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

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

THE CONFLAGRATION
systematically misled the British pursuers by false
information.”⁹
With this sympathy of the populace, the patriotic chief
entered the Kaimur hills but was soon followed by the
relentless foe pursuing in his track. Still there was no
talk of surrender. Every hill and every dale, every hillock
and every rock, fought on with the alien till the whole
of the Panday army died fighting for the liberty of the
land, for the honour of their Dharma ! Died fighting,
yes, for not only the men but even the women of that
patriotic band did not return back to their homes as
captives and slaves ! The hundred and fifty ladies of
the Royal palace of Raja Shrimant Kumar Singh, seeing
that no hope or chance of success remained to them in
this world, stood before the guns, set fire to the fuse with
their own hands, and got themselves blown up into the
—Immortality of Martyrdom !
Thus fought Behar for its birthrights against the foreign
foe !
But Rana Amar Singh did not fall into the hands of the
enemy. Fortune left him, but his unconquerable soul
could never ! But what became of him?—Where did he
end his days ? Bewildered History echoes back, ‘ where ? ’
9. Malleson's Indian Mutiny, Vol. IV, page 344.
442

CHAPTER IX
MOULVIE AHMAD SHAH
AFTER the fall of Lucknow, there remained no
powerful nucleus to concentrate the forces of
the Revolutionaries in the provinces of Rohil-
khand and Oudh. The tide of British conquest
that had been sweeping over the Doab and
Behar had driven all the Revolutionaries from
these provinces into the ever-narrowing circle of Oudh and
Rohilkhand. By this irresistible pressure on all sides and
by want of powerful stronghold, the Revolutionaries had
to give up the old system of open warfare and pitched
battles and to take to guerilla tactics. Had they done
so at the very start, the chances of success had been over-
443

THE CONFLAGRATION
whelmingly innumerable. But, better late than never!
For, though success was rendered extremely difficult, yet
there was not the least suggestion in the Revolutionary
camp of surrender or desertion. So, the leaders of Oudh
and Rohilkhand decided to continue the War of Independ-
ence by pursuing guerilla tactics, and issued the following
Proclamation and military order all over the provinces :
"Do not attempt to meet the regular columns of the in-
fidels in open battle, because they are superior to you in
discipline and they have big guns. But watch their move-
ments, guard all the Ghats on the rivers, intercept their
communications, stop their supplies, cut up their dâks
and posts, and keep constantly hanging about their camp.
Give the Feringhi no rest ! " ¹ Moulvie Ahmad Shah at
once began to put into execution these orders. He began
to hang about the camp of the British forces which were
at Lucknow and camped at Bari, a place twenty-nine
miles away from the English camp. The Begum Hazrat
Mahal was encamped at Bitaoli with six thousand men.
In order to break both these forces, Hope Grant started
from Lucknow with a strong force of three thousand
soldiers and a powerful artillery, first in the direction of
Bari. The next day brought with it an incident which
showed the wonderful courage and cleverness of the Revo-
lutionary scouts. The Moulvie had sent out some of his
scouts to get correct information about the British force.
On the same night they entered the camp of the English
with perfect nonchalance. The English watchmen stopped
them and asked, "Who goes there?" "We are the men
of the 12th regiment!" was the answer. This answer
was literally true, for all of them had indeed belonged to
the 12th regiment. But how were the poor watchmen to
know that this 12th regiment was one of those which rose
in rebellion as far back as the July of the previous year
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.

1. Russel says : "This general order bears marks of sagacity
   and points out the most formidable war we would encounter."—
   Diary, page 276.
   444

