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

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
While affairs were in this state at Kolhapur, there were
also signs of rising in Belgaum about the 10th of August.
But the Sepoy leader, Thakur Singh, and a bold Munshi,
the leader of the citizens, were arrested just at the last
moment. A new English army was soon on the scene
and Belgaum and Dharwar soon became silent and sub-
missive. The above-named Munshi was a Government
servant and incriminating letters from him were found
on the Sepoys at Poona and Kolhapur. So, on the evid-
ence of these, he was blown from the mouth of a cannon.
At Satara, Rango Bapuji was from the first, in the bad
books of the Government. Now, his son was hanged for
preaching the doctrine of the Rising at Kolhapur. At
the same time, two princes of the Satara royal family
were banished. Seeing the throne, in the devoted service
of which he had spent so many years, in such a plight,
the faithful Rango Bapuji disappeared from Satara. Re-
wards were offered but nobody helped to hand him over
to the English. And the fate of that patriot is not known
even to this day.
At this time, an able Englishman, called Lord Elphin-
stone, was appointed Governor of Bombay. He had not
only borne the strain—small though it was—in his own
presidency, but also sent troops to Rajputana. But, if
it was any one man whose cleverness prevented a rising
in the city of Bombay itself, it was Forrest, the chief
police officer. Bombay was a city full of easy-going,
happy-go-lucky, and traitorous cowards. Thus, the only
hearts susceptible to the flame of the national Revolution
there were amongst the ranks of the Sepoys stationed
there. And therefore it was that Forrest had kept a very
close watch upon them. The Dipavali holidays were fixed
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
view. And all this was equalled only by the fidelity with which
they adhered to each other."—Western India by Sir George Le
Grand Jacob, K.C.S.I., C.B.
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upon as the opportune moment for rising and the Sepoys
began to hold secret meetings. Forrest tried his utmost
to send detectives into these meetings but did not succeed
on account of the extraordinary caution displayed by the
Sepoys. Therefore, he himself began to go about in
various disguises, now as a Brahmin, now as some one
else, and thus mixed with the people even in their exclu-
sive dinner parties. At last he found out that the secret
meetings were held in the house of a man called Ganga
Prasad. Then he entered the house of Ganga Prasad
after threatening to arrest him if he opposed, and saw what
happened at one of those secret meetings through an
aperture in the wall, unknown to the Revolutionaries who
met there. Not only this, but he also brought with him
later on some English officers of the regiment and let
them see the secret meetings for themselves. When the
latter saw there coming in to the meeting, one after an-
other, Sepoys who were reckoned as the most loyal, they
whispered in amazement, “ My God, my own men ! Is
it possible ? ” The general plan of the Sepoys was to
make a rising in Bombay at first, then to march towards
Poona, capture that city, raise the banner of Mahratta
Kingdom, and proclaim Nana Sahib as Peshwa.² But
before the plans could be put into operation, Forrest
broke up the conspiracy, hanged two of the ringleaders
as rebels, and banished six of the prominent and leading
military men ; and thus the rising in Bombay was nipped
in the bud.
At about the same time, the Revolutionary spark was
about to strike Nagpur and Jubbulpore. The Sepoys
near Nagpur had decided to rise on the 13th of June,
1857, and this plan was assented to by most of the pro-
minent citizens. It was agreed that on the night of the
13th the townspeople should send up in the air three
burning balloons, and at this signal the military were to
2. Forrest's Real Danger in India.
502

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
rise. The Revolutionaries there had another advantage ;
the English could spare no European troops for the pro-
vinces of Nagpur and Jubbulpore at that time. But
soon the Indian regiments from Madras came and the
sparks of Revolution were speedily extinguished. The
Gond king of Jubbulpore, Shankar Singh, and his son
were doing their utmost for the Revolution. When they
were arrested and their palace was searched, a small
paper containing the king's morning-prayers was found
folded in a silk cloth. Its English translation is as
follows :—The king, Shankar Singh, meditating on the
terrible image of the Goddess Chandi says, “Shut the
mouths of slanderers ; trample the sinners ! Shatru-
Samharike ! Killer of enemies !) Listen to the cry of
Religion ; support your slave, Mathaliké ! Kill the Bri-
tish ; exterminate them ; Mata Chandi !” ³ etc. etc.
