Commemorating the 163rd anniversary
of 1857 War of Independence
LET NOT THE HINDUTVA RULERS UNDO THE
GREAT HERITAGE OF JOINT SACRIFICES
Large sections
of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs[1]
unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s
First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday.
This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the Firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue
in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two
religious communities were divided on communal lines. Urgent steps were taken
to create enmity between these two. This was the reason, that immediately after
crushing militarily this liberation war the then minister of Indian Affairs
Lord Wood, sitting in London confessed:
"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." [2]
In order to put this strategy in
operation, the White rulers in league with their Indian stooges came out with
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 rulers in creating communal divide and
fragmentize the Indian society on the basis of religions as 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 religions. 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 dehumanized
rule of the East India Company and laid their lives.
On the eve of 163rd anniversary of
War of Independence we need to tell the present flag bearers of Hindu-Muslim
brands of communal politics that the revolutionary army which declared the
Mughal King Bahadur Shah Zafar, a Muslim, India’s Independent ruler on 11th
May 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 caused rise of immense hatred between sections of Hindus and
Muslims. Babri Masjid-Ram Janmbhoomi dispute 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[3]
was a famous Maulvi of Ayodhya and when Ayodhya’s well-known Hanuman Garhi’s
(Hanuman Temple) priest Baba Ramcharan Das[4]
took lead in organizing 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[5]
and Shambhu Prasad Shukla[6] jointly
led the army of Raja Devibaksh Singh[7]
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 the British rule was to survive. It was meticulously done 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.
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 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[8] and
Muneer Beg.[9]
They were known as literary giants and 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 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 sickening 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 show 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.[10]
CENTRAL INDIA
JHANSI:
We all are familiar with Rani Laxmi Bai's[11] 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 her Muslim
commanders; Ghulam Ghouse Khan (chief of artillery)[12],
Khuda Bakhsh (chief of infantry)[13] 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,[14] Rao
Saheb (Pandurang Sadashiv)[15],
Laxmi Bai, Ferozshah and Moulvi Fazal-ul- Haq,
[16] was
able to mobilize a huge rebel army of 70-80 thousand fighters. This army won
innumerable battles against the British. However, in a crucial battle at Ranod
when due to the treachery of stooge princes the revolutionary army led by Tatia
Tope, Ferozeshah and Moulvi was encircled, Moulvi Fazal-ul- Haq stood as a rock
in the way of advancing British troops. He and his 480 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.[17] Thus
saved by the supreme sacrifice by Moulvi Fazl Haq and his comrades, Tatia Tope
continued to wage war till the beginning of 1859.
ROHILKHAND
The present day Bareilly,
Shahjahanpur, Badaun and Bijnor was the area which was a strong hold of
revolutionaries from the very beginning. Immediately after the announcement of
an independent Indian government at Delhi on May 11, 1857, Khan Bahadur Khan[18]
was 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.[19]
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,[20], Azimullah
Khan[21], Sham
Singh Dooga, Sirdhara Singh, Ghouse Mohammad, Hira Singh and a 'Doabi Brahmin'.[22] The
contemporary British documents show that despite all their attempts to create
communal divide in the ranks of revolutionary army and residents of Delhi, the
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.[23]
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 Aarti, garlanded it and
blessed it with Vedic hymns.[24] 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 fact of life with which, naturally, women
also did not remain untouched. In a small town, Thana Bhawan, situated in
Muzaffar Nagar 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 the repressive British rule. The names and heroic deeds
of some of them are peerless and unforgettable.
Asghari Begum, 45 years old, belonged to a well-to-do family and was burnt
alive for organizing rebellion in the area. Another revolutionary woman was, 28
years old, Asha Devi, who belonged to a Hindu Gujar family and was hanged.
Another martyred woman was young Bhagwati Devi, born into a Tyagi family of
farmers who fought in many battles against the Firangee rule. 24 year old, Habeeba, belonging to a Muslim Gujar
family, fearlessly fought in many battles to liberate neighbouring areas from the British tyranny. She was captured while
resisting a British attack and was executed on 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. 26 years 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 fighting against the British in Thana Bhawan area only.[25]
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 read:
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 alnds.]