MOULVIE AHMAD SHAH
and had killed their English officer? The steady and firm
step of these men, that resolute answer, and that
fearless simplicity of behaviour drove away all sus-
picion about them, and the watchmen replied “Al-
right!” The ‘daring band entered unopposed into
the English camp, obtained all the information that
they wanted, and came out all unscathed to report
it to their master!
Having thus informed himself of the exact situation and
the plan of the British camp, the Moulvie quickly formed
his plans, marched ahead, and took possession of a village
four miles from Bari. The plan of the Moulvie was that,
while his infantry should hold this village against the
enemy, his cavalry should march ahead by a secret route
and should wheel round and attack the rear of the British
forces. He knew it for certain that the next morning the
British general was coming to that very place, suspecting
no harm and in a perfect sense of security. As soon as
this unwary prey came into the trap, the Moulvie’s in-
fantry was to attack him from the front, while his cavalry
was to fall on the enemy’s flanks or rear. Malleson says :
“It was really a brilliant idea and did credit to
his tactical skill.”
There were two things most necessary for the success of
this brilliant design. The one thing was to keep perfect
secrecy about the forces of the Moulvie in the village;
and the other was that the cavalry that was to make a
flank attack should not sally forth and put the enemy
on his guard before the front attack should be begun. The
Moulvie did whatever he had to do. He sent his cavalry
from Bari that same night by the route agreed on; he
quietly took possession of the village and succeeded in
concealing himself there, and so cleverly that the next
morning actually saw the unsuspecting British general
approaching the banks of the river. Half an hour more
and the British forces would be done for!
445

THE CONFLAGRATION
But in that half an hour, the splendid plan of the Moulvie
was shattered to pieces by the impetuosity of the cavalry
men. They had already occupied a very convenient place
on the flank of the British forces and had been holding
themselves ready to pounce upon the foe. But their
leader, while lying in ambush, saw some guns unprotected
in front of them and, forgetting the strict orders of the
Moulvie, made for them with the intention of capturing
them, and even captured and obtained possession of them
for a while ; but soon, the English woke to their danger,
the guns were recaptured, and the whole plan of the
Moulvie was shattered. For, this fighting at the rear
opened the languid eyes of the English commander and he
saw the danger in his rear as well as in his front. Seeing
his plan thus nullified by the rashness of his cavalry, the
Moulvie who was holding the village left it after a skir-
mish and marched off—to find another opportunity and
to mature another design.
While Hope Grant was pressing the Revolutionaries up-
wards and upwards, from Bari to Bitaoli, with a view to
drive them out of Oudh, there on the other side, on the
15th of April, was being fought a hotly contested battle,
near the fort of Ruiya. We have seen how, sometime
before this, in the province of the Doab, the English army,
being divided into separate divisions and marching by
separate routes, pressed on the Revolutionaries simulta-
neously and systematically, sweeping off the whole pro-
vince, till they drove them all into the town of Fatehgarh.
In the same manner, a campaign had been organised and
put into execution to sweep the Revolutionaries off the
whole province of Oudh, by different British forces, from
all possible quarters, pressing them onwards and upwards
towards the northern frontier of Oudh. About the 1st of
April, 1858, the total number of the white forces in India
had risen to ninety-six thousand soldiers, besides which
there were the loyal armies of the Sikhs. The brigades
consisting of the Pathans, Pariahs, and other raw recruits,
446

MOULVIE AHMAD SHAH
though originally raised in haste, had by this time become
quite like veterans through constant experience on the
field. Again, the ‘contingent’ forces of the native princes
which had been sent forth to the assistance of the English,
were also busy in the field. The pick of these innumerable
brown and white troops were now engaged in the supreme
effort of reconquering Oudh. As described in the last
chapter, Lugard and Douglas were sent into Behar, Sir
Hope Grant was sent towards Bari and Bitaoli, and Wal-
pole was ordered to march up from the banks of the
Ganges. Thus, these different forces, including those of
the commander-in-chief and others, were marching in a
line to drive out the Revolutionaries to a man further and
further to the north till they were pushed into Rohilkhand;
and then, the idea was to annihilate them by one supreme
effort. With this intention, Walpole too had started to
do his own part on the 9th of April, 1858 ; and now, on
the 15th of April, he was busy in attacking the fort of
Ruiya which is fifty-one miles from Lucknow.
It was not that either the fort of Ruiya was very strong
or that its owner Narapat Singh was a very big and mighty
chieftain. But small Zemindar though he was, ever since
this great sacrificial fire was lighted up on the field of
liberty, this Narapat Singh had offered himself with his
all-in-all, as a willing victim for the regeneration of his
nation. The 15th of April saw a mighty English army,
armed with the most modern artillery, attacking this little
chief in his tiny fort. As he had not even two hundred
and fifty men with him in the fort, the English naturally
expected that the chief must have already evacuated the
place. But, on that very morning, one of the white pri-
soners whom Narapat Singh had released came to the
English camp and informed the general that he had heard
Narapat Singh say that he would evacuate the fort but
not until he had had his vengeance.—Not until a gory
fight is fought, not until one bloody defeat is inflicted will
Narapat leave his fort !
447

