Introduction
The First War of Independence (1857-58) was the first general widespread uprising against the rule of the British East India Company. The Doctrine of Lapse, issue of cartridges greased with animal fat to Indian soldiers, introduction of British system of education and a number of social reforms had infuriated a very wide section of the Indian people, who rose in revolt at a number of places all over India. The East India Company was brought under the direct rule of the British Crown as a result of this uprising.
Nana Sahib
Of the very large number of freedom fighters, who led the struggle, four are being commemorated through the present series, which is a part of the larger series on India's Struggle for Freedom.
A Maratha, one of the leaders of the First War of Independence, Nana Saheb was born in 1824 to Narayan Bhatt and Ganga Bai. In 1827 his parents went to the court of the last Peshwa Baji Rao, who adopted Nana Saheb, thus making him heir-presumptive to the throne.
Nana Saheb was well educated. He studied Sanskrit and was known for his deep religious nature. On the death of the last Peshwa, Baji Rao-II, in 1851 the Company's Government stopped the annual pension and the title. Nana Saheb's appeal to the Court of Directors was not accepted. This made him hostile towards the British rulers. When the First War of Independence broke out, he assumed leadership of the mutineers in Kanpur. After seizing Kanpur, which had a small British garrison, Nana Saheb proclaimed himself the Peshwa and called for the total extermination of the British power in India.
Kanpur was recaptured by the British under General Havelock and the last serious engagement (16 July, 1857) resulted in a total rout of Nana's forces. Nana rode away to an unknown destination in Nepal in 1859 and probably perished in the jungle.
Early days
Nana Sahib was born as Dhondu Pant in to Narayan Bhatt and Ganga Bai. In 1827, he was adopted by the Maratha Peshwe Baji Rao II. Baji Rao II was exiled to Bithoor (near Kanpur) by the East India Company. Nana Sahib was brought up in Bithoor.
Nana Sahib's close associates included Tantya Tope and Azimullah Khan. Tatya Tope was the son of Pandurang Rao Tope, an important noble at the court of the Peshwa Baji Rao II. After Baji Rao was exiled to Bithoor, Pandurang Rao and his family also shifted there. Tantya Tope became the most intimate friend of Nana Sahib. Azimullah Khan was an anglophobe Muslim, who joined the court of Nana Sahib as Secretary, after the death of Baji Rao II in 1851. He later became the dewan in Nana Sahib's court.
Pension
Through his adoption, Nana Sahib was heir-presumptive to the throne, and was eligible for an annual pension of £80,000 from the East India Company. However, after the death of Baji Rao II, the Company stopped the pension on the grounds that Nana Sahib was not a natural born heir. Nana Sahib was highly offended, and sent his envoy (Azimullah Khan) to England in 1853 to plead his case with the British Government. However, Azimullah Khan was unable to convince the British to resume the pension, and returned to India in 1855.
Bibighar massacre
The surviving British women and children, around 120 in number, were moved from the Savada House to Bibighar ("the House of the Ladies"), a villa-type house in Kanpur. They were later joined by some other women and children, the survivors from General Wheeler's boat. Another group of British women and children from Fatehgarh, and some other captive European women were also confined to Bibighar. In total, there were around 200 women and children in Bibighar.[10]
Nana Sahib placed the care for these survivors under a prostitute called Hussaini Khanum (also known as Hussaini Begum). He decided to use these prisoners for bargaining with the East India Company.[1] The Company forces consisting of around 1000 British, 150 Sikh soldiers and 30 irregular cavalry had set out from Allahabad, under the command of General Henry Havelock, to retake Kanpur and Lucknow.[9] Havelock's forces were later joined by the forces under the command of Major Renaud and James Neill. Nana Sahib demanded that the East India Company forces under General Havelock and Neill retreat to Allahabad. However, the Company forces advanced relentlessly towards Kanpur. Nana Sahib sent an army to check their advance. The two armies met at Fatehpur on July 12, where General Havelock's forces emerged victorious and captured the town.