King Shankar Singh and his son had tried to enlist the
52nd native regiment at Jubbulpore in the cause of the
Revolution. Therefore, the two royal personages were
blown from the mouth of cannon on the 18th of Sep-
tember, 1857. At this news, the 52nd regiment, instead
of being cowed down, was infuriated, rose immediately,
killed an officer, called Mac Gregor, and marched away
to the war.
There were risings in the Dhar state and at Mahidpur,
Goria, and other places, organised by Prince Feroze Shah
of Delhi. We cannot describe the details of all these ris-
ings for want of space.
But, more than all the princes mentioned above, the fate
of the English power in India lay in the hands of the
Nizam of Hyderabad. The new Nizam, Afzul-ud-daulah,
had just come to the throne in May 1857, and the Prime
Ministership was in the hands of a man called Sir Salar
3. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 144.
503

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Jung. The whole of the Deccan hung upon one word
from the lips of Sir Salar Jung. If the Nizam of Hyder-
abad had joined the National Revolution, the whole of
the Deccan would have risen like one man, and the cord
of English rule, already strained to breaking point by
the risings in the north, would have been snapped to
pieces. Nor can we say that no one preached to Salar
Jung the doctrine of a patriotic rising against the English.
Though we take for granted that he was too "loyal" to
let love of religion, country, and independence even
whisper such a thought into his mind, still the people of
Hyderabad were precipitately urging him to join the Re-
volution. But, in spite of all these efforts, Salar Jung
would not move. So, on the 12th of June 1857, Hydera-
bad assumed a more terrible form. On that day, pro-
clamations signed by important Moulvies began to adorn
the walls; Revolutionary handbills were seen everywhere
in heaps; there were crowded meetings of Moslems in
the Mosque and violent Revolutionary lecturers bound the
people by oaths to drive the Kaffir Britishers out of the
land! Still, Salar Jung would not move; nay, he even
arrested some of the popular leaders and handed them
over to the British authorities! Therefore, towards the
evening of the 17th of July, the city of Hyderabad actual-
ly rose and ran with shouts of "Din, Din!" to release
their imprisoned leaders and, following the flag signifying
independence, rushed at the British Residency. The
Rohilla Sepoys of the Nizam's own army and about five
hundred of townsmen actually began a battle. Under
these circumstances, Hyderabad felt assured that, though
Salar Jung would not openly join them, he would secretly
sympathise with them, as other States had done, or at
least that he would not join the side of the British. But
Salar Jung disappointed them in every particular; he
did not remain indifferent, but joined the Britisher and
helped to slaughter the soldiers of his own state. In the
skirmish, the Revolutionary leader, Torabaz Khan, was
killed and Moulvie Alla-ud-din fell into the hands of the
504

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
enemy. Soon he was despatched to the Andaman islands,
and the efforts of Hyderabad thus came to a disastrous
end. The English historian frankly admits : " For three
months, the fate of India was in the hand of Afzul-ud-
daulah and Salar Jung. Their wise policy proved that
they preferred the certain position of a protected state
to the doubtful chances of a resuscitation of the Delhi
monarchy under the auspices of revolted Sepoys."
Though the Nizam thus foiled the Revolution in the
south, the young Hindu Raja of Zorapur, near the
Nizam's territories, resolved to stake his everything in
the War of Independence. Accordingly, he began by col-
lecting an army of Arabs, Rohillas, and Pathans. Nana's
Revolutionary messengers came to him and prepared him
to fight under the flag of the Peshwas. The Brahmins
and Moulvies of Raichur and Arcot also encouraged him
in his plans. Not merely that, but, when he would not
rise as soon as the people wanted him to, they—his own
subjects—began to abuse him as cowardly and effemi-
nate. Then he began the Revolution in the name of the
Peshwas. The Nizam and the English together marched
against him. From the moment he heard this, he knew
his fate was sealed. Not being able to hold his own
against the combined forces of the Nizam and the Eng-
lish, the young Raja went to Hyderabad itself about the
month of February, 1858. While walking about there in
the bazaars, he was arrested by Salar Jung's orders and
handed over to the British ! This Raja was from his
childhood on very intimate terms with Meadows Taylor
and used to call him by the familiar name of " Appa."
