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

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
431

THE CONFLAGRATION
the other hand, like a hunter whose prey is escaped out
of his reach, unable to cross the river, stopped there with
their pride wounded and mission unaccomplished. The
lion, now triumphant by freeing itself from the hunter's
nets and lances, again rushed into his native forests of
Shahabad, came to Jagadishpur and, on the 22nd of April,
re-entered this his old capital. It was from this capital
that he was hunted out eight months back. Once more
now, in the palace of Jagadishpur is ruling the prince of
Jagadishpur. His brother, Amar Singh, who had collected
together a force of patriotic peasants and villagers even
before Kumar Singh had crossed the Ganges, now joined
him. The brave Kumar ordered out in divisions these
united forces to guard the capital on all sides, while he
too, as intrepid and unexhausted as ever, took again
to warfare.
The entrance into Jagadishpur was so sudden and dash-
ing that the British forces at Arrah which had been kept
there for the express purpose of watching Jagadishpur
had no notice of Kumar Singh's descent on Arrah. Thus
outwitted, Le Grand, the British general at Arrah, became
wild at the discovery of this his enemy's triumph. What
audacity that this rebel chief should give the slip to all
the British forces in East Oudh, should enter Jagadishpur,
and even begin to rule with all the pomp of an independent
prince here, under the very nose of the British general ?
It is not even eight months since Sir Eyre had chased this
rebel out of these forests ;—well, even like that will this
Le Grand rush in the Jagadishpur wilds to hunt down
this marauding chief. With this hope, the brave general,
with four hundred British troops and two guns, marched
on the doomed city of Jagadishpur on the 23rd of April.
How, now, is it possible that this field should be contested
by Kumar Singh ? During all these months, the old
warrior had been fighting incessantly and without a mo-
ment's rest ; his forces had never been able to snatch a
hearty meal or an undisturbed sleep ; but yesterday had
432

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
he come to Jagadishpur after the death-dealing struggle
in East Oudh, and he and his forces had not even taken
one day's rest. According to the English official report
itself his forces were “ disjointed, badly armed, and with-
out guns,” numbering at the most to a thousand, with
very few trained soldiers amongst them, and the octogena-
rian chief himself was wounded mortally in his hand !
Against this army was marching the fresh, the vigorous,
the disciplined forces of the British, well armed with guns
and led by General Le Grand. The issue of the battle was,
then, a foregone conclusion ! And with this full confid-
ence, the English army entered the forest which was about
one mile and a half from the town. The English guns
began to thunder forth unchallenged, for Kumar Singh
had no guns to oppose them. But, still, it seems that he
means to smother us in this thickly grown jungle by
stretching out his forces round us ;—well then, let the
all unfailing stroke be given. Let that straight and bold
front attack of the Europeans, which had always been the
terror of the Asiatics, be ordered ! It was ordered ; the
Europeans rushed forth irresistible ; the army of Kumar
Singh, too, began to contest ; and none knows how, but
in a moment, the brave Briton got confused and struck
with terror and sounded the retreat. But, though the
bands sounded the retreat, as Kumar Singh held the Bri-
tish force in his grip, it was more dangerous to attempt
a retreat than even to try to make a stand. But, if re-
treat is as ruinous as a stand, then, O brave Briton, why
not make a stand to prove that unflinching courage of
your people which so many times you have boasted that
you possess ? Matters not whether it is proved or dis-
proved, he alone lived who ran ! And run they did ; all
the British forces, like hunted deer, left the jungle and
began to fly wherever the way led, while Kumar Singh's
army pursued them hot and the rout was complete ! One
of the men who himself was present in this rout, writes
to this effect of his experience, in a letter written at the
time :—“ Indeed, it makes me extremely ashamed to
433
28

