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

THE VOLCANO
the Company ask even its own servants as to how they
spend their pensions or what they save out of it ? But it
is strange that a question, which the Company dare not
ask even of its own servants, is raised in the case of the
heir to a royal dynasty, and is made the pretence to break
a treaty." With this argumentative and spirited des-
patch, Nana's faithful ambassador, Azimullah Khan,
left for England.
Of the important characters in the Revolutionary War
of 1857, the name of Azimullah Khan is one of the
most memorable. Among the keen intellects and minds
that first conceived the idea of the War of Independence,
Azimullah must be given a prominent place. And among
the many plans by which the various phases of the Revo-
lution were developed, the plans of Azimullah deserve
special notice.
Azimullah was very poor by birth. He rose gradually
on the strength of his own merits, and at last became the
trusted adviser of Nana Sahib. His early poverty was
such that he served as a waiter in the household of an
Englishman. Even while in such a low state, the fire of
ambition was always burning in his heart. He took ad-
vantage of his profession as a Baberchi in order to learn
foreign languages, and in a short time he had learned to
speak English and French with fluency. After acquiring
a knowledge of both these languages, Azimullah left the
service of the Feringhis and began to study in a school at
Cawnpore. By his extraordinary ability, he soon became
a teacher at the self-same school. While still serving as
a teacher in the Government school at Cawnpore, his
reputation as an able scholar reached the ears of Nana
Sahib, and he was introduced at the Brahmavarta Durbar.
Once, at the Durbar, his wise counsels were appreciated
and valued by Nana Sahib, who would take no important
step without first consulting Azimullah. In 1854, he was
made the chief representative of Nana Sahib and sent to
32

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi was only eighteen years of
age when the responsibilities of the State fell on her
shoulders on the death of her husband Gangadhar Rao.
Filled with deep resentment at the conduct of the British
authorities in annexing the State of Jhansi, and at the many
wrongs done to her later, the Rani openly declared before
the British Resident that she would "never give up Jhansi".
Then, at the first call of the War of Indian Independence in
1857, against the British, she took to horse, and, for months
in male attire, headed bands, squadrons and at length the
formidable corps of the Mahrattas, until she became, in her
way, another Joan of Arc to her frenzied and fierce follo-
wers. It was admitted by the British that her unbounded
liberality to her troops, and her fortitude which no reverses
could shake, rendered her an influential and dangerous
adversary.
A rare picture of RANI LAKSHMIBAI by a court-artist at
Jhansi showing her before she became a widow.
THE WARRIOR RANI LAKSHMIBAI OF JHANSI
From an old painting
"She was the bravest and best man on the side of the Mutineers."
— Sir Huge Rose

This page is blank and contains no text to transcribe.

NANA SAHIB AND LAKSHMI BAI
England. His face was noble, his speech sweet and silvery.
Knowing very well the customs and manners of contem-
porary English life, he soon became very popular among
Londoners. Attracted by his pleasant and silvery voice,
his spirited mien and Oriental magnificence, several young
English women fell in love with Azimullah. There used
to be a crowd, in those days, in the parks of London and
on the beach at Brighton, to see this jewelled Indian
"Raja". Some English women of respectable families
were so much infatuated with him that, even after his
return to India, they would send him letters couched in
the most affectionate terms. When, later, Havelock's
army captured Brahmavarta, he saw there the original
letters written by some English ladies to their "Darling
Azimullah!"
But though English women were captivated by Azimullah,
still the East India Company would not leave their
stern attitude. They put him off for some time with
beguiling words, and at last gave the stereotyped answer,
"We entirely approve of the decision of the Governor-
General that the adopted son of Bajirao has no claim
whatever to his father's pension." Thus, as regards the
principal object of his mission he was disappointed, in a
way. We say "in a way"; because at this very moment,
a new inspiration, a new hope, was rising in his heart.
There was no necessity of any foreigner's consent to realise
this hope, but it depended for its realisation on his own
country and countrymen! How to get the consent of his
own men? How to acquire the independence of his coun-
try by force when it could not be acquired by Sâma, Dâna,
or Bhêda (conciliation, money, or division)? These
thoughts breathed a new hope and a new life into Azim-
ullah's heart.
At this self-same moment, right in the heart of Lon-
don, a Brahmin was sitting, brooding over the means for
the attainment of that which he was unable to obtain by
33
3

