NANA Sahib Peshwa had been to Delhi towards the end of April and all were anxiously awaiting Sunday, the 31st of May, agreed upon as the day of rising. If the whole of Hindusthan had risen simultaneously on the 31st of May, history would not have had to wait longer than 1857 to record the destruction of the English empire and the victorious Independence of India. But the premature rising of Meerut benefited the English much more than the Revolutionaries.7 It is true that the spirited and patriotic women of the Meerut bazaars, who taunted the soldiers and goaded them on to release their comrades, have added one more honourable episode to our history. But the Meerut Sepoys, by their rising, unconsciously put their brethren in unforeseen confusion by warning the enemy beforehand!8 All the Sepoys at Delhi were Indian. They too had become restless since the heroic martyrdom of Mangal Panday. But the Emperor Bahadur Shah and
7 “It is certain, however, that if this sudden rising in all parts of India had found the English
unprepared but few of our people would have escaped the swift destruction. It would then have been the hard task of the British nation to reconquer India or else to suffer our Eastern empire to pass into an ignominious tradition.” Malleson, Vol. V. “The calamitous revolt at Meerut was, however, of signal service to us in one respect : inasmuch as it was a premature outbreak which disarranged the preconcerted plan of simultaneous mutiny of Sepoys all over the country, settled to take place on Sunday, the 31st of May, 1857.” - White’s History, page 17.
8 “From this combined and simultaneous massacre on the 31st of May,1857, we were, humanly speaking, saved by the frail ones of the bazaar. The mine had been prepared and the train had been laid, and it was not intended to light the slow match for another three weeks. The spark which fell from the female lips ignited it at once and the night of the 10th of May saw the commencement of the tragedy never before witnessed since India passed under British sway.” – J.C.Wilson’s Official Narrative.
the Empress Zinat Mahal had tactfully restrained them. Just at this moment, a message from the Meerut branch of the Society was delivered to the Delhi branch, “We are coming to-morrow; make the necessary preparations!” Hardly had this unexpected and strange message been delivered at Delhi when two thousand Sepoys were already on the march from Meerut, shouting, “Delhi! Delhi” Night herself was then sleepless. How could she sleep amidst the terrible noise produced by thousands of horses stamping and neighing, the clanging of swords and bayonets, and the fierce shouts and secret whisperings of the marching revolutionaries? When day dawned, the Sepoys were astonished to find that the Meerut artillery had not been following them. The Sepoys forgot all the fatigues of the night and, without losing a minute, marched on with vigour. Delhi is about thirty-two miles from Meerut. At about eight in the morning, the first part of the army was in sight of the sacred Jumna. Seeing the holy Humna which seemed, by its cool breezes, consciously to encourage the heroes bent on the holy work of Freedom, thousands of soldiers saluted her, shouting, “Jai Jumnaji!” Horses began to gallop on the bridge of boats leading to Delhi. But did the river Jumna understand their sacred mission? It was necessary to let her know this and get her blessings before marching on. Then, catch hold of that Englishman there walking along the bridge, and let his blood be poured into the dark Jumna! This blood will tell her the reason why these Sepoys are galloping so hurriedly towards Delhi!
After crossing the bridge of boats, the Sepoys were already at the walls of Delhi. Whedn the rumour reached the English officers, they collected the Sepoys on the parade-ground and began to treat them to lectures on loyalty. Colonel Ripley, with the 54th regiment started to opposed the Meerut Sepoys. The Sepoys of the 54th regiment told their Colonel when starting, “Show us the Sepoys of Meerut and we will then sede.” The colonel said “Shabash’ (Well done!) and the regiment marched towards the Revolutionaries. As they advanced, they saw the Meerut cavalry galloping towards the fort. Just behind the cavalry, there were also coming on, the infantry dressed in red garments and thirsty for English blood. As
soon as the two armies saw each other, they saluted; and the army of Delhi met that of Meerut on friendly
terms! When the Meerut army raised the cries of “Let the English rule be destroyed!” and “Long live the Emperor!”, the Delhi army replied by shouting, “Kill the Feringhis!” In a moment, Colonel Ripley, who, in confusion, began to shout, “What is this!”, “What is this!”, was riddled with bullets and fell down dead. All the English officers of the army of Delhi were similarly killed. After having thus sealed their patriotism with English blood, the horsemen of the Meerut cavalry descended and heartily embraced their comrades from Delhi! Just then the historic Kashmir gate of Delhi opened, and this army of the heroes of liberty entered the town of Delhi with the cries of “Din! Din!”
