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

THE CONFLAGRATION
thoughts ; but, even their women showed an equal deter-
mination. When the "brave" English attacked the
Zenana of Lucknow, some Zenana ladies fell into their
hands. Feringhi soldiers opened fire as soon as the door
was forced and some of these ladies were killed ! Those
who survived were put in prison. Lucknow city was soon
razed to the ground. The English were overjoyed at the
prospect, as they thought, of the early surrender of the
Revolutionaries. The jailors of these Ranees, sharing to
the full the general feeling of joy of their compatriots,
asked them mockingly, "Do not you think that the strug-
gle has come to an end ?" "On the contrary," replied the
Ranees, "we are sure that in the long run you will
be beaten."¹⁷
17. Narrative of the Indian Mutiny, page 338. Russell's Diary,
page 400.
416

CHAPTER VIII
KUMAR SINGH AND
AMAR SINGH
HUNTED out of the valleys of Jagadishpur by
General Eyre, Kumar Singh, the old but ener-
getic lion of the territory of Shahabad, was
roaming restlessly but always on the alert for
every chance to spring at the neck of those who
had deprived him of his liberty. Under his
banner had united his brother Amar Singh and two other
chiefs, Nisswar Singh and Jawan Singh. They were now
lying in wait in the forests. With them were their beloved
wives, heroic women, but ready to join in the fight, comb-
ing their hair not with the delicate combs of the Zenana
but with sharp arrows, flourishing in their delicately
27 417

THE CONFLAGRATION
fashioned hands, "tenderer than the very flower," the flash-
ing Damascus blade, "harder than adamant." They
were, also, waiting to drink the blood of the enemy ! To
drink the blood of the enemy, we say again ; for, old as
Kumar Singh was and proudly insolent as his opponent
was, the ambition of Kumar Singh was nothing short of
drinking the enemy's blood ! For, though "reduced to
extremities with hunger, besieged by age,—a picture of
hard misery, with no position, and courting death," as
the lion of the famous poem, our Kumar was still the
king of the forest ! And, therefore, whatever the reverses,
how would he eat the dead grass of slavery ? His ambi-
tion was—one ambition alone could be the ambition of
the lion of the poem referred to—to break open, with his
steel-claws, the skull of the elephant !
With the land belonging to his family for generations as
far as your memory could go now usurped by the stranger,
with his very palace of Jagadishpur in the hands of the
foreigner, and his temples and images pulled down by the
desecrating hands of the enemy, Kumar Singh did not
show any excitement. He did not make a dash for Jaga-
dishpur, nor did he persist in holding Shahabad. His
capital was strictly guarded by the English and his army
was small—only a thousand and two hundred Sepoys
and five hundred untrained volunteers. He did not show,
therefore, the least anxiety to recover his capital imme-
diately. But his great desire was to hold aloft the bright
golden banner of the War of Independence ! The very
day that he gave up Jagadishpur without serious resist-
ance—that very day he had made up his mind to take
to a different mode of warfare altogether. That mode of
warfare is the one mode that goes farthest to secure
success in any War of Independence. It is guerilla warfare.
Therefore, enraged as he was at the loss of his capital,
Kumar Singh sent not his army against the enemy, for
then his soldiers would have perished like moths before
418

