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

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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
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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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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
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A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
will see that, under this proclamation, no one, be he
guilty or innocent, can escape. Everything is written and
yet nothing is written. But one thing they have clearly
said, and that is that they shall let off no one who is
implicated ; and so, in whatever village or province our
army has halted, the inhabitants of that place cannot
escape. Deeply are we concerned for the condition of
our beloved people on reading this proclamation which
palpably teems with enmity. We now issue a distinct
order, and trustworthy, that all persons who may have
foolishly presented themselves as heads of villages to the
English shall, before the 1st of January, 1859, present
themselves in our camp. No doubt their faults shall be
forgiven. To believe in this Proclamation, it is only
necessary to remember that Hindusthanee rulers are al-
together kind and merciful. Thousands have seen this,
millions have heard this. No one has ever seen the Eng-
lish have forgiven an offence.
“ In this proclamation it is written that when peace is
restored, public works such as roads and canals, will be
made in order to improve the condition of the people !
It is worthy of a little reflection, that they have promised
no better employment for Hindusthanees than the mak-
ing of roads and the digging of canals !
“ If people cannot see clearly what this means, then, there
is no hope for them.
“ Let no subject be deceived by the proclamation ! ”
And therefore Oudh would not take advantage of the
unconditional amnesty granted therein. She was still
waving her sword, riding on horseback, fighting on the
field, bathing in blood, and leaping into the fire of sacri-
fice ! She wanted freedom or war to the end. She was
more used to jump at the neck than fall at the feet of
the enemy. She was still on the battle-fields of Shankar-
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pur, Dhundiakhera, Rai Bareilly, Sitapur. She was kill-
ing, she was dying, but still she fought on !
So fought Oudh from June to November of 1858, from
November to December, until April of 1859, when she
was pushed from all sides towards Nepal. When the
Revolutionaries entered Nepal, the English were still in
hot pursuit ; but still there was one hope—will the Hindu
Raja of Nepal protect them ?
At this time, the number of Revolutionaries who entered
Nepal was about sixty thousand ; they were led by Nana
Sahib, Bala Sahib, the Begum and her young son, and
others. Jung Bahadur of Nepal wrote at this time a
letter to them. The reply which Nana Sahib sent to him
is so pointed and sarcastic that we cannot help quoting
at least a part of it. It runs to this effect :—“ We have
received your letter. We have been hearing the reputa-
tion of Nepal at distant places, all along the country.
Indeed, in spite of my reading the history of many ancient
kings of India and seeing the character of many present
rulers, I believe that your Majesty’s deeds stand match-
less ! For you did not hesitate to render help even to the
British—the very people who have borne every sort of
ill-will towards your people. And yet, as soon as they
asked for help you have rushed to their assistance !
There is no limit to this your generosity ! Well then,
shall it be unnatural of me to expect that the descendant
of the Peshwas who had all along been friendly towards
your people will not be denied help from your Majesty,
especially when you have given it so freely to the British
who bore avowed enmity towards you ? He who admit-
ted the enemy inside will not at least turn his friend out!
It is utterly unnecessary to repeat here the well-known
story of the wrongs under which Hindusthan is groaning,
how the British people have broken treaties, trampled
down their promises, snatched away the crowns of the
Indian Rajas. It is equally unnecessary to describe how
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A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
even the religion of the land is threatened as soon as the
kingdoms of the land are destroyed. It is too well known.
It is for this reason that this war is waged. We are send-
ing Shrimant Bala Sahib, our brother, to you, and he
will clear up other things personally."⁸
The letter was sealed with the royal seal of the Peshwas
and sent to Jung Bahadur. After this letter, many con-
sultations followed. Jung Bahadur sent one of his
noblemen, Colonel Balbhadra Singh, to see personally
the leaders of the Revolutionaries. The leaders told him
unanimously, "We have fought for the Dharma of
the Hindus. Maharaja Jung Bahadur too is a Hindu and
therefore should help us. If he gives his help, even if
he orders his officers to lead us, we shall again dash on
Calcutta. We shall feed ourselves, and shall obey his
orders. Whatever country we conquer in fight will be-
come the possession of the Gurkha Government. If this
is not possible, at least let him give us asylum in his
country and we will live under his orders." Colonel
Balbhadra Singh, the Gurkha representative, said : "The
English have opened wide the door of mercy. So, throw
down your arms before the British and go to their
asylum." They replied : "We have heard of the procla-
mation. But we have no wish that some of our brothers
should have their lives at the expense of others. Maha-
raja Jung is a Hindu and we do not want to fight against
the Gurkhas. If he wants, we shall throw down our
arms before him, and even if we are to be murdered, we
submit unresistingly. But how can we submit to the
British by risking some of our own brethren to their
vengeance ? "
Many such consultations took place, but at last Jung
Bahadur finally told the Revolutionaries that if he had
wanted to help them he would not have sent his men to
8. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. II.
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massacre them at Lucknow ! Nay, he did not stop merely
with sending this mean and cruel reply. He gave full
permission to the English to enter Nepal and hunt the
Revolutionaries within his territories !
