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Home History of India since 1823 History of India since 1823, Part 3 |
History of India since 1823, Part 3On Sunday afternoon, May 10, 1857, the Mutiny broke out at Mccrut, where the Sepoys shot their officers and murdered what Kuropeans they could capture. From Meerut the: mutineers streamed to Delhi, some 40 miles away, persuaded the native regiments stationed there to join in the rising, and proclaimed the descendant of the old Mogul Emperor, who still lived in the palace at Delhi, as ruler of India. About liner weeks later, the Mutiny spread to the garrisons in Oudh mid in the Ganges valley. The British position then appeared desperate. The districts affected by the Mutiny equalled in area France, Austria, and Prussia put together, and were inhabited by some ninety-four millions of people. The British soldiers in all India numbered only thirty-nine thousand men, and at the opening of the Mutiny there were but three British regiments between Calcutta and Meerut. The revolting Sepoys were in possession of the old capital of Delhi, and had secured a figurehead in the Mogul king; they had shut up one British garrison at Cawnpore and another at Lucknow, the capital of Oudh; and to these three centres the mutineers were flocking from the other garrisons of northern India.The Indian Mutiny is, perhaps, the most tragic episode in our history. British officers were so confident in the loyalty of their own native regiments that they refused to take precautions, and were pitilessly shot by their men. Many white women and children were barbarously murdered, and the sufferings of the men and women besieged during the intense heat of that Indian midsummer were more fearful than can be imagined. But all else pales before the horrors of Cawnpore. The Europeans there, numbering some two hundred and fifty fighting men, and more than double that number of women, children, and invalids, took refuge in an open plain, defended by small earthworks. For eighteen days in the scorching heat they were exposed to attacks made by thousands of rebels. At the end of that time their position was hopeless, and they accepted the offer of a safe-conduct by boat down the river made by Nana Sahib, a prince who had joined the rebels because he had not received from the British Government a pension to which he thought he was entitled. The garrison marched to the river. But when they had embarked, a murderous fire was opened upon them; many were killed or drowned, and of the survivors the men were pursued and butchered save four, who managed to escape, whilst the women and children were captured and imprisoned. A fortnight later Nana Sahib gave orders for the slaughter of these prisoners, two hundred and ten in number; the horrible work was done, and the bodies, the dead with the dying, were thrown down a well (July 15). Never, however, did the British race display more heroic qualities than at this crisis in its history. When the mutineers, at the opening of the Mutiny, reached Delhi, Lieutenant Willoughby, with a little garrison of eight men, defended the great magazine of Delhi against hundreds of assailants, and then blew it up so that the mutineers should not gain possession of it. In the Punjab, John Lawrence, aided by Edwardes, Chamberlain, and John Nicholson, stamped out with stern and untiring energy the beginnings of mutiny amongst the regiments stationed in that province. A British force of barely four thousand men advanced upon Delhi, won a battle against overwhelming numbers, occupied the famous Ridge, which stretched to within three-quarters of a mile of the city walls, and held it against the desperate sorties of the thirty thousand Sepoys who defended the city. Havelock and one thousand five hundred men, in an attempt to save Cawnpore, marched in nine days, in an Indian July, one hundred and twenty-six miles, and fought four actions. The garrison in the Residency grounds of Luck-now - its gallant commander Henry Lawrence, was killed on the second day of the siege—consisted of only a thousand British fighting men and seven hundred loyal Sepoys. It had to defend an enclosure a mile in circumference, made up of detached buildings and gardens connected by palisades and ditches, against an enemy which could bring up artillery within one hundred and fifty yards, and occupy houses within fifteen yards of its defences. Yet for eighty-seven days it successfully held this position against all attempts at storming, and the still greater dangers of mining, made by hugely superior forces. Yet the heroism of British soldiers must not lead us to forget the service of those natives who were loyal. The native armies of Bombay and Madras remained unaffected by the revolting Sepoys. The native princes, for the most part, held aloof from the Mutiny; and some gave the British active assistance, such as the chief of Patiala, who protected the great road running from the Punjab to Delhi. Sepoys fought bravely for us in the Residency at Lucknow, and on the "Ridge" at Delhi. The Guides, for instance, horse and foot, started for Delhi at six hours' notice, and marched "at the hottest season of the year through the hottest region on earth " for twenty-one days at an average of twenty-seven miles a day. Their bravery in the operations at Delhi, when they lost half their men, and all their British officers were either killed or wounded, was only equalled by that of the Gurkhas. Moreover, even some of the revolting regiments protected their officers and aided them to escape, whilst touching stories are told of the fidelity shown by native servants towards the British women and children. By the end of September the critical period of the Mutiny was over. In the previous month the " Ridge" had been reinforced by a column from the Punjab under John Nicholson. Owing largely to Nicholson's heroism - and energy, Delhi was finally stormed on the 14th September, though Nicholson himself was mortally wounded. Five days of street fight followed before the rebels were completely expelled from the city. Havelock, through no fault of his own, had arrived too late to save Cawn-pore, but he and Outram, "the Bayard of India", were able to fight their way to Lucknow and to relieve the garrison (September 25), though they were in turn besieged when they got there. Reinforcements then began to pour in from Great Britain. In November, Colin Campbell was able to make a further ad-yance upon Lucknow, and the Residency was again relieved and the troops withdrawn. It took some time, however, before the Mutiny was finally suppressed. The city of Lucknow was not finally captured till 1858. In the same year a brilliant campaign was carried out by Sir Hugh Rose in Central India, where the Mutiny had spread, and not till the spring of 1859 were hostilities completely at an end. Stern punishment was meted out to those who deserved it, as the tragedies of the Mutiny, and especially of Cawnpore, made it impossible for the British to be altogether merciful. That considerable severity should be shown in revenge was inevitable, but the governor-general, Lord Canning, successfully exerted his influence on behalf of clemency (He was called "Clemency Canning" - a nickname which was first given in impatience and anger, but remained to be an honour). The Mutiny marks an epoch in Indian history. In the first place, the queen's Government became directly responsible for the government of India, and the rule of the East India Company came to an end. This was announced by a Proclamation of the queen in November, 1858, the felicitous wording of which, was due to the suggestions which the queen -made to the prime minister, Lord Derby. Some years later, in 1877, the assumption by the queen of the title of Empress of India symbolized the change. Secondly, in India itself the period of warfare came to an end. For the last fifty years the Pax Britannica has been imposed upon India, and no hostilities have occurred in the interior of that vast continent. Thirdly, the Mutiny affected the policy of the British. Reforms were in future undertaken with a due regard to native susceptibilities. Lord Dalhousie's policy of annexing native states on the failure of direct heirs was abandoned. The proportion of British troops to native troops was increased, and care was taken that the artillery should be worked mainly by British soldiers. Over the history of India since 1857 we must pass briefly. Suspicion of Russian designs was the most prominent characteristic in the foreign policy of the Indian Government. Russian intrigues at Kabul led to a Second Afghan War (1878-80). The Amir of Afghanistan was deposed, and the new Amir had to consent to receive a British resident. In a few months the resident was murdered and his escort of Guides killed after an heroic defence. Hence a campaign had to be undertaken, which was famous for the inarch of Sir F. (afterwards Lord) Roberts from Kabul to Kandahar. Eventually a prince called Abdur Rahman was made Amir, and the British then retired. Abdur Rahman (died 1901) and his successor kept on good terms with the Indian Government, which gave to the Amir a large annual subsidy for the maintenance of an army of defence to guard against the dangers of a Russian invasion. |
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