Sunday, May 17, 2015

V Balasubrmanian

CHENNAI: A 68-year-old Right to Information activist in Kancheepuram was found dead on the side of a road in Velathottam in Kancheepuram district on Thursday evening.

V Balasubrmanian had filed a number of applications under the Right To Information (RTI) Act seeking information about alleged irregularities in several handloom weavers' cooperative societies in Kancheepuram district, it was learnt.

Federation of Anti-Corruption Teams-India general secretary T Retnapandian of Chennai told TOI that Balasubramanian had been facing intimidation from several people against his activism. Balasubrmanian had no reason to go to the place where he was found dead and that raises suspicion about the death, he added.


Retnapandian said he (Retnapandian) had also filed RTI applications on the alleged irregularities in certain handloom cooperative societies in Kancheepuram district.

"I was about to inspect the records of some societies last month. But I did not go as I heard that I might be attacked by some unidentified men there," Retnapandian said.

Kancheepuram subdivision DSP K Rajendran said Balasubramanian's body was found in a sitting position by the road side at Velathottam under Magral police station limit around 5.30pm. "Initial medical reports suggested that he may have died of a heart attack. There were no external injuries on the body,'' the DSP said.

courtesy: TOI NEWS

Govind Pansare - The Death Of A Comrade

Courtesy: Tehelka

The historically progressive state of Maharashtra, which has a history of radical movements, is fast gaining notoriety for the snuffing out of political leaders and intellectuals vocal about religious fundamentalism, cultural policing and superstition. The recent murder of CPI leader Govind Pansare and the murder of activist Narendra Dabholkar a year and half ago are two instances that give the state a dubious reputation. Religious fundamentalists have allegedly carried out both the murders.

On 16 February, 82-year-old Pansare and his wife Uma were attacked in Kolhapur near their house while returning from a morning walk. The manner of killing was uncannily similar to the way suspected Hindutva extremists had attacked and killed anti-superstition activist Dabholkar in Pune.



Pansare and his wife were shot from a close range by two unknown motorcycle-borne assailants at around 8.30 am. Pansare received three bullet injuries on his neck, leg and armpit while his wife suffered a bullet injury on her neck. After the attack, the couple was admitted to Aster Adhar hospital in Kolhapur. Later, Pansare was shifted to the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on 20 February, where he succumbed to his injuries on the same day, whereas his wife survived the attack. It is to be noted that Dabholkar was also attacked by two unknown motorcycle-borne assailants while he was taking a morning walk. Clearly, the two murders bear a stark similarity.

The central office of the CPI in a statement condemned the murderous attack on Govind and Uma Pansare. The statement mentions that “Pansare was under threat from the communal forces over his latest move to organise a discussion meeting on a book on the slain chief of Maharashtra ATS Hemant Karkare, Who Killed Karkare”.

The book, written by former inspector general of Maharashtra Police Shamsuddin Mushrif, claims that Karkare, who was killed during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, was actually killed by extremist groups such as Abhinav Bharat, who synchronised a parallel attack at that time on him. Abhinav Bharat and some extremist elements in the Intelligence Bureau, Mumbai Police and ATS wanted to eliminate Karkare as he was about to expose them. During the investigation of the 2008 Malegaon blasts, he had recovered three laptops that had the blueprint of the “Aryavrat Hindu Rashtra” and was going to expose their intentions in public.

Under the leadership of Karkare, the ATS arrested 11 suspects, including Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Dayanand Pandey, in the Malegaon blasts case.

Mushrif told Tehelka, “Pansare initially read a slim Marathi volume on the death of Karkare in which the reference of my book was given. He was furious with the findings and then through a common friend and retired judge BG Kolse Patil, we came in contact. He told me that he will organise a discussion on the book in Kolhapur on 30 December 2014 so that the truth can be brought to light.”

Mushrif informed that a week before the scheduled discussion on the book, Pansare held a press conference in Kolhapur regarding it. But the very next day, some right-wing groups organised a press conference and demanded that the event be scrapped. The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti complained to the police that the event could disturb communal harmony. Pansare, however, stood his ground and went ahead with the discussion, for which people turned out in large numbers. He argued that the book had been published in 2009 and was not banned anywhere, so if anybody had a different view, they could publish another work challenging Mushrif’s conclusions.

A Pune-based organisation, the Rashtriya Seva Dal, had also volunteered to hold a discussion on Mushrif’s book in the city on 12 January. But, on 8 January, they cancelled the discussion due to some official reason and told Mushrif that they will hold the discussion in February, but that never happened.

