First war of independence: 1857

[Bharatvarsh2]

Discussion on Operation Red Lotus held in JNU by INACS

Written by Publisher Sysadmin



Indian National Academy of Civilizational Studies (INACS) organized a discussion on the book "Tatya Tope's Operation Red Lotus" in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India on 8th May 2010. The book has been written by Tatya Tope's fourth generation descendant Parag Tope and published by Rupa Publications. In this book Parag Topé and the Topé family have presented the story of Tatya and the Anglo-Indian War of 1857 after spending more than two years in and out of various archives and libraries, poring over volumes of source material, translating original letters, picking-up the threads of a scattered Tatya Topé family and piecing together a complex puzzle of 1857. The students of JNU show their interest in the book by participating in the discussion held in SIS Committee room.



Initiating the discussion Parag Tope said that the important words "Azadi to chand dino ki baat hai" were pronounced by Sardar Vallabhai Patel on 20 February 1946, two days after the events that forced England to withdraw from India. In the months to follow the English were removed from India and India secured political freedom. These forgotten events are recalled in Operation Red Lotus and provide a backdrop for a similar call made exactly 89 years and 5 months before this day.



He further said that our ancestors and leaders had made a call for a complete triad of freedom. This call, a proclamation of freedom, was made by the grandnephew of Bahadur Shah Zafar, in a five point proclamation that asked the people of India support for economic, personal and political freedom for the Indian nation. The Anglo-Indian war of 1857, was also the first time that the Marathas under Peshwa Nana Saheb and Tatya Tope, and the Mughals under Bahadur Shah Zafar and Begum Hazrat Mahal and several other leaders, came together to oust a foreign power that had threatened the very roots of the Indic way of life.



Describing the focus of the book Parag Tope said that "Tatya Tope's Operation Red Lotus" takes it very inspiration from this zest for the Indic way of life. It traces the valiant history of the people of Tatya's ‘janmabhoomi' at Yeola, in Maharashtra to his ‘karmabhoomi' all over Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The book also investigates the elaborate planning that went into sustaining this war for about two years. The book also solves the puzzle of the ‘mysterious chapattis' and the ‘red lotuses' that were widely reported all over Northern India in late 1856 and early 1857.



He further elaborated that Brahmavarta or Bithur was not just home to the young Nana Saheb, Rani Laxmibai and Tatya, but the centre of all the planning. Troop movements, logistics and financial control were initially planned from here. Over a hundred Urdu letters, written to Tatya Tope, were translated for this book. These letters demonstrate that Tatya and Nana Saheb created an independent government with financial, judicial, military, and several other administrative functions. They engaged the English in battles in several regions and maintained control over a significant area and exerted India's independence. These letters have never been translated or used before in any book on 1857.



"Operation Red Lotus" describes the troop movements before and after the battles in great detail, with illustrated maps that detail armies on both sides. It was not just Tatya, the book also acknowledges the commitment of several regional leaders such as the Nawab of Banda, the Raja of Banpur, the Bundeli people as well as the Bhil and others in western Malwa and Gujarat. These maps expose English misrepresentations and visually demonstrate that Tatya had won scores of battles that the English claimed to have won. The events in Kanpur in November and December 1857, demonstrates Tatya's chess like moves, which provided Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Saheb at Lucknow for a much needed relief and sustenance. The maps provide the reader a ringside experience of the battles and highlight the military genius of Tatya Tope and his valiant troops.



He also emphasized that the book also offers a new explanation to Rani Laxmibai's so called ‘escape' from the Jhansi fort (on horseback with her son tied to her back) which was under siege by English troops. It also presents the events at Gwalior, and shows that, contrary to what is narrated, Baija Bai Shinde (or Scindia) was in fact a Pragmatic Patriot, and influenced Jiyaji Rao to carefully manage the events to fully support Tatya Tope. Their support gave a new life to the War against the English. Tatya Tope's resurgent campaign in September and October of 1858 forced the English to make an important concession. This concession allowed the survival of the Indian nation; and although India lost the "battle" it won the "war."



Finally, "Operation Red Lotus" absolves the descendants of Man Singh. A family that that has incorrectly carried the guilt on their patriotic shoulders for more than 150 years. Contrary to the English claims as well as the stories in the family, Operation Red Lotus provides an eye witness account of Tatya Tope's death in the battle fields of Chhipa Barod on January 1, 1859 at 6:30AM, he said.



The book was received well by the audience who were enlightened with several hitherto unknown aspect of the war of 1857. Sandip Kalia thanked Parag Tope on behalf of INACS for sparing his valuable time to present the contents of the book before JNU students. The discussion was conducted by Saket, a JNU research scholar, on behalf of JNU student fraternity.



INACS is committed to engage scholars, intellectuals, academicians, researchers, professionals, activists and other interested individuals in heralding a culture of academic evaluation and scrutiny of the existing paradigms in Indic civilizational context. It also aims at encouraging the process of defining relevant and mutually compatible parameters. It also seeks to engage students and scholars by organizing programmes like discussions, seminars and conferences.



http://voi.org/books/general/discussiono...inacs.html

Book website: http://tatyatope.com/