THE VOLCANO
petition or by prayer and his heart, filled with vengeance
born of despair, was planning dozens of schemes for the
attainment of his object. This was Rango Bapuji of
Satara. Azimullah, the representative of the Peshwa, used
often to visit him, and they both used to hold secret con-
sultations. Leaving these two—one, the representative of
the Chhatrapati of Satara himself, and the other, the
representative of the Prime Minister of the Chhatrapati
—to the quiet and secret solution of the problem of saving
the Hindu Empire, let us turn our attention to the
activities of Nana Sahib.
Fortunate will be the day when a complete and syste-
matic history of the life of Shrimant Nana Sahib Peshwa
will be before the world. Meanwhile, until such a day
arrives, it would not be out of place to recount in brief
some of the details of his life about this period, as pub-
lished by the English historians, bitter enemies of Nana
Sahib as they are. We have already related incidentally
the story of his youth. He had married a cousin of the
chief of Sangli. While in the north, in 1857, the Revolu-
tion was being resolved upon, this relation of Nana Sahib
was making strenuous efforts to achieve the same end in
Maharashtra by working in the Patwardhan State. Nana
had made Brahmavarta his home after the demise of his
father. This city was in itself very beautiful, while the
sacred Bhagirathi which flowed close to the city walls
greatly added to its beauty. The palace of Nana com-
manded a most charming view ; before him stretched the
quiet waters of the Bhagirathi ; the banks were cheerfully
alive with throngs of men and women ; and beautiful
temples of famed architecture raised their cupolas all along
the banks. The Palace of the Peshwa was a grand struc-
ture. Its political, administrative, and other offices, and
the large shops and well-kept roads inside the gates, amply
testified to the activities within the palace. The many
extensive halls within this palace were decorated with rich
carpets and gorgeous tapestries. Most valuable china
34

NANA SAHIB AND LAKSHMI BAI
selected with faultless taste, magnificent candelabra
studded with diamonds, beautifully carved mirrors, carved
ivory of finest workmanship, gold art works richly set with
diamonds, in short, all the luxury and taste and splendour
of the Hindu palace were to be seen there.³ The steeds
and camels of Shrimant Nana Saheb were caparisoned in
silver. Nana’s fondness for horses was well known, and
it is said that none could excel either him or Lakshmi Bai
in horsemanship. His stables were a fine collection of
splendid breeds. His special hobby was animals, and
people even from far-off parts used to come to Brahma-
varta, to see his deer and his gazelles brought from various
parts of India, his camels, and his pointers. Yet, be it
noted that, above all things, it was on his splendid col-
lection of arms that Shrimant prided himself most. It
included arms of all kinds and for all purposes,—swords
of best-tempered steel, modern long-range rifles, and big
guns of various sizes.
Immensely proud of his high birth and conscious of
his noble ancestry, Nana had quietly made up his mind
that he would either live as became that noble parentage,
or pass away from memory altogether. It is a significant
fact, that in the main hall and in a prominent place were
hung the portraits of those great and capable men who
had adorned Mahratta history.⁴ What did those faces
speak to him? What did the portrait of Chhatrapati
Shivaji say to him? What a tumult of feelings must have
arisen in his mind when he saw Baji Rao I, the Bhao of
Panipat, the youthful and regal Viswas, the wise Madhava,
and statesman Nana Farnavis, in the portraits before
him! The very consciousness that he was born in a
family which could boast of such great names, must have
been constantly impelling him to, what thoughts? Nana,
3. See Thomson’s Cawnpore. Peculiar importance attaches to
this man and his book owing to the fact that he was one of the
two men who survived the massacre at Cawnpore.
4. Charles Ball’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page 304.
35

