AFTER declaring her Independence on the 11th of May, the city of Delhi had been busy in organising the wild storm, that such a bold step has raised into a systematised revolution. By restoring the Emperor of Delhi to the ancient throne of the Moguls, the citizens of Delhi had already created a nucleus mighty enough, by the very prestige of its name, to sustain the struggle of a people’s liberation. But this restoration of the old Mogul was a restoration, neither to the old power nor to the old prestige, nor to the old traditions. Though the raising of the old Bahadur Shah to the Emperirship of Hindusthan was, in a narrower sense, a restoration to him of his ancient throne, still in a wider and truer sense, it was no restoration at all. For, the Mogul dynasty of old was not chosen by the people of the land. It was thrust upon India by sheer force, difnified by the name of conquest, and upheld by a powerful pack of alien adventures and native selfseekers. It was not this throne that was restored to Bahadur Shah today. No, that would have been impossible; for, such thrones are conquered and not received. That would have been suicidal; for, then, it would have been in vain that the blood of hundreds of Hindu martyrs had been shed in the three or four centuries preceding. Ever since the rising power of Islam left its native wilds of Arabisthan and went conquering East and West, irresistible and unchallenged, country after country and people after people had been made to prostrate in submission of Islam. But the unopposed wave was opposed, for the first time in the land of Bharat, with such strenuous, uncompromising, and undaunted tenacity as could be found only very rarely
in other histories. For more than five centuries the struggle continued; for more than five centuries the Hindu civilisation had been fighting a defensive war against the foreign encroachment on its birth-rights. From the death of Prithvi Raj right up to the death of Aurangzeb, the war was without a truce. And in the midst of this gory struggle of countless years, a Hindu power arose in the western mountains of Bharat Varsha which was destined to fulfil the mission of the innumerable dead, who fell fighting in protecting the honour of the race. From out of Poona, a Hindu prince Bhausahib - advanced with a mighty host, captured the throne of Delhi, and vindicated the honour of the Hindu civilisation; the conqueror was conquered and India was again free, the blot of slavery and defeat being wiped off. Hindus again were masters of the land of trhe Hindus.
So, in the truer sense, we said that the raising of Bahadur Shah to the throne of India was no restoration at all. But rather it was the declaration that the longstanding was between the Hindu and the Mahomedan had endedd, that tyranny had ceased, and that the people of the soil were once more free to choose their own monarch. For, Bahadur Shah was raised by the free voice of the people, both Hindus and Mahomedans, civil and military, to be their Emperor and the head of the War of Independence. Therefore, on the 11th of May, this old venerable Bahadur Shah was not the old Mogul succeeding to the throne of Akbar or Aurangzeb - for that throne had already been smashed to pieces by the hammer of the Mahrattas - but he was freely chosen monarch of a people battling for freedom against a foreign intruder. Let, then, Hindus and Mahomedans send forth their hearty, conscientious, and most loyal homage to this elected or freely accepted Emperor of their native soil on the 11th of May, 1857!
And from far and near, the loyal homage did come to the Delhi monarch, from many Rajas, many regiments, and many of the chief cities of Hindusthan. The different regiments that had risen at different placed in the Panjab, Ayodhya, Neemuch, Rohilkhand, and many other places, marched on to Delhi with their flags and banners, and tendered their services to the
venerable Bahadur Shah as the accepted head of the Revolution. Many regiments again brought whatever treasuries they had looted from the possession of the English Government on their way to Delhi and faithfully handed them over to the treasury of the Emperor. A proclamation was at once issued, addressed to the whole of Hindusthan, declaring that the foreign domination and the rule of the Feringhis had come to and end and that the whole nation was free and liberated. It exhorted the people to rise to a man to complete this Revolution so promising in its beginning, and warned them that the sole motive that should dominate them in this fight should be a self-denying, spiritual fervour and a consciousness of a divine duty. “Let it be known that the only inducement we can hold forth is that of Dharma alone. Let all those to whom god has granted determination and will, renounce the hope of property and of life and join us in this cause of our ancient faith. If the people sacrifice their private interest for the public good, the Englishmen will be exterminated from our land. It should be known that no one dies before his time and, when his time comes, nothing can save him. Thousands of men are carried off by cholera and other diseases; while, to be killed in a war of Dharma is martyrdom. And it is the duty of every man and woman to kill or expel every Feringhi from the land of Hindusthan. Let zeal for religious duty alone be the motive of those who join me, and not any worldly aspiration, though they who rise for the faith get happiness in this world too!”