The second part of the Meerut army was also trying to enter Delhi by the Calcutta gate. The gate was first barred, but at the terrible knock of the Sepoys, it began to open slowly, and soon the watchman at gate joined the Sepoys with cries of “Din! Din!!” The Sepoys who entered by the Calcutta gate turned towards the bungalows of the English at Daryaganj, and the buildings there were all ablaze before long. Those Englishmen who escaped the fire succumbed to the sword. The English hospital was near by and it was found that it had given shelter to the English bottles! It is natural that the Sepoys were engaged at the temerity of this hospital, after it had seen the example of the bungalows of Daryaganj being razed to the ground for sheltering Englishmen! So they broke all bottles and after punishing the hospital, they began the hunt for English blood in all the houses of Delhi! But what is an army without a banner and what are mere cloth banners for an army like this? So, wherever an English head was found, it was stuck at the ends of lances, and with such terror-striking flags did the army push forward at a rapid pace!
In the royal palace of Delhi, Sepoys and townsmen were crowding together, shouting, “Victory to the Emperor.” Commissioner Fraser was entering the gates of the palace, wounded. A man called Nuzul Beg standing near him pierced him in the cheek. At the sign, all the Revolutionaries ran up the stair,
trampling Frazer down all the way up. The Sepoys did not stop there, trampling him, but went upstairs to the room in which Jennings and his family were living. An attempt was made by solmeone from inside to bolt the door, but a furious knock of the Sepoys burst it open. Jennings, his daughter, and a guest fell to the sword in an instant. Where is that Captain Douglas, who was running already dying with terror, all through the street of Delhi? Kill him, too! And this Collector hiding in the corner? Give him also leave of life! Well, now there is not a trace of Feringhi authority left in the palace of Delhi! Now, Sepoys, you can surely rest a while! Let the cavalry pitch their quarters in the palace, and let the Sepoys who had marched all night take a little rest in the palace in the Dewan-I-Khas.
In this way the palace of Delhi came into the hands of the army of the people, and the Emperor, the Empress, and the leaders of the Sepoys held a conference as to future plans. It was now evidently foolish to wait till the 31sl of May as previously arranged; so after a little hesitation, the Emperor decided openly to take the side of the Revolutionaries. As this was going on, a large part of the artillery of Meerut, who had also risen, arrived at Delhi. They entered the palace and gave a salute of twenty-one guns in honour of the Emperor and of freedom. The little hesitation that remained in the mind of the Emperor, even after the pleadings and arguments of the Revolutionary Sepoys, now completely disappeared after this thunder of cannon; and the hundred Imperial yearnings in his heart awoke with a flash. The leaders of the Sepoys, with their swords dipped in English blood, stood before the dignified and magnificent person of the Emperor, and said, “Khavind! The English are defeated at Meerut, Delhi is in your hands, and all the Sepoys and people, from Peshawar up to Calcutta, are awaiting your orders. The whole of Hindusthan had arisen to break the chains of English slavery, and to acquire their God-given independence. At this time, take up the flag of Liberty in your own hands, so that all the warriors of India may assemble to fight under it! Hindusthan has begun to fight to get back Swaraj and if you accept her leadership, in a moment, we will either drown all these Feringhi demons in the
oceans or give them as food to the vultures!“9 The Emperor grew spirited after hearing this unanimous and exciting eloquence on the part of the leaders, both Hindu and Mahomedan. The memories of Shah Jahan and Akbar rose before his mind’s eye, and a divine inspiration inflamed into his heard, that, rather than continue in slavery, it would be preferable even to die, in the attempt of liberating one’s country. The Emperor said to the Sepoys, “I have no treasury and you will get no pay!” The Sepoys replied, “We will loot the English treasuries all over India and lay them at your feet!“10 When the Emperor, at last, declared that he would accept the leadership of the Revolution, there was a thundering roar of applause in the vast multitude assembled in the palace!
