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

THE CONFLAGRATION
Lucknow. Lord Canning urged that, once the focus of
the operations of the Mutineers, namely Lucknow, was
destroyed, the smaller places would surrender easily. In
deference, therefore, to the orders of Lord Canning, Sir
Colin determined first to attend to Lucknow. As pre-
viously agreed, Seaton, Walpole, and the commander-in-
chief had brought together at Fatehgarh about ten or
eleven thousand troops. In all the strategic positions of
the Doab, small garrisons were stationed for keeping the
province in hand. The army was reinforced by a fresh
batch of troops sent from Agra. With their larger re-
inforcements, Sir Colin started from Fatehgarh. English
historians thus describe the magnitude of the English
forces at this time : “ Onao and Bunni deserts had pro-
bably never witnessed such big armies, engineers, artillery,
horses, infantry, carriages full of supplies, camp-followers,
tents big and small ; all arrangements were complete in
every particular. Seventeen battalions of infantry (of
which fifteen were English), twenty-eight squadrons of
cavalry (which included four European regiments), fifty-
four light guns, and eighty big guns were included ! ”
Thus, on the 23rd of February 1858, Sir Colin Campbell
left Cawnpore, and crossed the Ganges again with such
a splendidly equipped and large army in order to punish
Lucknow.
Oh Ganga, witness these strong English troops coming to
destroy Ayodhya ! And, O proud Ayodhya, are you at
least now going to humble yourself to the dust frightened
by these odds ?
Ayodhya must have felt that the crossing of the Ganges
by the English was to destroy her. She must have felt for
the reduction to dust of her villages and for the destruc-
tion of her temples and images by dynamite;⁴ but not so
much for all these things as for the fact that the Nepalese
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
4. Russell's Diary, page 218.
396

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
troops of Jung Bahadur were advancing on her. It
was this that brought tears to the melancholy eyes of
Ayodhya ; it was the advancing of this army that cast
a shadow upon her face. Ayodhya was not a coward to
fear the advance of the English army ; for, if she had
been, she would not have attempted to cast off the hated
yoke of England. The very day that Ayodhya drove away
from her domain the English authority by force, that very
day, she was aware that an English army would soon
advance on her ; and aware of this, this brave Ayodhya
had already stepped forth to the battle, with her thousand
arms. But Ayodhya was not aware that on her would
advance the Nepalese army of Jung Bahadur also. That
the enemy would try to massacre her, she knew ; but she
did not know that her friends, her brothers, too, would
raise the axe of destruction against her. She was ready
to wrestle with the English, but she was ignorant of the
shameful fact that she would have to wage war with a
portion of Hindusthan herself, for the liberty of
Hindusthan. And thus, when, as if to mock at
poor Ayodhya, Jung Bahadur started with the Nepa-
lese troops to advance on her, Ayodhya looked in
the direction of those troops only and began to
shed tears of grief.
For, at the very time when the huge British army was
crossing the Ganges with Sir Colin at the head, Jung
Bahadur too with the Nepalese was advancing on Luck-
now to help his friends, the English ! The English were
his friends and the Hindusthanees were his enemies !
Those who greased the cartridges with the fat of the cow
were his confederates, and those who refused to bite them
were his enemies ! This Jung Bahadur, this blot on Indian
history, brought eternal disgrace on himself and his family
by joining the English as soon as he heard that the fight
for Swaraj had begun. A little before 1857 he had visited
England, and English historians assert that it was because
he had seen with his own eyes the might and the glory
397