These extracts are from the different, and sometimes similar, Proclamations published in Oudh and Delhi. Another Proclamation was issued from the throne itself and was most widely published all over India. Even in the farthest south were found copies passing from hand to hand, in the bazaars and in the army. It insisted : “To all Hindus and Mahomedans! We, solely on account of religious duty, have joined with the people. Whoever shall, in these times, exhibit cowardice or credulously believe the promiseds of the English impostors, will be very shortly put to shame and receive the reward for their fidelity to England which the rulers of Lucknow
got. It is further necessary that all, Hindus and Mahomedans, unite in this struggle and, following the instructions of some respectable leaders, conduct themselves in such a way that good order may be maintained, the poorer classes kept contented, and they themselves be exalted to rank and dignity. Let all, as far as it is possible, copy this Proclamation and fix it in some prominent place, escaping detection if prudence requires it, and strike a blow with the sword before giving circulation to it!”
Soon after the general declaration of war against the English power, the Revolutionaries at Delhi began to manufacture the arms and ammunition necessary for its continuation. A big factory of cannon, guns, and small arms was started, and some Frenchmen were employed to supervise the manufacture. Two or threebig ammunition depots were also opened and many maunds of gun-powder begs to be prepared by people working day and night. A general order was issued prohibiting the slaughter of kine throughout the country and, when once some fanatic Mahomedans wanted to insult the Hindus by declaring Jehad against them, the old Emperor, seated on an elephant and with all his Imperial officers, went in a procession through all the city declaring that the Jehad was against the Feringhis alone! Anyone found killing a cow was to be blown up or his hand cut off. Different regiments were named after the different princes of the palace. Some Europeans, too, were to be seen fighting on the side of the Revolutionaries against the English power.
The position which the English had occupied after the battle of Bundel-ki-Serai was very nicely suited to their military operations. The long range of hills, styles by the English as the Ridge, which almost touched the fortifications of Delhi at one of its extremeties and extended to the river Jumna four miles ahead, had, owing to its height, a special advantage from the military point of view. For the Ridge, being higher than the surrounding level by fifty or sixty feet, offered a fine position for the guns so as to keep up a continuous and effective cannonade. Again, this Ridge had at its back the wide canal of the Jumna which, owing to the heavy rains of the year,
was copiously supplied with water even in this month of June. Being at their back, this canal was free from attacks of the enemies of the English power, and now especially so; for, the Panjab, which would have been the greatest terror to the English had it attacked them from their rear as Delhi had been doing from their front, had now declared in favour of the British. The Rajas of Nabha, Jhind, and Patiala rendered an immense service to the English people by guarding all the highways to the Panjab and, thus, facilitating the transport of corn, men, and ammunition from the Panjab into the English camp. This combination of circumstances, unfortunate for India, rendered the situation extremely favourable to the English. High and lowering hills, behind them a plain for the whole army to encamp beyond the range of the enemy’s fire and, at the same time, escape the detection of the enemy’s scouts, water living and inexhaustible so closely running, the great highways to the Panjab all open, at hand, and protected, and the back guarded by the constant watch of the loyal Panjab states at their own cost - all these circumstances heightened the confidence of the British commander, Barnard, who along with his officers was of the opinion “Now, to take Delhi is not the work of even a day!”
And if it is not even one day’s work to take Delhi, then, why spend two for it? Why should we not reduce this sinful, treason-loving city to dust by ordering these English soldiers to pounce upon it just this very minute? The Panjab is the backbone of our army and when that is so strong in loyalty, why should we try to take Delhi by these weak tactics of prolonged siege? Would it not be better and nobler to rush straightway against that wretched city and crush it at the very first onslaught? Let our army be divided; let one of these divisions blow up this Lahore gate, let another pull down that Kabul gate, let many others rush simultaneously into streets of the city with a torrent-like rush and, taking post by post, let us all march on straight against the palace without the loss of a moment! Wilberforce Greathed and Hodson - warriors like these are longing for this bold and straight onrush, and have taken upon themselves even the entire
responsibility of carrying it out to a successful termination. Then, there need be no hesitation at all. So on the 12th of June, General Barnard issued secret orders for the assault. It was all settled who should gather, where the gathering should take place, and when and how the different divisions should start under the cover of night, who should command the right and who the left. All these and many other details of the attack were settled and fixed and, now at two o’clock in the morning, the English army began to debouch itself on the parade ground which was fixed as the secret rendezvous. When it is certain that to-morrow’s night will give us the chance of sleeping in the royal palace itself, who is so foolish as to grudge, to-night, a few hours’ loss of sleep? Unlikely, indeed, but unfortunately true! For it happened that, at the proper hour, some parts of the army were found missing. Brigadier Graves thinks it rashness to begin the assault on Delhi in this fashion and it is even suggested by many others that such a scheme would be fatal to the British power itself all over India. Therefore, the dreams of the quick success and straight attacks, indulged in by the British army, had to be realised that night not in the palace of Delhi but on the camp-beds alone.
