08-14-2006, 12:39 AM
Deccan Chronicle, 13 August 2006
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->1857 Ghadar & Madan Lal
Itihaas: By Akhilesh Mithal
How significant 1857 was for the Indians and the British in pre-independence India can be judged from the following facts. <b>âMay 10, the anniversary of the Uprising, saw all adult British males carrying personal arms and forts were kept ready as the rallying point for British women and children in case of necessity. Half a century ago, in this very week, we bravely defended our empire.â â The Daily Telegraph of May 7, 1907 stated.</b>
The Indian perception was just as clear. At the beginning of May 1909, a circular invited Indian students to a meeting in the âIndia Houseâ to observe the 51st anniversary of the Ghadar on May 10, which, propitiously, was also a Sunday as had been May 10 in 1857. The circular, titled âBande Mataramâ stated: âTo commemorate the Indian National Rising of 1857, a meeting of Indians in England will be held at India House on sunday 10th may 1908, at 4 pm precisely. You and your friends are cordially invited to attend.â
The purpose of the meeting, printed at the back of the notice, was stated as being one of holding up to admiration, martyrs and the principal leaders of the rebellion including Nana Saheb. <b>According to the folklore of the Indian Freedom Struggle, the founder of the India House in London, Shyamaji Krishna Verma had met Nana Saheb in his hideout in the Nepat Terai, thus forging a link between 1857 and the nascent freedom movement of India.</b>
<b>Thus readers can see for themselves that for freedom fighters of the 19th century and also for the British the 1857 uprising was something of abiding significance</b>. For Indians, it gave something to look back upon for inspiration while for the British, it was something to fill the mind with alarm fear and trepidation.The story of an Indian living in England in 1909 will illustrate the tension between Indians and the British.
Madan Lal Dhingra was the son of a prominent medical practitioner of Punjab. His elder brother had been called to the Bar and was practising law in Lahore. Madan Lal was drawn to the freedom struggle by exposure to firebrands like Har Dayal. He appeared in class at the University College wearing a badge inscribed with names of the martyrs and leaders of 1857 supplied by the organisers of the May 10, 1909 meeting.
In the class, he was ordered to remove the badge, to which he refused. This led to him being ragged by the British students and Madan Lal was so incensed by the leader of the raggers that he offered to cut his throat. When news of this incident reached home, his father requested Curzon Wylie, an official appointed for counselling Indian students and keeping an eye on them, to help recover Madan Lal to the cause of loyalty to the Empire.
Curzon Wylie had retired from the Indian Army to become political A.D.C. to the Secretary of State for India in 1901. Madan Lal was infuriated and wrote home to say that he deplored an attitude which asked Anglo-Indians like Curzon Wylie to interfere in what were essentially Indiaâs private affairs.
Madan Lal bought a Colt revolver and also a Belgian weapon and started practising shooting at a private range. The National Indian Association had its annual general meeting on July 1, 1909. After dining at the Savoy, Curzon Wylie proceeded to the Associationâs âAt Homeâ in Jahangir Hall of the Imperial institute. When the programme concluded, Wylie was seen descending from the staircase. Madan Lal engaged him in conversation and, then, suddenly, pulled out the revolver and fired five shots into his face at point blank range.
As Wylie fell down, a Parsi, Cowas Lalkaka tried to shield the victim. The sixth bullet killed him. When overpowered by the crowd Madan Lal tried to shoot himself but there were no more bullets left.
In his statement, Madan Lal said, âI am a patriot working for the emancipation of the motherland from the foreign yoke. I object to the term âmurdererâ to me because I am fully justified in what I have done. The English would have done the same thing had the Germans been in occupation of England.â Madan Lal was tried and sentenced to death. He was hanged on August 17, 1909. <b>Thus the link between the Ghadar of 1857 and the freedom movement of the 19th century was clear in the mind of many who took part and risked their all for the freedom of their beloved motherland.