THE CONFLAGRATION
of the English that he did not dare to fight against them!
Was the glory and might of England indeed so awe-
inspiring ? If Jung Bahadur had been to England, Azi-
mullah, the minister of Nana, too, had been there; and so,
also, Rango Bapuji; and history clearly records how this
might have affected them, and how for every indication of
that power, they only formed a fresh resolve to shatter it
to pieces. The might of England alone would not explain
the conduct of Jung Bahadur. The English glory only
gave an additional stimulus to the patriotic hearts of
Azimullah and Rango to make their Mother-Country a
crowned queen with the tilaka of Independence adorning
her brow. On the other hand, the sight of English power
whispered to snake-like Treachery that, if it helped to
keep the Mother a slave of this might, perhaps two more
crumbs would fall to its lot.
And this Jung Bahadur, ready to sell his Mother for a
mess of pottage, sent his Nepalese to the English. First,
three thousand Gurkhas from Khatmandu, in the begin-
ning of August 1857, descended on Azimgarh and Jawan-
pur to the east of Ayodhya. Mahomed Hussein, the
leader of the Gorakhpur Revolutionaries, was ready to
meet them on the field. When the English were fighting
in the Doab, Veni Madhav, Mahomed Hussein, and Raja
Nadir Khan had, with credit to themselves, reconquered
completely the parts round Benares and to the east of
Ayodhya. Even before the English troops had time to
look to Oudh, the Nepalese had pressed back the Revolu-
tionaries towards Oudh. Within a few more days, Jung
Bahadur and the British came to a definite agreement and
three armies were ready to advance on this province. On
the 23rd of December 1857, Jung Bahadur started with
his nine thousand Gurkhas ; General Franks and Rowcroft
started each with a large division of the British army.
And, crushing the Revolutionary armies on the way, on
the north of Benares and to the east of Oudh, these three
armies began to enter Oudh.
398

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
About the 25th of February, 1858, the Nepalese and the
English crossed the Ghogra and marched toward Ambar-
pur. On the way, there was a strong fort in a very thick
jungle, possessing great strategic advantages. It would
not have been safe for the English army to proceed on-
wards without taking this fort. Hence the Nepalese were
directed to attack this fort. The fort engaged in fight and
continued it very vigorously in the face of this well-equip-
ped enemy. The reader may inquire the strength of the
army inside the fort which dared to stop this huge army
on its way. It was an army composed of thirty-four per-
sons only ! But the minds of all of them were filled with
the inspiring ideal of independence and it is this which
gave them the strength to fight the enemies of the country
in spite of such odds. The Nepalese fought with deter-
mination. Their opponents fought with still greater
vigour. Patriotism maintained its fight with Treachery.
Everyone kept and maintained his place fighting, struggl-
ing hard. The name Ambarpur (Heavenly City) was
eminently fitting to this fort ; Ambarpur fought so well
that it killed seven of the enemy and wounded forty-three.
It fought so well that thirty-three, out of the thirty-four
who defended it, were killed without moving from their
posts, and still the thirty-fourth did not cease from the
fight ! And it was only when the thirty-fourth was killed,
after maintaining the fight to the very end, that the enemy
could enter the fort. The fort of Ambarpur fought as
Delhi could not fight, as Lucknow could not fight !⁵
After Ambarpur had been taken, the united forces of the
Gurkhas and the English marched on reducing the coun-
try all the way. After them was also coming General
Franks who, after engaging with Nazim Mahomed Hussein
and Commander Banda Hussein at Sultanpur, Budayan,
5. “It was defended with so much vigour and resolution that
the assailants lost seven men killed and forty-three wounded before
they gained possession of it. The defenders died all at their posts.”
—Malleson’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV, page 227.
399

THE CONFLAGRATION
and other places, was advancing upwards towards Oudh.
In order to repair the loss of prestige caused by the recent
defeats and to regain the authority till recently maintained
in that part of eastern Oudh, the Lucknow Durbar sent
Gaffoor Beg, who was chief of the artillery under Wajid
Ali Shah, to drive back Franks. But in the important
battle of Sultanpur which took place on the 3rd of Febru-
ary he was defeated and, at the end of that month, there
was no enemy left for the army of General Franks to
encounter with in those parts.
All these armies were approaching Lucknow to join Sir
Colin. General Franks turned towards Daurara with the
intention of taking the fort there ; but, as the defenders
of the fort maintained the fight in spite of the loss of their
guns, General Franks had to acknowlege his defeat and
retire. As a matter of fact, Franks had engaged in many
a battle and been successful in most ; nor could any harm
have come through this small and unexpected defeat. But
discipline and responsibility were maintained so well and
vigorously in the English army at that time that, in spite
of the innumerable victories of Franks, Sir Colin struck
his name out from the list of the officers who were to
command the English divisions in the important battle
that was soon to take place.
Now, the several portions of the British army advancing
on Lucknow began to approach nearer and nearer to one
another. While Sir Colin’s huge army starting from
Cawnpore was approaching from the west, the armies
of Franks and Jung Bahadur were advancing from
the east. Before the 11th of March, these two
armies met together and their swords were out to
massacre the “ sinful ” city.
Sinful ? Not sinful but only unfortunate ! While the
swords of fellow-countrymen and foreigners were smiting
hard, was Lucknow doing anything to meet them ? Since
400