“The Rashtriya Seva Dal chickened out and cancelled the discussion on the book. This enraged Comrade Pansare and during our state council meeting on 31 January, he appealed that the party should fight back such extremist forces and arrange for 50 discussions on the book’s findings,” says CPI state secretary Bhalchandra Kango. “All of us agreed and planned to start the discussions after our national conference in March.”
Megha Pansare, Govind Pansare’s daughter-in-law and the district secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (the CPI’s women’s wing), told Tehelka, “My father used to get many threatening letters but he never used to pay attention to them. In 2013, he had received a letter accusing him of treason against Bharat Mata as he believed in an ideology different from Hindutva.”

Megha says that most of these threat letters had been sent from Pune. “A month ago, when I told him that he should take these threats seriously, he replied, ‘I am 82 years old. Who is going to kill me now? I will keep working as long as I am alive’,” she says.

“Recently, an ABVP activist objected to his speech in Shivaji University where he had criticised the glorification of Nathuram Godse by the fundamentalists. I am sure he was murdered because of his stand against religious extremism and cultural policing,” she adds.

Pansare was one of the tallest communist leaders in Maharashtra and worked for the CPI for more than 50 years. He was a writer, lawyer and political leader all rolled into one. He came from a very humble background. While studying law, he used to work as a peon in a municipality school and also as a newspaper hawker. He participated in the Goa liberation movement and the ‘Samyukt Maharashtra’ movement in his youth. After becoming a lawyer, he served as the president of the Kolhapur Bar Association.

In recent years, Pansare was in the forefront of the anti-toll tax agitation. He led various movements in the unorganised sector for the welfare of farm labourers, slum-dwellers and domestic workers. He wrote 20 books in his career. His most famous book, published in 1984, was titled Shivaji Kaun Hota? (Who was Shivaji?). In that book, he projected the Maratha warrior king as a secular ruler, who took care of his people irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. This projection by Pansare went against the standard image of Shivaji as a Hindu king. This book became so popular that it was translated into 14 languages.

Initially, it was speculated that Pansare was murdered as he was in the forefront of the anti-toll movement in Kolhapur. “I don’t buy that theory as many other leaders were also involved in the anti-toll campaign,” says Kango. “Right-wing extremists propagated that speculation to mislead the people.”


On 11 March, more than 40,000 people participated in a protest march in Mumbai demanding the arrest of the killers of Pansare and Dabholkar. Pansare had been an ardent supporter of Dabholkar’s campaign against superstition. Last May, the CBI was asked to probe Dabholkar’s murder. A three-member CBI team is working on the case but is yet to reach any conclusions.

“We suspect that the same group that killed Dabholkar could be behind Pansare’s murder as well,” says social activist Vivek Sundara, who participated in the protest march in Mumbai. “The police has been lax in probing the case and apprehending the murderers. There seems to be little hope for justice.”

Kolhapur Additional Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal told Tehelka, “We are probing the case and are trying our best. But as it is ongoing, we cannot disclose the direction it is taking.”

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Rinku Singh Rahi

PCS OFFICER involved in exposing scams in Govt Welfare Schemes - survived six bullet hits

Source

A provincial civil services officer, Rinku Singh Rahi, who launched his hunger strike in Lucknow on Monday demanding a probe into charges of corruption in state-run schemes, was whisked away by the police from the dharna site at midnight and taken to the psychiatric ward of a medical college in the city.


Doctors there, however, reportedly refused to admit him. He was then sent off to his hometown Aligarh.

In midnight drama in Uttar Pradesh's capital, Mr Rahi was picked up from outside the Lucknow assembly because the Chief Medical Officer diagnosed him with low blood pressure. He was first taken to the Balrampur hospital and later to the Lucknow medical college. Doctors at both hospitals refused to admit him.

Mr Rahi has been raising the issue of corruption in the state government sponsored schemes ever since his stint as the District Social Welfare Officer in Muzzafarnagar in 2009. He has exposed corruption to the tune of Rs. 40 crore, for which he also suffered an attempt on his life when the local mafia pumped six bullets into him on March 26, 2009 - in that assault, he lost vision in one eye.