The next morning, Willberforce Greathead again drew up a scheme for the future attack and sent it to the commander, Barnard, for reconsideration of the same. General Barnard, though a famous warrior known much in the Crimean campaigns, yet had been suspected of a very halting and hesitating mind. He called a council of war, on the 14th of June, to consult his chief officers on the subject of the assault. Even after the bold and eloquent advocacy by Greathead of a straight assault, the other officers could not feel confident of its success, and they urged further that even assuming that the assault would result in success, still, it would be much waste of energy and prestige as an actual defeat. The straight assault might carry Delhi - yet, how to hold it? How many English soldiers were likely to survive the constant cannonade of the Revolutionaries from street to street and from house to house? Barnard himself was most diffident of the issues.
After all this discussion, the war council agreed - simply to disagree! And thus, even like the night-dream of the 12th of June, passed away this day- dream of the 15th of June, leaving “the straight assault” and “the bold rush” still in their theoretical existence and excellence. This council of war again sat, on the 16th of June; but that ended in a worse division of opinion and diffidence of mind. For, as the English commander was planning thebold and straight assault on the city of Delhi, there, on the other side, into the city of Delhi were pouring fast new hearts, new treasuries, and new energy. And the Revolutionaries, leaving the defensive policy which they had up to this time observed, began to assume the offensive as well, made frequent sorties, and attacked the British army from different sides and with varying success.
The regiments that had risen all over India had been, all the while, pouring into Delhi with their treasuries, arms, and ammunition and left no anxiety in the Revolutionary camp as to the provisions of war or to the number of Sepoys. And so, it was quite natural that the Revolutionary army should assume the aggressive and pin the English army to its place by not allowing it to move onwards even by a single step. After making a bold attack, after a slight or even a bloody skirmish or encounter , without themseves suffering any heavy losses, the Indian army would retire into the city. By this harassing policy, the Revolutionary army kept the English in constant check and prevented them from assuming the offensive. On the 12th of June, they issued out of the city and, concealing themselves in threes and low grounds, advanced as far as within fifty yards of the English front and attacked them before they were aware of their presence. The English lost many artillerymen and Knox himself was killed by a Sepoy who deliberately aimed at and shot him. Simultaneously with this, another division of the Sepoys attacked the English rear, and there a hot encounter took place. Even on the right of the English army, the post called “Hindu Rao’s house” was most vigorously attacked by the Sepoys. “A detachment of native irregular cavalry, on whose loyalty the English had relied, went over to the enemy.
And so sudden was the retrograde movement that the greater number of them escaped from the first of our guns which were turned upon them as soon as their treachery was disclosed.“1 Major Reid who was in charge of this place says: “They went to the front just as if they were going to charge; but no sooner had they closed than, to my horror, I saw them mix up with the enemy and walk off with them. Immeidately I saw this, I ordered the guns to open upon them but the wretches were too far off and I don’s think that more than half-a-dozen were killed.”
After this assault, every day saw the Revolutionaries issuing from out the city and every evening saw them retiring back into the city. Any regiment that newly came into the city had to go out and attack the enemy the very next day. On the 13th of June, Hindu Rao’s house was again attacked; the 60 regiment (the same that joined the Revolutionaries on the 12th) was conspicuous in the day’s action. Major Reid writes that they “marched up the Grand Trunk Road in columns of sections right in front and led the attack headed by the Sirdar Bahadur of the regiment, who made himself very conspicuous, calling out to the men to keep their distance as he intended to wheel to his left. They fought most desperately. The Sirdar Bahadur was killed by his orderly, Lall Singh. I took the riband of India from his breast and sent it to my wife.” On the 17th of June, the Indian army tried to erect a battery on the Idga building, which would have completely enfiladed the Ridge. Seeing this, Major Reid and Henry Tombs attacked the Revolutionaries from both sides and pressed upon them with irresistible force. But the handful of brave Revolutionaries who had been entrapped in this
1 Kaye’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, page 411. building did not surrender at all. When they could
no longer discharge volleys of shots, they threw away their guns, drew out their swords, and fell
fiercely on the British foe. They did not allow the enemy to occupy the Idga building, until
every one of them was killed and fell fighting at his post!
