01-28-2007, 10:21 PM
More from Akhilesh Mittal in Deccan Chronicle, 28 Jan., 2007
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->An orphan of history
By Akhilesh Mithal
<b>The great uprising of 1857-58 aka âThe sepoy mutinyâ or âThe first Indian war for independenceâ remains an orphan of Indian and world history. We are in the 150th anniversary year of its outbreak and even the name of the event has not been determined and agreed. </b>This happens to orphans until they have the great fortune to be adopted by someone of consequence. Why are Indians of consequence ignoring 1857? The total number of Britons (and that of the Indian mercenary soldiers in their armies in 1857) is known. This is not true of those who fought them and lost or those who were unfortunate enough to be in the way of the armies marching from battle to battle.
The total number of Indians who lost their lives could well have exceeded a crore (10 million) or one in every 100 of the population at that time, but nobody has bothered to calculate a figure and nothing comes out. This obliteration from folk memory is the fallout and outcome of Indians failing to get rid of their unwanted rulers, the British. The victors wrote the narrative and those who lost got killed along with their adherents, whether peasant or prince.
<b>Over a 1,00,000 trained soldiers rebelled against their employers, the English East India Company. No prisoners were taken and those 1,00,000-plus soldiers were killed alongside around a million adherents.</b> Ten times that number of people (including old men, women and children) who had the misfortune of living in the path of the vengeful British armies marching from the tribal areas of the North West Frontier province to Arrah in north Bihar were subjected to the sport of âpeppering the niggerâ.
This consisted of setting the thatched huts on fire after encircling the habitation with sharpshooters. As the people ran out to flee the flames, they were treated like wild game, sighted, aimed at and shot down. The bullets used were designed to wound and not kill outright. The burnt victim took time to bleed and die. The corpses were likened to roast and the pellets of black lead fired at them to pepper, hence the name of the game, âpeppering the niggerâ.
The 20th century has seen the Jews build up sympathy for themselves by establishing a figure for those who perished in the Holocaust and dwelling on it in feature films stories and all other forms of communication at every available opportunity. This has enabled them to seize the sympathy of the most powerful countries in the world and paid them rich dividends in the form of creation of the state of Israel which gets aid as well as support against Palestinian and other Arabs.
Even the causes of the most traumatic event of the 19th century are yet to be established. The grease used in the cartridge came from animal fat or tallow. The sepoys believed that the source of the grease was cow and pig lard. They remonstrated against the use of what was sacrilege for the Hindus and abomination for the Muslims. Although some officers tried to allay the doubts and soothe the disquiet of their men, they could not succeed as the other fats used dried too quickly for use in covering cartridges which could not be used immediately after manufacture and required to be stored.
The letters and dispatches of General Hearsey from as early as January 1857 warn the authorities of the unrest and disquiet in the lines of the army cantonments. A prince visiting Calcutta was asked how he and his peers viewed the dethronement and sequestration of Wajid Ali Shah. Although he stated that he and his fellow princes thought that the Nawab Vizier had been given cavalier treatment and was dealt with unjustly, no notice was taken.
The British were, like all rulers tend to be, too far removed from everyday reality to be able to assess the situation correctly and the uprising took them by surprise. Their reactions were often caused by panic.
<b>One side has to lose for the other to win. The Indians had no generals. After Tipu Sultan died (May 4, 1799) defending his capital against the British, no Indian was in command of an army or had experience of conducting a campaign. 1857 bears witness to the fact that bravery alone is not enough to win a war.</b> Despite it being a defeat, 1857 remains a saga of heroism and deserves more than a file in the shelves of the government of India waiting for âaction takenâ report to be placed back on the rack and forgotten forever. The ruins of Zafar Manzil and the empty grave where Bahadur Shah Zafar was to have rested cry out for attention. Is anyone listening?
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->An orphan of history
By Akhilesh Mithal
<b>The great uprising of 1857-58 aka âThe sepoy mutinyâ or âThe first Indian war for independenceâ remains an orphan of Indian and world history. We are in the 150th anniversary year of its outbreak and even the name of the event has not been determined and agreed. </b>This happens to orphans until they have the great fortune to be adopted by someone of consequence. Why are Indians of consequence ignoring 1857? The total number of Britons (and that of the Indian mercenary soldiers in their armies in 1857) is known. This is not true of those who fought them and lost or those who were unfortunate enough to be in the way of the armies marching from battle to battle.
The total number of Indians who lost their lives could well have exceeded a crore (10 million) or one in every 100 of the population at that time, but nobody has bothered to calculate a figure and nothing comes out. This obliteration from folk memory is the fallout and outcome of Indians failing to get rid of their unwanted rulers, the British. The victors wrote the narrative and those who lost got killed along with their adherents, whether peasant or prince.
<b>Over a 1,00,000 trained soldiers rebelled against their employers, the English East India Company. No prisoners were taken and those 1,00,000-plus soldiers were killed alongside around a million adherents.</b> Ten times that number of people (including old men, women and children) who had the misfortune of living in the path of the vengeful British armies marching from the tribal areas of the North West Frontier province to Arrah in north Bihar were subjected to the sport of âpeppering the niggerâ.
This consisted of setting the thatched huts on fire after encircling the habitation with sharpshooters. As the people ran out to flee the flames, they were treated like wild game, sighted, aimed at and shot down. The bullets used were designed to wound and not kill outright. The burnt victim took time to bleed and die. The corpses were likened to roast and the pellets of black lead fired at them to pepper, hence the name of the game, âpeppering the niggerâ.
The 20th century has seen the Jews build up sympathy for themselves by establishing a figure for those who perished in the Holocaust and dwelling on it in feature films stories and all other forms of communication at every available opportunity. This has enabled them to seize the sympathy of the most powerful countries in the world and paid them rich dividends in the form of creation of the state of Israel which gets aid as well as support against Palestinian and other Arabs.
Even the causes of the most traumatic event of the 19th century are yet to be established. The grease used in the cartridge came from animal fat or tallow. The sepoys believed that the source of the grease was cow and pig lard. They remonstrated against the use of what was sacrilege for the Hindus and abomination for the Muslims. Although some officers tried to allay the doubts and soothe the disquiet of their men, they could not succeed as the other fats used dried too quickly for use in covering cartridges which could not be used immediately after manufacture and required to be stored.
The letters and dispatches of General Hearsey from as early as January 1857 warn the authorities of the unrest and disquiet in the lines of the army cantonments. A prince visiting Calcutta was asked how he and his peers viewed the dethronement and sequestration of Wajid Ali Shah. Although he stated that he and his fellow princes thought that the Nawab Vizier had been given cavalier treatment and was dealt with unjustly, no notice was taken.
The British were, like all rulers tend to be, too far removed from everyday reality to be able to assess the situation correctly and the uprising took them by surprise. Their reactions were often caused by panic.
<b>One side has to lose for the other to win. The Indians had no generals. After Tipu Sultan died (May 4, 1799) defending his capital against the British, no Indian was in command of an army or had experience of conducting a campaign. 1857 bears witness to the fact that bravery alone is not enough to win a war.</b> Despite it being a defeat, 1857 remains a saga of heroism and deserves more than a file in the shelves of the government of India waiting for âaction takenâ report to be placed back on the rack and forgotten forever. The ruins of Zafar Manzil and the empty grave where Bahadur Shah Zafar was to have rested cry out for attention. Is anyone listening?
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