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
the rushing enemy ; but he moved quietly into the forests
of West Behar and along the river Shon, carefully noting
the weak points of the enemy. In the meanwhile, news
reached him that troops, Nepalese and English, were being
sent from Azimgarh into Oudh to destroy Lucknow. As
soon as with his keen scent he scented the prey, the lion
of Jagadishpur took one leap out of the forest. Unlike
those who would still, in fallen days, hover round their
capital without the least chance, and unlike those weak
persons who give way completely to passion and emotion
to console themselves, our Kumar Singh was the very
genius of guerilla warfare. Though the British army was
marching on to Lucknow, they still had an eye on Jaga-
dishpur, where his activities might be expected to be cen-
tred. Kumar Singh, therefore, postponed indefinitely his
operations there and started for eastern Oudh, to make
one spring for that part where the British army was
weakest, hoping to surprise Azimgarh by uniting together
all the Revolutionaries that were scattered in eastern Oudh,
and then to make a dash, if victorious, on Benares or even
Allahabad and, thus, to avenge the Jagadishpur insult.
On the 18th of March 1858, even the Revolutionaries of
Beeva joined him ; and the united armies encamped near
the fort in Atrolia.
Azimgarh is twenty-five miles' run from Atrolia. Learning
that Kumar Singh was so near, Milman marched on Atro-
lia with three hundred infantry and horse and two guns.
Before the morning rays of the sun of the 22nd of March
had lighted the field of Atrolia, the vanguards of Milman
and of the Revolutionaries were within sight of each other.
Milman gave them not even a moment's time to recover
themselves, taken aback as they seemed to be by the
sudden appearance of the British troops. He began the
fight at once. But, of course, how long could the Revo-
lutionaries fight against the British ? They were soon
totally defeated. What an ending to the vainglorious
boast of Kumar Singh ! All glory to the British army
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
419

THE CONFLAGRATION
which showed such fine front even after the all-night
march of the previous day. Ye have earned your break-
fast, British soldiers, by the sweat of your brow, nay, by
the free flow of blood from your bodies ; so, enjoy your
breakfast, with your commanders, in the cool shade of the
mango groves ! The rays of the morning sun are wel-
coming you, gay because of the great victory earned so
lately. Arms were arranged all around, breakfast was
ready, the hungry mouths were chewing the first morsel;
the cups of drink were filled ready,—and then !
Boom, boom ! What is up ? The cups are dashed down
from the lips, the morsels of food have slipped off the
mouths, the breakfast dishes are shattered and, instead,
the army has to take up the arms only this hour laid down
with a sense of relief ! Has Kumar Singh come after all?
Yes, yes! Kumar Singh has descended like a thunderbolt
upon the English, who had been contemplating with de-
light their supposed victory. As soon as Milman was com-
pletely enticed into the security of a false victory, the hero
—old in age but youthful in spirit—came out of the fort
of Atrolia and smiled with contempt at the prey, now
completely his. Malleson says : “ What more could a
general long for ? Everything was in his favour. Kumar
Singh, then, marched to a victory which he deemed assur-
ed. The imagination can almost picture him making to
the confidant by his side an exclamation near akin to that
which burst from the lips of Wellington when he noticed
the false movement of Marmont which brought on the
battle of Salamanca ! Mon cher Alva, Marmont est
perdu !” ¹ Still Milman struggled to escape and marched
on with boldness, hoping to frighten Kumar Singh by
keeping up a good and steady attack. But a regular
shower of bullets was kept on from the avenues of sugar-
cane, from the trees of the mango grove, and from the
mud--banks everywhere. The army of Kumar Singh

1. Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV, p. 319.
   420

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
numbered five or six times that of Milman and, seeing
that his enemy threatened to surround him completely,
Milman was obliged to stop weakly in the midst of his
bold attack. This weakness increased the determination
of Kumar Singh to surround him. Now the British army,
frightened and almost suffocated, began to fall back. Now
began the wolf-like warfare of Kumar Singh's troops,
moving forward to shoot at stray soldiers and the flanks
of the enemy. The temporary triumph did not turn
Kumar Singh's head. He did not attack unitedly the
retreating troops of the enemy ; for, he knew well the
nature of the troops under him. He could not be sure how
long they would have held on in a hand to hand fight.
Hence, shrewd as he was, he determined only to continue
the guerilla tactics. He drove the army of the enemy,
hunting them from Atrolia straight to their camp
at Kosilla.
But the British army was destined not to get a safe refuge
even in the Kosilla camp. Already the news of the defeat
of the army had reached there and the Indian servants
had left with their oxen and everything else that was in
their keeping. No servants ahead, no provisions near, with
Kumar Singh's army preying on the stray unfortunates
like wolves, Milman began his retreat leaving the camp
behind him. Kumar Singh pursued—pursued even after
he had taken complete possession of everything the enemy
had, and hunted the British army and the miserable Mil-
man from Kosilla right up to Azimgarh. At Azimgarh,
Milman's hopes revived again ! for, there he had aid of
three hundred and fifty fresh forces from Benares and
Ghazipur, who had come in response to his express mes-
sage. Colonel Dames was the commander of the united
forces. With a strong base like Azimgarh, with
the British army reinforced to double the former
number, with Colonel Dames to lead them—they
determined to take revenge for the temporary defeat,
come what might !
421