On the 18th of June, the Sepoys who had rebelled at Nasirabad came to Delhi, and delivered over the treasure that they had brought with them to the royal authorites; and their representatives were redeived by the Emperor himself in the palace; and they were treated with due honour and respect. At the Durbar, the representatives of the Sepoys of this regiment took oath to attack the English army on the 20th of June. Accordingly, the morning of the 20th of June saw the hosts of Revolutionaries leaving the gates of the city and marching towards the foreign foe. In order to attack the English forces on their rear, the Sepoys stole forth through Sabzi Mundi and, taking the English by surprise, they opened fire with terrible effect and advanced against the English. Scott, Money, Tombs, and other English officers tried their utmost by heavy cannonading to stop the onslaught, but the tenacity with which the Indian army pushed on was irresistible. The brigade from Nasirabad pushed on with such destructive force that the brave Tombs cried out, through supreme despondency, “Run on,
Daly, run on! Or my cannon are lost to the enemies!” Daly did come on with the Indians of the Panjab but, in a short time, was sent back by the Revolutionaries with a bullet lodged in his shoulder. As the evening approached, the Revolutionaries decidedly got the upper hand. Again, they pressed on, nay, almost captured the British guns. The 9th lancers and the loyal Panjabees, though they more than once came rushing against them, had to retire precipitately. The night set in, but the field was still hotly contested. The English did their best but could do nothing further than to save their cannon. Lord Roberts writes : “The mutineers routed us.” Hope Grant had a horse killed under him, himself was terribly wounded, and, but for the loyaltyof a Mahomedan horseman standing near by, would have been killed in a minute. Such fighting continued till the middle of the night, but still the advance of the Sepoys could not be checked, and so, at last, the English retired from the battlefield and left the Revolutionaries in complete and victorious possession of an important position at the rear of the British camp! That night the British commander could not sleep for anxiety. For, had the Revolutionaries retained the possession they had so bravely won, they would have completely cut off the British communications with the Panjab. To avoid this evil, the British, early in the morning, were preparing to offer a further resistance to the victorious Swadeshi army. But owing to the want of ammunition and further additions to their numbers, the Sepoys retired into the city, leaving the English to take possession of the ground they had vacated. The news of this battle and the dogged march of the Sepoys had encouraged the Delhi people and, the canon on the wall being of long range, they kept up a constant and unceasing fire on the British army. These onslaughts of the Delhi army effectively prevented the British army from assuming the offensive, by constantly compelling them to be themselves on the defensive. And the difficulty which the English found even in maintaining the ground they had occupied made it impossible for them to advance even a step further without receiving new succour from the Panjab. And, to add to all these difficulties rose to-day - the 23rd of June, 1857!