Therefore the English authorities sent Meadows Taylor
to the prison to find out from the Raja the secrets of the
Revolutionary conspiracy and the names of the promi-
nent leaders. There, as he was awaiting death, the Raja
was very pleased to see Meadows Taylor and embraced
him heartily. But when Taylor began to ask him
some account of the Secret Society and as to how he got
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mixed up with it, to put in Taylor’s own words, “ He
drew himself very proudly and replied haughtily—‘ No,
Appa, I will never tell that ! You ask me to go to see
the Resident but I won’t do that either. Perhaps he
hopes that I will beg him for my life, but, Appa, I do
not wish to live, like a coward, on charity, nor will I ever
disclose the names of my countrymen ! ’ ” Meadows
Taylor went up to him once again and, showing him
hopes of a pardon, suggested that he should disclose the
story of the plot. Again, the Raja replied, “ I shall tell
everything else about my proceedings in this affair. But
if they ask me the names of those who incited me to rise,
I will not tell that. What ? Should I, now ready to
enter the jaws of death, should I betray the names of my
own countrymen ? No, no ! Cannon, gallows, the region
beyond the black waters—none of them is as terrible as
treachery ! ” Meadows Taylor then informed him that
death awaited him with certainty. The Raja replied,
“ But, I have one request, Appa ; do not hang me, for
I am not a thief. Blow me from a cannon. Just see
how calmly I can stand before its mouth ! ”
However, through the intervention of Meadows Taylor,
the sentence of this patriotic young Raja was reduced
from death to some years’ transportation. A short time
afterwards, when about to leave for the Andamans, the
Raja took a pistol belonging to one of his English warders
and, at a moment when no one was near, shot himself
dead. He had previously said, “ I prefer death to trans-
portation ! Prison and transportation? The meanest
mountaineer of my subjects will not remain in gaol—
what then of me, their king ? ” ⁴
One of the men who had intimate and constant connec-
tion with the Raja of Zorapur was Bhaskar Rao Baba
Sahib, the chief of Nargund. But, when Zorapur rose,
4. Meadows Taylor’s Story of my Life.
506

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
Bhaskar Rao hesitated and was not sure if the proper
time had arrived ; he only rose when the former was
completely crushed. On account of these lax, spasmodic,
and inopportune risings in the south, no one was crown-
ed with success. Baba Sahib was a cultured man and a
great lover of learning. He had also collected together
a large library of excellent books. His young wife was
as spirited as she was beautiful and had resolved upon
giving her whole life for the destruction of the Feringhis
since the time she was refused the right of adoption. It
was due to her inspiration that, at last, on the 25th of
May, 1858, after long hesitation, Nargund openly rose
and declared war with England. Baba Sahib threw off
the yoke of slavery to the British ostentatiously. When
the news came that the English officer, Monson, was
marching against him, Baba Sahib took a few select men
with him and surprised Monson at night in the woods
near Nargund. In the skirmish, Monson was killed, his
body was thrown in a fire near by, and his head was
taken back triumphantly to Nargund. Next morning, it
was hanging on the walls of Nargund. In the mean-
while, Baba Sahib's step-brother not only refused to join
the Revolution but actually joined the English side. An
English army then marched upon Nargund and defeated
the army of Baba Sahib who himself escaped from the
field. He was caught, a few days later, in disguise and
hanged on the 12th of June. His young, beautiful,
and daring Ranee did not surrender to the enemy,
but in company with her mother-in-law committed
suicide by throwing herself in the waters of the
Malaprabha.
Besides these, Bhima Rao of Komaldrug, the Bhils of
Khandesh and their valiant spouses, armed with bow
and arrow, and other small communities, organised risings
in Maharashtra of greater or less magnitude. But,
on account of the want of skill in choosing the proper
time, on account of unripeness of preparation, and on
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account of the loose and spasmodic nature of the risings
and their want of co-operation, the English had not to
bear any severe strain in the south and could devote,
practically, all their resources to the north.