THE CONFLAGRATION
So, Colonel Dames set out from Azimgarh resolving to
revenge himself on Kumar Singh on the 28th of March.
He thought he had his revenge, for he was victorious over
Kumar Singh ; but it was only to find the old game re-
peated again, perhaps better than before. The fresh
soldiers with their fresh commander got such a sound
beating that Colonel Dames ran from the field right to
Azimgarh and took refuge within the fortifications of the
city. No one now even spoke of attacking Kumar afresh.
Kumar now entered Azimgarh and leaving the work of
annihilating the few Englishmen in the fortifications to a
few of his followers—and to famine—he pushed on trium-
phant to Benares !
The governor-general who, as we have said before, was
now at Allahabad, was filled with terror, now that the lion
had opened wide his jaws. “ Knowing what sort of a man
Kumar Singh was, that he possessed audacity and courage,
and that he knew the value of time in military operations,
Lord Canning realised at once the danger of the situa-
tion.”² He who had just imprisoned the English forces
at Azimgarh and, having marched with wonderful rapi-
dity the eighty-one miles of the way, had threatened to
cut off Allahabad from Calcutta by attacking the city of
Benares, he—the Rana Kumar Singh, reinforced as he
now was by the Sepoys flying away after the defeat at
Lucknow and knowing full well the art of keeping together
and in discipline even such demoralised forces as he had,
was not to be lightly treated by Lord Canning. It was
owing to the firm grip on the cities of Allahabad and
Benares which the English could maintain through the
loyalty of the Sikhs in the first part of the mutiny, that
the rebellion was nipped in the bud in the provinces round
Calcutta ; and when it seemed the design of Kumar Singh
to catch again the lost opportunity by dashing on Benares
and Allahabad, Lord Canning ordered Lord Mark Kerr
2. Malleson’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV, page 321.
422

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
himself to march on this ‘ rebel ’ chief in all haste.
Lord Mark Kerr, well known in the Crimean campaigns
and well experienced in Indian military matters, marched
off at once with five hundred men and eight guns and
arrived within eight miles of Azimgarh. After a little rest,
he started onwards on the morning of the 6th of April.
At about six o'clock in the morning, he learnt that
Kumar Singh's men had been watching his progress. But
pretending ignorance of this fact, he ordered his army to
advance in readiness and at once commenced the attack
on Kumar's left flank. No sooner did the English com-
mence the attack than Kumar's left began a veritable
shower of bullets on the enemy. On that day, the old
Kumar was seen fighting lightning-like in the thick of
the battle, seated on his favourite white horse. Knowing
full well that the strength of his army was not so much
in their number which was simply swelled as a threat to
the enemy by allowing all sorts of camp-followers to enter
the fighting ranks, Kumar Singh solely relied upon his
own skill and courage and intrepidity.
He spread out his force to attack Lord Mark Kerr on his
flanks. The guns of the enemy were vomiting fire upon
him and he had no guns to silence them, still did he suc-
ceed in bringing his army right to the rear of Lord Mark!
This movement upset the plan of the enemy so totally that
their guns had to fall back ; and this was the signal for
the Revolutionaries to rush forward with a triumphant
war-cry. Kumar Singh had, by this time, tightened his
grip on the English rear so firmly that the English ele-
phants began to run amock, the conductors on them lost
all hope of life and clung round their necks with both
hands, and the servants and all began to run wheresoever
they found a way. Yet Mark Kerr said “Let us hold on
for a while—victory might still be ours !” He had cap-
tured some houses on the Revolutionaries’ front, while
they had totally routed his rear.
423