This 23rd of June of 1857 is the centenary of the battle of Plassey! It was on this day that, a hundred years ago, in the gamble for empires the Indian dice proved unlucky on the battlefield of Plassey. One hundred years have passed, each adding new insults and new shame to those previously inflicted! To settle this standing account of a century of degradation, to wash off these national insults and this national shame by torrents of blood - this is the fierce desire that gleams in the eyes of all the Sepoys in the city of Delhi. Through every breeze of the wind and through every ray of the sun, through every thundering roar of the cannon and through every clashing of the sword, comes forth a deep rumbling voice, “Plassey! The Vengeance of Plassey!” As soon as the dawn announced the hundredth anniversary of the woeful field of Plassey, the Revolutionary forces began to pour out of the Lahore gates of the city. The English people, too well aware of the fact that this day would tax their energies to the
utmost, were quite prepared and had already drawn up their soldiers in battle-array even before the day rose. Nay, through this very anxiety, they requested the Government of the Panjab to send them help, which fortunately for them, did arrive on the eve of this day. This news of the arrival of fresh troops from the Panjab infused the English with great confidence. But, neither this news of the reinforcements which the English received nor the discovery of the fact that the British had already destroyed the bridges leading to their rear would stop the enthusiasm of the Revolutionaries. They rushed on through the Sabzi Mundi and began to open fire on the British. The British infantry led charge after charge, but the Revolutionists repulsed them as often as they sallied forth. The artillery from the walls of the city was doing its work with equal vigour. Hindu Rao’s house, too, was receiving its share of attention from the Revolutionaries. At twelve in the noon, the battle was raging hottest. The Revolutionaries led attacks after attacks on the Panjabee division, the Gurkha battalion, and the white troops of the British. Major Reid says: “The mutineers, about twelve o’clock, made a most desperate attack on the whole of my position. No man could have fought better. They charged the rifles, the guides, and my own men again and again and, at one time, I thought I must have lost the day.“2
That one of the bravest English officers, fighting on the very spot, should write these words testifies to the fierceness and strength of the attacks of the Revolutionaries. Yet, they had no capable leader who could bring into a focus these scattered elements of fire and energy. The ardent desire to win back the liberty of the land and the remembrance of the national insult of Plassey were the only ties that could keep them coherent. Even the English artillery was in a great danger of being captured by the Indian army and, at last, the chief officer, Colonel Welshman, himself was shot dead while goading on his men! The whole day, every man in the English camp was fighting hard and now it seemed that they could no longer
2 Major Reid’s Siege of Delhi.
hold on. But still the British commander need not lose hope! For the fresh troops of the loyal Panjabees that had come this very morning are eager to try their chance! They were ordered to march on and, against this fresh attack of fresh soldiers, the Revolutionaries, who had unceasingly been fighting the whole day, had to enter into an unequal contest. However, till the night set in, the Revolutionaries fought on, greatly handicapped as they were. And then, the armies retired from the field, each party claiming the honour of a victory! So ended the centenary of Plassey in the defeat of neither, and both the armies entered their respective camps, filled with respect for each other’s courage and bravery.
Day after day, new troops were coming in on both sides. The English forces, after frequent reinforcements from the Panjab had by this time, risen to the number of seven thousand. On the other side, the regiments of Rohilkhand who had risen in revolt had reached Delhi, with Bakht Khan at their head. Lord Robert says : “The Rohilkhand army, having crossed the bridge of boats, began to enter the city through the Calcutta gate. We could clearly tee these thousands of Sepoys from the Ridge, entering the city with perfect discipline and drill playing martial tunes, and waving variegated flags and banners.” The only force that was able to unite to some extent these different regiments in Delhi was that of love of the principle alone. For, there could grow no organised and compact army from amongst these thousands of Sepoys of different castes and creeds who had never seen the faces of each other in their whole life and had been drifted together by a chance storm. In spite of the utmost efforts of the Emperor and
his councillors to stop looting and anarchy in the city, no day would pass without some complaint or other of the Sepoy lawlessness, or of looting, or of blackmail. In this state, the supreme need of the hour was a leader who could unite these innumerable and divergent forces into a unifying focus. The city of Delhi, in spite of the growth of the evil tendencies and vicious propensities in the men, so natural in an agitated time as this, had led attack after attack on the English army and had, at
