete and
direct. For he had not merely defeated the clever and
famous commander of the English in a battle which lasted
a whole day, but he had routed the English army thorough-
ly ; he had captured the whole camp, tents and all ; he
had driven them out of a portion of Cawnpore and him-
self retaken the city. Even English historians admit that,
if his army had been as disciplined as he was capable, he
would have been able to destroy Wyndham’s army
completely.
And now the cannonade of Tatia had reached Sir Colin’s
ears. When Tatia came to Cawnpore, he believed as cer-
tain that Sir Colin would be engaged at Lucknow at least
for a month. But soon, Tatia heard that, in some un-
foreseen way, the Revolutionaries had been got rid of by
Sir Colin, and it seemed now pretty certain that Sir Colin
would attack him, and try to close him in by attacking
him from both the sides of the Ganges. Tatia’s face cloud-
ed with anxiety at this news. Wyndham felt very hopeful.
That very night, Wyndham resolved to win back the glory
he had lost during the day. But his men were all tired
and therefore, giving up the idea of the night attack, he
began to prepare for giving another battle the next morn-
ing. He tried to repair the mistakes of the previous day
and determined on an attack. The fight began early in
the morning. The Revolutionaries aimed their artillery
on both flanks of the enemy. The fight went on as on the
previous day till midday. But this day, the English did
not retire. They assumed the aggressive and began a
determined, united, formidable and, as they thought, ir-
resistible, charge.
Irresistible indeed ! The right wing is absolutely shatter-
ed ! Brigadier Wilson is down ! Captain M’Crea is no
383

THE: CONFLAGRATION
more ! Morphy, Major Stirling, Lieutenant Gibbins, all
are down ! Aye, Asiatics can produce a Tatia, after all !
The third day, then, saw a victory for Tatia and his
followers, for they fought hotly and well till late in the
evening and they had routed what remained of the Eng-
lish army. The English army was more completely routed
than even on the day before, both the wings having been
actually driven from the field on this last day. And Tatia
had now captured the whole of Cawnpore and thus the
third crown was shining on the sword of the brave
Mahratta.²
Just when the English army was being routed, the com-
mander-in-chief, Sir Colin, arrived in their camp. He
realised the extent of the injury done to British prestige
by Tatia ; he saw, with his own eyes, the English troops
flying for their very life and the victorious troops of the
Revolutionaries pursuing them ; and he heard, with his
own ears, the trumpets and drums proclaiming the victory
of the Revolutionaries ! He saw the importance of the
struggle Tatia was carrying on at Cawnpore.
Tatia on his part realised that Sir Colin was enabled to
march back to Cawnpore, just at this juncture, to the help
of the English army, only through the utter failure of the
Revolutionary party to hold their own at Lucknow. But
he did not get disheartened. He smashed the bridge near
Ayodhya to render it impossible for the English army to
cross the Ganges ; he also stationed guns near the place.
2. The following graphic picture is given of the defeat by an
English officer : " You will read the account of this day's fighting
with astonishment ; for it tells how English troops, with their tro-
phies and their mottoes and their far-famed bravery, were repulsed,
and they lost their camp, their baggage and position to the scouted
and despised natives of India ! The beaten Feringhis, as the enemy
has now a right to call them, have retreated to their entrenchments
amidst overturned tents, pillaged baggage, men's kits, fleeing camels,
elephants and horses, and servants. All this is most melancholy
and disgraceful."—Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 190.
384

