By Gaurav Poddar (St. Stephen's College)
1857, 11th May to 16th May are the grand days which will always be memorable in the history of India. The Hindus and the Mahomedans rivalry came to an end and they were proclaimed as brothers and equal. Those were the golden days when the Hindus and Mahomedans, together raised the flag of national freedom at Delhi!
It was agreed that May 31st, 1857 will be the day of uprising, but had the whole of India risen on that day, we would have got freedom much earlier. But, there was rising in Meerut before May 31st. The Revolutionaries, all geared up, then started to march towards Delhi. The horses neighing, the sounds of boots of soldiers, the shouts and cries of "Delhi Delhi" was enough to keep this city awake. The army, crossed the Jumna river and reached all the way to Delhi and after that what happened was remarkable.
"Let the English Rule be destroyed"
"Kill the whites"
"Din Din"
The city roared with the cries of the revolutionaries.
And finally, the historic Kashmiri gate was opened and these revolutionaries entered Delhi. Another part of the army entered through the Calcutta gate. After that everyone, everything associated with English were to be killed, destroyed, all traces were to be removed. The Captain was killed, the commissioner was killed, the church was destroyed, the bottles in English hospitals were broken, anyone found on streets having any association with English were brutally murdered. Yes, the revolutionaries were on fire!
When the emperor told that he didn't have enough funds for the army, the army enthusiastically decided to loot the English treasury. The mob was acting its way. There was a total tamasha which the revolutionaries were enjoying. When the English refused to surrender the arsenal to these sepoys, these sepoys attacked the arsenal. Since English were few in number and saw no chance of them getting saved, they instead of surrendering the arsenal, set fire to it and gave their lives. There was a terrible crash of a thousand cannon and many people were torn into pieces! Englishmen were taken to maidan and on order, within a fraction of seconds all of them were killed. No one dared to question the Sepoys. Many Englishmen manged to escape as well! They fled to Flagstaff Tower in the North-West ridge.
On 16th May, not even a trace of English domination was left in Delhi. It was the need of freedom, it was the love for the nation, it was extraordinary patriotism and it was the ever-increasing hatred against the English Rule that resulted in a combustible mixture! The Hindus and the Mahomedans together proclaimed that India was their country.
However, the pre-mature attacks warned the English people...
1857, 11th May to 16th May are the grand days which will always be memorable in the history of India. The Hindus and the Mahomedans rivalry came to an end and they were proclaimed as brothers and equal. Those were the golden days when the Hindus and Mahomedans, together raised the flag of national freedom at Delhi!
It was agreed that May 31st, 1857 will be the day of uprising, but had the whole of India risen on that day, we would have got freedom much earlier. But, there was rising in Meerut before May 31st. The Revolutionaries, all geared up, then started to march towards Delhi. The horses neighing, the sounds of boots of soldiers, the shouts and cries of "Delhi Delhi" was enough to keep this city awake. The army, crossed the Jumna river and reached all the way to Delhi and after that what happened was remarkable.
"Let the English Rule be destroyed"
 |
| Kashmiri Gate, Delhi |
"Din Din"
The city roared with the cries of the revolutionaries.
And finally, the historic Kashmiri gate was opened and these revolutionaries entered Delhi. Another part of the army entered through the Calcutta gate. After that everyone, everything associated with English were to be killed, destroyed, all traces were to be removed. The Captain was killed, the commissioner was killed, the church was destroyed, the bottles in English hospitals were broken, anyone found on streets having any association with English were brutally murdered. Yes, the revolutionaries were on fire!
When the emperor told that he didn't have enough funds for the army, the army enthusiastically decided to loot the English treasury. The mob was acting its way. There was a total tamasha which the revolutionaries were enjoying. When the English refused to surrender the arsenal to these sepoys, these sepoys attacked the arsenal. Since English were few in number and saw no chance of them getting saved, they instead of surrendering the arsenal, set fire to it and gave their lives. There was a terrible crash of a thousand cannon and many people were torn into pieces! Englishmen were taken to maidan and on order, within a fraction of seconds all of them were killed. No one dared to question the Sepoys. Many Englishmen manged to escape as well! They fled to Flagstaff Tower in the North-West ridge.
 |
| The Flagstaff Tower |
On 16th May, not even a trace of English domination was left in Delhi. It was the need of freedom, it was the love for the nation, it was extraordinary patriotism and it was the ever-increasing hatred against the English Rule that resulted in a combustible mixture! The Hindus and the Mahomedans together proclaimed that India was their country.
However, the pre-mature attacks warned the English people...
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