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.][26]
CONTEMPORARY BRITISH NARRATIVES
William Russell, was sent by The Times, London aS 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."[27]
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."[28]
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.’"[29]
Throughout the War of Independence
every hook 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 162 years back. It can be verified even
today by a simple perusal of the 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 should never 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
163rd 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.
Shamsul Islam
Link
for some of S. Islam's writings in English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Malayalam,
Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and video interviews/debates:
Facebook:
shamsul
Twitter:
@shamsforjustice
http://shamsforpeace.blogspot.com/
Email:
notoinjustice@gmail.com
LINK FOR HINDI VERSION: https://www.academia.edu/42986790/1857_%E0%A4%B8_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A4_%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%97_%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE_%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%80_163%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%82_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%B9_%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9D%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%A4_%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A8_%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%A4_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%9F%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9F_%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%87_%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%82_%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%88
LINK FOR URDU VERSION:
https://www.academia.edu/43019276/1857_%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%DA%A9%DB%81_%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AB%D8%AA_%D8%AC%D8%B3_%DA%A9%D9%88%DB%81%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%B9%D9%88%D9%84%DB%8C_%D8%AE%D8%AA%D9%85_%DA%A9%D8%B1%D9%86%DB%92_%DA%A9%DB%92%D9%84%DB%8C%DB%92_%DA%A9%D9%88%D8%B4%D8%A7%DA%BA_%DB%81%DB%92
[1]
In this national war of independence people of other religions also
participated (as we will find Jains too laying down their lives) but
contemporary documents refer to the followers of only these 3 religions.
[2]
Cited in Pande, BN, The Hindu Muslim
Problem, Gandhi Smriti & Darshan Samiti, Delhi, p. vi.
[3] Chopra, PN (ed.), Who
is Who of Indian Martyrs: 1857, vol. 3, Government of India, 1973, p. 9. It
is the most authentic narrative of the 1857 martyrs as data was collected from
police, administrative records and the British gazetteers. It is to be noted as
admitted in the preface by Professor Nurul Hasan that loss and non-availability
of records "prevents us from acknowledging here thousands of other
patriots whose name may remain unknown."
[4] Ibid., p.120.
[5] Ibid., p.3.
[6] Ibid., p. 139.
[7] Ibid., p.34.
[8] Ibid., p p. 56-57.
[9] Ibid., p 102.
[10] Ibid., p. 40.
[11] Ibid., 81.
[12][Ibid., 45.
[13] Ibid., 75.
[14] Ibid., 143-144.
[15]
Ibid., 125. The British were not able to arrest him till 1862 when due
to the treachery of a Maratha landlord was arrested at Jammu (Kashmir) with his
wife and a child. He was hanged at Kanpur on August 20, 1862.
[16] Ibid., 41.
[17] Ibid., 41-42.
[18] Ibid., 73-74.
[19] Ibid., 76.
[20] Ibid., 17.
[21] Ibid., 13.
[22] The names of these commanders
keep on recurring in the letters of spies who were sending day-to-day reports
to the British commanders at the Ridge where Hindu Rao Hospital stands
presently. According to these spies there was 'fauji kote' or war council consisting of the above commanders. For these
letters see, Islam, Shamsul (ed.) Letters
of Spies: How Delhi was Lost, Pharos, Delhi, 2019.
[23] From the letter of spy Ramji Das
Alipur, Ibid., p. 63.
[24] Metcalf, Charles Theophilus, Two Narratives of the Mutiny of Delhi, A
Constable & Company, London, 1898, pp. 125-126.
[25] For individual details of these martyrs see, Chopra,
PN (ed.), Who is Who of Indian Martyrs:
1857, vol. 3, Government of India, 1973. It is the most authentic narrative
of the 1857 martyrs as data was collected from police, administrative records
and the British gazetteers. It is to be noted as admitted in the preface by
Professor Nurul Hasan that loss and non-availability of records "prevents
us from acknowledging here thousands of other patriots whose name may remain
unknown."
[26]
Appeared in Urdu newspaper Pyam-e-Azadi,
Delhi, May 13, 1857.
[27] Russell, William Howard, My Diary in India, in the
Year 1858-9, vol. 1, Routledge,
London, 1860, p. 244.
[28] Lowe, Thomas, Central India: During the Rebellion of 1857
and 1858, Longman, London, 1860, p. 324.
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