(wikipedia) Inquiry committee[edit]

After Rahi was attacked, an inquiry committee was set up under Alka Tandon, director of social selfare department – Meerut. The committee found no records of funds spent in the last five years by the Social welfare, corroborating Rahi's allegations. The committee also found embezzlement to the tune of 100 million rupees, associated with various welfare schemes in 2009, according to Narendra Kumar Chowdhary, Social welfare department director. The Committee submitted the report with findings that included:
  • No records were found regarding the scholarships at 101 schools.
  • No records were found about five years of verification of people who are getting benefits on name of Elderly[Old-age] schemes and Widow pension schemes.
  • Money was distributed to families having no daughter as part of the Daughter's marriage scheme.
The report also hinted that the local officials of the education department's involvement in the malpractices of Scholarship scheme. The inquiry team found accounting discrepancies to the tune of millions of rupees in almost all the schemes.
He claims that attack was carried out at the behest of his department officials who he was trying to expose. A state government enquiry later on proved his claims that the spending of allocated funds was not accounted for by the Social Welfare Department for more than five years.

Mr Rahi is currently posted at the state-run coaching institute for IAS and IPS aspirants from the Dalit community in Aligarh.

A few days ago, before setting out for Lucknow for his hunger strike, the officer had told reporters in Aligarh that now with a regime change in UP, he was hopeful that the Akhilesh Yadav government will pay heed to his demands of a criminal investigation into the allegations of widespread corruption in social welfare schemes of the state government.


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More: Source 1 & 2
Rinku was born on 20-05-1982 in a lower middle class family at Aligarh(U.P.). His father runs an Atta chakki. He did his elementary schooling form Aligarh. After Schooling, he went on to complete his B. Tech. in Metallurgy from NIT, Jamshedpur in 2002. In the same year he scored All India 17th Rank in GATE, which assured him a seat in his desired stream at any top technological institute of the country including IISC & IITs. However, he opted for a career in Civil Services.

In pursuance of this objective he appeared in various Civil Services Examinations/interviews and finally got selected for the post of District Social Welfare Officer through UPPCS Examination - 2004. He again received call for Interview for UPPCS - 2005 which he dropped as he is more inclined towards his present service.

He Joined the service on 26 November 2008 and was posted at Muzaffarnagar (U.P.) as his first posting.

Rinku started showing interest towards the cause of social development form his early years and he took initiative in establishing a Library as well as an Adult Education Center at Aligarh. 

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Facebook page :

Rinku Singh Rahi is a District Social Welfare Officer (qualified U.P.P.C.S. EXAM- 2004). He is an honest officer. He joined for the post of District Social Welfare Officer, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh on 24th November 2008.Where he found scam worth crore of rupees. He reported it to senior officer (Chief Development Officer) in written. But there was no action except corrupt people were reported about the report of scam & he was not given financial charge. After reporting it to other Departmental senior officers, he reported it to the District Magistrate, where he was directed to publish online all information of office, so that scam can be exposed with ease. In the meanwhile, when he visited a site for inspection (as per instruction of his senior officer.) the local mafia who had captured the site attacked on rinku, causing him serious injuries.
Looking into problems of students for scholarship & fee reimbursement & of old aged people, & other people belonging to below poverty line, as per his direction to publish whole data of office online,he collected information from Treasury & Banks, as he was not provided information from his own office.
With this work, he was threatened to his life from office of Principle Secretary of his department, if he continues to work honestly. After reporting it to other senior officer, he continued to work with honesty.
But as he was going to publish data of his office online, his accountant Ashok Kashyap & Mukesh Chaudhary (who has contested M.L.A. election two time & at present Block Pramukh) with the help of some other criminals attempted to murder him on 26 march 2009, when he was playing Badminton in his Official residence campus. Where he could survive hardly, but lost one eye & one jaw completely.Regarding this one criminal case was lodged in police station. & one enquiry committee was constituted. Report of enquiry committee contained only surficial instances of corruption. Even, a very clear case of corruption in INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OLD AGE PENSION SCHEME (whereby money was drawn for 62447 pensioner but number of pensioners in the pensioners list were only 47707 i.e. scam of about rs. 5.3 crore containingrs. Rs. 3.53 crore of Central Government)was not shown in report. Even though there were very surficial cases of corruption in report, yet no action has been taken even in that respect. 
Finding the very true fact that had RinkuRahi been killed in attack, cause of attack i.e. scam worth rs. 30-40crorein a year could not have been even touched upon. But as he is alive, he is to expose scam so that students, poor people can be benefitted from recovered money &process of such corruption could find end at this point.
He approached several senior officers with some documentary evidences to get scam exposed. But he could not succeed. Then he tried to get simple & very basic information under RTI Act from his previous office to expose scam. But he was denied. Then as per rule, he appealed even to the State Information Commission, but he could not get desired information.
Looking into non-availability of information, he informed to the Chief Minister (copied to Several other Officers/Authority) by a letter dated 12.01.2011 that if he is not made available these very simple information by 25.03.2012 even after using all possible ways in reach, then he will be forced to go for fast unto death to request for Good Administration (what he termed as SUPRASHASANAGRAH). 
But he could not get information, despite his approach to all possible ways in reach. Hence, fast unto death (even without water) was started in Lucknow at prescribed place for Strike. Where at about 10.30 p.m. Doctor stated falsely statement that Rinku Rahi did not passed urine from last two days, hence his health is very critical. Based upon this statement of Doctor, Police evicted Rinku from the protest place forcibly allegedly to save his life by giving him treatment. At the protest place, Police lathi charged the supporters. He was taken to Balarampur Hospital without any information to the supporters including any family members. Afterwards Rinku was referred to the psychiatric department. But after roaming to two hospitals, Police was denied to admit Rinku for psychiatric treatment by the Doctors’ team of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical College amidst immense pressure from Police Officials. Upon this movement, Rinku told that at Balarampur Hospital, he was admitted to hospital for treatment of after hunger strike phenomenon, but as soon one senior doctor arrived there & told the staff indicating Rinku that he has number of evidences against Government, & hence is a case similar to D.I.G. Mishra & hence his treatment should be alike. So, he reffered Rinku for “to be kept in 14 days observation” for psychiatric treatment & instructed Police that his file would be prepared just like D.I.G. Mishra & he will bring with him the old file. He also told that he was one of the member of the committee who declared D.I.G. Mishra mentally unstable.
After getting clean chit, Rinku along with his family members & supporters was forced to leave the Lucknow city. Hence, after coming to Aligarh, Rinku continued his fst unto death. Where, upon assurance that he would be provided information within a month, Rinku relaxed condition of fast with declaration that he would relax fast to the limit of liquid food but he will abstain from solid food upto one month of assurance & non receipt of information even after prescribed time will force him to go for fast unto death (without water) again.
Hence, upon non-receipt of information, he has decided to go for fast unto death in Delhi from 27.04.2012.