THE VOLCANO
there is no doubt, must have felt, and felt terribly, the
woeful humiliation of petitioning to his enemies for a
pension for that Empire, of which his ancestors were the
Prime Ministers, nay, rulers. The stories of the noble
deeds of the great Shivaji, whose memory he fondly
cherished, must, without doubt, have set ablaze in his
heart the flames of anger and vengeance. A Sanskrit
proverb says, "The honourable prefer death to dis-
honour," and Nana was above all honourable. Generous
as a prince, pride was his greatest wealth—as it always
is of the brave. Hence he could not bear the idea of
accepting any invitation from the European officers about
him. For was he not, as the Peshwa, entitled to the
salute of guns, which the Company was not willing to
fire in his honour? He was serious constitutionally and
his habits were simple. He had not a trace of extravagant
habits or vices.⁵ An Englishman who had observed him
closely on many occasions says that, at the time he saw
him, he was really about twenty-eight years of age, but
he looked forty. "He was inclined to embonapoint; his
face was round; his eyes, restless like those of a tiger,
were piercing and of great lustre; his complexion was like
that of any Spaniard; his conversation was characterised
by a touch of humour."⁶ In the Durbar, he was dressed
in kinkhabs. Englishmen used to admire the jewellery he
displayed about his person and his crowns studded with
diamonds. His generous and sympathetic heart, had
effectually won the love of his subjects. His kindness to
his subjects would be quite natural, but it is significant
that Shrimant was habitually generous even towards those
very English people, who, turning ungrateful, had depriv-
ed him of his all. If any youthful English couple wanted
change of air, the rich equipage of Maharaja Nana Sahib
was ready at their service. Many a "Sahib", tired of
5. "A quiet and unostentatious young man not at all addicted
to any extravagant habits."—Sir John Kaye.
6. Trevelyan's Cawnpore, pages 68-69.
36

NANA SAHIB AND LAKSHMI BAI
living in Cawnpore, used to pay a visit with his "mem-
sahib" to the town of Maharaja Nana Sahib, and
presents of rich shawls and valuable pearls and diamonds
were made to them on the occasion of their leaving
Brahmavarta.⁷ It may be seen clearly from this that the
poison of individual hatred never touched the noble soul
of Nana. The elevated and heroic ideal, of generously
treating those very enemies with social courtesy and
obligation, whom, on the battlefield, you would remorse-
lessly destroy, has again and again been celebrated in the
epics and histories of Hindusthan. The Rajput heroes
used to treat their bitterest enemies with splendid genero-
sity. Be it noted, therefore, in this connection, that there
was considerable cordiality between Nana and the Eng-
lish at this time.⁸ As long as they could feast at the palace
of the Shrimant, the English officers and their wives were
heaping friendly praise upon him, but as soon as he lifted
the Sword of righteousness in the cause of Swaraj and
Swadesh on the battlefield of Cawnpore, what ignominy
and what low abuse they heaped on him !
Shrimant was well educated, and had the refinement
of culture. He took great interest in politics and political
affairs. He used to watch and closely study the ever-
changing affairs of great nations, and for that purpose
would closely follow the English press. He used to have
the daily papers read to him every morning by Mr. Tod,
an Englishman afterwards massacred at Cawnpore. He
thus was able to observe, with his lynx-eye, all the political
changes in England and in India. When heated discus-
sions were taking place over the question of annexing
7. Trevelyan's Cawnpore, pp. 68-69.
8. 'Nothing could exceed the cordiality which he constantly
displayed in his intercourse with our countrymen. The persons in
authority placed an implicit confidence in his friendliness and good
faith, and the ensigns emphatically pronounced him a capital fellow."
—Trevelyan's Cawnpore.
37

THE VOLCANO
Oudh, Nana was of opinion that that act would inevit-
ably force on a war.⁹
As this description is compiled from the histories written
by Nana's enemies, it is to be noted that those virtues
which his enemies ascribe to him must have been a
distinct feature in his character. For it cannot be ex-
pected that English historians, with their terrible hatred
for Nana, could acknowledge willingly his eminent virtues
except where absolutely necessary. The tardy acknow-
ledgment of such virtues is the more significant, as after
this slight confession of truth, these very historians have
wreaked to the full their devilish vengeance on Nana for
having leaped forth into the battlefield. The poisonous
pen of English historians has taken a fiendish delight in
calling him a " badmash ", a " high way robber ", a
" fiend ", and " Satan ", and has been heaping upon him
low, vulgar, and dishonest abuse. But even if all this
abuse was deserved, still the single fact, that Nana fought
for Swarajya and bled for Swadesh, is sufficient to esta-
blish his loving memory in the heart of us Indians. It
was essentially necessary that the whole world should
realise the fact that a grand and terrible vengeance is
visited sooner or later on those who dare to commit the
sin of depriving Hindusthan of Independence. Nana was
the incarnation of vengeance of the land of Hind ! Nana
was the Narasimha Mantra of this land ! Yes ; this one
fact will impress Nana's memory on the tablet of our
hearts ! Yet with this particular merit of Nana, when one
further remembers the individual instances of his genero-
sity, his pride of birth, and above all his noble and
patriotic heart, one's head bows in loving adoration of
that grand personality ; and then rises before one's mind's
eye the fair and noble form of Nana, with his huge
strength, crown on his head, his bright and alert eyes red
with injured pride, the sword (worth three lakhs of
9. Charles Ball's Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, p. 304.
38