After having thus taken a bird's-eye view of the affairs
in the south, it is now high time that we should turn
our eyes to take a last glance at the proud Ayodhya which
is left groaning there at the end of the life story of the
heroic Moulvie Ahmad Shah.
In the case of extraordinary brilliant heroes like Moulvie
Ahmad Shah, their death is as noble and as extraordinary
as their life. Others may die when they are killed in
battle, but one whose very soul is on fire with a burning
patriotism and who is dancing on the battle-field with
shouts of “ Blood ! Blood ! ” in order to quench that fire,
knows no death ; even if such a patriot falls in battle be-
fore his thirst for revenge is slaked, he does not die !
Though the head was cut off, it has been seen, as a matter
of fact, that the trunk of heroic men continued the fight
in the field, and there is a belief that when even this latter
is cut to pieces their disembodied spirits harass the
enemy at night.
There is, indeed, a philosophic truth underlying such
superstitions. While Moulvie Ahmad Shah was still
fighting, Lord Canning had published a proclamation to
let the whole of Oudh know : “ Those who will volun-
tarily lay down their arms will not be considered as rebels
and will be granted a free and complete pardon for their
past actions, and those who help us now will receive back
their lands and Vatans. Now that the British power has
triumphed over the rebellion, if some still insist upon
their resistance to the British government, they shall all
be most severely punished for this unwarrantable perti-
nacity.” After such a proclamation and after many of
the leaders had died suddenly one after the other, the
508

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
English naturally thought that the people of Oudh would
soon calm down. And to add to the misfortunes of Oudh,
on the 5th of June, 1858, the news came that the villain,
Powen, had assassinated the venerable Moulvie of Fyza-
bad. But instead of indulging in vain lamentations for
the death of this sacred Moulvie, exhausted as she was
by almost superhuman efforts, dispirited by defeat, and
with surrender tempting her with the hope of pardon,
Oudh rose suddenly at his death-spell like one possessed,
and jumped up in blood, with shouts of “ Revenge ! ”
The base enemy hanged the Moulvie’s body in the
Chowdi—but his spirit, his ghost, began to fight with the
English on the field ! His ghost, in order to satisfy its
unquenched thirst, jumped at the neck of the English
power, in its terrible unhuman form. Instead of being
cowed down by his death, the whole of Oudh, the living
ghost, ran up to the battle-field again with fresh vigour
brushing aside all thoughts of strength and weakness,
success and defeat, hope and despair, life and death ! To
take revenge for the hanging of the Moulvie, Nizam Ali
Khan marched up to Pilibht ; Khan Bahadur Khan with
four thousand men ran to the field of action ; the
Farrukabad men rose taking five thousand followers ;
Vilayat Shah took three thousand men to the field and,
with five thousand men, Nana Sahib, Bala Sahib, Ali
Khan Mewati, and other leaders started a tremendous
campaign in Rohilkhand and Oudh. Seeing these great
masses of troops marching in haste, and thirsting for
his blood, the cowardly traitor of Powen began to shud-
der with terror. The English immediately despatched
troops for his protection. Around that part, the Revolu-
tionaries were engaging in frequent and desperate en-
counters with the enemy. On the other side, at Chowk
Ghat, on the banks of the Ghogra, the Begum and Sirdar
Mamu Khan had established the headquarters of their
army. Besides these, Raja Ram Baksh, Bahunath Singh,
Canda Singh, Gulab Singh, Bhopal Singh, Hanumant
Singh, and other prominent and valiant Zemindars, with
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larger or smaller armies, were fighting to reconquer Oudh,
which had been almost conquered by the English. Also,
the celebrated Mogul prince Feroze Shah, who was lately
fighting at Dhar, was now in Oudh. There was also there
fighting in Oudh the famous Raja Narapat Singh, the
valiant son of a valiant father. He it was who had so
bravely defended the fortress of Ruiya. His father,
Jussa Singh, was an intimate friend of Nana Sahib and
had died at Brahmavarta while fighting on the side of
Nana Sahib in the holy War of Independence. Narapat
Singh, like a true Kshatria, unsheathed the sword again
for victory in the field in which his father lay dead ; he
gave shelter to Nana Sahib in his fortress at Ruiya ;
and he had been fighting ever since then against the
Feringhi power. And even greater than all these, in
power, in spirit, in determination, and in patriotism, the
veteran Raja Veni Madhav also now left his fort and,
with an extraordinary bold move, after marching along
the Cawnpore road, was now ready to pounce upon Luck-
now ! When those who have left all hopes of success
fight only for honour and duty, even courting death, is
there any limit to their magnificent courage ? Simply for
the honour of the Kshatriya race, this Veni Madhav,
though without the slightest hope of success at this late
hour, marched straight upon Lucknow ! And he caused
placards to be posted in the town that all Indians resid-
ing there should leave it, for he was going to direct a
tremendous attack upon the Feringhis. The Feringhis,
though drunk with victory, and possessed of force, and
good organisation, were astounded at his marvellous
courage. An attack on Lucknow ? Forsooth, as if
the war had begun only to-day, as if seas of blood
had not at all flowed for the whole of the past
year in Oudh !