Krupasindhu Sahoo

KILLED FOR FILING RTI  -  Fund misappropriation of BGREI (Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India)

 Source 1 (Feb 03, 2015):

Two days after the body of a missing RTI activist was found buried near a river in Cuttack, a human rights activist on Monday moved the NHRC seeking an “impartial probe” into the murder.

Krupasindhu Sahoo, 40, a farmer and father of two children had gone to the village market on January 26, but did not return. The next day, his vehicle was found deserted near a temple in the village, Naili. Two days later, his wife Gitanjali received calls from an unknown person who demanded Rs 30 lakh and three kg gold as ransom for release of her husband, prompting her to file a complaint with Niali police station. On January 31, police found his body buried near Tanla river.

Sahoo’s wife Gitanjali alleged in her FIR that her husband was threatened by BJD workers over his filing an RTI application seeking information about funds spent for System of Rice Intensification farming and its beneficiaries.


The reply had revealed corruption and misappropriation of funds by the beneficiaries who made money by submitting false bills in connivance with agriculture officials and Sanskar, an NGO. The beneficiaries had allegedly threatened to kill him.
 

Police have arrested the nephew, sister and mother of the accused, Kartik Pani, who had returned from jail after serving seven years in a murder case. Pani, who is currently absconding, is suspected to have taken “supari” for eliminating Sahoo.

Meanwhile, human rights activist Manoj Jena in his petition before the NHRC requested that the state be asked to order a high-level independent inquiry into the murder and the alleged role of an inspector at the Niali police station as well as BJD party members.


After the incident came to light, Satyabrata Lenka, inspector-in-charge of the police station was sent on leave and a Sub-Divisional Police Officer was asked to probe the case.


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Source 2:
Firdaus Jahan for BeyondHeadlines

The RTI Activist Sri Krupasindhu Sahu is murdered, aged 40 of Nachhinga village under Krushnaprasad Panchayat of Niali Block of Cuttack district. And the reason of the murder is that he had submitted RTI Application to the office of District Agriculture officer, Cuttack seeking information about details of fund spent for SRI cultivation under BGREI and beneficiary list of Block Demonstration of HYV paddy in Krushnaprasad Gram Panhayat of Niali Block.

On 1.2.15,   Sambad, a leading Odisha daily newspaper made news coverage about murder of Sri Krupasindhu Sahu. The area immediately to ascertain the fact and the circumstances led to murder of an RTI user, role of the police administration etc. It needs to be mentioned here that last month on 28.12.14, Sri Ganesh Chandra Panda, RTI Activist of Berhampur was murdered by unidentified hooligans in the early morning when he was on morning walk. Accordingly a four-member team of Human Rights Activists, Sri Pradip Pradhan, State Convener, Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan, Sri Manoj Jena, chairperson, Human Rights Front, Bijayalaxmi Routray, Member, Society for Fast Justice, Bhubaneswar and Sri Srikant Pakal, District Human Rights Defender, Human Rights Front, Cuttack  visited  the spot, enquired  into  the incident  and held  discussion with   the bereaved family members of  deceased Krupasidhu Sahu , Police,  Villagers, political people  etc.