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
the time—in the November of the previous year—when
Sir Colin hurried towards Cawnpore to watch Tatia's
movements, till March, every patriot who was in Lucknow
was trying his best, each in his own way, to protect Luck-
now and destroy the enemy. In honour of the flag of
Swaraj which was floating high in Lucknow, everyone,
from the Rajas to the poverty-stricken peasants, took his
life in his hands and began the fight. Some of these Rajas
and Zemindars had personally and individually lost no-
thing by the advent of English rule; nay, some of them
had actually been benefited by it. But the noble principle
that what cannot benefit the country cannot in the end
benefit individuals, the noble determination not to give
up duty at any time through love of personal gain, the
Rajput feeling that death is preferable to loss of honour,
and the realisation of the truth that there can be no self-
respect, no manhood, without liberty—all these noble
ideas filled and pervaded the aristocracy of Lucknow.
The Zemindars of Lucknow did not rise merely because
they had suffered through the revenue assessment of the
English but because they hated foreign rule! This is not
merely our opinion but the deliberate opinion of the then
Governor-General, as will be seen from the following ex-
tracts: "You seem to think that the Rajas and Zemindars
of Oudh have risen because they have personally suffered
by our land-revenue assessment. But, in the opinion of
the Governor-General, this requires some more thought.
More thorough-going hatred could hardly have been shown
by any feudatories than was shown by the Rajas of
Chanda, Bhinja, and Gonda. Not a single village of the
first of these had been taken by us. Not only that but
even his tribute had been reduced. The second one also
was treated as generously. Of the four hundred villages
of the third, only three had been taken and, in exchange
for that, his tribute had been reduced by ten thousand
Rupees.
"By the change of rulers, no one had gained more than
401
26

THE CONFLAGRATION
the youthful Raja of Nowpara. As soon as the English
government came in, we gave him one thousand villages
and, setting aside all other claimants, we appointed his
mother as his guardian. But from the first, her army has
been fighting us at Lucknow. The Raja of Dhura, too,
gained enormously by the changes. But his own men
attacked Captain Hursey, captured his wife, and sent
her to prison in Lucknow.
"Ashraf Baksh Khan, the Talukdar persecuted by his
late master, was made at once sole owner of all his pro-
perty. But, from the beginning, his hatred of us has been
most keen. These and other similar examples go to show
very clearly that not mere personal loss, due to our rule,
has been responsible for the rising of the Zemindars and
Rajas against us."⁶
And so the English historian, Holmes, frankly admits that
several of the Rajas and Zemindars who had begun and
maintained the War of Independence were inspired by a
nobler idea than mere personal gain. "There were numer-
ous Rajas and petty chiefs who, without any substantial
grievance to brood over, were always fretting against the
restraints of the Government, the very existence of which
was always reminding them of the fact that they belonged
to a conquered nation.... Among all these millions, there
was no real loyalty towards the alien government which
had been forced to impose itself upon them. In trying
to estimate the conduct of the people of India during the
mutiny, it is important to bear in mind that it would have
been unnatural for them to feel towards an alien govern-
ment like ours, the loyalty that can only co-exist with
patriotism. Those of them who regarded our rule bene-
ficial helped us or, at least, left us free to help ourselves.
But there was not one of them who would not have turned
6. Lord Canning's Reply to the letter of Sir James Outram.
(Re-translated from the Marathi translation in the original).
402

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
against us, if he had once come to believe that we could
be overthrown ! '”⁷
Those whose blood boiled at the very name of foreign
domination, those who had stepped forth into the battle-
field leaving their all to unfurl the honoured flag of
Swaraj, Rajas, Maharajas, Zemindars, and Talukdars had,
be it remembered, one amongst them, at this time, who
was the first in the field to protect the revered throne of
Lucknow and who was, at the same time, the ablest in
the council. This extraordinary man had been for four
months moving here and there with lightning-like activity,
inspiring by his presence both the battle-field and the
council-hall.
Readers, this hero is none other than the Patriot of
Fyzabad, Ahmad Shah Moulvie ! With the burning torch
of the Revolutionary War in his hand, he had been setting
the whole country aflame, when the English authorities
at Lucknow captured him and ordered him to be hanged.
But, before being executed, he was taken to the prison
at Fyzabad and there the storm of 1857 raised him from
his cell in the alien’s prison to the leadership of the Revo-
lution. This national hero, Ahmad Shah Moulvie, was
on the battlefield for the freedom of his country and the
protection of his Dharma. He inspired by his tongue
thousands of his countrymen on the platform and, on the
field of battle, by his valour he earned the admiration of
friends as well as foes.
When Sir Colin went to fight with Tatia, he had left
Outram in Alam Bagh with four thousand troops. Since
that day, the Moulvie was working day and night to take
advantage of this weakening of the enemy’s forces. Many
a time, ere this, had Lucknow been protected by the
7. Sepoy War by Holmes. (Re-translated from the Marathi
translation in the original).
403