Then the Revolutionaries lost all hope, hid their arms,
and quietly began to walk away to their homes. To
encourage them in doing so, the English did not give
them the slightest trouble for their past hostile attitude.
Still, some grand-souled heroes, unable to bear the sight
of the Britisher again treading the sacred soil of India,
instead of returning to their homes, escaped to the jungles,
knowing that it meant nothing short of dying by starva-
tion ! About that time, Nana Sahib wrote a letter to the
British commander, Hope Grant. What does he say in
that letter—any talk of surrender ? Oh, no ! After
condemning at great length the unjust rule of the British
in India, Nana asks : “ What right have you to occupy
India and declare me an outlaw ? Who gave you the
right to rule over India ? What ! You, Feringhis, are
the kings, and we, thieves, in this our own country ? ”
These are the last recorded words of Nana Sahib. No !
This is the last challenge of the Peshwa throne of Balaji
Viswanath ! It is strong, proud, just, and self-respecting,
worthy of the last descendant of Shivaji’s Peshwas. The
stain of effeminacy of the second Baji Rao was washed
away in streams of the blood of the foreign foe, and the
Gadi of the Peshwas passes away from the scene, like the
Chitore Rajputanees of old, struggling, fighting, and
burning amidst the leaping flames of the fire of sacrifice.
This was her last shriek—“ In India, foreigners are kings
and the sons of Hindusthan thieves ! ”
History does not know for certain what happened to Nana
Sahib after the episode of this letter. Bala Sahib died
in the forest in circumstances of self-imposed misery.
The Begum and her young son were, later on, given
shelter by Jung Bahadur. The great martyr Gujaran
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
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A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
Singh died in one of the numerous skirmishes in the last
stages of the war.
Thus ended the National Revolution of 1857, in Oudh.
Nowhere in the world has a country fought for its inde-
pendence with more stubborn bravery.
Malleson says : “ They (the people of Oudh) joined in
the revolt inaugurated by their brethren the Sepoys—
the majority of them Oudh men—and fought for inde-
pendence. How pertinaciously they waged the contest
has been told in these pages. No other part of India gave
an example of a resistance so determined, so prolonged,
as did Oudh. Throughout the struggle, the sense of the
injustice perpetrated in 1856 steeled the hearts of its
people and strengthened their resolution. If on some
occasion they too precipitately fled, it was in the hope of
renewing the struggle with some chances of success an-
other day. When, finally, the sweep made over Oudh by
Lord Clyde forced the remnant of the fighting class to
take refuge in the jungles of Nepal, the survivors often
preferred starvation to surrender. The agricultural popula-
tion, the talukdars, the landowners, the traders, accepted
the defeat when, after that long struggle, they felt that it
was final.” ⁹
9. Malleson’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. V, page. 207.
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CHAPTER II
THE CULMINATING
OFFERING IN THE
SACRIFICIAL FIRE
ON the 20th of June, 1858, in the fierce fight on
the maidan at Gwalior, Ranee Lakshmi Bai of
Jhansi fell. But though one inveterate enemy
of the English was thus taken away from the
scene, the other, equally inveterate and, perhaps,
more skilful in the tactics of war, had effected
a clever retreat. He disappeared from Gwalior on the
20th, he disappeared, also, from the field of Jaura Alipur
on the 22nd, and away he went out of the reach of the
English—but where ?
In a few days, all over central India, forests, cities, caves,
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OFFERING IN THE SACRIFICIAL FIRE
villages, mountains, and rivers reverberated with a terrible
war-cry, and jubilant shouts of “Tatia Topé, Tatia Topé!”
For the Mahratta tiger, chased by the lances of the
hunters, had now rushed into the forests of Central India.
He had, as it were, lost his right hand by the death of
Lakshmi Bai on the field of Gwalior. The Revolution
was almost crushed by numerous defeats. He was now
separated for ever from Nana Sahib. English power,
through Indian strength, had now almost become invin-
cible. He had now no army worth the name, no guns,
no provisions, and not even any hopes for getting
these anywhere! Still the undaunted Tatia Topé,
harassing the enemy, and maddening Defeat itself,
would not surrender the Jaripatka at the feet of
the foreigner. Bend it before the foreigner, never!
Such is the tree from which its staff is made that
it might be broken by foreigners but it would never
bend before them!
After the defeats of Gwalior and Jaura Alipur, Tatia Topé
and Rao Sahib Peshwa took the remnants of the army
and marched to a place called Sarmathura. They based
all their future operations on three important principles.
First, they were to try not to get entangled into any
battle whatsoever with the English army. Secondly, they
decided to make guerilla raids in the unguarded provinces.
But these two stratagems would be impossible unless some
means could be devised to insure a supply of provisions
and good arms. So, to obtain these, the third rule of
Tatia was to levy contributions of provisions, money, and
arms, wherever an Indian state was to be found. In
northern and central India, there are Indian states at
almost every step. They had accumulated, in the course
of years, huge stores of provisions and arms. And it was
the duty of the kings there to use these stores for the
protection of the country. But in 1857 these kings dis-
regarded the earnest requests and entreaties of the coun-
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