Sri Krupasindhu Bhoiis a farmer and earns his livelihood by cultivating his 5 acres of land.  He was survived by his mother, wife and two children. At first, the Team members visited his house and interacted with his wife Smt. Gitanjali Sahu about the incident. His niece Gitanjali Sahoo also elaborated chronologically the event led to murder of Sri Sahoo. The excerpts of the discussion are as follows statement of witness.

On 26.1.15, Sri Sahoo had gone to village market in the evening and did not return back. His wife got disturbed finding his delay to return to home and made repeated calls to his mobile which was found switched off. On 27. 1.15, the family members made fervent attempts to locate him and seared many places, but it went in vain. But his vehicle was found deserted near Mahaveer temple of the village. Finding the vehicle, the family members suspected that some unusual incident might have taken place.  So, on 28.1.15,  Smt. Gitanjali Sahu received  two  mobile calls  in different times ( at 8 AM and 7 PM) from an unknown person  ( M- 95839-83871)  who demanded 30 lakh rupees and 3 kg gold to get released of his husband who has been kidnapped and kept in some unidentified place. She expressed her helplessness and requested to leave her husband. Then, she   filed an FIR in Niali Police station at 3 PM to find out the whereabouts of her husband.

On 31st Feb. the Police located the spot i.e., river bed of Tanla river where his dead body was found buried. The police team recovered the body and sent to S.C.B. Medical for Post Mortem. The Police also arrested Pratap Jena, nephew, sister and mother of the accused Kartik Pani, prime accused of same village who had returned from jail after 7 years rigorous imprisonment on a murder cases. He was found absconding.

Wife of Krupasindhu Sahoo Smt. Gitanjali Sahu also shared with the team that 3 months back, her husband had submitted RTI Application to the office of District Agriculture officer, Cuttack seeking information about details of fund spent for SRI cultivation under BGREI and beneficiary list of Block Demonstration of HYV paddy in Krushnaprasad Gram Panhayat of Niali Block. This information supplied by the PIO exposed huge corruption and misappropriation of fund by the beneficiaries who have taken lakhs of rupees by making false bill in connivance with Agriculture officials and The SANSKAR, an NGO which has been given the project to monitor the same.


Krupasindhu lodged complaint to the authority seeking an enquiry into corruption and recovery of fund.  This enraged the beneficiaries of the misappropriation of fund who took several attempts to attack him and threatened   him to murder. But he remained undeterred in his mission.  His wife in her FIR filed in the police station has mentioned the name of these people who have threatened him of dire consequence several times. These people are Trilochan Pani, Sanjay Bhoi, Ajay Sethi, Rupan Behera who are the political cadres of Biju Janata Dal, ruling political party in the state. During interaction, Gitanjali Sahu said that it was pre-planned political murder with the support of Sri Satyabrata Lenka, Inspector-In-Charge of Niali Police station. Finally investigation specifies that,

    The Team is of the view that RTI stands as a factor behind this pre-planned cold-blooded murder of Sri Krupasindhu sahu. His use of RTI has brought to lime light the huge corruption and irregularities in BGREI fund sanctioned for development of agriculture in this Block by the influential and powerful political people. This expose enraged these people and created enmity with Krupasindhu. Apprehending enquiry into this scam and recovery of fund from them, they got psychologically disturbed to save their image. They also threatened him to attack and murder him several times as reported by Gitanjali Sahu. It is presumed that these people whose name has been figured in FIR might have engaged Kartik Pani by paying Supari to murder Krupasindhu. The police has neither interrogated these people nor arrested him till yet. The Team is of the view that as these people are members of Biju Janata Dal, Ruling political party of the state,   the police has not dared to take any action against them.


Though FIR was filed on 28.1.15, the Inspector-In-Charge did not take the case seriously. It may be the police have acted at the behest of the politically powerful people of this area. It is also presumed that this is deep-rooted conspiracy hatched between the people involved in misappropriation of BGREI fund and the police which led to the murder of Krupasindhu by a dreaded criminal. The pre-planned strategy in connivance with the police provided golden opportunity to the criminals to murder him. The high-level enquiry can unearth the truth. In the absence of proper investigation, the criminals also dared to murder him without any fear and absconded. Many information can be obtained, if the all records of mobile no. (M-9437005800, 9438547901, 9178620095) of Inspector-In-charge can be investigated.
 