While all this was going on in the palace, in the city outside there was terrible confusion. Hundreds of the citizens of Delhi took up any arms they could get hold of, and joined the Revolutionaries and were roaming about to kill any stray Englishmen in the streets. About twelve o’clock, the bank of Delhi was besieged. The family of Beresford, the manager of the bank, was killed, and the whole bank was demolished. The mob then turned to the printing office of the ‘Delhi Gazette.’ The compositors were busy setting into type the news from Meerut. Suddenly, there was a roar of “Din! Din!!” outside, and in a moment, all the Christians in the building were despatched. The types were thrown away, the machinery was smashed, and everything that was made impure by the touch of the Englishmen was destroyed. The great wave of Revolution then rushed on! But see the yonder church! Is it fair that it should hold its head high in the march of this Revolutionary War? From this very
Church have prayers gone forth to Heaven to perpetuate English dominion in India! Has this church preached once at least to its congregation that their dominion in India is a sin and a crime against liberty? On the contrary, this partisan church has sheltered under her wings these tyrants, to protect them and to look after their material more than their spiritual welfare. We have already got the reward for allowing this den of cruelty to be established in our midst, in the shape
9 Charles Ball’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. I, page 74. 10 Metcalfe
of cartridges mixed with cows’ and pigs’ blood! Run to that church! Why are you looking on? Smash that cross, take away those pictures from the walls, pound down that pew, and shout, “Din!” Every day the bells ring in the church. We shall, also, peal them on our way back. Peal on, bells, peal on! You are pealing so much to-day and still no Ednglishman comes to the church! How do you like to touch of these brown hands? Fall down on the ground! Our comrades are ready to trample you down! When all the bells fell down with a crash, the mob smiled to each other in a ghastly way and said to one another, “Kya tamasha hai!” “what fun!”
But there, on the other side, there was even a more ghastly scene taking place. There was a big arsenal of the English army near the palace. In this arsenal there was a vast quantity of ammunition useful for war. At least 900,000 cartridges, 8 to 10 thousand rifles, guns, and siege-trains were there. The Revolutionaries decided to capture this arsenal. But this work was not at all so easy. If the Englishmen in the arsenal were so inclined, they could kill a large number of the attacking force; they had only to light a match. It was thus very dangerous to attempt to capture the arsenal. Still, without it, the life of the Revolution was not safe for a moment; so thousands of Sepoys made ready to carry out the task. They sent a message in the name of the Emperor to the officers of the arsenal, asking them to surrender. But such paper messages never conquer kingdoms! Lieutenant Willoughby did not even condescend to reply to the note. At this insult, thousands of infuriated Sepoys began to mount the walls of the arsenal.
Within the walls were nine Englishmen and some Indians. When they saw the flag of the Emperor of Delhi flying on the Fort, the Indians speedily joined their comrades, and the nine Englishmen began to fight with the courage which despair gives. It was evident that the handful of Englishmen could not hold out long before the terrible onslaught of the Sepoys. They had already determined to blow up the arsenal in case all hope of saving it for England was gone; because they were not certain of their lives being spared even if they were willing to hand over the arsenal. On the other hand, the Sepoys also, in spite of a certainty of losing a large number if the arsenal was blown up, fiercely continued the assault. To their air came also hundreds of the citizens of Delhi. Suddenly the terrible boom and crash, as if of a thousand cannon, which both sides had been expecting every moment, rent the air, and volumes of flame and smoke went up to the skies! The nine English heroes, instead of handing over the arsenal to the enemy, set fire to it themselves and gave up their own lives. With that one crash, twenty-five Sepoys and about three hundred men in the neighbouring streets were literally blown to pieces ! But it was not in vain that the Revolutionaries, at last, got hold of the arsenal at the cost of so many men who fell victims in the blowing up of the arsenal. The Sepoys got a good store of arms, each getting four guns. As long as the vast arsenal was in English hands, the Indian Sepoys in the chief cantonment were under the English officers. True, they had refused to attack their brethren; but they did n ot also rise against the English, At about four o’clock in the evening, the thundering crash was heard which shook the whole of Delhi. The Sepoysin the cantonment suddenly came together and fell on the Englishmen, crying “Maro Feringhiko!” They killed Gorden Smith and Revely and, wherever an Englishman was found, he was killed. The national vengeance awakened after a century, crushed down men, women,children, houses, stones, bricks, watches, tables, chairs, blood, flesh, bones - anything that had any relation with the English! In the end, at the strict orders of the Emperor, many Englishmen were saved from massacre and made prisoners in the palace. But