Nana Saheb Peshwa and the War of 1857

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Our first war of Independence against the British Rule in India was fought in 1857. It was spread over north and Central India—from Punjab border to Bihar and from Himalaya to Narmada, the sound and fury of which was echoed throughout the Indian peninsula. Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the displaced Peshwa Bajirao II, was the chief architect of the War. It was he who brought about integration of the scattered Indians for the fight. All the important events of the War are intricately linked with his life. Therefore, a faithful attempt has been made to reflect in this book his personality, sensibility, undaunted courage, respect for self and for others, and above all, love for his motherland. Madhav Sathe (b. 1938) is M.A. in English Literature. He taught literature for about five years and then joined M.P. State Warehousing Corporation. His literary criticism, articles on historical topics and contemporary events are published in various Marathi and Hindi periodicals. His historical novel Brahmavarta (Marathi) published in 1990 was awarded by Sahitya Akademi as the best book of the year. Its translation into Hindi was subsequently published by Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi and is widely read and acclaimed. He has also written many novels and translated many literary works.

Let me explain at the outset the need for writing about Nana Saheb Peshwa afresh when some are already available today.

It is true that the record of contemporary events becomes history in later years; however, at no time the record can be claimed as complete because for a variety of reasons documents are kept in secrecy. An author uses only the material he can lay his hands on. Non-availability of documents renders the works.of earlier historians and biographers of historical persons incomplete. It is worth mentioning here that although more than one-and-a-half century has passed since 1857 when our First War of Independence was fought, documents are still being discovered throwing new light on the persons and incidents of that great event. As such it is the duty of the successors of earlier writers, who have the advantage of newly unearthed documents, to revise those works suitably.

Biography of historical figures forms a part of contemporary history. Duly dated reliable documents in support of events, are the raw material essential for writing acomplete book. Unfortunately documents available about Nana Saheb are extremely scanty. Till recently even his date of birth was not known. What is more known for certain is only about the events from the date of his adoption by Bajirao II on 7 June 1827 to his defeat at village Ahariya in July 1857, his stay in Lucknow and Nepal and some skirmishes with the Imperial army. When and where Nana Saheb died is still shrouded in mystery. Exactly what part Nana Saheb played in the events that took place in the interregnum is not known. Documents, as also articles such as clothes, wooden sandals and pugree (turban) are sometimes produced by some people as personal belongings of Nana Saheb, while claiming that they are his descendents and indicate where he died and in which year. But none of these exhibits leads us to definite conclusion. Taking into account all these hurdles, let me confess, the present work too is not ‘complete’, like other books on Nana Saheb written in the past. Let us hope Time in its course will unveil those hidden facts and a complete work on Nana Saheb would be penned.

I have, however, left no stone unturned in collecting information about Nana Saheb from several sources. I have also referred to the books which hitherto were not known to many.

The task was not easy to accomplish. But my friends and well wishers came to my help. The acknowledged erudite Professor Mahesh Dubey, who taught Mathematics in Holkar College, Indore, has studied in depth, and extensively too, the events of 1857. He helped me get books on the subject. He untiringly went several times through the manuscript, made valuable suggestions and wished that my rendering should have mathematical accuracy as far as possible. But without his help I would not have been able to write this book. I am indebted to him for this and wish to remain so forever.

Shridhar V. Sahasrabuddhe of Pune is another name I should mention of. Sahasrabuddhe means a person of thousand-fold knowledge. He was a voracious reader; there was hardly a branch of the Humanities in which he did not have his studied and original views to offer. Whenever he could smell of any document which he thought might help me, (and Iacknowledge, it did help me) he promptly brought to me its xerox copy. (Alas! he died before this book could be published).

I also gratefully make mention of I. J. Rodge, Incharge Officer, Maharashtra State Archives, Pune and her staff members, Kailas Lokhande and Mrs. Bhangle for the cooperation they so generously extended to me.

I am fortunate to have this book published by National Book Trust, India. I am also thankful to Vasundhara Lal of the NBT, who, repeatedly and painstakingly corrected the proofs—a laborious task indeed!