Nana Sahib then sent another force under the command of his brother, Bala Rao. On July 15, the British forces under General Havelock defeated Bala Rao's army in the Battle of Aong, just outside the Aong village.[1] On July 16, General Havelock's forces started advancing to Kanpur. During the Battle of Aong, Havelock was able to capture some of the rebel soldiers, who informed him that there was an army of 5,000 rebel soldiers with 8 artillery pieces further up the road. Havelock decided to launch a flank attack on this army, but the rebel soldiers spotted the flanking maneuver and opened fire. The battle resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, but cleared the road to Kanpur for the British.
By this time, it became clear that the Company forces were approaching Kanpur, and Nana Sahib's bargaining attempts had failed. Nana Sahib was informed that the British troops led by Havelock and Neill were indulging in violence against the Indian villagers.[11] Some believe that the Bibighar massacre was a reaction to the news of violence being perpetrated by the advancing British troops.[7]
Nana Sahib, and his associates, including Tatya Tope and Azimullah Khan, debated about what to do with the captives at Bibighar. Some of Nana Sahib's advisors had already decided to kill the captives at Bibighar, as revenge for the murders of Indians by the advancing British forces.[11] The women of Nana Sahib's household opposed the decision and went on a hunger strike, but their efforts went in vain.[11]
Finally, on July 15, an order was given to kill the women and children imprisoned at Bibighar, despite strong objection from Nana Sahib. Although some Company historians stated that the order for the massacre was given by Nana Sahib[9], the details of the incident, such as who ordered the massacre, are not clear.[10][12] According to some sources, Azimullah Khan ordered the killings of women and children at Bibigarh.[13]
At first, the rebel sepoys refused to obey the order of killing women and children, but some of them agreed to remove the women and children from the courtyard, when Tatya Tope threatened them with execution for dereliction of duty. Nana Sahib left the building because he didn't want to be a witness to the enfolding massacre.[1]
The British women and children were ordered to come out of the assembly rooms, but they refused to do so. The rebel soldiers then started firing through the holes in the boarded windows. After the first round of firing, the soldiers were disturbed by the cries of the captives, and adamantly refused to fire at the women and children. An angry Begum Hussaini Khanum termed the sepoys' act as cowardice, and asked her lover Sarvur Khan to finish the job of killing the captives.[1] Sarvur Khan hired some butchers, who murdered the surviving women and children with cleavers. A few women and children had managed to survive by hiding under the other dead bodies. The women and some of the children committed suicide by jumping into a well in the Bibighar compound next morning, while a few other children were killed. The dead bodies of the previously killed British women and children were also thrown into the same well.
Recapture of Kanpur by the British
The Company forces reached Kanpur on July 16, 1857. General Havelock was informed that Nana Sahib had taken up a position at the Ahirwa village. His forces launched an attack on Nana Sahib's forces, and emerged victorious. Nana Sahib then blew up the Cawnpore magazine, abandoned the place, and retreated to Bithoor. When the British soldiers came to know about the Bibighar massacre, they indulged in retaliatory violence, including looting and burning of houses.[1][14] On July 19, General Havelock resumed operations at Bithoor, but Nana Sahib had already escaped. Nana Sahib's palace at Bithoor was occupied without resistance. The British troops seized guns, elephants and camels, and set Nana Sahib's palace to fire.
Disappearance
Nana Sahib disappeared after the British recapture of Kanpur. His general, Tantya Tope, tried to recapture Kanpur in November 1857, after gathering a large army, mainly consisting of the rebel soldiers from the Gwalior contingent. He managed to take control of all the routes west and north-west of Kanpur, but was later defeated in the Second Battle of Cawnpore.
In September 1857, Nana Sahib was reported to have fallen to malarious fever; however, this is doubtful. By 1859, Nana Sahib was reported to have fled to Nepal. In February 1860, the British were informed that Nana Sahib's wives had taken refuge in Nepal, where they resided in a house close to Thapathali. Nana Sahib himself was reported to be living in the interior of the Nepal.[15]
Nana Sahib's ultimate fate was never known. Up until 1888 there were rumours and reports that he had been captured and a number of individuals turned themselves in to the British claiming to be the aged Nana. As the majority of these reports turned out to be untrue further attempts at apprehending him were abandoned.
After the independence of India, Nana Sahib was hailed as a freedom fighter, and the Nana-Rao park in Kanpur was constructed in honor of Nana Sahib and his brother, Bala Rao.