THE CONFLAGRATION
What ! This little chief is to inflict a bloody defeat ? And
then alone is he to evacuate the fort ? Walpole was
furious and ordered his men to attack the fort. The Eng-
lish forces, as usual, circulated a rumour that the forces
of Narapat Singh numbered about two thousand ! When
we are sure of crushing this Narapat Singh, what other
way of magnifying our sure victory than of exaggerating
the strength of the adversary ? So even Walpole agreed
that the forces with Narapat must be at least a thousand
and five hundred. This released English captive who
attests to the fact of only two hundred and fifty men de-
fending the fort, though an eye-witness, might be a mad
man ! The English forces advanced—and that too, not
on the weak side of the fort though its weakness was
well-known to them, but the brave general would insist
on marching against the strongest face of the fort ! The
defenders of the fort began to pour a shower of bullets as
soon as they saw the British attacking the fort from
among the trees in front of it. The shower grew hottest
when the enemy approached the ditch. Out of a hundred
and fifty who marched, forty-six English soldiers were
killed on the spot. Grove could not move one step for-
ward on account of the fire of the Pandays. Now then,
the skilful Walpole, seeing this crisis at the strong face of
the fort, took his guns and rushed against the weak side
of it ; and with such accuracy he aimed his guns, that
the English cannon balls sent from this side crossed over
the fort and fell right amidst the English forces on the
other side ! Many are the generals who fight with their
enemies, but matchless and the first without a second is
General Walpole, who would fight with both friend and
foe with equal skill and bravery ! At the sight of this
matchless skill of the veteran general, another general,
Hope, came forth to save the day—but alas ! he is killed
by the unbearable fire of the Revolutionaries. Even
Grove is retiring—confusion worse confounded ! The
confused British army left the field and fell back, dis-
gracefully repulsed !
448

MOULVIE AHMAD SHAH
The death of this brave general, Hope, came as a shock
over all Englishmen resident in India. Lord Canning and
Sir Colin, why, all England was overwhelmed with grief.
Not even the death of hundreds of soldiers would have
inflicted such a sorrow and mourning on the English
nation as did the death of this Hope—one of the bravest
and most energetic of the English officers of that period.
The tiny chieftain, Narapat Singh, had done what he said,
“he had his vengeance,” and then left the fort with his
handful of men, and went on fighting with the unsullied
banner of liberty in his hand!
After these different divisions had swept off the Revolu-
tionaries from the province of Oudh towards the north
and then to Rohilkhand, the commander-in-chief got all
the forces united and marched on to Rohilkhand in person.
All the leaders of the Revolutionaries had now assembled
in Shahjahanpur. There was Nana Sahib of Cawnpore
and Moulvie Ahmad Shah. These two men had baffled
all the innumerable attempts of the British generals to
get hold of them and were still as energetic and uncon-
quered as ever. So, when the news was brought to Sir
Colin that these two leaders of the Revolutionaries were
within his reach in the same place and perhaps ignorant
of his movements, Sir Colin formed the shrewd plan of
closing the town from all sides. He marched and closed
on Shahjahanpur—but only to find that the birds had
flown away! It was but natural that Sir Colin should
be extremely piqued at this, as he had ordered four dif-
ferent forces to guard all the four sides, and the Revolu-
tionary leaders escaped by the side guarded by the com-
mander-in-chief himself!
Now that the plan of Shahjahanpur was frustrated, Sir
Colin was desirous of reducing at least the city of Bareilly.
So, leaving a division of his forces with four guns in
Shahjahanpur, he started and arrived on the 14th of May
within a day’s distance of Bareilly. The Rohilla, Khan
449
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