THE CONFLAGRATION
Thus was this strange battle fought. In the beginning,
the front of Kumar was opposed to the front of the English
army and now the rear of the British army is opposed to
the front of Kumar ; now he has even set the rear of the
enemy on fire ! When Mark Kerr saw the rear surround-
ed in flames of fire, he determined to leave the battlefield
and began to press on to Azimgarh. For, if not victory,
at least the secondary purpose of carrying succour to
Azimgarh should be accomplished if possible. His guns
did him a splendid service, especially as Kumar Singh had
none with him. At midnight, Lord Mark brought his
army to Azimgarh. About this battle and the strategic
movements and errors of Kumar Singh and the difficulties
under which he laboured, Malleson says :—" That leader
had showed himself greater as a strategist than a tacti-
cian. His plan of campaign was admirable but, in carry-
ing it into execution, he committed many serious errors.
Milman gave him a great, an unexpected opportunity.
He had that officer at his mercy. When Milman's men
were waiting for their breakfast in the mango grove near
Atrolia, it was in the power of Kumar Singh to cut them
off from Azimgarh. He preferred to attack them in front.
Then, when he had forced him to fall back, he did not
press the pursuit with sufficient vigour. A capable com-
mander would still have cut them off. Once having seen
them housed in Azimgarh, he should have left a portion
of his force to blockade them, pressed on with the remain-
der towards Benares, and occupied a position in which he
could have engaged Lord Mark Kerr with advantage. He
had at his disposal, it subsequently transpired, about
twelve thousand men. To oppose these the few men led
by Lord Mark were alone available. Everything was
within his grasp had he dared to stretch out his hand.
The chances are that, capable man as he was, he saw all
this. But he was not supreme master of the situation.
Every petty leader who had brought his contingent to
serve under him wished to dictate a programme. The
counsels of the rebels tended, then, almost always to a
424

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SIR HENRY BARNARD
SIR JAMES CUTRAM
SIR JOHN LAWRENCE
In Bihar, the Revolution of 1857 was led
and conducted by Kumar Singh of Jagadishpur,
a Rajput chieftain of ancient lineage. Though
an old man of eighty at the time, yet he was
extraordinarily stout in physique, and resolute
in character. A warrior by nature, and poss-
essed of the instincts of a real general, Kumar
Singh proved a formidable foe of the British
throughout the whole course of the War of
1857. The reason for his being a staunch
enemy of the British authority in India was
their revenue system, which had deprived him
of all his estate. He had been in consultation
with Nana Saheb, at Kalpi, just before the
breaking out of the War, and had resolved to
participate in it whole-heartedly. So, when on
July 25, 1857, he learned that the Revolutionary
forces at Danapur had successfully risen, he
seized the first opportunity to strike a blow,
and joined them with all his power. Though
he had to face many reverses he was never
vanquished. On the contrary, he embarrassed
the British generals on many an occasion and
gave them defeats. More than once, he threa-
tened the whole of Western and Eastern Bihar
and on one occasion he threatened Calcutta
itself, the then capital of India. He had just
re-entered Jagadishpur and defeated Capt. Le
Grand on April 23, 1858, when, only after
three days, he died of a wound in his arm
which had been previously amputated because
of a bullet wound in the wrist.
SIR HOPE GRANT

SIR HENRY LAWRENCE
KUMAR SINGH of Jagadishpur, Bihar
Kumar Singh was succeeded
by his brother Amar Singh
as the Commander of the
Revolutionary forces in Bihar.
Amar Singh was as capable as
his brother and had supported
him almost from the beginn-
ing. He too continued to
harass the British forces, till
he met the final reverse late in
November, 1858. Nothing is
known of his later fate.

This page is blank and contains no text to transcribe.