After spot verification, the Team has reached at a conclusion that as it was planned murder, it had taken place on 26th Jan, day of his missing.

The whole episode revolves around expose of misappropriation of BGREI fund through RTI by Krupasindhu. The role of the agriculture officials and NGO the SANSKAR behind murder cannot be ruled out. Apprehending arrest and recovery of fund which has been misappropriated by the beneficiaries in collusion with Agriculture officials, they might have joined and party to this conspiracy to murder conspiracy. There must be a high-level enquiry into misappropriation of BGREI fund in this Block.
 



Thursday, February 12, 2015

Kailash Satyarthi - Nobel Peace Prize 2014

 

Source Wikipedia
 
Kailash Satyarthi (born Kailash Sharma; 11 January 1954) is an Indian children's rights advocate and an activist against child labour.[5][7] He founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (lit. Save the Childhood Movement) in 1980 and has acted to protect the rights of more than 83,000 children from 144 countries.[8][9] It is largely because of Satyarthi's work and activism that the International Labour Organization Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour, which is now a principal guideline for governments around the world.[7
His work is recognized through various national and international honours and awards including the Nobel Peace Prize of 2014, which he shared with Malala Yousafzai

Mutiny 1857 - A Collective effort


Indian First War of Independence 1857: Hindu-Muslim-Sikh Unity, Mass & Women Participation.

  A PDF on same is available here - 


HINDU-MUSLIMS UNITY, PARTICIPATION OF COMMON PEOPLE AND WOMEN IN INDIA’S FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE - Shamsul Islam
 