such was the popular fury against the Feringhi despots that, after a struggle of four or five days, the Emperor was compelled to hand over the fifty English prisoners to the mob! On the 16th of May, the fifty Englishmen were taken to a public maidan. Thousands of citizens, assembled to witness the scene, burst forth in imprecations against English rule and the faithlessness of the English. When the order was given, the Sepoys kills the fifty in a second. If any Englishman attempted to ward off a Sepoy’s sword and implored for mercy, loud cries of “Revenge for handcuffs!”, “Revenge for slavery!”, Revenge for the arsenal!”, would rise up, and the bent English head was soon severed from the body! The massacre of the English began on the 11th and ended on the 16th. In the meanwhile hundreds of Englishmen ran away from Delhi to avoid death. Some blackened their faces and disguised themselves as “the despised” Indians; some died of heat, while running away, in the woods and
forests; some learnt by heart the songs of Kabir and attempted to escape through the villages in the guise of Sanyasis; but were killed by the villagers when the disguise was seen through. Some were cut by the villagers as “Feringhis” when they sat down under the trees in fatigue after walking long, long distances; and a few with the assistance and hospitality of kindly villagers at last safely reached the English camp at Meerut. The hatred against English rule was so great that, at the news of the massacre of Delhi, hundreds of villages determined never to allow an Englishman to set foot within their limits. But in none of these villages, not even in Delhi itself was a single Englishwoman outraged.11 The fact is proved by the enquiries of the English themselves and is universally admitted by the English historians. And still what lies were not circulated in England by the English missionaries at that time? We have no hesitation in saying that nobody has ever dares to make false statements more mean, despicable, or wicked, than the false descriptions given, at the time, by English missionaries “from personal experience,” about the events at the time of the massacre! What can one think of the love of truth of a nation which allows its citizens to say falsely that English
11 “However much of cruelty and bloodshed there was, the tales which gained currency of
dishonour of ladies were, so far as my observation and enquiries went, devoid of any
satisfactory proof.” - Hon.Sir Wm. Muir, K.C.S.I., Head of the Intelligence Dept. These five
days will be ever memorable in the history of Hindusthan for yet another reason. Because these
five days proclaimed by beat of drum the end for the time being at any rate of the continuous
fight between the Hindus and Mahomedans dating from the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni. It
was proclaimed first that the Hindus and the Mahomedans are not rivals, not conquerors and
the conquered, but brethren! Bharatmata (Mother Ind) who was, in times past, freed from
Mahomedan yoke by Shivaji, Pratap Singh, Chattrasal, Pratapaditya, Guru Govind Singh, and
Mahadaji Scindia - that Bharatmata gave the sacred mandate that day, ‘Henceforward you are
equal and brothers; I am equally the mother of you both!” The five days during which Hindus
and Mahomedans proclaimed that India was their country and that they were all brethren, the
days when Hindus and Mahomedans unanimously raised the flat of national freedom at Delhi.
Be those grand days ever memorable in the history of Hindusthan!
women were made to walk about naked in the streets of Delhi, that they were outraged openly, that their breasts were cut, the small girls were outraged, and so on? And these were priests, too! The Revolution of 1857 did not take place because the Indians wanted white women! It was brought about, rather, to remove all traces of white women from India! In this manner, the storm raised by the violent ravings of the women of the Meerut bazaars, dug up, by the roots, in one stroke, the poisonous tree of slavery which had been standing in the country for a hundred years! The chief cause for this extraordinary success of the Revolutionaries in five days was the ardent desire among all classes of the people to get rid of English slavery. From the women of Meerut to the Emperor of Delhi, there was a strong desire in every heart to achieve Swaraj and protect religion. This desire had already been put into shape by the secret societies. Therefore was it that in five days the banner of Swaraj could be won on the historic capital of Hindusthan, Delhi. On the 16th of May, there was not even a trace left, in Delhi of English domination. Such was the hatred against things English that anyone who uttered a word of English was mercilessly thrashed! The rags of the English flag were being trodden down upon the streets; and the flag of Swaraj, from which the strains of slavery had been washed away by hot blood, was flying at the head of the Revolution! The wave of liberty rose so strong that in five days there was not even one traitor in the whole of
Delhi. Men and women, rich and poor, young and old, Sepoys and citizens, Moulvies and Pandits, Hindus and Mahomedans - all attacked the foreign slavery with their swords drawn under the banner of their country. It was on account of this extraordinary patriotism and love of freedom, and a confirmed hatred of the English, that the words of the women of Meerut could raise the throne at Delhi once more from the dust!