</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This shows link between 1857 and the revolutionary part of the Indian freedom struggle. I think through Tilak and Gandhi the link to the tradtional freedom movement has to be documented so that it clears any persistent cobwebs in the minds.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->1857 Ghadar & Madan Lal
Itihaas: By Akhilesh Mithal
How significant 1857 was for the Indians and the British in pre-independence India can be judged from the following facts. <b>âMay 10, the anniversary of the Uprising, saw all adult British males carrying personal arms and forts were kept ready as the rallying point for British women and children in case of necessity. Half a century ago, in this very week, we bravely defended our empire.â â The Daily Telegraph of May 7, 1907 stated.</b>
The Indian perception was just as clear. At the beginning of May 1909, a circular invited Indian students to a meeting in the âIndia Houseâ to observe the 51st anniversary of the Ghadar on May 10, which, propitiously, was also a Sunday as had been May 10 in 1857. The circular, titled âBande Mataramâ stated: âTo commemorate the Indian National Rising of 1857, a meeting of Indians in England will be held at India House on sunday 10th may 1908, at 4 pm precisely. You and your friends are cordially invited to attend.â
The purpose of the meeting, printed at the back of the notice, was stated as being one of holding up to admiration, martyrs and the principal leaders of the rebellion including Nana Saheb. <b>According to the folklore of the Indian Freedom Struggle, the founder of the India House in London, Shyamaji Krishna Verma had met Nana Saheb in his hideout in the Nepat Terai, thus forging a link between 1857 and the nascent freedom movement of India.</b>
<b>Thus readers can see for themselves that for freedom fighters of the 19th century and also for the British the 1857 uprising was something of abiding significance</b>. For Indians, it gave something to look back upon for inspiration while for the British, it was something to fill the mind with alarm fear and trepidation.The story of an Indian living in England in 1909 will illustrate the tension between Indians and the British.
Madan Lal Dhingra was the son of a prominent medical practitioner of Punjab. His elder brother had been called to the Bar and was practising law in Lahore. Madan Lal was drawn to the freedom struggle by exposure to firebrands like Har Dayal. He appeared in class at the University College wearing a badge inscribed with names of the martyrs and leaders of 1857 supplied by the organisers of the May 10, 1909 meeting.
In the class, he was ordered to remove the badge, to which he refused. This led to him being ragged by the British students and Madan Lal was so incensed by the leader of the raggers that he offered to cut his throat. When news of this incident reached home, his father requested Curzon Wylie, an official appointed for counselling Indian students and keeping an eye on them, to help recover Madan Lal to the cause of loyalty to the Empire.
Curzon Wylie had retired from the Indian Army to become political A.D.C. to the Secretary of State for India in 1901. Madan Lal was infuriated and wrote home to say that he deplored an attitude which asked Anglo-Indians like Curzon Wylie to interfere in what were essentially Indiaâs private affairs.
Madan Lal bought a Colt revolver and also a Belgian weapon and started practising shooting at a private range. The National Indian Association had its annual general meeting on July 1, 1909. After dining at the Savoy, Curzon Wylie proceeded to the Associationâs âAt Homeâ in Jahangir Hall of the Imperial institute. When the programme concluded, Wylie was seen descending from the staircase. Madan Lal engaged him in conversation and, then, suddenly, pulled out the revolver and fired five shots into his face at point blank range.
As Wylie fell down, a Parsi, Cowas Lalkaka tried to shield the victim. The sixth bullet killed him. When overpowered by the crowd Madan Lal tried to shoot himself but there were no more bullets left.
In his statement, Madan Lal said, âI am a patriot working for the emancipation of the motherland from the foreign yoke. I object to the term âmurdererâ to me because I am fully justified in what I have done. The English would have done the same thing had the Germans been in occupation of England.â Madan Lal was tried and sentenced to death. He was hanged on August 17, 1909. <b>Thus the link between the Ghadar of 1857 and the freedom movement of the 19th century was clear in the mind of many who took part and risked their all for the freedom of their beloved motherland.
</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This shows link between 1857 and the revolutionary part of the Indian freedom struggle. I think through Tilak and Gandhi the link to the tradtional freedom movement has to be documented so that it clears any persistent cobwebs in the minds.