NANA SAHIB AND LAKSHMI BAI
Rupees) by his side keen and ready to leap forth from the
scabbard, and his body all aflame with anger and keen
desire to avenge the Swarajya and the Swadesh !
Ye, conflicting emotions, stop ! What a terrible tumult
is happening there ! The insolent message, the last, has
come to Nana from the English, that he has not a vestige
of claim to the pension of Baji Rao; nay, that he must
even give up the proprietary rights to Brahmavarta ; and
this, the Company further claimed, was justice ! Justice ?
Now the English need not take the trouble of giving a
definite reply whether it was justice or injustice ! Exten-
sive preparations are in progress and there, on the field
of Cawnpore, will be determined the issue of the question.
It is there that the question, whether it is justice or in-
justice to injure the heart of a Mahratta, will be fully
discussed. Decapitated, headless trunks, mutilated bodies,
flowing streams of blood—these will determine the issue.
Aye, and the vultures sitting on the parapets of the well
of Cawnpore will listen to this discussion and give a
definite answer to the issue raised, Justice or Injustice ?
While splendid preparations were being made for this
extraordinary ceremony at Nana's palace, his Chhabeli
sister was not sitting idle. Before her had come the same
question—Justice or Injustice ? When she adopted her
darling Damodar as her son, soon after the sudden death
of her husband in 1853, the English annexed Jhansi,
refusing to recognise the rights of adoption. But Jhansi
was not a state which could be annexed by mere word
or letter. Not the Banka of Nagpur, but the dear sister
Chhabeli of Nana—Ranee Lakshmi Bai was ruling there !
As if she cared a whit for this "annexation"! From her
proud heart, seeing this low and heartless cunning of the
English, pealed forth the thunders born of injured pride
and a sense of honour, and through these the lightning of
10. Dalhousie's Administration, Vol. II.
39

THE VOLCANO
Jhansi declared, “ Give up my Jhansi ?—I will not ! Let
him try to take who dares !!” “ Mêri Jhansi döongi
nahin ! !” 10
40

CHAPTER IV
AYODHYA
WE have no hesitation in saying that Lord
Dalhousie is one of those Indian administrators
who are accused of more sins of administration
than they are really guilty of. Officers like
Dalhousie are nothing more than mouthpieces
of tyranny. They merely execute the commands
of the 'Home' authorities. To refer all responsibility for
tyrannous misdeeds committed in India to such mouth-
pieces would be as unjust as it is irrational. Dalhousie was
purely a creature of the circumstances in which he was
placed. The major portion of the responsibility, for good
as well as for evil, therefore, rests on those who created
41

THE VOLCANO
the situation. As long as the general policy is dictated
from 'Home', those whose duty is merely to execute it can
act no more honestly than Dalhousie did. It would cer-
tainly be unjust to hold Dalhousie responsible for all those
combined acts and deeds which had to flow directly from
the situation created for him by his masters in England
and his assistants in India. Dalhousie merely reaped that
harvest of political robbery the seeds of which had been
sedulously sown for a hundred years by his predecessors.
The intrigues born of political avarice had been sown long
before and Dalhousie's regime was the season in which
they bore fruit. But for this heritage of iniquitous power
behind him, how many kingdoms could Dalhousie have
annexed ? It was chiefly because generations of his pre-
decessors had prepared the way for him by slowly under-
mining the foundations of the different kingdoms of India
that Dalhousie was enabled, by the mere stroke of his pen,
to annex so many of them.
It was in 1764 that the relations between the Company
and the ruler of Oudh were first established. Since
then, the servants of the Company had been steadily try-
ing to usurp the fertile land of Ayodhya. Having first
compelled the Nabob of Oudh to keep English regiments
in his pay for 'protecting' him, they obtained from him
in return Rs. 16 lakhs (£160,000) per annum as the pay
for these regiments. By such forced protection and volun-
tary compulsion, the treasury of the Nabob was rapidly
emptied ; and then the English suggested to the Nabob
(it was a veiled command) that a replacing of all the
native army of the Nabob by English regiments would be
a valuable step towards the effectual 'protection' of the
principality. A treasury which could not afford to
pay even the pay of the "subsidised troops" could certain-
ly not pay the salaries of the "additional" troops forced
on the Nabob, and the English thoroughly knew this
fact. Indeed, the additional demand was made because
the English knew this fact. At last it was forced (most
42