THE CONFLAGRATION
write what followed. We began flying out of the jungles,
leaving the battle-field and being constantly beaten by the
enemy. Our people, dying of thirst, rushed forth at the
sight of a wretched, dirty pool of water, in the most con-
fused manner possible. Just then, the horses of Kumar
Singh closed upon our rear. Henceforth, there was no
limit to our disgrace, and the disaster was complete. No
sense of shame was left in any one of us. Everyman ran
wherever he thought his safety lay. Orders were thrown
to the winds. Discipline and drill were dead. In all
directions, nothing could be heard but sighs, curses and
wailings. Bands of Europeans dropped dead in the flight
by sunstroke. Nor was it possible to ask for medicine ;
for, the dispensary was already captured by Kumar Singh.
Some died there and then ; the rest were cut down by
the enemy ; the carriers dropped the dolis and fled ; all
was confusion—all terror ! Sixteen elephants were all
full-laden with the burden of the wounded. General Le
Grand himself was shot dead by a bullet in his breast !
Soldiers running for their lives for five miles and more
had now no strength, even for lifting up their guns. The
Sikhs, accustomed to the heat of the sun, took off the ele-
phants and fled away ahead of all. None would be with
the white. Out of a hundred and ninety-nine whites, about
eighty alone could survive this terrible massacre ! We
were led into this jungle like cattle into the slaughter-
house, simply to be killed ! ” ⁵
The forces of Kumar Singh were thus completely success-
ful. They had, in spite of the fact that they had no artil-
lery to speak of on their side, routed the British forces
with a terrible loss and slaughter, and had captured even
the two guns which the British had so proudly brought.⁶
5. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 288.
6. “ The English sustained on this occasion a complete defeat
of the worst kind.” White's History of the Mutiny.
434

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
But, one fact is most significant in this pursuit : the num-
ber of Sikhs that fell on that day was only nine. It sub-
stantiates most thoroughly the tradition that Kumar
Singh was in the habit of issuing strict injunctions to spare
as many lives as could be spared of the Indian people even
though they were on the enemy's side, while there should
be no mistaken mercy shown to the foreign foe. In the
first outbreak of the Revolution, many of the Babus of
Bengal were made prisoners, for joining the English side,
by Kumar's men ; but he not only released them but sent
them without harm on elephants to the city of Patna
where they wished to go. When the Sepoys determined to
burn down all government papers written in English, it
was Kumar who stopped them from doing so, as "other-
wise, after the English were driven out of the country, there
would be no proof of the rights of the people, and no evid-
ence to determine the amount due from one party to
the other.
Having vanquished his foe thus completely and thorough-
ly, the old chief, Rana Kumar Singh, entered again his
palace of Jagadishpur on the 23rd of April, crowned with
fresh laurels and a fresh fame !
This was his last entrance, for no more will Kumar Singh
re-enter on the stage of the world. The wound caused by
the amputation of his hand proved mortal and, on the
26th day of April, the third day after his latest victory,
the great Rana died in his own palace. He died on an
independent throne and under the flag of freedom. The
day he died, it was not the Union Jack of the British Isles
but the Golden Banner of a free and liberated nation, the
triumphant symbol of his Desh and Dharma, that was
waving radiant over the palace of Jagadishpur. It was
under the cool shade of this banner that he died. What
nobler death can a Rajput long for ?
7. Arya Kîti by Rajani Kanta Gupta of Bengal.
435

THE CONFLAGRATION
He had avenged his wrongs ; he had, with poor means,
worsted a mighty foe more than once in a fair battle-
field ; he had not proved a traitor to the nation nor a
renegade to his Dharma but had broken the chains that
bound his land and made her free so far as one man could
do it, and to-day, in a noble field, he had been crowned by
Victory’s own hands with a wreath of laurels. Then, this
is the auspicious day : this is the supreme moment for
you, O great Rajput, to close your eyes for ever, to lay
down your body—not through disease, but even as a
worthy sacrifice to the cause of your Mother’s freedom,
by the wounds received on the battle-field ! Let your
death be as noble and as matchless as was your life !
He died on that day and under the banner of a free peo-
ple. What nobler death can a Rajput wish for ?⁸
The personality of Shrimant Kumar Singh is striking in
more than one respect. His personal dash and high
character had naturally infused in his army the two indis-
pensable virtues of discipline and bravery. It is rarely
the case that persons who are called upon to lead a
nation’s regeneration are in their private morals as un-
impeachable as they are unchallengeable in their public
ability. This rare consistency of character was conspicu-
ous in great degree in the life of this great Indian. Such
was the influence of his pure conduct on his people that
none would dare even to smoke openly in their verandahs
for fear of being seen by him. Amongst all the leaders
of the Revolutionaries in 1857, there was none who could
surpass Kumar Singh in military ability. It was he who
at once grasped the utility of guerilla warfare in the War
of Independence and it was he alone who could imitate
the masterful tactics of a veteran guerilla leader like
Shivaji. If we compare the two great generals that 1857
8. The English historian, Holmes, says : “ The old Rajput who
had fought so honourably and so bravely against the British power
died on April 26, 1858.”—History of the Sepoy War.
436