The great war of 1857 was not a sudden outbreak of a few upstart angry soldiers (those in the British army who fought for their masters, the East India Company government) and crestfallen native rulers who wanted to regain their lost power and glory, but a calculated and determined effort to extirpate the East India Company rule which had kept India in bondage for the last hundred years. If 10 May 1857 is taken as the beginning of the war when the Sepoys (Combatants in the National Revolutionary Army who fought against East India Company) at Meerut revolted, it concluded on 1 November 1858 with the Proclamation of Queen Victoria putting an end to the Company Raj and thereby bringing India under the British Crown.

Much water has flown down the River Ganges and the River Thames since then, but the inquisitive historians are still endeavouring to explore the causes which engendered the war and the events related to it. Documents of historical importance are still being discovered.

Memories of 1857 are still alive in Indian and British minds which often figure, sometimes allegorically, in the Press and in the context of current events. The events of the war have provided raw material to writers all these years. The East India Company obtained license to trade with India from the Mughal Emperor Shahjehan in 1600. The Company built godowns to store their goods and wares at Surat and Bombay. They also employed armed guards for safety. The Company’s trade flourished year after year and earned huge profits. The shareholders of the Company earned handsome dividend every year, it was sometimes more than 200%.

The Mughal Empire began to disintegrate after the death of Aurangzeb. Its principalities seceded from the Empire and declared themselves independent rulers of the territories they were managing for the Emperor. The newly arisen Maratha power subjugated most of these principalities and made the Emperor pay tribute to the Chhatrapati of Satara by his Peshwa (Prime Minister). For political reasons, however, the Mughal Emperor was not dethroned. The Maratha Empire was established.

In 1761 the Marathas were defeated in the battle of Panipat. The worthy Peshwa Madhav Rao, however, recouped the loss. But he died a premature death. The loss sustained by his death proved a greater loss than the loss at Panipat. The succeeding Peshwas could not hold the Maratha flag high. The Chhatrapati of Satara, the fountainhead of Maratha power had dried up. Peshwa Bajirao II was indecisive and unscrupulous. His sardars — Scindhia, Holkar, Gaikwad and Pawar — didn’t care at all either for the Peshwa or the Chhatrapati. The Maratha Empire was shattered to pieces in the same way the Mughal Empire was disintegrated earlier.

The whole of India was divided into fragments governed by small Rajas. Some of them had territories much smaller in size than any metropolis today and they were always at daggers drawn against one another. There was no political power which could keep this vast country single and united. This chaotic situation fostered the dream of establishing a political power the British had been dreaming ever since their victory at the battle of Plassey in 1757. It was this victory which ‘compelled’ the weak Emperor Shah Alam II to bestow the Nawabi of Bengal on the Company.

Though the Emperor was completely subjugated by the Company, it continued to play its role of vassal to him, paying respect (though a vain show) to him. But soon after they became audacious enough to refuse customary presents to the Emperor Bahadurshah in 1843. He was ‘advised’ not to bestow Khitab and Khilat upon his courtiers. The emperor had to bow before the Company’s wishes. His Empire remained in the four walls of Lal Qila (Red Fort) and his domestic servants and attendants became his only subjects to rule over. Thus the Mughal Empire became a thing of the past.

Now there was no need for the Company to care either for Mughal or Maratha power. Their principals and principalities had become spineless. Why the Company should care for them? They had a strong and disciplined army as well as weapons! What more was needed to vanquish India? The Company changed their motto — from ‘Trade, not Territory’ to ‘Trade and Territory.’

In pursuance of the changed motto, the Company approached various native rulers with a proposal that the Company would provide army and weapons to protect themselves against their adversaries. Maintenance of internal law and order was also guaranteed to them. The rulers would ‘simply’ sign the Treaty of Subsidiary Alliance. For this ‘service’ the ruler would carve out land of his domain which would fetch adequate revenue for maintenance of the army placed at the disposal of the ruler. The land so earmarked would be under the exclusive governance of the Company.

The rulers readily accepted the proposal and signed the Treaty; some did so out of genuine fear of external aggression and internal disorder while others out of imaginary fears the wily Company had posed before them. The Company was sure to make gains out of this trade in man (in the form of army) and material (in the form of weapons) and also territories to govern over.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages