“We have maintained our power in India by playing off one part against the other and we must continue to do so. Do all we can, therefore, to prevent all having a common feeling.”

In order to put this strategy in operation, White rulers in league with their Indian stooges floated the two-nation theory implying that Hindus and Muslims belonged to ‘two separate nations’. The birth of the two-nation theory was no accident, in fact, it was specifically created to help the British in creating a communal divide and fragmentize the Indian society on the basis of religions. This was because any lasting unity of Hindus and Muslims could prove to be the death knell of their rule.

One truth, never to be missed, about this Struggle is that it was jointly led by leaders like Nana Sahib, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Maulvi Ahmed Shah, Tantya Tope, Khan Bahadur Khan, Rani Laxmibai, Hazrat Mahal, Azimullah Khan and Ferozshah, a galaxy of revolutionaries who belonged to different faiths. It was a liberation struggle in which Maulvis, Pandits, granthis, zamindars, peasants, traders, lawyers, servants, women, students and people from different castes, creeds and regions rose in revolt against the dehumanised rule of the East India Company and even laid down their lives.

On the eve of 163rd anniversary of War of Independence we need to tell the present flag bearers of both Hindu-Muslim brand of communal politics that the revolutionary army which declared the Mughal King Bahadur Shah Zafar, a Muslim, India’s Independent ruler on May 11, 1857 comprised of more than seventy percent Hindu soldiers, all armed. These were Nana Sahib, Tantya Tope and Laxmibai, all Hindus, played vital role in making Zafar, Badshah; the King once again.

The contemporary documents of the period which are available even today are replete with instances, not confined to one particular area, in which Hindus and Muslims could be seen making supreme sacrifices unitedly. The War of Independence categorically presented one fundamental truth that Hindu-Muslim separatism or hatred between these two communities was not at all an issue.

Ayodhya

After independence Ayodhya emerged as a place which has caused deep schisms between sections of Hindus and Muslims. The Babri Masjid-Ram Janmbhoomi dispute has played significant role in creating an environment of violence and mistrust between the two largest religious communities of India. But in 1857, it was the same Ayodhya where Maulvis and Mahants and common Hindu-Muslims stood united against the British rule and kissed the hangman’s noose together. Maulana Ameer Ali was a famous Maulvi of Ayodhya and when Ayodhya’s well-known Hanuman Garhi’s (Hanuman Temple) priest Baba Ramcharan Das took the lead in organising the armed resistance to the British rule, Maulana also joined the revolutionary army. In one battle with the British and their stooges, both of them were captured and hanged together on a tamarind tree at the Kuber Teela (now in Faizabad Jail) in Ayodhya.

This region also produced two more great friends, belonging to different religions who made life hell for the British sponsored armies. Achchan Khan and Shambhu Prasad Shukla, who jointly led the army of Raja Devibaksh Singh in the district of Faizabad. Both of them were able to defeat the Firangee army in many battles. It was due to the treachery again that they were captured. In order to desist anyone from such companionships between Hindus and Muslims both these friends were publicly inflicted prolonged torture and their heads were cruelly filed off.

It is not difficult to understand that why the same Ayodhya where blood of both Hindus and Muslims flowed for liberating the motherland in 1857 later became a permanent source of friction between the two communities. The joint heritage of Ayodhya needed to be erased if British rule was to survive. This was meticulously contrived by the British rulers and their henchmen turning the heritage of communal unity at Ayodhya upside down. Not surprisingly, the RSS-BJP rulers are replicating the same now.

Rajasthan

Kota state (now in Rajasthan) was ruled by a Maharao subservient to the British. The leading courtier, Lala Jaidayal Bhatnagar, a great literary figure, when he found that Maharao was collaborating with the British, he joined hands with the army chief, Mehrab Khan and established a rebel government in the state. When Kota was captured by the British forces with the help of stooge neighbouring princes, they together continued fighting in the region till 1859. Betrayed by an informer both were hanged at Kota on September 17, 1860.

Haryana

Hansi town (now in Haryana) presents another heart-warming example of how Muslims and Jains fearlessly challenged the foreign rule and did not hesitate in sacrificing their lives together. In this town lived two close friends, Hukumchand Jain and Muneer Beg. They were known as literary giants with a love for mathematics. The revolutionary government of Bahadurshah Zafar chose them as advisors and appointed them as commanders in the region of west of Delhi. They led many successful military campaigns in the area but due to the treachery of the native rulers of Patiala, Nabha, Kapurthala, Kashmir and Pataudi were defeated in a crucial battle and captured. The British highly perturbed by this kind of unity decided to kill them in a most brutal manner. After hanging them on the same tree in Hansi on January 19, 1858, Hukumchand Jain was buried and Muneer Beg was cremated against the custom of their respective religions. The obvious purpose was to make fun of the unity of these two revolutionaries belonging to two different religions and display a hatred towards their comradeship. Another unspeakable crime committed by the British was that when Faqir Chand, 13 year old nephew of Hukamchand Jain protested to this treatment he too was hanged, although there was no sentence passed against him.

Central India

Jhansi: We all are familiar with Rani Laxmi Bai’s heroic resistance to the British rule and her death fighting the British forces at Gwalior. She was able to put up such a great resistance with the able aid of her Muslim commanders; Ghulam Ghouse Khan (chief of artillery), Khuda Bakhsh (chief of infantry) both of whom were martyred defending Jhansi fort on June 4, 1858. Even her personal bodyguard was a young Muslim lady, Munzar who laid down her life with Rani on June 18, 1858 at Kotah-ki-Sarai battle in Gwalior.

Malwa: Malwa region in the then Central Province (now Madhya Pradesh) was another war theatre where big and crucial battles were fought against the British. The joint command of Tatia Tope, Rao Saheb (Pandurang Sadashiv), Laxmi Bai, Ferozshah and Moulvi Fazal-ul- Haq, was able to mobilise a huge rebel army of 70-80 thousand fighters. This army won innumerable battles against the British. However, in the crucial battle at Ranod –when due to the treachery of stooge princes the revolutionary army led by Tatia Tope, Ferozeshah and Moulvi were encircled– Moulvi Fazal-ul- Haq stood as a rock in the way of advancing British troops. He with his 480 brave companions laid down their lives on December 17, 1858, but were able to save the main force which included Tatia Tope, Rao Saheb and Ferozshah. Saved thus by the supreme sacrifice by Moulvi Fazl Haq and his comrades, Tatia Tope continued to wage war against the British until the beginning of 1859.

Rohilkhand

Present day Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Badaun and Bijnor was the area which was a strong hold of revolutionaries from the start. Immediately after the announcement of an independent Indian government at Delhi on May 11, 1857, Khan Bahadur Khanwas appointed as the viceroy of Mughal emperor there. Khan soon after assuming charge appointed a committee of eight members consisting both Hindus and Muslims to conduct the affairs of the state, his deputy being Khushi Ram. This government forbade cow-slaughter in deference to the sentiments of local Hindus. Khan and Khushi Ram led troops defeated the British and their stooges in many battles but were defeated in a crucial battle at Bareilly. Both of them were hanged with hundreds of their followers outside old Kotwali on March 20, 1860.

Delhi

The revolutionary army was led by a joint command consisting of Mohammed Bakht Khan, Azimullah Khan, Sham Singh Dooga, Sirdhara Singh, Ghouse Mohammad, Hira Singh and a ‘Doabi Brahmin’. Contemporary British documents show that despite all their attempts to create communal divide in the ranks of revolutionary army and residents of Delhi, Indians stood as one. In order not to let the British spies succeed in creating communal conflict amongst Delhites, General Bakht Khan, C-in-C of the revolutionary army prohibited cow slaughter. What kind of communal amity existed in Delhi under siege can be further known by the fact that when a huge canon of Shahjahan’s times which was lying unused was taken out, repaired and made useable, before firing the first canon, in the presence of Bahadur Shah Zafar and other army officials, Hindu priests performed the Aarti, garlanded it and blessed it with Vedic hymns.

Hindu-Muslim unity during the First Indian War of Independence was not confined to one area or one section of the population. This unity pervaded the whole country at all stratum. It was a ground reality and a fact of life with which, but naturally, women too, did not remain untouched. In a small town, Thana Bhawan, situated in Muzaffarnagar district (now in western Uttar Pradesh) 11 brave women belonging to different religions and castes were hanged together or burnt alive for taking up arms against repressive British rule.

The names and heroic deeds of some of them are unrivalled. Asghari Begum, 45 years old, belonged to a well-to-do family and was burnt alive for organising rebellion in the area. Another revolutionary woman, 28-year old, Asha Devi, who belonged to a Hindu Gujar family was also hanged. Another martyred woman was young Bhagwati Devi, born into a Tyagi family of farmers who fought in many battles against Firangee rule. 24 year old, Habeeba, belonging to a Muslim Gujar family, fearlessly fought in many battles to liberate neighbouring areas from British tyranny. She was captured while resisting a British attack and was executed on the gallows in 1857. Another brave woman from this area was named Mam Kaur who belonged to a family of shepherdess and was hanged at the young age of 25 years. Bhaktawari another brave woman from the region too laid down her life fighting the British rulers.  Twenty-six year old, Umda was another gallant woman from this area, born into a Jat Muslim family who sacrificed her life resisting the British invasion. Raj Kaur born in 1833, hailed from a Sikh family and made the supreme sacrifice of fighting against the British in the Thana Bhawan area.

The degree of communal unity among the rebels can further be known by going through the Rebel Anthem of 1857, penned by Azimullah Khan. It was in Urdu and reads:

Hum haeniss ke malik, Hindoostan hamaaraa/Paak watan hae qaum kaa Jannat se bhee piyaaraa.

[We are its owners, it belongs to us. It is our holy land, lovelier than paradise.]

Yeh hamaari milkiat Hindoostan hamaaraa/iss kee roohaniyat se Roshan hae jug saaraa.

[It is our Hindustan, our owned. The whole world sparkles with its spiritualism.]

Kitnaa qadeem kitnaa naeem, sab duniyaa se niyaraa/kartee hae zarkhez jisse Gang-o-Juman kee dhaaraa.

[It is old as well as new, it is pleasant in the world. Ganga and Jamuna irrigates its lands.]

Oope rbarfeela parvat pehre-daar hamaaraa/Neeche sahil per bajta sagar kaa naqqaaraa.

[On top snow clad mountain guards us. On the lower end you can hear roaring of sea.]

Iss kee khanen ugal raheensona, heera, paaraa/iss kee shaan shaukat kaa duniyaa maen jaikaaraa.

[Its mines produce gold, diamond and lead. Its greatness is renowned throughout the world.]

Aayaa Firangee door se, essaa mantar maaraa/loota donon hathoon se piyaaraa watan hamaaraa.

[The British came from far away, played trick. Our dear land was looted with both hands.]

Aaj shahidon ne tumko, ahl-e-watan lal-kaaraa/Todo ghulamee kee zanjeeren barsao angaaraa.

[Martyrs are calling you, countrymen. Break shackles of slavery, spit fire.]

Hindoo-Mussalmaan-Sikh hamaaraa bhai piyaaraa-piyaaraa/yeh hae azaadi kaa jhanda isse salaam hamaaraa.

[Hindu-Muslim-Sikh are our dear brothers. This is the flag of independence, salute to it.]

Contemporary British narratives

William Russell, was sent by The Times, London as a war correspondent to cover the ‘Mutiny.’ In one of his reports dated, March 2, 1858, while underlining the unity among the ranks of rebel army he wrote:

“All the great chiefs of Oudh, Mussalman and Hindu, are there, and have sworn to fight for their young king, Birjeis Kuddr [sic], to the last. Their cavalry is numerous, the city is filled with people, the works are continually strengthened. All Oudh is in the hands of the enemy, and we only hold the ground we cover with our bayonets.”

Another senior British officer, Thomas Lowe who led British attacks on Jhansi, Kalpi and Kanpur admitted that,

“the infanticide Rajput, the bigoted Brahmin, the fanatic Mussalman, and the luxury loving, fat-paunched ambitious Maharattah [sic], they all joined together in the cause; the cow-killer and the cow-worshipper, the pig-hater and the pig-eater, the crier of Allah is God and Mohommed [sic] his prophet and the mumbler of the mysteries of Brahma.”

Fred Roberts (became the Commander- in-Chief of the British armed forces in India later) was one of the leading British military commanders who led the British army to recapture Lucknow. In one of his letters, from the Lucknow front dated Nov 25, 1857, while rejoicing victory on that day at Sikander Bagh, Lucknow could not miss out the fact that even in the face of death the rebel army consisting of both Hindus and Muslims did not lose heart and stayed glued to each other. When Fred entered the Sikander Bagh he found nearly 2000 rebels on the ground dead or dying.

“I never saw such a sight. They were literally in heaps, and when I went in were a heaving mass, some dead, but most wounded and unable to get up from the crush. How so many got crowded together I can’t understand. You had to walk over them to cross the court. They showed their hatred even while dying, cursed us and said: ‘if we could only stand, we would kill you.’”

Throughout the War of Independence every nook and corner of the country was replete with such instances of fearless fighters, supreme sacrifices and strong bond of unity amongst people belonging to different religions. Such glorious instances of unbreakable Hindu-Muslim unity did really happen 168 years back. This can be verified even today by a simple perusal of contemporary British archives, personal collections, diaries and narrations.

Given these realities of history, it is not difficult to understand why a divide between Hindus and Muslims was necessitated, who were instrumental in accomplishing it and who benefited out of this divide. The survival of the British Empire in India depended on the successful execution of this strategy of divide and rule.

The flag-bearers of the politics of two-nations in the past and communal politics today are the ones who helped the British to execute this evil design. We must not ignore the fact that communalism was a ploy of the British who feared the end of their Empire in India –if Hindus and Muslims continually stood united. On the eve of 168th anniversary of the great rebellion, we must rise to take pledge of never betraying the shared heritage and shared martyrdoms of the First Indian War of Independence and not let the RSS-BJP rulers of India undo it.

[All references and quotes presented in this article are based on contemporary documents.]

Link for some of S. Islam’s writings in English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and video interviews/debates:http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam

Related:

1857 Martyr’s Families Die in Penury, British Stooges Comandeer Power

Mangal Pandey Martyrd Today, 159 Years Ago: 1857

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It was Emperor Aurangzeb who first asked the East India Company to quit India in 1686 in Surat!

The first war against the British was fought almost 200 years before independence: the Battle of Plassey, wherein Nawab Sirajuddawla of Bengal was treacherously defeated by the British in 1757!

The first signs of victory against the British were seen in Mysore where Nawab Hyder Ali first waged war against the British in 1782. He was succeeded by his son, Tipu Sultan who again fought them in 1791 and was eventually treacherously defeated and martyred in 1799. Tipu Sultan was the first General to use missiles in warfare!

The Mujahid Movement was active during 1824 and 1831 under the leadership of Syed Ahmad Shaheed and his two disciples and they were successful in liberating the North-west province from British authority. Syed Ahmad Shaheed was nominated Khalifa, but the freedom was short lived and he was martyred in 1831!

The last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar was to lead the War of Independence in 1857. A country-wide war was to begin simultaneously on the 31st of May 1857, but the Indians among the British army revolted before that on the 10th of May 1857!

A startling 5,00,000 Muslims were martyred following the events of 1857, of which 5,000 were ulema (religious scholars). It is said that there was not a single tree on the Grand Trunk Road from Delhi to Calcutta but that an alim’s body was not found hanging on it for days together!

Indian ulema called for Jihad against the British and declared India as Darul Harb (Territory under Enemy control). This call found resonance all over the country with Muslims rising up against the British!

To liberate the countrymen from the cultural and educational bondages of the colonial empire, towering centers of learning like the Aligarh Muslim University were established in the late 19th Century, which are still counted amongst the leading Indian seminaries!

The ‘Reshmi Rumaal’ Tehreeq (Movement) was launched in 1905 by Shaikhul Islam, Maulana Mehmood Hasan and Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi to unite all the Indian states against the British. Maulana Mehmood was imprisoned in Malta and Kalapani for the same where he breathed his last!

The Indian National Congress, from the time of its inception to independence has seen 9 Presidents who were Muslims!

Barrister MK Gandhi served in a law firm in South Africa owned by a Muslim, who on his own expenses brought Gandhiji to India in 1916. Here, he started his agitation under the Ali Biradran (Ali Brothers)!

The Mopla movement saw 3,000 Muslims being martyred in a single battle!

The Non-cooperation Movement and the Swadeshi Movement saw overwhelming Muslim participation. Janab Sabusiddiq who was the sugar-king of that time gave up his business as a form of boycott. The Khoja and Memon communities owned the biggest business houses of that time and they parted with their treasured industries to support the boycott!

The 1942 Quit India movement was actually planned by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. He was imprisoned on the 8th of August and sent to Ahmednagar, because of which Gandhiji had to lead the movement on the 9th of August!

Jyotiba Phule was sponsored by his neighbour, Usman Bagban in his educational activities, so much so that the school in which he taught was owned by Mr. Usman. His daughter, Fatima was the first girl student there and joined as a teacher thereafter!

Muslim leaders always supported the Dalit cause. In the Round Table Conference held in London, Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar was lured into abandoning the Dalit cause in lieu of accepting all the other demands of the Muslims. But Maulana Johar refused to forsake the Dalits!

When Dr. BR Ambedkar could not win the 1946 Central Elections, the Bengal Muslim League vacated one of its own seats and offered it to Dr. Ambedkar, who won it in the bypoll. This gesture by the Muslim League paved the way for his entry into the Constituent Assembly and the rest as they say, is history!

Muslim freedom fighters were active in the field of journalism as well. Maulana Azad used his pen against the British despite being prevented by the colonial powers a number of times. In fact, the first journalist to be martyred in the cause of India’s Freedom Struggle was also a Muslim – Maulana Baqar Ali.

So why have these points, and many many such similar ones, been relegated to the dustbin by our historians? Why are these events of history not taught in our history classes? Why are our children’s text books bereft of these historical facts? Why this prejudice?

This is a deliberate attempt to discredit the Muslim leadership and indeed the Muslim masses, in order to spread in the Muslim community a sense of inferiority complex and to push them on a defensive stand.

What have you done for this nation to deserve the benefits of its independence, we are asked! The Muslim community has played a pivotal role in India’s Freedom Struggle and it is high time we Indians are made aware of these untold and hidden aspects of history.

India is again being enslaved by our politicians. It is time to liberate her again from domestic and international neo-colonialism.

(As received on Whatsapp).
 

The post Denying Muslims their due: Role in India’s freedom struggle appeared first on SabrangIndia.

One hundred and Fifty Nine Years ago, the 62 kilometre aerial distance from Meerut to Delhi (that can be covered in 2 hours and 61 minutes by road) recorded a historic journey. Of revolt and resistance. The 1857 Revolt.
 
From May 10 to May 11, the Uprising Spread from Meerut to Delhi. The map says it all. And this video produced to bring home the various elements of the May 1857 uprising says it all.
 
The Uprising at Meerut
 
On the late evening of May 9, 1857 at Meerut the bell of the church never rang out. But the Sounds of Bullets Firing rang  out. From right next to the Church, from the Parade Maidan, first one then two then un-ending  slogans rose from one corner of the Maidan and were echoed in another. The fervour reached a crescendo and the air was suffused with the noise.
 
There was complete chaos, people running around, screams and shouts could be heard. Indian (Hindustani) Sipahis could be seen spread all over the areas in the city. Every corner was teeming with them. Whoever came in their way was killed. The uprising was so sudden that the British were taken back.
 

Unknown place in India in year 1858, where rebellions were hanged in public.

The Sipahis had revolted
 
The first shot of the revolt hit Colonel John Finish. He died on the spot. Some Europeans horse riders moved forward; told the Sipahis “Hosh mein aao” (come to your senses) What is this insolence?
 
The Sipashis ignored the warnings. At that point smoke arose from one corner. Thick black swirls of smoke rose to the sky. The homes of the British were being burned down. People ran out to save their lives.
 
They ran towards the stables,  hid in the farms; some climbed up and clung to the trees for protection in the hope that the night would protect them and they would be saved. But the light thrown out by the burning flames fooled many. The Sipahis would raise their voices in slogans and they would cringe in fear.  The ‘valour of the british stood exposed that day.
 
Night fell. But neither did the shouts nor the killings stop. “Maro Maro” slogans and with that “Dilli Chalo…’
 
 

The Great Uprising of 1857
Outbreak of the Uprising
 
The following excerpt is from the communication sent by Major-General W.H. Hewitt, Commanding the Meerut Division, to Colonel C. Chester, Adjutant-General of the Army, Simla, on May 11, 1857.
 
I regret to have to report that the native troops at Meerut broke out yesterday evening in open mutiny. About 6-30 P.M. the 20^th Regiment, Native Infantry, turned out with arms. They were reasoned with by their officers, when they reluctantly returned to their Lines, but immediately after they rushed out again and began to fire. The 11^th Regiment, Native Infantry, had turned out with their officers, who had perfect control over them, inasmuch as they persuaded them not to touch their arms till Colonel Finnis had reasoned with the mutineers, in doing which he was, I regret to say, shot dead. After which act, the 20^th Regiment, Native Infantry, fired into the 11^th Regiment, Native Infantry, who then desired their officers to leave them, and apparently joined the mutineers. The 3^rd Regiment, Light Cavalry, at the commencement mounted a party and galloped down to the jail to rescue the 85 men of the corps who were sentenced by the native General Court-martial, in which they succeeded, and at the same time liberated all the other prisoners, about 1200 in number. The mutineers then fired nearly all the bungalows in rear of the centre lines south of the nullah…
 
In this they were assisted by the population of the bazaar, the city, and the neighbouring villages…
 
3^rd – Nearly the whole of the cantonment and Zillah Police have deserted.
 
4^th – The electric [telegraph] wire having been destroyed, it was impossible to communicate the state of things except by express, which was done, to Delhi and Umballa [Ambala].
 
 
Events at Delhi on May 11, 1857
 
During the trial of Emperor Bahadur Shah II by the British in 1858, Gulab, a messenger, described the events of 11 May 1857.
 
On the morning of the 16^th of Ramzan, alias the 11^th of May, at about 7 am, a Hindu sepoy of the 38^th Regiment of Native Infantry came up to the door of the Hall of Special Audience in the palace, and said to some of the door-keepers… that the native army at Meerut had mutinied against the State, and were now on the point of entering Delhi; that he and the rest of them would no longer serve the Company, but would fight for their faith… I had hardly received this information, when the King of Delhi sent for me. I attended on him immediately, and His Majesty said, “Look! the Cavalry are coming by the road of the Zer Jharokha. [Zer Jharokha is literally “under the lattice,” but appears to be a name given generally to the ground immediately under the lattices of the palace.] I looked and saw about 15 men of the Company’s regular Cavalry, then about 150 yards distant. They were dressed, some of them in uniform, but a few had Hindustani clothes on. I immediately suggested… [MS. Torn] to have the gate fastened by which entrance to the palace from the ‘Zer Jharokha’s is obtained, and this had scarcely been done when five or six of the sowars [cavalry men] came up to the closed gate…. The sowars, commenced calling out “Dohai Badshah”, or “Help O King”, “we pray for assistance in our fight for the faith.” The King hearing this, made no response…
           
The King… gave orders, for all the gates of the palace to be closed; but answer was given that the Infantry, viz. some of 38^th Native Infantry, who were on guard at the palace, would not allow of such being done. After a lapse of some time the Cavalry, to the number of about 50, rode up to the Hall of Special Audience, dismounted, and picketed their horses in the adjoining garden. The Infantry…. of all the three Delhi regiments, also came into the palace enclosures, and laid down their beddings in any of the palace buildings that they could make available. The Infantry from Meerut… joined the Infantry of the Delhi regiments in spreading their bedding over all parts of the palace enclosures…
 
The greatest and the most widespread armed uprising which shook the foundations of British rule in India took place in 1857. The accumulating hatred against British rule which had resulted in numerous though localized, outbreaks burst forth in a mighty rebellion in 1857. The dispossessed rulers of Indian states, the nobles and the zamindars who had been deprived of their lands, the Indian soldiers of Britain’s army in India, and the vast masses of peasants, artisans and others who had been ruined by British economic pockets, powers and had been rising up in revolt in their isolated pockets, were now united by the common aim of overthrowing British rule. The introduction of greased cartridges which showed the British rulers’ complete disregard of the religious beliefs of the Indian people provided the immediate cause of the revolt. In March 1857, Mangal Pandey was executed in Barrackpore for rebelling against their introduction. The uprising began in Meerut on 10 May 1857 when the Indian soldiers killed their British officers and marched to Delhi. They were joined by the soldiers stationed in Delhi and proclaimed the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of India. The rebellion spread like wild fire and the British rule ceased to exist over a vast part of northern and central India for many months. The major centres of the revolt, besides Delhi, where some of the most fierce battles were fought were Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Bundelkhand and Arrah. Local revolts took place in many other parts of the country. Among the prominent leaders of the uprising were Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, Bakht Khan, Azimullah Khan, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Kunwar Singh, Maulvi Ahmadullah, Bahadur Khan and Rao Tula Ram.
 
A song composed, 25 years ago for Bharat ki Chhap to mark the anniversary of the 1857 uprising by the soldiers of the East India Company.
 

Maulvi Liaqat Ali : An Icon of the 1857 Uprising at Allahabad

"Maulvi Liaqat Ali : An Icon of 1857 Uprising at Allahabad, a historic account of the Mughal Governor of Allahabad who fought against the British in 1857.

“It was past the dinnertime of night  June 6, 1857. The place was mess of 6 Native Infantry Cantonment of Allahabad. The guest English officers were dining and wining amidst the tinkering of glasses and loud merry making noises, and at the same time sharing pleasantries with the soldiers. The occasion of celebration was the Commendation message for the Regiment sent by the Governor General. Dinner was all over. The officers were preparing to leave. The silence of night was broken by boom-boom gunfire that took the English officers to surprise. Somebody shouted that the Pandes from Banaras had come. They had no time to dress themselves fully but got hold of their arms and rushed out. There was only one thing waiting for them, their death, as the native infantry soldiers started shooting their own officers from close range. That was the announcement of the Uprising of 1857 and more was to follow. Allahabad city and district was thrown at the mercy of Hooligans. Widespread destruction, looting and bona-fire followed. Precious human lives were lost. 

Maulvi Liaqat Ali of Mahgoan then arrived on the scene and took control of the situation. He enforced the law and order in the city. He introduced discipline amongst his followers. He enthused the people to join the Freedom Struggle against the British.
From his military operational headquarters at Khusro Bagh, he conducted the war against the so-called "Infidels". He attempted to take the Allahabad Fort then under English occupation but failed. He had severe resource constraints but had the masses behind him.

The English constantly chased him but he eluded them for the rest of the six months of 1857 by remaining in North India. With the top Uprising leaders mostly defeated and driven in the Nepal Tharai, Maulvi Liaqat Ali travelled to Bhopal and settled in Surat district of Gujarat.

In 1872, he was apprehended at Bombay V.T. Railway Station due to the treachery of his friends. He was tried in the Court of Law and sentenced to Penal Settlement in Andamans (Kaala Paani) where he died in the year 1892. This is saga of a man who stood but never bent before the tyranny of a Foreign Rule."

11th May 1857, song, Bharat ki Chhap Episode 10: Colonialism & the Industrial Revolution 1800 to 1900

The Times of India reported last year 1857 revolt news clippings: Reports went from fair to pro-British that Amit Pathak, a city-based historian, has in his possession a rare set of original newspapers that chronicled what was later referred to as the 'Indian Mutiny of 1857.' "The Illustrated London News and Illustrated Times, which I acquired in an online auction, covered in great detail the events of 1857, and are perhaps the only exhaustive documents existing presently which chronicle how the British press viewed the Revolt, " says Pathak.
 
These newspapers, adds Pathak, are unique since they contain original lithographs (old prints) of action scenes of 1857 and also pictures of freedom fighters like Tantya Tope and Begum Hazrat Mahal which are not available anywhere else. "When one goes through the reporting in these papers, it is quite evident that during the first few months, the reportage was balanced and unbiased, but later the event coverage seemed to be tilted in favour of the British," says the historian, who has also authored a book titled '1857: Living History.'
 
Particularly interesting is the news report which first chronicled that the revolt had taken place. "In this day and age when news of any event is almost instantaneous, it would be difficult to imagine that the first report of the uprising was published on June 13, almost a month after the event in The Illustrated London News," says Pathak. The report stated, "A telegraphic despatch received at Bombay from Meerut states that the 3rd Bengal Cavalry were in open mutiny, and that several officers and men had been killed and wounded."

The first few days of reporting, he says, gave a largely unbiased view of the incident. "When one goes through the contents of these papers, one can sense the great amount of uncertainty that prevailed in Britain at that time. No one at that time knew what would be the outcome of the uprising, whether India will attain its independence and what repercussions will it have on the other colonies of the Great Britain. There were also apprehensions about the well-being of the British citizens who were 'trapped' in India at that point of time. These newspapers carry the emotions, the excitement and feelings of individuals who are experiencing the events in real time."

Sources:

• NCERT’s India’s Struggle for Independence, Visuals and Documents
• The Times of India
• Bharat Ki Chaap
• Maulvi Liaqat Ali : Icon of 1857 Uprising at Allahabad
• Khoj Education for a Secular India Programme

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