THE CONFLAGRATION
diplomacy and diversions created by Nana near Cawn-
pore. The isolated army at Lucknow had been brought
under the complete control of the Pandays. When the
British army crossed the Ganges to capture Lucknow,
Nana had pressed on Cawnpore and dragged the forces
of the enemy back into Doab. But Lucknow had not
taken full and determined advantage of this diversion.
The Moulvie tried his best not to let go the other chance
which had fallen in his way through the ability of Tatia.
Though the Begum of Oudh was the chief authority in
the palace, it seemed that her efforts could not succeed
in uniting and concentrating the Revolutionaries, Rajas,
and Maharajas ; internal disorganisation and carelessness
had rendered useless many fine opportunities of destroy-
ing the handful of the British army by a good determined
charge. Delhi had fallen ; Cawnpore, also, had fallen ;
Fatehgarh had shared the same fate ; and thousands of
defeated Revolutionaries from the neighbouring parts had
come to Lucknow. But, instead of helping Oudh, they
became a source of mischief by disobedience to authority.
It appeared certain that this last attack of the British who
were flushed with their victories and well reinforced by
numberless new troops would carry everything before
them. But the Moulvie turned darkness into light. This
patriotic Moulvie inspired with high patriotism many an
Indian heart by his eloquence and the force of his per-
sonality. He showed that it was possible still to beat the
English, if attempts were made to act with one mind and
make concentrated charges against them. He inspired the
Durbar with the confidence that he possessed and evoked
some order out of the chaos in the army. He had great
difficulties to cope with. Some incapables grew jealous
of his growing influence in the Durbar and so brought
about his arrest and imprisonment. But as the Moulvie
had more influence over the Sepoys than the Begum her-
self, and as, further, the troops from Delhi trusted and
obeyed him implicitly, pressure was brought to bear upon
the Begum by these people and the Moulvie was released
404

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
and his influence restored. After he was released, he was
asked his opinion about the military situation. He replied,
“The auspicious moment has passed. Things are out of
joint. Now, we should fight only because it is our duty.”
His influence over the populace of Lucknow was as great
as ever. And he ended the petty quarrels amongst the
troops and created in their minds a fresh inspiration and
enthusiasm and desire to take up their swords for the
destruction of the enemy knocking at their gates.
But he did not stop with this activity alone. Very often
he himself would personally lead them to the battles.
Whenever Hindusthanees attacked Alam Bagh, the Moul-
vie was always to be seen in the very forefront of battle.
On the 22nd of December, he had made a clever plan of
deceiving the English army at Alam Bagh and hemming
them in. He gave the slip to the English and marched
on the road to Cawnpore with his troops. He had given
orders that, as soon as he was behind the English army,
a charge was to be made against the front of the English
army by the division of the Revolutionaries that was at
Alam Bagh. The plan was admirable and bound to have
succeeded but for the other division. The leader of the
other division could not maintain discipline among his
followers. Everyone wanted to go by his own counsel,
conscious of his own wisdom and, before the first charge
had even commenced, they turned their back on the enemy
instead of meeting the charge. On account of such
cowardice and want of discipline, the Revolutionaries were
defeated even though the Moulvie had carried out his part
of the scheme most admirably.
But the Moulvie did not cease in his attempts to destroy
the English army. On the 15th of January, the Revolu-
tionaries received news that the English army was ad-
vancing from Cawnpore, carrying provisions and help to
the British troops at Alam Bagh. They began to discuss
the best means of stopping those supplies. But only dis-
405