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
brought to the front, Tatia Topé and Kumar Singh, in
their military achievements as guerilla leaders, we shall be
struck with one distinguishing point. To Tatia Topé may
be at once assigned a very high place in the negative side
of guerilla warfare, while Kumar Singh holds the position
with equal eminence in the positive as well as in the nega-
tive side of it. Tatia Topé did not allow the enemy to
completely crush his forces or his power to raise them,
but Kumar Singh, while succeeding in doing this, could
even succeed in crushing the enemy's forces by severe de-
feats. To ensure ultimate success, it is imperatively neces-
sary in guerilla warfare to prevent the demoralisation of
one's followers which the constant flights from the field or
avoidance of battles against a mightier foe do inevitably
tend to beget. The defeats which are suffered intentional-
ly by the leader, and the flights which he finds it necessary
to effect, ought not to be allowed to create demoralisation
or diffidence in the minds of his followers. The constant
avoidance of battles ought not to be allowed to create
in the followers a fear for battle itself. The skilful avoid-
ance of a battle and a panic-stricken flight in the course
of the battle are two very different things. So it is most
important in guerilla tactics never to leave the field
through cowardice ; but whenever a battle is decided to
be given, it should be given so sternly and dashingly as to
strike a sudden terror into the heart of the enemy and to
infuse an overwhelming confidence into the heart of one's
own followers. The main skill lies in taking care never
to be forced to give battle where the chances are of an
unequal contest. But once the die is cast, such must be
the tenacity and desperation in contesting the field as
was shown by Baji in the Pawankhind or by Kumar Singh
on the Tanu Nadi. In short, if the strength is unequal,
the leader should not get entangled into a battle ; if the
chances are equal, he should cast the die ; but, in either
case of a forced or voluntary contest, never should a battle
once begun be left, through fear or want of discipline,
but, on the contrary, it should be fought on so desperately
437

THE CONFLAGRATION
and so bravely, in spite of an assured defeat or of an
immediate death, as never to lose fame, though success
be lost in the field. Thus attacked, the enemy is struck
with terror, the followers do not get demoralised, disci-
pline is not slackened, and inspiration increases by stories
of martyrdom ; bravery begets bravery, and victory be-
comes insured. The guerilla general and his forces should
never give the least chance to create an impression that
their foe conquered them through superiority in bravery.
This is the key to guerilla warfare.
But Tatia Topé could not follow this positive side of this
warfare. Tatia's campaigns when trying to cross the
Narbada and Kumar's campaigns when trying to cross the
Ganges demonstrate this difference. Tatia suffered many
a defeat. Though this was due entirely to the panicky
and sometimes even cowardly conduct of the Sepoys, he
had to lead and could not be attributed to any inferiority
in his capacity. Kumar Singh, while marching off, had
all the while kept up such a bold front and, whenever
opportunity offered, had hit his pursuing foe so hard, that
all the while his forces were full of self-confidence and
high inspiration in spite of the fact that they were retreat-
ing before pursuing enemy. Now, it ought not to be for-
gotten that Tatia had to take up to guerilla tactics when
his forces were already completely demoralised by pre-
vious defeats and when all the veterans had been either
killed or disabled in the earlier stages of the war, and so
it was quite natural that, in spite of his skill and insight
into the guerilla's art, he should not be able to put them
in practice owing to the lack of materials. Whatever the
reason, one thing is clear that, more than once, Tatia
had during his wonderful career as a general to leave the
field through panic and fear striking his ranks ; while
Kumar Singh, like his prototype, the great Mahratta
Shivaji, never allowed his army to become diffident, but
created in them absolute confidence in themselves as well
as in himself, their leader, by his personal valour and
438