least, held them in fear and check. It was the ardent desire amongst the soldiery and the citizens to drive away the foreign foe, that enabled them to do this. But to ensure ultimate success, it was imperatively necessary that this love of the abstract principle must be united with, and concentrated in, the ability of a great personality. It was, therefore, thought to be a Godsent when the brave Bakht Khan of Rohilkhand entered Delhi with his troops and treasury. The state of the public mind at Delhi, at the time of the arrival of Bakht Khan, is well descrfibed in the diary of one who was then living in Delhi. This extract, though meagre and casual, is taken here not only to give some account of this particular day but to give a general idea of the stateof Delhi and the course which events were taking. “The bridge of the Jumna is repaired; for, the arrival of the Rohilkhand troops is expected. The Emperor with a telescope viewed the approaching army of Rohilkhand while it was still far away. On the morning of the 2nd of July, Nabob Ahmad Kuli Khan, with all other nobles and citizens, went forth to receive the army of Rohilkhand. Hakeem Ahsanullah Khan, General Sanad Khan, Ibrahim Ali Khan, Gulam Kuli Khan, and other leavers, too, were present. Mahomed Bakht Khan, the commander of the forces of Rohilkhand, requested the Emperor to accept his services. When Bakht Khan pressed his request to know the desire of the Emperor, the Emperor said : ‘It is my ardent desire to see that the people are completely protected, that the security of life and property is maintained, and that the extermination of the British foe is triumphantly carried out.’ The general then said that, if the Emperor wished, he was ready to act as the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary forces. At this, the Emperor pressed the hand of the general with affection. Then, the different heads of the different regiments were called together and they were asked whether they would elect Bakht Khan as commander-in-chief. All of them voted ‘aye’ and took military oaths of obeying the general as their commander-in-chief. After the levee was over, the Emperor again granted a private interview to the general. All over the city, the order went forth that Bakht Khan would act as the commander-in-chief. He was presented with a shield, a sword, and the title of General. The Prince Mirza
Mogul was appointed adjutant-general. Bakht Khan informed the Emperor that, even if any of the princes of royal blood would continue looting in the city, he would not hesitate to cut off his ear and nose at once. The Emperor replied, ‘You are invested the supreme authority. Do whatever you think best, without the least hesitation’. The Kotwal of the city was ordered that if there was any row or looting through his negligence in the city he would be hanged. Bakht Khan reported that he had brought with him four infantry regiments, seven hundred cavalry, six horse guns, three field-pieces, etc., etc. As this part of the army had been given its pay for six months in advance and as the general had with him four lakhs of Rupees in cash, the Emperor was assured that he need have no anxiety about money or pay. Not only this, the Emperor was informed that further captures of money would at once be sent to the Royal Treasury. The emperor distributed sweet-meat worth four thousand Rupees amongst the Sepoys. The Sepoys of Agra, the regiments of Nasirabad, of Jallundhar, all are under the command of Bakht Khan. The general ordered that every citizen in the city should be armed. All householders and shopkeepers should keep arms. And those who had none should, at once, ask for them at the Supreme Thana and they would be given them free. But none should be found without arms. Any Sepoy who would be found looting would be deprived of his hand. Bakht Khan went to the armoury and, after examining it, got the arms and powder-magazines properly arranged. At eight in the night, the general went to the place. The Emperor, with Begum Zinad Mahal, Hakeem Ahsanullah Khan, and Ahmad Kuli Khan, discussed the state affairs. In the general parade on the 3rd of July, nearly twenty thousand Sepoys were present.“3
While the arrival of Bakh Khan was giving the Revolution in Delhi some sort of organisation, in the English camp too, men of energy and initiative were arriving from the Panjab and other places. The English government had very few men with them who could surpass, in energy or
3 Native Narratives by Metcalfe, page 60.
ability; the brave Brigadier-General Chamberlain who had just arrived from the Panjab. The famous military engineer, Baird-Smith, too, came there. All the men who distinguished themselves in the Sikh War were sent from the Panjab by John Lawrence to help the English army at Delhi. Then, General Barnard decided to try once more the “straight and bold” assault on Delhi which had been so many times thought of and given up in the last. Even as in the past, this assault too was perfectly planned. And on the 3rd of July, the English army, all the while standing ready to march, did begin to move - but, lo! Someone has just brought the news that General Bakht Khan was spared them all the trouble of marching on Delhi; for he himself has marched upon them! On the 4th of July, Bakht Khan again came forth and pressed on the English rear as far as Alipur itself!
That, the city of Delhi, about which the English had been openly boasting before the siege began that to see it was to conquer it, should not allow him even to take one step further on in spite of new forces pouring from the Panjab to his help, even after the constant struggle of a complete month, was too much of an anxiety and shame to the sensitive nature of Barnard. The English were so eager to take Delhi and so confident of their ability to do so that long before June had ended, the news of the fall of Delhi would reach Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras! And, no sooner did this usual news prove as usually groundless than the English people all over India would begin to ask each other, “What are the English forces doing at Delhi, at all?” This anxiety and shame were working on the mind of Barnard. And to this gloomy view of the past there could be seen nothing in the future but a still darker sequel! He was not allowed even a moment’s rest by the constant attacks of the Sepoys; nor could he fail to see that every day that rose was lessening the hope of carrying any bold or straight assault on the city of the Revolutionaries. At last, Barnard, the commander of the British forces, emaciated in body and eaten up in mind by this hopelessness and dark despair, fell an eary victim to cholera, on the 5th of July. This
came up like a shock over the English forces in the camp. This was the second commander of the English forces who tried to enter the city of
Delhi but succeeded only in entering the grave, instead! General Reed, now, took up the charge and became the third commander of the English forces!