THE CONFLAGRATION
cussions went on. No scheme was decided on, no arrange-
ment adopted. Disgusted at the cowardice of the rest,
the noble Moulvie swore before all that he would enter
Lucknow right through the British army after having
captured the convoy of the enemy. With this resolve,
keeping his movements as far as possible concealed from
the enemy, the Moulvie marched with his men on to the
road towards Cawnpore. But through Indian spies,
Outram was already informed of this and he had already
sent a party to attack the Moulvie's men. The battle
began. The Moulvie, in order to encourage his men to
do their utmost, himself fought in the front and did his
very best. In the course of the engagement he was shot
in the hand and fell down. The English had been most
anxious for a long time to capture him. But the Revolu-
tionaries skilfully placed him in a doli and brought him
to Lucknow in great haste. When it was known that the
Moulvie had been wounded, everybody was anxious about
his condition. But they felt that the best way of showing
their regard and respect for him was to complete the work
that he had begun; and, therefore, without a moment's
rest, Videhi Hanuman—a brave Brahmin—started on the
17th of January and made a desperate charge on the
English troops. From ten in the morning to six in the
evening, this brave man was fighting in the front ranks.
In the evening, however, he was dangerously wounded and
captured. The Revolutionaries were disorganised and ran
away completely routed. These defeats increased the dis-
organisation in the Revolutionary camp. Characterless
Sepoys demanded pay before fighting. Though their pay
had been given them in advance, they demanded more
before they would consent to take the field. That the
resolute, daring, and capable Begum still maintained, in
spite of all these disorders, the whole administration intact
is a sure indication of her grit.⁸ While these defeats were

8. Sir W. Russell says about this Begum : “ The great bulk of
   the Sepoy army is supposed to be inside Lucknow, but they will
   406

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
following one upon another, the chief minister of revenue
of the Begum, Raja Balkrishna Singh, died. Hardly was
his wound healed when the Moulvie again rushed into the
field—on the 15th of February. He was anxious to finish
Outram before Sir Colin was able to return from Cawn-
pore. But, day by day, the cowardice of the Sepoys was
increasing beyond measure. All the Moulvie's efforts were
thus baffled and, on that day too, the Revolutionaries
were defeated. But he went on fighting still. Amazed
at the bravery of this man, the historian Holmes records
in his book ; “ If, however, the mass of the rebels were
cowards, their leader was a man fitted both by his spirit
and his capacity to support a great cause and to command
a great army. This was Ammadullah—the Moulvie of
Fyzabad.”⁹ All those who were fighting with the incom-
parable strength of calm philosophy fought bravely. The
brave Subahdar of the 60th regiment swore to drive away
the English from Alam Bagh in eight days and worked
hard in the field to effect his purpose. One day, the Begum
herself came on the field with all the army. But the un-
fortunate Lucknow could not get any victory.
not fight as well as the match-lock-men of Oudh who have followed
their chiefs to maintain the cause of their young king, Birjis Kadir,
and who may be fairly regarded as engaged in a patriotic war for
their country and their sovereign. The Sepoys during the siege of
the Residency never came on as boldly as the Zemindari levies and
Nujeibs. The Begum exhibits great energy and ability. She has
excited all Oudh to take up the interests of her son and the chiefs
have sworn to be faithful to him. We affect to disbelieve his legiti-
macy but the Zemindars who ought to be better judges of the fact
accept Birjis Kadir without hesitation. Will Government treat these
men as rebels or as honourable enemies? The Begum declares un-
dying war against us. It appears from the energetic characters of
these Ranees and Begums that they acquire in their Zenanas and
harems a considerable amount of actual mental power and, at all
events, become able intrigantes. Their contests for the ascendency
over the minds of men give vigour and acuteness to their intellect.”
—Russell's Diary, page 275.
9. Sepoy War by Holmes.
407

THE CONFLAGRATION
At last, Sir Colin joined the English troops before Alam
Bagh. The English were straining every nerve to take
Lucknow. But despite their innumerable attacks, that
town had proudly stood so far under the flag of Swaraj.
But now the English had determined not to move without
taking it. As the English had concentrated all their forces
at this place, so the Revolutionaries, too, were straining
every nerve to give a good fight. All the fighting force
of Oudh was there. From every village and every field
came the patriotic rural population, with determination to
drive away the Feringhis or die in the attempt. Charles
Ball writes, "The whole country was swarming with
armed vagabonds hastening to Lucknow to meet their
common doom and die in the last grand struggle with the
Feringhis."¹⁰ There were thirty thousand Sepoys and fifty
thousand volunteers gathered together in that city. All
those who had taken the oath before the Revolutionary
war, all those who had eaten the chapatee, all those who
had smelt the red lotus flower, all those to whom had come
the sacred messenger of the Revolution, all these patriots
swarmed into Lucknow armed to the teeth with the object
of fighting for their country and for their king. At least
eighty thousand men were armed in that city.¹¹ In street
and lane, barricades and entrenchments were erected ;
houses had ramparts made and holes bored in the walls
for muskets or guns to be mounted ; heroic spirits were
posted on every wall ; to the east, large canals were dug
from the Gautami river and guns were stationed to com-
mand them ; huge ramparts, three in one row, were

10. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, p. 241.
11. How the imagination is relied upon in giving the exaggerated
    numbers of the Revolutionaries will be best seen from the following
    example. Sir Hope Grant says that there were "thirty thousand
    Sepoys and fifty thousand volunteers" at Lucknow. Colonel Mal-
    leson records: "The total army of the mutineers was one hundred
    and twenty-one thousand;" and the civil commissioner who ac-
    companied Sir Colin says: "Their army was exactly two lakhs."
    Poor Holmes is simply bewildered at these amazing contradictions.
    408

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
erected right from Dilkhwush Bagh to Kaisar Bagh ; the
palace itself was reinforced with armed Sepoys and mount-
ed with guns. In short, all parts except the northern
portion of the city were fortified admirably by the Revo-
lutionaries.
Sir Colin recognised the weakness of the northern side
and, from this very side, he began the attack. Before
this, neither Havelock, nor Outram, nor Colin himself
had attacked Lucknow from that side and, as the Gautami
was on that side, the Revolutionaries naturally thought
that the north needed no protection. But Outram took
full advantage of this weak link to the chain of their
defences and, as this point gave way under the charge of
Outram, the other defences were rendered useless. On the
6th of March, the British began their operations on the
north of Lucknow. Soon after, the troops under Sir Colin
had increased to nearly thirty thousand, and so the Eng-
lish attacked simultaneously from the north and the east.
Sir Colin had so divided his army that not a single Revo-
lutionary should escape alive from Lucknow. Though all
the plans of the Pandays had been upset on account of
the attack on the quarter least expected, namely, the
northern side, they carried on their struggle, day and night
from the 6th to the 15th of March. For the third time
in a single year, blood flowed freely in this unfortunate
city. The British troops stormed one fort after another
—Dilkhwush Bagh, Kadam Rasool, Shah Najeef,
Begum Kothi, and others—and continued their ad-
vance. On the 10th, Hodson was killed by the
Revolutionaries. It was this man that had shot
down in cold blood the surrendered, innocent, un-
armed Mughal princes of Delhi. Lucknow then
avenged Delhi by killing this wicked criminal. On
the 14th, the British army entered right into the Palace.
Giving a description of this triumph, Malleson writes :
“ Its greatness and magnificence were due mainly to the
Sikhs and the 10th foot ! ”
409

THE CONFLAGRATION
But, while Sir Colin was overjoyed at this unique triumph
in Kaisar Bagh, the news from Outram’s side disconcerted
him not a little. For, though Lucknow had fallen, its
thousands of Revolutionaries did not surrender or give up
the fight ; but, with their King and with the resourceful
Begum, they had broken through the troops which tried
to hem them in.
And while, in Lucknow, streams of blood are flowing pro-
fusely on every side, while the triumphant British army
is looting the palace, secure from danger, and while the
Queen-mother and the King have left Lucknow, where,
the reader asks, is Ahmad Shah ?
Let everyone bow down his head to do honour to this hero
of heroes ! The proud Moulvie is making his entrance
again into the city, with his handful of followers. His
proud heart hates like poison the idea that Lucknow
should fall, and that right in Lucknow English bayonets
should cause bloodshed ; he wants that, though Lucknow
should fall, its name should not lie low ; and so he leaves
his post outside the city—and, while the Feringhis are
laughing and joking and talking in the streets of Luck-
now, attempts an entry into Lucknow ! Annoyed by
insults offered to his king, careless of his life, mad with
devotion to his country, this Ahmad Shah Moulvie, only
in order that history should record that Lucknow did not
fall without a glorious fighting, entered a small part of the
town, known as Shahdat Ganj, and there began to fight
the enemy with his handful of followers. As Mazzini had
clung to Rome, all alone, though the enemy had entered
it and taken complete possession of it, so this Moulvie
too, when all the other Revolutionaries had left Lucknow,
when thousands of British troops were in it, continued the
fight with the strength that despair gives ! He thrust his
hand right into the jaws of this Feringhi serpent, for it
had swallowed Lucknow, and he wanted to snatch
it back !
410