TATIA TOPE
But the enemy understood his game and, in the face of
the fire, crossed from Ayodhya to Cawnpore before the
30th of November. In the camp of Tatia, Nana Sahib
and Kumar Singh had also arrived. These leaders deter-
mined that, instead of leaving Cawnpore, it would on the
whole be more creditable to meet the commander-in-chief
in battle, especially as “ they had, as their leader, a man
of very great natural ability ! ”³
Tatia stationed his left wing in a well-protected position
between Cawnpore and the Ganges. His centre was right
in Cawnpore city. And his right extended behind the
Ganges canal and held a bridge over it. In his army, there
were ten thousand trained sepoys. With these he kept
Sir Colin busy on the 1st and 2nd of December. On the
2nd, he actually opened fire on Sir Colin’s tent. On the
6th, Sir Colin was forced to accept the open challenge of
the Revolutionaries. Consolidating, therefore, his army
of seven thousand in an admirable manner, he began his
attack on these insolent “ mutineers ” who could dare to
attack the camp of the commander-in-chief himself. See-
ing the right wing of the Revolutionaries unprotected, Sir
Colin determined to charge on the right.
But in order to draw off their attention from the right
and direct it towards the wrong direction, the English
opened fire early in the morning of the 6th on the left
wing of the enemy, who were soon engaged in repelling
the attack. A mock charge was meanwhile made on the
centre, too, by Greathed. So believing that the enemy’s
objective was the left and the centre, the Revolutionaries
began to concentrate their strength on these. While the
left was seriously suffering from the artillery of the Bri-
tish, the English began suddenly to turn to the right of the
Revolutionary army. But the Gwalior contingent station-
ed on the right by Tatia began a furious cannonade on
3. Malleson’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV, page 186.
385
25

THE CONFLAGRATION
the Sikhs and the English who were charging. The rifles
of the Panday army, too, were very active. But the Sikhs
made "double march" and rushed forward, being backed
up by Peel's white troops, and the Gwalior army, under
this double fire, showed signs of retiring. As soon as that
was apparent, the fire of the enemy was reduced and soon
the Gwalior army was scattered completely. All their
guns were captured and a furious pursuit of them began
on the Kalpi road. A complete victory was thus obtained
by Sir Colin so far as the right wing was concerned; but,
he was not satisfied with that. He had an idea of block-
ing completely the road to Brahmavarta on the left, as he
had blocked the road to Kalpi on the right, and thus, of
capturing Tatia with his whole army. So he despatched
Mansfield to the road leading to Brahmavarta. On this
day, the well-established proposition about Asiatics,
referred to above, seemed to have been confirmed both
positively and negatively. The feigned attack on the left
made by Greathed was so weak that, had the Pandays
made but one attempt to repel it, not only would Greathed
have been punished in a way he would have remembered
to the end of his life, but the very fortunes of the day
would have been changed. As it was, the Revolutionaries
began to give way under the straight attack of the English.
While this affirmative part of the proposition, viz., that,
at a good charge and at a show of audacity, the Asiatics
lose heart, was being confirmed on the centre emphatical-
ly; on the left, the negative part too was being realised
in an unmistakably clear way. For when the Revolu-
tionaries saw Mansfield coming, crouching in a round-
about and concealed manner, they attacked him even
though he had a large division. Nana himself commanded
the left. He took full advantage of the slow movements
of Mansfield. When Sir Colin was inquiring whether
Tatia had been hemmed in or not, he heard with regret
that through the dilatory movements of Mansfield, he had
been foiled in his desire. He did not succeed in capturing
Tatia Topé!
386

TATIA TOPE
For, that Mahratta general had pressed Mansfield and
pressed him as far as Brahmavarta. He had broken
through the network of the English army, and had gone
off with his army and with all his guns. How many more
networks the English general would have to spread before
they could succeed in capturing the Mahratta tiger will
appear in a future chapter.
Though Tatia was able to escape, on this day, with all
his men and all his guns, Hope Grant was pursuing him
closely and, on the 9th of December, a running fight
ensued between Tatia and the English near Sheorajpur ;
and, though Tatia did break through this time too, most
of his guns fell into the hands of the enemy. Thus, in
an interval of two days between the 6th and the 9th, Sir
Colin was able to repair the defeat of Wyndham, to cap-
ture thirty-two of the Revolutionary guns, and to break
up their army, forcing some towards Kalpi and the rest
on to Ayodhya. After obtaining these big victories, he
thought that minor victories were surely within reach. So,
he marched on to Brahmavarta, looted the property there,
razed the palace to the ground, and, to crown all his
triumph, demolished the sacred temples of that city.
It was in this palace that the brightest gems of India, Nana
and Tatia, Bala and Rao, and the “ Chhabeli ” of Jhansi
had been bred and brought up. It was this palace that
first conceived the War of Independence of that glorious
year. The temples of that city had blessed the birth of
the ideal. When the throne of Raigarh which had been
snatched from the Mahrattas had been re-established again
in this palace washed by a free flow of the stream of
English blood, the palace and these temples had been
illuminated.
That very fire which could produce all the illuminations
had been instrumental in reducing them to-day to ashes.
But history need not drop a tear on these sacred ashes. For
387

THE CONFLAGRATION
this palace and these temples had been burnt down only
after they had accomplished their task. The very extinc-
tion of such structures is more inspiring, a thousand times
more life-giving, than the existence of hundreds of other
structures which are but monument of slavery ; for these
have attempted to give birth to independence ; and they
have died in that attempt. Far more profitable is death
through the attempt to establish Swaraj than life in
slavery. The sacred fuel burning in the sacrificial fire
is a thousand times more life-giving than the log of wood
burning in the funeral pyre.
388

CHAPTER VII
THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
AFTER thus stemming the fierce tide of Tatia's
progress at Cawnpore, Sir Colin started recon-
quering the other portions of the country that
had risen. Seaton had been marching slowly,
‘pacifying’ provinces on the way, and had
now come down to Aligarh. So now Walpole was
sent by Kalpi road to accomplish the same task for all
the territory from Aligarh to Cawnpore. Walpole was to
march upwards from Cawnpore and Seaton was to go
downwards from Aligarh ; they were to meet at Minpuri ;
and, thus, all the tract of the Doab along the Jumna was
to be reconquered. While this was being done, Sir Colin
389

THE CONFLAGRATION
was to march towards Fatehgarh from Cawnpore. Such
was the plan of operations. It was thought that the Doab
Revolutionaries would be pressed back by the English army
and would eventually enter Fatehgarh. And hence it was
decided that the closing finale of the operations should be
conducted and a great battle should be fought near Fateh-
garh, where the three armies of Walpole, Seaton, and
Campbell were to meet after the close of their indivi-
dual operations.
According to this plan, on the 18th of December, Walpole,
with all his guns and his army, began his upward march
from Cawnpore on the Kalpi road. After fighting one or
two skirmishes with scattered Revolutionary bands all
along the way, wreaking cruel vengeance—the well-known
and customary Feringhi vengeance—on all persons indis-
criminately, innocent people as well as those who actually
fought against England, and on the villages which had
sheltered the Pandays ; and, by such means, trying to
bring back the territory under British allegiance, this
Walpole came as far as Itawa and, of course, he would have
gone further. But, though the Revolutionaries in Itawa
had all left, he had still to stop, with all his army, in that
city. What could be the reason of this extraordinary neces-
sity ? What could stop this march of the English army ?
Was it that Revolutionary troops, in large numbers, had
attacked him ? Or could it be infantry or the cavalry ?
Or was it by any chance the artillery with the fierce fire
playing all round ?
No, none of these things were happening in Itawa.
Neither the infantry nor the cavalry, nor the fire of the
artillery was stopping the English at Itawa. Only twenty
or twenty-five Indian heroes are making a stand from
yonder building. That building has a roof and its walls
have holes made in them for fixing the muskets. It is
these twenty-five men, standing with a musket in their
hand and a burning fire in their heart, that have made
390

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
the fully-equipped English stop at the door of Itawa.
Itawa blocked the passage of the English army notwith-
standing the guns and cannon that it carried, because
Itawa had not yet received its usual toll due to it as of
right. That toll was that everyone who dared enter the
threshold of Itawa against its wishes should fight first.
The challenge was “Fight first!” These twenty-five men
had determined to sell their lives dear, though escape was
easy. They stood determined there and only asked for a
fight. What battle could be given to these handful of
people in this building ? If probably they waited for a
few minutes, these mad people would come to their senses
and make their escape, which was yet open to them—so
thought the English. But though they waited long, there
seemed no possible chance of the “mutineers” coming
to their senses. So, an engagement was at last decided
upon. The mere show of the artillery would, it was
thought, be sufficient to make them fly. The English,
therefore, exhibited their artillery and tried to frighten
the Revolutionaries.
But, fear could exist only in the hearts of ordinary mortals.
Those who, charmed by the ideal of independence, wel-
comed death as the only means of achieving the ideal—
who could succeed in frightening these? Who fights for
victory fears; who battles for glory, even, may fear;
but who could frighten him who fights for death alone?
The utmost one can be afraid of is death! But he who
has overstepped those limits and who smiles on death,
what could frighten him? What could come in the way
of such a man? Not all the thunders and all the lightn-
ings of dread heaven could stop his progress; for his
progress is towards death and those elements are
only rendering his task easier. He who hopes for
death alone has no room for despair. These national
heroes of Itawa who courted death in battle with
the ardour of a lover for his love, what could frighten
them, then?
391

THE CONFLAGRATION
And so they willingly relinquished all the ways and means
of escape they had. They had not the slightest hope of
victory and yet they defied the English army and loudly
called on them to join battle. That army of the
English which did not stop for the ramparts of
Delhi nor for the walls of Cawnpore nor for the
siege of Lucknow, now had to stop before this in-
significant-looking building !
Malleson says : “ Few in number, armed only with mus-
kets, they were animated by a spirit fiercer even than the
spirit of despair—by a determination to die martyrs to
their cause. Walpole reconnoitred the place. It was, for
a place to stop an army, insignificant. It could easily be
stormed. Yet to storm it in the face of its occupants
would cost valuable life and it seemed that easier and less
costly means were available. These easy means were at
first tried. Hand-grenades were thrown in ; an attempt
was made to smoke out the occupants with burning straw.
But all in vain. Through their loop-holes, the rebels pour-
ed in a constant and effective fire on the assailants and,
for three hours, kept them at bay. At last, it was resolved
to blow up that place. For this purpose, Bourchier, aided
by Scratchley of the Engineers, made a mine with a num-
ber of his gun cartridges. The explosion of this conferred
upon the defenders the martyr’s honours they coveted. It
buried them in the ruins.”
The dynamite exploded the building. The highly coveted
honour of martyrdom was, thus, gained by these heroes
who longed for it. They died on the spot and were buried
in the ruins. And this sacred mausoleum of Itawa, since
that day, has been preaching a silent and terrible sermon,
by day and by night, on How to die in defence of a
Noble cause !!
Brave Itawa ! Glorious for ever ! What better, what
holier inspiration could one find in the pass of Thermo-
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THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
pylae, the ramparts of Breccia, or the stand of De Reuter
in the Netherlands ! All glory to Itawa ! Itawa for ever !
When Walpole reached Itawa, Seaton too had passed Ali-
garh, Kashgunj, and Minpuri, and was engaging in small
skirmishes the Revolutionary bands. The two armies
met at Minpuri on the 8th of January, 1858. In accord-
ance with their previous plans, the banks of the Jumna,
near the Doab, had been reconquered by the British army
from Delhi and Meerut as far as Allahabad. Meanwhile,
Sir Colin had been marching along the Ganges. He had
crushed the Nawab of Fatehgarh and had thus destroyed
the last resort of the Doab Revolutionaries, and he was
now going towards Fatehgarh from Cawnpore, bent on
clearing the territory of the Doab, as far as the Ganges
and the Jumna on either side, of the enemy altogether.
The Nawab of Farrukabad, as has been already told, had
declared his independence at Fatehgarh. The Doab Re-
volutionaries had flocked into Fatehgarh from all the
adjoining parts. Sir Colin had many small engagements
with these. As these Revolutionary troops were mostly
composed of undisciplined people who had been defeated
at Delhi and Cawnpore and had run away from the
battle-field in those places, they used to fly before the
English, before the engagements had even begun, just to
save their lives. But did they succeed in saving their
lives by these dastardly means ? Not at all. The Eng-
lish pursued them hard and, at times, would kill 600 or
700, sometimes even a thousand of the fleeing enemy.
What a world of difference between the dying of those
Itawa heroes and these ! And the Nawab of Far-
rukabad had soon to suffer the consequences of this
dastardly conduct of these bands. His capital, his forts,
and his military supplies fell into the hands of the British
and all the Revolutionaries were driven across the Ganges
and into Rohilkhand. With the military supplies that
were captured, Nadir Khan, the avowed enemy of the
British, also fell into their hands. This Nadir Khan had
393

THE CONFLAGRATION
fought the English on several occasions with credit under
the flag of Nana Sahib at Cawnpore. As soon as such a
formidable opponent fell into their hands, they hanged
him. This Nadir Khan, at the point of death, swore a
terrible oath “ calling upon the people of India to draw
their swords and assert their independence by the exter-
mination of the English.”¹ This was the burning message
delivered with his last dying breath by this glorious
patriot, Nadir Khan.
On the 4th of January 1858, at the time when Sir Colin
entered Fatehgarh in triumph, all the Doab and all the
country from Benares upwards as far as Meerut had been
reconquered by the British. So, now, the question was
what was to be the future plan of operations of the British
army? The hope of the British, that, when the flames
of rebellion had been extinguished in the Doab, the in-
surrections in other parts would quietly settle down, now
proved absolutely futile. Experts in political astrology
had prophesied that, within eight days of the fall of Delhi,
the “ mutiny ” would be no more. As a matter of fact,
the Revolution did not perish by the fall of Delhi, and all
these prophecies had proved false. For the huge mass of
the Revolutionary army, so far confined to Delhi, spread
tumultuously all over the country like a river overflowing
its banks. The troops of Rohilkhand under Bakht Khan,
of Neemuch under Veer Singh, and other armies under
their various Subahdars, instead of surrendering to the
English, continued the war from other parts of the coun-
try. Once, right in Delhi itself, there seemed signs of
another insurrection of the populace. For, a rumour had
spread all over the city that Nana, after his victory
at Cawnpore, had marched on to effect the release of the
Emperor whom the English had imprisoned. Secret
orders were immediately given to the military authorities
that, should Nana really come to Delhi, the guards

1. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 232.
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THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
should rush in and shoot down the old Emperor like a
rabbit ! ² Since the fall of Delhi, the Revolutionaries had
become even fiercer than before. They did not mind de-
feat now. The first ebullitions due to their victory had
settled down by this time. A stoical calmness had now
come over their hearts. Their one thought was that what-
ever happened they were to go on fighting. Either the
Feringhis or they must be exterminated. They had deter-
mined, once for all, that, so long as neither of these was
accomplished, they would continue the war to the end.
They were quarrelling amongst themselves ; some, for
personal gain, were getting lawless ; but no one was willing
to give up the fight against the English. And, if ever this
determination—never to keep down the sword until either
the Feringhi or themselves had become extinct—appeared
clearer than ever on the firmly set jaws, the contracted
eyebrows, or the stern eye of the Revolutionaries, it was
after the defeat in the Doab. Before the Sepoys who
were captured in battle were hanged, they were usually
questioned by the English why they joined in the war,
and the Revolutionaries would answer clearly and sternly,
“ It is the command of religion that Feringhis should be
killed ! ” And the end ? The extermination of the Eng-
lish and of the Sepoys ! And then ? What God wills,
will be done ! ³
Thus, after the fall of Delhi, the desire of liberty, instead
of dying out, took only more fire. And to avenge Delhi,
they continued the fight in Lucknow and Bareilly. For
when the Doab had fallen to the English, the territories
of Ayodhya and Rohilkhand were under the complete
control of the Revolutionaries. Therefore, Sir Colin's idea
was to conquer Rohilkhand first and then to proceed to
2. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 184.
3. “The slaughter of the English is required by our religion.
The end will be the destruction of all the English and all the
Sepoys,—and then, God knows !”—Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny,
Vol. II, page 242.
395