AYODHYA
unwillingly !) upon the notice of the Company that, if
the Nabob had an empty treasury, he had at least a tract
of territory and, so, with the sole object of looking after
the welfare and well-being of the Nabob, the Company
deprived him, at once and for ever, of a territory yielding
a net revenue of about two crores of Rupees (£2,000,000)
and forced him to accept the services of this extensive
army of English soldiers. This territory was the land of
Rohilkhand and the Doab.
After robbing all this land from the territory of Oudh,
the English signed an agreement that, as the Nabob had
surrendered all and every right over this tract of land, the
rest of the territory belonging to the Nabob should remain
hereditarily in the family of the Nabob. Another article
in the treaty provided that the Nabob should not oppress
his subjects. After this treaty which was concluded in
1801, the Nabob was made to advance to the Company,
whenever they wanted financial aid, crores of Rupees. The
whole kingdom of Oudh was in the hands of the Com-
pany's army officers, the treasury became empty by forced
loans and contributions, and it was impossible for the
Nabob to administer his territory independently or to
introduce internal reforms. But the philanthropic Com-
pany kept on urging upon him, pointing to the articles in
the treaty of 1801, to alter his administration so as to
make his subjects happy and contented. How was it pos-
sible for the Nabob to do so? The Company thwarted
all his efforts to reform the finances. Those old laws in the
kingdom which ensured the happiness of the people were
abolished by the Company and new ones were introduced.
The subjects suffered so much in consequence of these new
laws that even the Company had to acknowledge its mis-
take and did do so ten years after. Thus, while on the
one hand the Company unlawfully interfered in the inter-
nal administration of the kingdom, on the other hand it
insisted that the subjects of the Nabob should have
no complaints. They first made him empty his treasury
Published by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2014.
43

THE VOLCANO
to satisfy their exorbitant demands ; and when, to satisfy
their further demands which they insisted on being satis-
fied at once, the Nabob taxed his subjects, down comes
the Company on the Nabob’s poor devoted head and
charges him with maladministration, because, forsooth, the
subjects complained against the new taxes. The Nabob’s
administration was thus paralysed, but, at the same time, if
by any chance the people, with one voice, rose against the
injustice and attempted to get a reform of the constitution,
English bayonets and swords of the “ subsidised ” troops
were ever ready to smother the united voice of the nation.
And still, the Company persisted in requiring that there
should be no complaints in the kingdom ! Thus, while
on the one hand they rendered it more and more impos-
sible either for the Nabob or the people to reform the
administration in any way, on the other hand their strict
and persistent demands for a better administration grew
steadily louder and louder ! “ As a matter of fact, the true
and effectual way for the introduction of an administra-
tion which would render the people happy would have
been to call the British Resident back and to give the
Nabob a free hand in the administration of his dominion.
Thus, the whole guilt of the unrest in his territory rests on
the head of the Company.” ¹ Such is the clear and un-
mistakable evidence of Lord Hastings. But in spite of
this, the Company threatened that, if the Nabob did not
render his administration conducive to the happiness of
his subjects, the Company would consider it a violation
of the treaty of 1801.
This treaty of 1801 was cancelled and the Nabob entered
into a fresh agreement in 1837. This treaty im-
paired the authority of the Nabob considerably, but he
signed the new agreement simply with the intention of
rescuing himself from the cunning treaty of 1801. In the
year 1847, Wajid Ali Shah succeeded to the throne of