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
Malleson writes : “ Something remained to be effected
even in the city itself. The Moulvie, the most obstinate
of the rebel leaders, had returned to Lucknow ; he was
still there, at Shahdat Ganj, in its very heart, occupying,
with two guns, a strongly fortified building whence he bade
defiance to the British. To dislodge him, Lugard was
detached, on the 21st, with a portion of the division which
had conquered the Begum Kothi, the first day of the
attack. The troops employed were the 93rd Highlanders
and the 4th Panjab Rifles. Seldom did the rebels display
so much pertinacity and resolution as on this occasion.
They defended themselves most bravely and were not
driven out until they had killed several men and severely
wounded many others on our side.”¹²
That was the last fight of Lucknow !
When the heroic impulse of this struggle and those who
carried it on had calmed down, they felt that the flag of
Swaraj for which they were fighting, was no more at
Lucknow but that it was awaiting their uplifted swords in
the wilds of Hindusthan. So, they moved away from the
building. The enemy pursued them for six miles. But
the Moulvie again effected his escape.
Now, Lucknow had completely fallen into the hands of
the English. One must really dip one’s pen in blood to
write the history of the vengeance that they wreaked on
Lucknow ! How the palace and the city were looted, how
the citizens were massacred wholesale, how even dead
bodies were insulted is a sad, sad story to tell. If, while
reading the description of the atrocities given by men like
Russell, we bear in mind that this description is given by
Englishmen, we would be able to have some faint notion
of the terrible vengeance that was taken by the English.
How different was the conduct of the Revolutionaries !
12. Kaye and Malleson, Vol. IV, page 286.
411

THE CONFLAGRATION
We give below two extracts, both from English writers,
so that the reader might judge for himself the difference
between Indian and English vengeance.
In the prisons at Lucknow, there were several English
women and officers. For six months, their lives were
spared. But when the English army entered the city at
the first onslaught of Sir Colin, massacring all—innocent
and guilty alike, the angered Revolutionaries went to the
palace and wanted to take vengeance on some of the Eng-
lish prisoners. Accordingly, Lieutenant Orr, Sir Mount
Stuart, and five or six other Englishmen were given over
and they were immediately shot down. But when they
insisted that the English women-prisoners also should be
killed, "to the honour of womanhood, the demand was
imperatively refused by the Begum so far as the females
were concerned, and they were immediately taken under
her care in the Zenana of the palace."$^{13}$
We give below, for comparison and contrast, one or two
examples of the vengeance of the English. These have
been given by Russell himself, the famous correspondent
of the London Times. "While the massacre was going
on in the palace, a frightened child was leading an old
man. The old man came before the English authorities
and, prostrating himself before them, asked that their lives
should be spared. As if in answer to this wailing request,
the English officer took out his pistol and shot him on
the temple! Again, he pressed the trigger but the shot
missed. He pressed again but the shot again refused to
kill the innocent boy. The fourth time—thrice he had
time to repent—the gallant officer succeeded and the boy's
life-blood flowed at his feet!"$^{14}$
This incident has come out, because there was someone
13. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 94.
14. Russell's Diary, page 384.
412