Hindu- Muslim Unity in India’s First War of Independence

The people of India, especially Hindus and Muslims together, challenged the might of  world’s greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which started in May 1857. This unprecedented unity,naturally, unnerved the British rulers or Firangees and made them conscious of the fact that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims were divided on communal lines and urgent steps were taken to create enmity between these two largest religious communities of India. This was the reason, that immediately after crushing militarily, thisFirst War of Independence with the help of spies and stooges, the then minister of Indian Affairs Lord Wood, sitting in London, in a letter to the chief of British rule in India, Lord Elgin, admitted, ‘we have maintained our power in India by playing off one part against the other and we mustcontinue to do so. Do all we can, therefore, to prevent all having a common feeling.’
In order to put this strategy effectively in operation, the White rulers andtheir Indian stooges came out with two-nation theory implying that Hindus and Muslims belonged to two separate nations as they belonged to different religions. The birth of two-nations theory was no accident, in fact, it was specifically designed and created to help the British rulers in creating communal divide and fragmentize the Indian society on the basis of religions as a united India could prove to be the death knell of their rule here.
The memories of the First War of Independence, which the British rulers called ‘Mutiny’, in which Hindus and Muslims fought tooth and nail with great heroism against the rule of East India Company, was too fresh in the memories of the White rulers who saw their unjust rule almost on the brink of collapse. They could succeed only with the use of treachery and deceit,hallmarks of the British imperialism world-over.
One truth, never to be missed, about this Struggle is that it was jointly led by leaders like Nana Sahib, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Maulvi Ahmed Shah,Tantya Tope, Khan Bahadur Khan, Rani Laxmibai, Hazrat Mahal, Azimullah Khan and Ferozshah, a galaxy of revolutionaries who belonged to different religions. It was a liberation struggle in which Maulvis, Pandits, zamindars, peasants, traders, lawyers, servants, women, students and people from different castes, creeds and regions rose in revolt against the dehumanized rule of the East India Company and laid their lives.Today on the eve of 150th anniversary of First War of Independence we needto tell the present flag bearers of Hindu-Muslim brands of communal politicsthat the revolutionary army which declared the Mughal King Bahadur ShahZafar, a Muslim, India’s Independent ruler on 11th May 1857 comprised of more than seventy percent Hindu soldiers. These were Nana Sahib, TantyaTope and Laxmibai, all Hindus, played vital role in making Zafar, Badshah;the King.The contemporary documents of the period which are available even todayare replete with instances, not confined to one particular area, in whichHindus and Muslims could be seen making supreme sacrifices together, least bothered about who was in the lead and who would bear what cost for opposing the British rule. The happenings and facts of the duration of thisFirst War of Independence categorically present one fundamental truth thatHindu-Muslim separatism or hatred between these two communities was notat all a problem to be worried about.We present in the following some of the instances of how Hindus-Muslimsrose in revolt together, making joint sacrifices for a common causeunderlying the fact that this united effort could bring the foreign rule to itsdoom. These are but few of the examples from thousands of happeningswhich remain unsung even today.After independence, the town of Ayodhya has emerged as a place whichcaused the growth of immense hatred between sections of Hindus andMuslims. Babri Masjid-Ram Janmbhoomi dispute at Ayodhya has playedsignificant role in creating an environment of violence and mistrust betweenthe two largest religious communities of India. But in 1857, it was the sameAyodhya where Maulvis and Mahants and common Hindu-Muslims stoodunited in rebelling against the British rule and kissed the hang man’s noosetogether. Maulana Ameer Ali was a famous Maulvi of Ayodhya and when Ayodhya’s well-known Hanuman Garhi’s (Hanuman Temple) priest BabaRamcharan Das took lead in organizing the armed resistance to the Britishrule, Maulana also joined the revolutionary army. In one battle with theBritish and their stooges, both of them were captured and hanged together ona tamarind tree at the Kuber Teela in Ayodhya.
Baba Ramcharan Das and Maulana Ameer Ali were no exception inAyodhya. This region also produced two more great friends, belonging todifferent religions who made life hell for the British sponsored armies.Acchhan Khan and Shambhu Prasad Shukla were two such friends who leadthe army of Raja Devibaksh Singh in the district of Faizabad. Both of themwere able to defeat the Firangee army in many battles, inflicting heavy losses on them. It was due to the treachery again that they were captured. Inorder to desist anyone from such companionships between Hindus andMuslims both these friends were publicly inflicted prolonged torture andtheir heads were cruelly filed off.It is not difficult to understand that why the same Ayodhya where blood of both Hindus and Muslims flowed for liberating the motherland in 1857 later became a permanent source of friction between the two communities. The joint heritage of Ayodhya needed to be erased and only then the BritishIndian Empire could survive. It was meticulously done by the British rulersand the heritage of communal unity at Ayodhya was turned upside down.Kota state (now in Rajasthan) was ruled by a Maharao subservient to theBritish. The leading courtier of this state was, Lala Jaidayal Bhatnagar, agreat literary figure who was equally conversant with Persian, Urdu andEnglish. When it was found that Maharao was collaborating with the Britishhe joined hands with the army chief, Mehrab Khan and established arevolutionary government in the state. When Kota was captured by theBritish forces with the help of stooge neighbouring princes, they together continued fighting in the region till 1859. Betrayed by an informer both werehanged at Kota on September 17, 1860.Hansi town (now in Haryana) presents another heart-warming example of how Muslims and Jains fearlessly challenged the foreign rule and did nothesitate in sacrificing their lives together. In this town lived two closefriends, Hukumchand Jain and Muneer Beg. They were known for literaryworks and love for mathematics and joined the revolt in the earlier phaseitself. The revolutionary government of Bahadurshah Zafar chose them asadvisors and appointed them as commanders in the region of west of Delhiwhich is known as Haryana today. They led many successful militarycampaigns in the area but due to the treachery of rulers of Patiala, Nabha,Kapurthala, Kashmir and Pataudi were defeated in a crucial battle andcaptured. The British were extremely worried and horrified with this kind of unity of the people of two religions that they decided to kill them in a most horrendous and sickening manner. After hanging them on the same tree inHansi on January 19, 1858, Hukumchand Jain was buried and Muneer Begwas cremated against the custom of their respective religions. It was done with the obvious purpose of making fun of the unity of these two revolutionaries belonging to different religions and show hatred towards their comradeship.