The First War of Independence (1857-58) was the first general widespread uprising against the rule of the British East India Company. The Doctrine of Lapse, issue of cartridges greased with animal fat to Indian soldiers, introduction of British system of education and a number of social reforms had infuriated a very wide section of the Indian people, who rose in revolt at a number of places all over India. The East India Company was brought under the direct rule of the British Crown as a result of this uprising.
Nana Sahib
Of the very large number of freedom fighters, who led the struggle, four are being commemorated through the present series, which is a part of the larger series on India's Struggle for Freedom.
A Maratha, one of the leaders of the First War of Independence, Nana Saheb was born in 1824 to Narayan Bhatt and Ganga Bai. In 1827 his parents went to the court of the last Peshwa Baji Rao, who adopted Nana Saheb, thus making him heir-presumptive to the throne.
Nana Saheb was well educated. He studied Sanskrit and was known for his deep religious nature. On the death of the last Peshwa, Baji Rao-II, in 1851 the Company's Government stopped the annual pension and the title. Nana Saheb's appeal to the Court of Directors was not accepted. This made him hostile towards the British rulers. When the First War of Independence broke out, he assumed leadership of the mutineers in Kanpur. After seizing Kanpur, which had a small British garrison, Nana Saheb proclaimed himself the Peshwa and called for the total extermination of the British power in India.
Kanpur was recaptured by the British under General Havelock and the last serious engagement (16 July, 1857) resulted in a total rout of Nana's forces. Nana rode away to an unknown destination in Nepal in 1859 and probably perished in the jungle.
Early days
Nana Sahib was born as Dhondu Pant in to Narayan Bhatt and Ganga Bai. In 1827, he was adopted by the Maratha Peshwe Baji Rao II. Baji Rao II was exiled to Bithoor (near Kanpur) by the East India Company. Nana Sahib was brought up in Bithoor.
Nana Sahib's close associates included Tantya Tope and Azimullah Khan. Tatya Tope was the son of Pandurang Rao Tope, an important noble at the court of the Peshwa Baji Rao II. After Baji Rao was exiled to Bithoor, Pandurang Rao and his family also shifted there. Tantya Tope became the most intimate friend of Nana Sahib. Azimullah Khan was an anglophobe Muslim, who joined the court of Nana Sahib as Secretary, after the death of Baji Rao II in 1851. He later became the dewan in Nana Sahib's court.
Pension
Through his adoption, Nana Sahib was heir-presumptive to the throne, and was eligible for an annual pension of £80,000 from the East India Company. However, after the death of Baji Rao II, the Company stopped the pension on the grounds that Nana Sahib was not a natural born heir. Nana Sahib was highly offended, and sent his envoy (Azimullah Khan) to England in 1853 to plead his case with the British Government. However, Azimullah Khan was unable to convince the British to resume the pension, and returned to India in 1855.
Bibighar massacre
The surviving British women and children, around 120 in number, were moved from the Savada House to Bibighar ("the House of the Ladies"), a villa-type house in Kanpur. They were later joined by some other women and children, the survivors from General Wheeler's boat. Another group of British women and children from Fatehgarh, and some other captive European women were also confined to Bibighar. In total, there were around 200 women and children in Bibighar.[10]
Nana Sahib placed the care for these survivors under a prostitute called Hussaini Khanum (also known as Hussaini Begum). He decided to use these prisoners for bargaining with the East India Company.[1] The Company forces consisting of around 1000 British, 150 Sikh soldiers and 30 irregular cavalry had set out from Allahabad, under the command of General Henry Havelock, to retake Kanpur and Lucknow.[9] Havelock's forces were later joined by the forces under the command of Major Renaud and James Neill. Nana Sahib demanded that the East India Company forces under General Havelock and Neill retreat to Allahabad. However, the Company forces advanced relentlessly towards Kanpur. Nana Sahib sent an army to check their advance. The two armies met at Fatehpur on July 12, where General Havelock's forces emerged victorious and captured the town.
Nana Sahib then sent another force under the command of his brother, Bala Rao. On July 15, the British forces under General Havelock defeated Bala Rao's army in the Battle of Aong, just outside the Aong village.[1] On July 16, General Havelock's forces started advancing to Kanpur. During the Battle of Aong, Havelock was able to capture some of the rebel soldiers, who informed him that there was an army of 5,000 rebel soldiers with 8 artillery pieces further up the road. Havelock decided to launch a flank attack on this army, but the rebel soldiers spotted the flanking maneuver and opened fire. The battle resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, but cleared the road to Kanpur for the British.