So, on the 13th of June, Hope Grant directed a surprise
assault upon the Revolutionaries, gathering together at
Nabobganj near Lucknow. The surprise attack of the
510

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
white and the black forces of Hope Grant would naturally
have dispersed the incautious Revolutionaries at once—
but, Sepoys, stop ! It is not yet a week since the Moul-
vie was killed—so, stop ! They stopped and they stood
up ready to give battle even under such odds. And, lo !
such an exhibition of bravery was seen on the side of
the Revolutionaries as is rarely witnessed no matter any-
where. It was such as to make the usually spiteful
enemy to be carried away by a natural admiration of
heroic bravery. The English general, Hope Grant,
writes :—“ Still, their attacks were vigorous, if unsuc-
cessful, and we had much ado to repel them. A large
body of fine, daring Zemindari men brought two guns in
the open and attacked us in the rear. I have seen many
battles in India and many brave fellows fighting with a
determination to conquer or die ; but, I never witnessed
anything more magnificent than the conduct of these
Zemindars ! In the first instance they attacked Hodson's
horse, who would not face them and by their unsteadi-
ness placed in great jeopardy two guns which had been
attached to the regiment. I ordered up the 7th Hussars
and the other four guns belonging to the battery to with-
in a distance of five hundred yards from the enemy and
opened a fire of grape which mowed them down with a
terrible effect, like thistles before the scythe. Their chief,
a big fellow with a goitre on his neck, nothing daunted,
caused two green standards to be placed close to their
guns and used them as a rallying point. But our grape-
fire was so destructive that whenever they attempted to
save their pieces, they were struck down. Two squadrons
and more now came up to our side and forced the sur-
vivors to retire, waving the swords and spears at us and
defiantly calling out to us to come on. Around the
two guns alone there were one hundred and twenty-
five corpses ! After three hours' fighting, the day
was ours.” ⁵
5. Hope Grant’s Incidents of the Sepoy War, page 292.
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Such desperate encounters took place in East Oudh, in
Middle Oudh, in North Oudh and, practically, all over
Oudh. And that not with the enemy alone but with
traitors like Man Singh and Powenkar who had been
lured to join the enemy by the proclamation of pardon.
Oudh began to fight such a double battle. They directed
attacks on Powen ; they were fighting towards Lucknow ;
they fought at Sultanpur ; they shut up the traitor Man
Singh in his fort ; they obstructed English routes ; they
sacked English stations ; and, by their noble sacrifice
they made every space of the ground there worth
worshipping as sacred soil ! Cutting the cordon which
the English drew round them, the patriots rushed
about from place to place still persevering in their
cry for war and revenge. Considerations of space
alone forbid us from minutely following all their
movements.
Such was the terrible fight that Ayodhya fought ! At
last, in October, 1858, the English Commander-in-Chief
again arranged a mass of white and brown troops in
systematic order, made them march simultaneously from
all sides against the Revolutionaries and, thus pressing
them on all sides, gave orders to push them northwards
towards Nepal. Still, Oudh would not be exhausted and
would not retreat a step without fighting !
Veni Madhav's town, Shankarpur, was surrounded on
three sides by three different armies. He was now weak
in resources and the enemy was very strong ; still, Veni
Madhav would not lay down his arms. Then, the Eng-
lish Commander-in-Chief himself sent him a message
telling him that a further continuance of the fight would
mean only useless bloodshed, as he had no hope of victory.
