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The Empire Strikes Back

1857 : The Empire Strikes Back

  JUNE 23, 1857. Exactly a hundred years earlier the British had won the Battle of Plassey and it had been prophesied at that time that they would rule for a hundred years.
When the sepoys took control of Delhi it looked as if the prophecy might come true. But three months later the British were at the gates of the city.
On 20 September they took Lahori Gate and soon the Union Jack was flying from the ramparts of the Red Fort once again. Bahadur Shah surrendered at the Humayun Tomb where he had taken refuge and was escorted to the Red Fort. Later when his two sons and grandson were also being taken to the fort a crowd collected and the British fearing that the mob might try to rescue the princes, shot them dead.
In Kanpur there was a see-saw struggle for control of the city. When General Havelock was about 7 miles away, Nana Saheb tried to halt his advance but failed and had to flee for his life. The General entered Kanpur on July 16, 1857. From there he set out for Lucknow. But no sooner had he left, than Tatya Tope, Nana's trusted lieutenant, re-occupied Kanpur. Havelock returned to recapture the city but when he left, Tatya again took the city. He was finally dislodged on December 6 when the British under General Colin Campbell won a decisive victory.
In Lucknow the British garrison which had taken shelter in the Residency had been under siege from June 30. Havelock fought his way to the Residency and joined the besieged garrison on September 25. Then taking a strategic position in the city, he held on tenaciously to it, despite repeated attempts by the sepoys to dislodge him.
The reinforcements he was waiting for arrived six months later, in March 1858. By the 21 of that month British troops led by Campbell and Gurkhas led by Jang Bahadur of Nepal had taken possession of Lucknow. However ten more months were to pass before the whole of Awadh could be brought back under British control.
Among those who fought for Awadh were Maulvi Ahmadullah, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Ram Baksh, Chandra Baksh, Gulab Singh and hundreds of talukdars.
In Rohilkhand, Khan Bahadur Khan of Bareilly put up stiff resistance. Though Bareilly fell on May 6, 1858, Khan Bahadur Khan managed to escape with his men and continued his resistance against the British.
In Bihar the septuagenarian, Kunwar Singh, moved with amazing speed from one place to another. He held on to Azamgarh from March 26 to April 15, 1858. Flying before one column closely pursuing him and eluding another which was sent to the border of Bihar to cut off his retreat, he crossed the Ganga at Sheopur with the British at his heels. When he was shot in the arm and the wound started festering, he cut off the arm. He reached his jagir, Jagadishpur, and there succumbed to his injury.


The Rani of Jhansi put up a heroic resistance. An eyewitness account, describing the battle for Jhansi on 22 March 1858 records : "There, guns never ceased firing except at night. Even women were seen working at the batteries and distributing ammunition."
On 29 March the guns of Jhansi fell silent. When the British troops marched into the fort they found that the Rani had escaped.
In a move that took the British by surprise, the Rani joined forces with Tatya and took Gwalior on June 1.
The seizure of Gwalior by the Rani created a sensation throughout India. The British mounted a spirited counter-attack. The brave Rani rode out of the fort and engaged the enemy on the outskirts of Gwalior. Finally the Rani fell, struck by a bullet. Sir Hugh Rose saluting the Rani described her as the best and the bravest of the rebel leaders.
Tatya escaped again and thereafter, until his capture through betrayal in April 1859 harassed the British with hit-and-run raids. The great revolt which began with Mangal Pande firing the first shot on March 29, 1857 ended with the hanging of Tatya Tope on April 15, 1859.

What Happened to Nana?
           Several prominent leaders of the 1857 revolt including Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Saheb escaped to Nepal. Many died while crossing over to Nepal. From his correspondence with the British it is clear that Nana Saheb was most anxious to return to India. But Nana failed to get an assurance that he would not have to face trial. Did Nana come back to India in disguise? There were several reports from people who claimed to have seen him at one place or the other. To this day nobody knows whether Nana Saheb died in India or in Nepal.
Rana Beni Madho of Shankarpur in Awadh was another rebel leader who successfully eluded the British. Brigadier Eveleigh reported : "We have certain intelligence, that he is at all points of the compass at exactly the same hour of the same day and we do not have thirty-one columns to spare to verify these reports." British soldiers pursuing him composed this song:

     Where have you been all day
     Beni Madho, O Beni Madho!
    Why are you so scared of British pluck
    Beni Madho, O Beni Madho!
    Because to beat you is not my luck
    Beni Madho, O Beni Madho!

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