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
who would write about it. Many an other incident has
not come to light, because there was no pen to record
these. These atrocities were going on to such an extent
that distinctions were actually drawn up between a merci-
ful death and a cruel death ! A murder, such as the one
above, was a merciful death. The cruel death which ren-
dered even cold-blooded murder merciful meant something
like the following : “Some of the Sepoys were still alive
and they were mercifully killed ; but one of their number
was dragged out to the sandy plain outside the house ;
he was pulled by his legs to a convenient place, where he
was held down, pricked in the face and body by the
bayonets of some of the soldiery, while others collected fuel
for a small pyre ; and when everything was ready—the
man was roasted alive ! These were Englishmen, and
more than one officer saw it ; no one offered to interfere !
The horrors of this infernal cruelty were aggravated by
the attempt of the miserable wretch to escape when half-
burned to death. By a sudden effort he leaped away and,
with the flesh of his body hanging from his bones, ran
for a few yards ere he was caught, brought back, put on
the fire again, and held there by bayonets, till his remains
were consumed ! ” ¹⁵
* * *
Delhi has fallen. Lucknow, too, has fallen. But the War
of Independence did not flag. Seeing this unexpected
result, the English were convinced fully that they had
made a mistake in imagining that this Revolution was
caused by the Sepoys and only for one or two grievances.
This was no mutiny, it was a War of Independence ! One
or two grievances are not responsible for this rising, but
political slavery, the source of all the innumerable griev-
ances suffered—that alone was the cause. The selfish-
ness of personal gain lay not at its root, but the sacred
flame of liberty, the glorious ideal of Swaraj and Swa-
15. Russell’s Diary, page 302.
413

THE CONFLAGRATION
dharma, it is these that were burning there. Not only
had the Sepoy risen to give his life's blood with almost
selfish eagerness to this sacred principle of Liberty.
but the whole civil population all over the country, from
villages as much as from towns, had also risen. Without
that, this strength, this resolution, this selfishness, this
grit would not have been displayed. For, Lord Canning
had now issued a proclamation that those who would join
the Revolution thereafter would see their lands and estates
confiscated, while those who surrendered at once would
be forgiven. Yet the Revolutionary would not lay down
his sword. Still Oudh persisted in her fight. Lucknow
had fallen. But, Sepoy and shopkeeper, Brahmin and
Moulvie, Rajas, Zemindars, and Talukdars, villagers and
agriculturists—all Oudh was still making a rush forward!
Dr. Duff writes about this terrible popular rising : "Why,
if it had been a merely military mutiny, in the midst of
an unsympathetic, unaiding population, a few decisive
victories, such as we have already had, might quash it or,
as the phrase goes, stamp it out. But so far from being
quashed or stamped out, it seems still as rampant and,
in some respects, more wide-spread and formidable than
ever. And, it is a fact that it is not a mere military revolt,
but a rebellion—a revolution, which alone can account
for the little progress hitherto made in extinguishing it and,
at the same time, precludes any reasonable hope of its
early suppression. That it is a rebellion, and a rebellion,
too, of no recent or mushroom growth, every fresh revela-
tion tends more and more to confirm. And a rebellion,
long and deliberately concocted, a rebellion which had
been able to carry the Hindu and Mahomedan in an
unnatural confederacy, a rebellion which is now manifestly
nurtured and sustained by the whole population of
Oudh and, directly or indirectly, sympathised with
and assisted by well-nigh half of the neighbouring
provinces—is not to be put down by a few vic-
tories over mutinous Sepoys, however decisive and
brilliant.
414

THE FALL OF LUCKNOW
"From the very outset, it has been gradually assuming
more and more the character of a rebellion—a rebellion
on the part of vast multitudes beyond the Sepoy army,
against British supremacy and sovereignty. Our real
contest was never wholly, and now less than ever, with
mutinous Sepoys. Had we only Sepoys for our foes, the
country might soon have been pacified.
" Never has the enemy been met without being routed,
scattered, and his guns taken. But, though constantly
beaten, he evermore rallies and appears again, ready for
a fresh encounter. No sooner is one city taken or relieved
than some other one is threatened. No sooner is one
district pronounced safe through the influx of British
troops than another is disturbed and convulsed. No
sooner is a highway reopened between places of import-
ance than it is again closed and all communication is for
a season cut off. No sooner are the mutineers scored out
of one locality than they reappear with double or treble
force in another locality. No sooner does a moveable
column force its way through hostile ranks than these
reoccupy the territory behind it. All gaps in the number
of the foe seem to be instantaneously filled up and no
permanent clearance or impression seems to be made
anywhere. The passage of our brave little armies through
these swarming myriads, instead of leaving the deep
traces of a mighty ploughshare through a roughened field,
seems more to resemble that of the eagle through the
elastic air or a stately vessel through the unfurrowed
ocean ! ” 16
The truth described so picturesquely by Duff was realised
by the English only at the end ; but every individual of
the Panday party had thoroughly realised it long, long
before. Those who died on the field for their country
and their king were, of course, giving expression to such

16. Dr. Duff’s Indian Rebellion, pages 241-243.
    415