If he surrendered, he was promised full pardon and com-
plete restoration of his property. Veni Madhav replied:
" It being henceforth impossible to defend the fort, I am
going to leave it. But I will never surrender myself to
512

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Tatia Topé, the Commander-
in-Chief of Nana Saheb's
Revolutionary army was one
of the ablest generals and a
marvellous guerilla warrior.
An English writer has re-
marked - “Had there been
only half a dozen of Tatia
Topés the history of the Re-
volutionary War of 1857
would have been quite
different.” He led the British
troops many a weary march—
crossing the Narbada to and
fro, passing between the
British columns, behind them,
and before them, traversing
mountains, ravines, valleys,
LORD CANNING:
the Governor-
General of India
in 1857.
SIR COLIN
CAMPBELL:
C-in-C of the
British forces in
India.
SIR HENRY
HAVELOCK:
a prominent British
General.

and swamps, and marching
for weeks together, thirty and
forty miles a day.
He is said to have been
captured through the trea-
chery of his trusted friend
Raja Man Singh. When
apprehended and heavily
ironed, he was quite calm and
said he wanted no trial, and
expected nothing but death;
only he wished that it might
be speedy, and that his captive
family might not be made to
suffer on his account. He
was tried by a court-martial
and hanged at Sipri* on April
18, 1859.
GENERAL TATIA TOPÉ

This page appears to be blank and does not contain any visible text to transcribe.

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
you. For my person belongs not to me but to my king."
The fort will surrender, but not Veni Madhav !⁶
In November, 1858, the famous proclamation of the
Queen of England was published throughout India, and
according to the prophecy, the Company's rule did vanish
after a hundred years ! But, in its place came the rule
of the Queen ! Everyone who fought openly against the
English in the war was to be given a full pardon as soon
as he laid down his arms ; a promise was given that his
property would not be confiscated⁷ ; not even an inquiry
6. How the people fought pro rege and pro patria, for the king
and the Motherland, will be seen from the following. Charles Ball
says :—" After the proclamation, still the struggle in Oudh was
wonderful, and all these bands of rebels were strengthened and
encouraged to an inconceivable degree by the sympathy of their
countrymen. They could march without commissariat, for the peo-
ple would always feed them. They could leave their baggage with-
out guard, for the people would not attack it. They were always
certain of their position and that of the British, for the people
brought them hourly information. And no design could be possibly
kept from them while secret sympathisers stood round every mess-
table and waited in almost every tent in the British camp. No
surprise could be effected but by a miracle, while rumour, com-
municated from mouth to mouth, outstripped even our cavalry."
Vol. II, page 572.
7. How this promise and similar promises were kept by the
English, is well-known to the people of India. The Government
actually refused to return lakhs of Rupees lent to them on bonds
and securities on the ground that the security-holders were rebels.
Here is a sample of the general attitude of the English people
at the time. In the biography of John Delane, the famous editor
of the London Times, recently printed, we get some glimpses of
the matter. At about the time of the mutiny, the Times had sent
a special correspondent to India in the person of Sir W. H. Russell.
It is recorded that " at the end of January, 1859, Sir W. H. Russell
was still with Lord Clyde and, in one of his last letters from Luck-
now, he tells a delightful story which he heard from the Comman-
der-in-Chief. Alluding to his landlord at Allahabad (an Anglo-
Indian general merchant), Lord Clyde said, ‘you doubtless heard
what he did ?’ ‘No.’ ‘Well, he was much in debt to native
merchants when the mutiny broke out. He was appointed special
513
33

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was to be held. The right of Rajas to adopt an heir was
recognised. A clause was also inserted that the religious
beliefs of the people would never be interfered with ;
and an undertaking was given that promises would not
thenceforth be broken.
The Queen proceeded to say : “ And we do hereby con-
firm in their several offices, civil and military, all persons
now employed in the service of the Honourable East
India Company, subject to our future pleasure, and to
such laws and regulations as may hereafter be enacted.