1. Charles Ball’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, p. 152.
   44

AYODHYA
Oudh. This new Nabob determined from the first to des-
troy the poisonous white worm which was killing the life
out of the state, and with that object began reforms in the
army which was the life of the kingdom. This youthful
prince introduced strict regulations as to the discipline
of the Sepoys and even personally supervised their drill.
All the regiments had to undergo the drill every morning
before the Nabob, who used to dress in the uniform of
the commander-in-chief of the troops. He issued strict
orders that every regiment that was late in presenting
itself on the parade ground should be liable to a fine of
Rs. 2000 (£200) and he, at the same time, bound him-
self to pay the same amount as fine if he himself failed
in this duty.²
The Company, of course, could not bear to see the
Nabob develop his strength. The British Resident, there-
fore, in a short time forced the Nabob to give up these
military activities and at the same time suggested that,
if he so desired to increase the strength of the army, the
Company was quite willing to increase the “ subsidiary ”
force ; the only condition they would impose being that
the Nabob should, every year, pay a further additional
sum towards its expenses and upkeep. The hotblooded
Nabob was quite indignant. But he was forced to give
up his darling scheme of military reform and was reduced
to complete inactivity. Yet, the benevolent East India
Company went on arguing that the Nabob should render
his administration happy to his subjects.
But now, the Nabob need not even think as to how to
render his rule happy. For Lord Dalhousie has arrived
in India with the express and benevolent object of taking
upon himself (as representative of the E. I. Coy.) all the
responsibility for the good administration of all the inde-
pendent states of India. With his keen political insight,
2. Native Narratives of the Mutiny by Metcalfe, pp. 32-33.
45

THE VOLCANO
Lord Dalhousie soon realised that the treaty of 1837 was,
as a matter of fact, a great blunder. For in the annulment of
the old treaty was lost a very strong and a very hypercriti-
cal reason for the annexation of the independent princi-
pality of Oudh. The article in the treaty of 1801, demand-
ing that the Nabob should rule for the happiness of his
subjects, was an incontrovertible argument for annexing
Oudh at the sweet will of the Company. How could this
mistake of 1837 be repaired ? Why, by simply denying
the fact that the treaty was ever entered into. Without any
indirect methods, the Nabob was informed that no such
treaty as the one of 1837 was ever entered into. A short
time after the treaty of 1837, the English, as it would
appear, remembered the treaty perfectly well. Indeed in
1847, Lord Hartington had publicly and unmistakably
acknowledged this treaty. Col. Sleeman in 1851 had fur-
ther testified to the treaty. Nay, in that very year 1853,
not only was mention made of this treaty, but it was
actually appended to the list of the existing treaties in the
Company's records for that year !³ So the English
denied, aye, altogether, that there was ever any such
treaty ;—the very existence of a treaty which they had
acknowledged just a minute before was denied by them
even before the pen which had written the acknowledg-
ment had been laid down ! And thus, Wajid Ali Shah
was informed that the Company would consider it neces-
sary to take over the administration of his kingdom if he
did not introduce the happy regime !
But it must not be forgotten that all these important
issues had been decided on long before Dalhousie even
reached the shores of Hindusthan. All his predecessors,
moved by unholy designs, had prepared the way to swal-
low this province, and their endeavours, characterised by
low cunning, had almost succeeded. To Dalhousie was
reserved the last act of consummation, the last stroke of
3. Dalhousie's Administration, Vol. II, p. 367.
46