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
compromise."³
But Lord Mark Kerr was baulked not only of his victory
but even of this secondary purpose of relieving Azimgarh.
For still the whole city was in the hands of the Revolu-
tionaries who had also a perfect hold of the whole sur-
rounding province. A born commander is he who knows
exactly the nature and capacities of his forces. Few men
could have excelled Kumar Singh in this necessary quality
of a commander. As he had correctly gauged the power
and strength of his enemy, even so he measured the merits
and demerits of his own followers. Therefore is it that
he did not try at all to attack and carry the fortress in
which the English had taken refuge. He had closely ob-
served the fact that the Sepoys, for whatever reasons or
panic it might be, were ready to undergo any other ordeal
but that of facing the English bayonets—a fact which
had been clearly demonstrated in both the sieges of Arrah
and Lucknow. Therefore, having rendered it difficult for
the English forces to come out of the besieged fortress,
he began to plan in his daring heart quite another scheme
of worsting his enemy. In the forces of the Revolu-
tionaries that had entered the field in 1857, it was clearly
seen that there were men of two different temperaments
—the one class, who would throw themselves right in the
jaws of death with unflinching and firm and disciplined
resistance on the battle-field, whether opposed to the
cannon or the bayonet of the foe ; the other who, possess-
ing the will to die for the nation but lacking in the
courage to carry it into effect, would flinch back and get
routed at the very moment when they ought to have stood
unmoved. Out of these two sorts of men, Kumar Singh
collected those who belonged to the first sort and had
proved immoveable in the field, and organised them into
a separate band of chosen veterans. Having made this
selection and created a body on whom he could depend
3. Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV, pages 326-327.
425

THE CONFLAGRATION
for any adventure however difficult, Kumar Singh became
ready to put into execution the daring scheme which he
had set his heart upon, and ordered his newly selected
veteran band to stand on the bridge of the Tanu river.
For, it was by this little bridge that a British general,
named Lugard, was marching ahead to relieve the English
forces at Azimgarh. Lugard first, and most naturally,
thought that the object of this Revolutionary band in
contesting the passage of the bridge was simply to pre-
serve the grip of the Revolutionaries on the city of Azim-
garh. "But," says Malleson, "the wily chieftain had
matured plans far deeper than even those about him
could fathom." This unfathomable plan of the wily
chieftain was to deceive the enemy by a false show of
holding Azimgarh at any cost, to fix their whole attention
there on that spot and, while they were thus completely
beguiled there, to march off straight on to Jagadishpur.
This scheme was matchless in its military wisdom. To
march off from Azimgarh to Ghazipur, thence to jump
into the Ganges, to cross it, to press on, and to reconquer
Jagadishpur—all this in spite of the pursuing force of
Lugard at the rear and in the face of the deluded English
force of Arrah in front ! It was for the execution of this
very bold plan that he ordered his veteran band to guard
the bridge of the river Tanu. His orders to those veterans
were to hold the bridge against the attacks of Lugard till
the other division of his forces had time to leave Azimgarh
and escaping the vigilance of the English, to take the road
leading to Ghazipur. If once he reached Ghazipur and
crossed the Ganges, the lion would be back again into his
native forests of Jagadishpur, and the English must re-
enact the whole drama right anew, as all that they had
done during the previous twelve months would be as if
not done at all.
But to succeed in all these plans depends upon your
bravery, O soldiers on the bridge of the Tanu ! You
426