“ We hereby announce to the native princes of India that
all treaties and engagements made with them by or under
the authority of the Honourable East India Company
are by us accepted and will be scrupulously maintained;
and we look for the like observance on their part.
“ We desire no extension of our present territorial pos-
sessions ; and, while we will permit no aggressions upon
our dominions or our rights to be attempted with
impunity, we shall sanction no encroachment on
those of others. We shall respect the rights, dignity,
and honour of native princes as our own, and we
desire that they, as well as our own subjects, should
enjoy that prosperity and that social advancement which
can only be secured by internal peace and good
government.
“ We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our Indian
territories by the same obligations of duty which bind us
to all our other subjects ; and those obligations, by the
commissioner and the first thing he did was to hang all his credi-
tors.” This ‘delightful story,’ is not, of course, contained in any
‘history of the Indian mutiny.’ It was not even contained in
the Times’ special correspondents’ letters to the Times intended for
publication. It was mentioned only in private letter of Sir W. H.
Russell to John Delane.
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A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
blessing of Almighty God, we shall faithfully and cons-
cientiously fulfil.
“ And it is our further will that, so far as may be, our
subjects, of whatever race or creed, be freely and im-
partially admitted to offices in our service, the duties
of which they may be qualified by their education, ability,
and integrity, duly to discharge.
“ Our clemency will be extended to all offenders, save
and except those who have been and shall be convicted
of having directly taken part in the murder of British
subjects.
“ To all others in arms against the Government, we
hereby promise unconditional pardon, amnesty, and
oblivion of all offences against ourselves, our crown, and
dignity, on their return to their homes and peace-
ful pursuits.”
In such a manner was this ‘ Magna Charta ’ (?) of
Hindusthan published! The principal reason for its
publication was, no doubt, the desire to extinguish the
Revolution in Oudh. But Oudh did not care even to
glance at it. The Begum of Oudh published the follow-
ing counter-proclamation : “ In the proclamation, it is
written that all the contracts and agreements entered into
by the Company will be accepted by the queen. Let the
people carefully observe this artifice. The Company has
seized on the whole of Hindusthan, and if this arrange-
ment be accepted, what is there new in it? The Com-
pany professed to treat the Chief of Bharatpur as a son
and then took his territory. The chief of Lahore was
carried off to London, never to return again. The Nabob
Shams-ud-din Khan, on the one hand, they hanged,
while, on the other hand, they salaamed to him. The
Peshwa they expelled from Poona and Satara and im-
prisoned for life in Bithoor. The Raja of Benares they
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TEMPORARY PACIFICATION
imprisoned in Agra. They have left no names or traces
of the chiefs of Behar, Orissa, and Bengal. Our ancient
possessions they took from us on pretence of distributing
pay and, in the 7th article of the treaty, they wrote on
oath that they would take no more from us. If, then,
the arrangements made by the Company are to be accept-
ed, what is the difference between the former and the
present state of things ? These are old affairs. But, even
recently, in defiance of oaths and treaties, and notwith-
standing that they owed us millions of Rupees, without
reason and on pretences of misconduct and the discon-
tent of our people, they took our country and property
worth millions of Rupees. If our people were discon-
tented with our royal predecessor, Wajid Ali Shah, how
comes it then, that they are content with us ? And no
ruler ever experienced such loyalty and devotion of life
and goods as we have. What, then, is wanting that they
do not restore to us our country ? Further, it is written,
in the proclamation, that they want no increase of terri-
tory, and yet they cannot refrain from annexation. If
the Queen has assumed the government, why does she not
restore our country to us when the people have unmis-
takably shown their wish to this effect ?
“ It is well known that no king or queen ever punished
a whole army or a whole people for rebellion. All will
be forgiven, for the wise cannot approve of punishing
the whole army and people of Hindusthan and also they
know that so long as the word “ punishment ” remains,
the disturbance will not be suppressed. There is a well-
known proverb, “ Marta kya nahin karta. ”
“ It is written in the proclamation, that they who har-
boured the rebels or who caused men to rebel shall have
their lives, but that punishment shall be awarded after
deliberation to them, that murderers and abettors of
murderers shall have no mercy shown to them, and that
all the rest shall be forgiven. Now even a silly person
516