By this time, it became clear that the Company forces were approaching Kanpur, and Nana Sahib's bargaining attempts had failed. Nana Sahib was informed that the British troops led by Havelock and Neill were indulging in violence against the Indian villagers.[11] Some believe that the Bibighar massacre was a reaction to the news of violence being perpetrated by the advancing British troops.[7]
Nana Sahib, and his associates, including Tatya Tope and Azimullah Khan, debated about what to do with the captives at Bibighar. Some of Nana Sahib's advisors had already decided to kill the captives at Bibighar, as revenge for the murders of Indians by the advancing British forces.[11] The women of Nana Sahib's household opposed the decision and went on a hunger strike, but their efforts went in vain.[11]
Finally, on July 15, an order was given to kill the women and children imprisoned at Bibighar, despite strong objection from Nana Sahib. Although some Company historians stated that the order for the massacre was given by Nana Sahib[9], the details of the incident, such as who ordered the massacre, are not clear.[10][12] According to some sources, Azimullah Khan ordered the killings of women and children at Bibigarh.[13]
At first, the rebel sepoys refused to obey the order of killing women and children, but some of them agreed to remove the women and children from the courtyard, when Tatya Tope threatened them with execution for dereliction of duty. Nana Sahib left the building because he didn't want to be a witness to the enfolding massacre.[1]
The British women and children were ordered to come out of the assembly rooms, but they refused to do so. The rebel soldiers then started firing through the holes in the boarded windows. After the first round of firing, the soldiers were disturbed by the cries of the captives, and adamantly refused to fire at the women and children. An angry Begum Hussaini Khanum termed the sepoys' act as cowardice, and asked her lover Sarvur Khan to finish the job of killing the captives.[1] Sarvur Khan hired some butchers, who murdered the surviving women and children with cleavers. A few women and children had managed to survive by hiding under the other dead bodies. The women and some of the children committed suicide by jumping into a well in the Bibighar compound next morning, while a few other children were killed. The dead bodies of the previously killed British women and children were also thrown into the same well.
Recapture of Kanpur by the British
The Company forces reached Kanpur on July 16, 1857. General Havelock was informed that Nana Sahib had taken up a position at the Ahirwa village. His forces launched an attack on Nana Sahib's forces, and emerged victorious. Nana Sahib then blew up the Cawnpore magazine, abandoned the place, and retreated to Bithoor. When the British soldiers came to know about the Bibighar massacre, they indulged in retaliatory violence, including looting and burning of houses.[1][14] On July 19, General Havelock resumed operations at Bithoor, but Nana Sahib had already escaped. Nana Sahib's palace at Bithoor was occupied without resistance. The British troops seized guns, elephants and camels, and set Nana Sahib's palace to fire.
Disappearance
Nana Sahib disappeared after the British recapture of Kanpur. His general, Tantya Tope, tried to recapture Kanpur in November 1857, after gathering a large army, mainly consisting of the rebel soldiers from the Gwalior contingent. He managed to take control of all the routes west and north-west of Kanpur, but was later defeated in the Second Battle of Cawnpore.
In September 1857, Nana Sahib was reported to have fallen to malarious fever; however, this is doubtful. By 1859, Nana Sahib was reported to have fled to Nepal. In February 1860, the British were informed that Nana Sahib's wives had taken refuge in Nepal, where they resided in a house close to Thapathali. Nana Sahib himself was reported to be living in the interior of the Nepal.[15]
Nana Sahib's ultimate fate was never known. Up until 1888 there were rumours and reports that he had been captured and a number of individuals turned themselves in to the British claiming to be the aged Nana. As the majority of these reports turned out to be untrue further attempts at apprehending him were abandoned.
After the independence of India, Nana Sahib was hailed as a freedom fighter, and the Nana-Rao park in Kanpur was constructed in honor of Nana Sahib and his brother, Bala Rao.
1 comment:
Where did you find the photo? The second picture is much reproduced but I have never seen the photo before.
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