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
intrepidity and discipline ; and he, also, exhibited match-
less skill both in giving battle and in avoiding it—in both
the positive and the negative sides of guerilla warfare ;
and therefore it is that, having trampled his foe
into dust, in the midst of a proud victory, on an
independent throne, and under the banner of free-
dom—the old, the brave, the great Indian could
die an honourable death !
On the 26th of April, 1858, Kumar Singh died. No sooner
did this actor pass off from the stage than another—
equally brave, equally noble, and equally patriotic—ap-
peared on the scene. This new general was no other than
the younger brother of Kumar Singh. Raja Amar Singh,
without allowing a moment's slackening in the vigour of
the war, without taking a rest of even four days, marched
straight on to knock at the gates of Arrah itself ! Having
heard of the defeat of Le Grand of Arrah, the British
forces which had stopped on the other side of the Ganges
had by this time crossed it ; and the two generals, Briga-
dier Douglas and general Lugard, marched on Raja Amar
Singh on the 3rd of May. At Bihiya, Hatampur, Dalil-
pur, and several other places, each alternate day, the
English forces attacked the Revolutionaries. Therefore,
now Amar Singh resorted to different tactics. If he saw
that the enemy was gaining the upper hand, he would
order his forces to divide themselves into small bands, to
retire in divers but well-mapped-out directions and, thus
rendering pursuit by the enemy hopelessly impossible, to
get united again at the appointment signal. How, now,
to fight with this invisible army— was the chief question
before the British. Every battle seemed to them quite
decisive, but the very next moment the army of Amar
Singh was as strong and as active at some other place as
ever ! No sooner he was driven from one end of the
jungle then he appeared again in the second, and as soon
as he was driven from that, he would wheel round and
reign supreme in the first. At last, worn out, disgraced,
439

THE CONFLAGRATION
and disappointed—the British general, Lugard, resigned
on the 15th of June and returned to England to rest. His
army, too, left the field and entered the camp.
And this was the signal for Amar Singh to reunite his
bands and to appear on the battle-field with the pomp
of a victorious general. Now the police of Gaya were
won over to fight for the freedom of the nation. Then,
sending the English forces on a wrong scent, Amar Singh
attacked Arrah itself and entered it. Nay, now he is
actually entering back into that capital of Jagadishpur.
July passed ; August and September also passed ;— yet
the banner of a free people was flashing forth from the
towers of Jagadishpur and the Rana Amar Singh was
reigning the beloved monarch of a liberated people !
Brigadier Douglas and his seven thousand English forces
were sworn to finish him. Nay, they had even offered
prizes to anyone who would bring the head of Amar Singh
by hook or crook. They had, by this time, cleared the
jungles and made roads ; from post to post, the British
bands were constantly advancing ; but nothing availed
against the worthy successor of Kumar Singh. It is not
possible for want of space to enumerate his different acti-
vities. Suffice it to say that the Rana Amar Singh fought
in such a manner as to make his whole people think that
Kumar Singh died not at all !
At last, the English decided to end the whole campaign by
a supreme effort and seven different armies advanced from
seven different directions on Jagadishpur. All the roads
leading to Jagadishpur were thus closed up and the Rana
was caught as if in a trap. The cordon slowly began to
close round Amar Singh and, at last, on the 17th of Octo-
ber, it tightened its grip on the capital itself. Alas ! it
is in this net that the liberty-loving lion is to be captured
and killed ! At the appointed time, all these forces rushed
simultaneously from all directions into Jagadishpur and
the helpless lion was hit—but, well done, Amar Singh,
440

KUMAR SINGH AND AMAR SINGH
well done ! It was the cage that was hit, and the lion
had already escaped all unscathed !
For, though six divisions had advanced and fallen on the
town as ordered, yet the seventh one was late by five
hours and the shrewd Amar Singh, with all his forces,
vanished by his very side, taking full advantage of the
delay of that division of the foe.
Therefore, abandoning the plan which had proved so in-
effectual as regards the crushing of the Behar Revolu-
tionaries, the English government sent a division of
mounted infantry to pursue them. This ever-increasing
and ever-pursuing force of the enemy left not one moment
of rest to Amar Singh. The new rifles that were introduc-
ed into the enemy's camp at this time had made the
matchlocks of the Revolutionary forces almost useless, and
the infantry found it impossible to outrun the horsemen's
pursuit. Still, Amar Singh talked not of surrender ! On
the 19th of October the English forces shut up the Revo-
lutionaries, first in the village of Nonadi and, out of four
hundred of them, they cut off three hundred ! The re-
maining one hundred dashed out desperately into the field
outside, like infuriated tigers, and fought a bloody battle
with the new division of British forces that had just
arrived. It was found in the end that out of these only
three escaped—and one out of the three was the Rana Amar
Singh who had been fightting all the while incognito.
Many were the bloody encounters and many the pools of
blood through which the Panday army had to swim
across. But, still, the flag of liberty was unbent ! So
narrow were their escapes that, once, the very elephant of
the Rana was captured ; but the Rana jumped off from it
and vanished. In this way, the Revolutionaries contested
every inch of their ground, while being pressed on-
wards and onwards out of their province ; and now
they had reached the hills of Kaimur, for " the
whole population of the district constantly and
441