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
must not allow the British forces under Lugard to step
upon this bridge till the whole army of Kumar Singh
has gone out of the range of the enemy's sight! You
have been selected by your chief in the belief that you
alone would rise equal to the occasion. May your bravery
not belie his confidence! Let one thought, one deter-
mination, one vow alone be yours, namely, not to let
the enemy capture this bridge till Kumar Singh had led
off in safety his whole force out of the sight of the duped
enemy! As Baji Deshpande, the Mahratta soldier, held
out in the famous gorge of Pavankhind till Shri Shivaji
could reach the fort of Rangana in safety, even so fight
on hard and hot till Kumar's order is carried out to the
letter, his forces saved and his confidence vindicated!
Lugard, too, led assaults after assaults on this handful of
the Revolutionary band as often as Fazul did against the
Mahratta, but he could not gain a foot-hold on the bridge
even for a second. Every charge of the English was firm-
ly and vigorously repulsed by the Revolutionary forces
who were defending it. Till Kumar Singh signalled to
them his safe departure from Azimgarh and his successful
march on the way to Ghazipur, the veteran band held this
bridge, contesting it inch by inch! Col. Malleson says,
"They held the bridge of boats with a resolution and
perseverence worthy of veterans, and it was not until they
had by their long resistance ensured the safety of their
comrades, that they fell back."⁴ Thus, the brave band
accomplished its mission, fell back with perfect order,
and, as settled, succeeded in rejoining their chief, Raja
Kumar Singh.
Seeing the sudden evacuation of the bridge, Lugard rush-
ed on, but found, to his utter dismay, the magic-like
disappearance of the whole army of Kumar Singh, as if
it never was there! So to pursue and find out this invisi-
ble force, he despatched a detachment of European
4. Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV, page 330.
427

THE CONFLAGRATION
cavalry and a horse battery. Twelve miles did they
gallop on ; yet, Kumar Singh could not be found—and
when found at last, he was found in such a strong position
as to make it impossible to distinguish who was the
pursuer and who the pursued ! It was not the Revolu-
tionaries who were frightened at the sight of the foe but
it was the English forces who seemed to have lost their
balance at the sight of the Revolutionaries. Kumar
Singh's army was drawn up in battle array, with their
swords unsheathed and with their guns pointed at the
enemy. One of the English officers engaged in this fight
says, “ It was all we could do to hold our own against
such odds. Immediately our cavalry charged, they stood
and formed square and used to abuse and tell us to come
on.” And, when the English did go on, they received them
with such a hot welcome that many soldiers and even
officers on the side of the English fell dead. The squares
of Kumar’s forces remained impenetrable, and the Eng-
lish were completely thrown on the defensive. After this
engagement, Kumar Singh pursued his march and was
approaching nearer and nearer to the banks of the Ganges!
News of the ill-success of the English pursuing force
reached Azimgarh. The British general, Douglas, started
with five or six more guns and came to their aid. Douglas
had already tasted the sharpness of Kumar’s sword,
and so he came on with circumspect steps as far as the
village Naghai, in pursuit of the Raja. There also the
Raja was quite ready. When the forces were within
striking distance, Kumar Singh led on his veteran band
to face the foe and again ordered them to fight on till
the signal should come, and, dividing the remaining forces
into two parts, he despatched them onwards by two
different routes to the banks of the Ganges. While these
movements were secretly being carried out, the veteran
band kept up a vigorous fight with the enemy, in spite
of the lack of guns to reply to the hot fire of the enemy’s
artillery which was mowing them down like grass. They
428

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
wavered not, nor did their ranks break up, nor did their
charge flag in the least ! For four miles this living battle
pressed on ! At last, when the army of the enemy showed
signs of exhaustion, the two divisions of Kumar Singh's
army, until now going by different routes, united together
and the whole force marched unhampered, and Raja
Kumar Singh was again marching nearer and nearer to-
wards the banks of the Ganges !
This exhausted British force passed the night of the 17th
of April near the village of Athusi. Early in the morning,
Douglas, thinking he had given no start to the Revolu-
tionary forces, ordered a march again—only to find that
Kumar Singh was already thirteen miles ahead of him.
The whole of the British horse and the British artillery
had been pursuing Kumar Singh ; but, as the British in-
fantry, through total exhaustion, were unable to proceed
further, they were given rest for another night. The
scouts of Kumar Singh were matchless in bringing him
all detailed information about the enemy's plans and
whereabouts. They did not fail to inform him of their
exhausted condition. At this, the old general stood up,
determined to take full advantage of this chance and, with
his force, the octogenarian chief recommenced the march
in the midnight and came straightway to Sikandarpur,
reached the river Ghogra, crossed it, and entered the pro-
vince of Ghazipur. He pressed on right up to the village
of Manohar, and there ordered a temporary rest to the
now tired, worn-out, and hungry forces which had so
bravely responded to the intrepid will of their patriotic
chief. It was humanly impossible to avoid stopping here,
though Kumar Singh knew full well that the position was
rather a weak one. When Douglas heard that Kumar had
gained a start over him, he started in hot pursuit and even-
tually reached Manohar soon after Kumar Singh. He be-
gan the attack immediately and, as the Revolutionaries
were tired on account of their long and continuous march-
ing, their stand was feeble and they lost the battle, losing
429