AYODHYA
policy, and this absorbed all his attention. It would have
been out of the question to “ conquer ” Oudh by sending
an expedition into the territory as was done in the case
of the Panjab or Brahmadesh (Burma), for as yet not a
single man in the Oudh territory was for the English.
The charge that the Nabob did not carry out the friendly
intentions he professed was also out of the question, for
had not the Nabob helped the English on all occasions,
when help was needed ? And had not the Nabob freely
supplied the English with money from his pocket ? Had
he not supplied the English even with provisions, when
they were pressed hard in many of their campaigns ?
Nor could there be any excuse, as in the case of Nag-
pur, that the Nabob had no direct heir ; the palace was
full of the Nabob’s legitimate children. Nor was there
trouble about adoption as in the case of Jhansi, for the
present king was the legitimate son of the late king and
had, further, sat on the throne for years. In short the
Nabob of Oudh had not committed any of the above
“ crimes ” which cost other princes their kingdoms. But
though the Nabob had thus avoided every other “ crime ”,
still the demented fool had committed one unpardonable
crime ! What crime could cry louder than this, that the
land of Oudh was very fertile, teeming with crops and rich
in every way ? Even the dry language of the Blue Book
has broken forth into poetic eloquence when describing
the beautiful and rich land of Oudh !
The Blue Book says :—“ In this beautiful land, every-
where within twenty feet, and in some places even within
ten feet, of the surface, there is a plentiful supply of
water. This splendid tract is most charming, nodding
with whole forests of tall and towering bamboo trees,
cooled by the shade of mango trees and green with rich
and verdant crops. The deep shade of the tamarind, the
fragrance of the orange trees, the rich hue of the fig
trees, and the sweet all-pervading scent of the pollen of
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THE VOLCANO
flowers lend an additional glory to a scene naturally
beautiful ! ”
That no wise Englishman should hesitate to pull down
a Nabob who was guilty of such an enormity as
possessing such a beautiful tract of territory all for him-
self, Dalhousie realised but too well and so, in the year
1856, the fiat went forth that Oudh was to be annexed.
And what was the reason alleged ? Of course this, that
the Nabob was not reforming his administration.
But, England couldst thou justify thy rule over India
for a day, if thou acknowledgedst the plea of unrest
and maladministration as sufficient ? There is the vice
of opium-eating in China, absolute rule in Afghanisthan,
why, under thy very nose Russia has reached a climax of
lawlessness and tyranny ; yet couldst thou dare for that
reason to drag the Chinese Emperor and the Amir and
the Tsar from their thrones and annex their kingdoms ?
How couldst thou acquire the right of gagging the mouth
of your neighbour and binding his hands and feet and
taking possession of his house, because, forsooth, he kept
his things not quite in proper order ? Even the treaty of
1801 did not give the Company the right of annexing
Oudh, under any circumstances. And was not that very
absence of good administration, at which the Company
pretended so much indignation, a thing brought about by
their own agency ? Arnold, the biographer of Dalhousie
and the historian of his regime, asserts that the Nabob of
Oudh was guilty of many a crime besides that ! In the
first place, he used to give presents of shawls to his ser-
vants of either sex ; further that he had a fireworks display
on the 11th of May ; why, more—one morning he urged
Shah Begum and Taj Begum to a dinner ! What more
horrible crime could he commit ? All thanks to the Eng-
lish who bore patiently such gross acts on the part of the
Nabob as taking medicinal drugs in the mornings, and
desisted from dethroning him ! But the patience of the
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AYODHYA
English could endure no more ! For, one day the Nawab
was present when some stallions were let on the mares
for breeding purposes.
It is a wonder that malicious as the English historians
were, trying hard to noise far and wide the incapacity
of the Nabob for good administration, by such silly,
trifling accusations, they should have taken the trouble
to come to Hindusthan to witness such occurrences as
these. Even in their own country, throughout the various
royal palaces, they could have gathered enough material
of worse nature ; and in that case, their time would cer-
tainly have been more profitably employed in annexing
and confiscating the estates of their own princes and lords,
in order to put an end to violations and outrages of a far
more nefarious kind !
As soon as the British Resident received the order that
the Nabob should be informed of the decision of
Dalhousie—a lasting stain on his regime—the Resident
went to the Nabob's palace and began to insist that the
Nabob should sign a document stating that he was per-
fectly willing to give over his dominions to the Company.
The Nabob read the document and flatly refused to sign.
To make the Nabob sign this document, the Resident
began attempts to bribe the Ranee and the Vizier and the
threat was also given that a refusal by the Nabob to sign
the document would result in even his pension being
stopped. The Nabob was overwhelmed with grief at this
and began even to weep. But it was of no use. Seeing at
the end of three days that the refusal was still persisted
in, the British army, insolently setting aside the Nabob's
authority, entered Lucknow and took forcible possession
of the whole Ryâsat, including his palace. The Zenanas
were looted, the Begums were insulted, the Nabob was
hurled from the throne, palaces were turned into stables
for the soldiers of the English and thus began a happy
beginning of the good administration of the so-far-badly-
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