While the British camp was busy in planning assaults, the people of Delhi were busy in actually carrying them out. All of them cannot be described here for want of space. Yet, the sortie of the 9th of July and again that of the 14th of July, and the doggedness with which the Revolutionaries fought, and the bravery with which the English and revolutionaries fought are too important and inspiring to be omitted without any remark. On the first day, the English cavalry was actually routed and driven back. The English artillery was silenced. A brave Sepoy threw Hill and his horse down on the ground. Hill, recovering himself, drew his sword, while three Sepoys jumped upon him. Hill tried to shoot twice and twice he missed, while one of the Sepoys succeeded in snatching away his sword. They closed in hand-to-hand fight; they struggles; down they came. Hill was lying on the ground and the Sepoy was standing with one foot planted on Hill’s breast and with sword drawn in his hand. Major Tombs saw this from a distance of nearly thirty feet; he aimed and shot at the Sepoy and killed him. Major Tombs raised Hill from the ground and began to move him off, but saw, to his utter dismay, that yetanother Sepoy had picked up the pistol of Hill and was coming towards him. The Sepoy, single-handed, fought with two or three Englishmen, wounded one with the sword, killed the second, and was himself struck down by the sword of a third. Tombs and Hill, both of them got the “Victoria Medal” for this brave encounter, and Sir John Kaye says that the brove Sepoy, too, ought to have got the “Bahadur Shah Medal”! How many must have deserved the Bahadur Shah Medal for their
brave martyrdom in that War of Independence! But this, too, is equally true, that those that are so brave and so self-sacrificing get, if not the Bahadur Shah medal, yet the nobler one, the Duty medal of Martyrdom, even from the hands of Death himself! On this day, the English soldiers were disgracefully routed! But unable to avenge this on the Revolutionaries, these brave people went back to their camp and wreaked their vengeance on the poor innocent bhishtis (water-carriers) and other Indians in their service, by actually cutting them down to death in cold blood!“4 And yet it was these bhishtis and others who had kept the English army in fighting condition! But the English were worsted still more terribly in the attack of the 14th of July. For, on this day, the brave Chamberlain was shot dead by a Sepoy. “The first warrior in our camp, the first in fame, the first in honour! Woeful the day when our Chamberlain was carried back to the camp wounded mortally! - " such is the language with which the English historians express the fullness of their grief at this their national loss.
Thus, the 15th of July passed off and still the proud towers of Delhi were carrying their flags and banners, resplendent in the rays of the sun, proclaiming to the world that the city had now become the abode of Freedom! At last, Reed himself resigned and retired to the Himalayan hills to avoid a sure death! This was the third commander of the English forces. Two were put into the grave; the third could survive simply by resigning the charge - still Delhi could not be taken! The chiefs of the staff, Quartermaster-General Becher and Adjutant-General Chamberlain were laid down in the camp expecting their death every moment - still Delhi could not
4 “It is related that, in the absence of tangible enemies, some of our soldiery, who turned out on
this occasion, butchered a number of unoffending camp-followers, servants, and others who
were huddling together, in vague alarm, near the Christian church-yard. No loyalty, no fidelity,
no patient good service on the part of these good people could extinguish, for a moment, the
fierce hatred which possessed our white soldiers against all who wore the dusky livery of the
East.” - Kaye and Malleson’s Indian Mutiny, Vol. II, p. 438.
be taken! Nay, even the question of self-defence is getting more and more hopeless by the constant and harassing attacks of the Revolutionaries who numbered, by now, more than twenty thousand! Even if the Revolutionaries lost more men in the encounters, yet the English could reap absolutely no advantage. But the death of even a handful of their number perceptibly weakened their strength. For this reason, the English determined to remain only on the defensive. For, defeats in these assaults could neither weaken the Revolutionaries nor put a stop to their further assaults. But, on the contrary, they grew more determined and fearless and did openly boast, “Even a success is costing the English as much as a defeat!” Even the English people themselves all over India began to write and criticise and complain that “the besiegers themselves are besieged!” And, when, in such straits, even the third commander retired, then, men like Greathead, Chamberlain and Rotton began to give up every hope of attacking Delhi and, in the headquarters itself, the question of actually raising the siege of Delhi began to be discussed! This was the state of the siege of Delhi when the third commander, Reed resigned and the fourth one, Brigadier-General Wilson, succeeded him in the command!