THE CONFLAGRATION
also many elephants and ammunition and food supplies. But
Kumar Singh's heart and will remained as much uncon-
quered and unconquerable as ever. For, no sooner he saw
the signs of a crushing defeat than he put into execution
the same tactics that he had hitherto been pursuing. He
divided his troops into small bands and, as each division
effected its retreat from the losing battle-field by a different
route, the pursuit of the enemy was frustrated. Kumar
had given the captains of the different bands definite
instructions to meet at a pre-arranged place at a fixed
hour, and lo, when the hour struck, Kumar Singh's forces
had come together and were ready for their march. This
place where they met was so completely hidden from the
enemy that the victory of the English was altogether
barren of any result, and so the English commander had
to stop at the village of Manohar itself to ascertain the
whereabouts of Kumar Singh's army, while Kumar Singh
and his forces were all the while marching nearer and
nearer to the banks of the Ganges !
Nearer and nearer to the banks of the Ganges ! Nay,
now, he has won the terrible race and actually reached
the banks of the Ganges. The English forces were also
close upon his rear. But, as his forces were now greatly
reduced, he decided that it was not wise to fight the enemy
and so he now pursued quite different tactics. He spread
a rumour all over the province that, owing to the scarcity
of boats, his forces were going to cross the Ganges on
the backs of elephants somewhere near a place called
Balila. The English scouts brought the news to the
general who must have felt triumphant of the efficiency
of his intelligence department ! How can now this rebel
chief succeed in crossing the Ganges when my scouts have
enabled me to know the exact place where he intends to
cross the river ?—He is doomed to be drowned along with
his elephants ! So, the British general, with his white
forces, went to Balila and kept himself in concealment,
expecting, every moment, to pounce upon the unwieldy
430

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
elephants of Kumar Singh as soon as they would appear.
Brave soldiers! Enjoying all the while the sweet pros-
pects of success, conceal yourselves near Balila till the
looked for enemy comes! There, seven miles below this
very spot, is Kumar Singh actually crossing the river
Ganges! Having duped the English by the story of the
elephants and Balila, the Raja got together as many boats
as he wanted and, from the Ghat of Shivapur, he began
to cross the sacred Bhagirathi at night. The duped foe,
awaked to this fact, got extremely irritated and, hurriedly
marching from Balila, reached Shivapur and even succeed-
ed in capturing a boat belonging to the Raja—but that
was the last boat! The whole army had already been
sent on the other side and in a minute or two the chieftain
too, having supervised the crossing of the army, would
have crossed the river himself. But, alas! What a
calamity this one moment has brought with it! While
this hero of the nation, the pride of chivalry, the sword of
Liberty—Rana Kumar Singh was in the middle of the
stream, a bullet shot from the enemy's guns entered his
wrist! But old as he was, the octogenarian leader did not
mind it at all! And when amputation was deemed
necessary, with his own hand—the hand that was not
wounded—Kumar Singh unsheathed his sword, lopped off
the wounded arm at the elbow, and threw it into the
sacred Ganges saying, "Accept thou, Mother, this last
sacrifice of a loving son!"
Though innumerable are the people who have addressed
the Ganges as Mother, it is Kumar—this brave son of
Ganga, and such as he, that make the motherhood of the
sacred Ganges fruitful and glorious. As the poet says,
innumerable are the stars that are in the sky; but, it is
the moon alone that adorns it and makes it lovely!
After offering this sacrifice to the Mother Ganges, this
distinguished son succeeded in crossing the river without
further trouble from the English army. The enemy, on
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