Another unspeakable crime committed by the Britishwas that when 13 year old nephew of Hukamchand Jain protested to this treatment he too was hanged, although there was no sentence passed against him. Malwa region in the then Central Province (now Madhya Pradesh) was another war theatre where big and crucial battles were fought against the British hegemony. It was the joint command of Tatia Tope, Rao Saheb,Laxmi Bai, Ferozshah and Moulvi Fazal Haq, a renowned scholar, which was able to mobilize a huge revolutionary army numbering around 70-80thousand fighters. This Indian army led by them won innumerable battles against the British and their henchmen. However, in a crucial battle at Ranodon December 17, 1858, when due to the treachery of stooge princes the revolutionary army led by Tatia Tope, Ferozeshah and himself was encircled Moulvi Fazal Haq stood as a rock in the way of advancing British troops. He and his 480 companions laid down their lives but were able to save the main force which included Tatia Tope, Rao Saheb and Ferozshah. Thus saved by the supreme sacrifice by Moulvi Fazl Haq and his comrades, Tatia Tope continued to wage war till the beginning of 1859 and it was due to the treachery of Man Singh, ruler of Narwar, that the British were able to capture him and subsequently hang him on April 18, 1859. Rao Saheb(Pandurang Sadashiv, nephew of Nana Saheb) too continued to wage the struggle and could be captured only in 1862 betrayed by a Maratha chief in Jammu region. He was later hanged in Kanpur.
Ferozeshah, fought thelongest, was never captured and travelled to west Asia in search of help from Muslim rulers for India’s freedom. Disheartened by their apathy went to Mecca where he died in 1887.Rohilkhand (present day Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Badaun etc) was the areawhich was a strong hold of revolutionaries from the very beginning.Immediately after the announcement of an independent Indian government at Delhi on May 11, 1857, Khan Bahadur Khan was appointed as the viceroyof Mughal emperor there. Khan soon after assuming charge appointed acommittee of eight members consisting both Hindus and Muslims to conductthe affairs of the state. His deputy was Khushi Ram. This government forbade cow-killing in deference to the sentiments of local Hindus as was done in Delhi by the orders of General Bakht, chief commander of the revolutionary army. Khan and Khushi Ram led troops defeated the British and their stooges in many battles but were defeated in a crucial battle at Bareilly after remaining in office for almost a year. They continued with the struggle and withdrew towards Nepal but were captured. Both of them were brought to Bareilly and hanged with hundreds of their followers outside old Kotwali on March 20, 1860.Hindu-Muslim unity during the First Indian War of Independence was not confined to one area or one section of the population. This unity pervaded the whole country at all stratum. It was a ground reality and fact of life with which, naturally, women also did not remain untouched. In a small town,Thana Bhawan, situated in Muzaffar Nagar district (now in western Uttar Pradesh) 11 brave women belonging to different religions and castes were hanged together or burnt alive for taking up arms against the repressiveBritish rule. The names and heroic deeds of some of them are as follows.
Asghari Begum, 45 years old, belonged to a well-to-do family and was burntalive for organizing rebellion in the area. Another revolutionary woman was,28 years old, Asha Devi, who belonged to a Hindu Gujar family and washanged. Another martyred woman was young Bhagwati Devi, born into aTyagi family of farmers who fought in many battles against the Firangee rule. 24 year old, Habeeba, belonging to a Muslim Gujar family, fearlesslyfought in many battles to liberate neighbouring areas from the Britishtyranny. She was captured while resisting a British attack and was executedon gallows in 1857. Another brave woman from this area was named MamKaur who belonged to a family of shepherdess and was hanged at the youngage of 25 years. 26 years old, Umda was another gallant woman from thisarea, born into a Jat Muslim family who sacrificed her life resisting theBritish invasion. Raj Kaur born in 1833, hailed from a Sikh family and madethe supreme sacrifice fighting against the British in Thana Bhawan areaonly.British made it a prestige issue to recapture Delhi (which the revolutionariesgot liberated from the British rule in May 1857 and declared it to be theCapital of an Independent India). They rightly thought that if once they wereable to re-capture Delhi, the centre of anti-British activities, then it wouldnot be difficult to suppress the rising tide of rebellions in other parts of thecountry. During June-September 1857, the British army encircled Delhi withall their might but could not break into Delhi which was valiantly being defended by the revolutionary army, which was mocked by the British as poorabia sena (army of people from eastern India). The majority of thisrevolutionary army consisted of Hindus and was jointly led by MohammedBakht Khan, Singhari Lal, Ghaus Mohammad and Hira Singh, Khan beingthe Commander-in-Chief. The contemporary British documents show thatdespite all their attempts to create communal divide through spies in the cityamong the ranks of revolutionary army and residents of Delhi, the Indians stood as one in defence of their Independent India’s capital.

In order to maintain communal peace and not let the British spies succeed in creatingcommunal conflict amongst Delhites, General Bakht Khan, C-in-C of the revolutionary army issued a proclamation prohibited cow slaughtering in Delhi.What kind of communal amity existed in Delhi under siege and how Hindus-Muslims co-existed with each other in these times of grave crisis would be further known by the following example. In order to enhance the capacity to attack the British positions outside the city walls, a huge canon of Shahjahan’s times which was lying unused was taken out, repaired and madeuseable. It was mounted on the Faseel or boundary wall of Shajahanabad but before firing the first canon, in the presence of Bahadur Shah Zafar andother army officials, Hindu priests performed Aarti, garlanded it and blessedit with Vedic hymns.
William Russell, a well-known war correspondent was sent by The Times, aleading British newspaper published from London to cover the ‘Mutiny.’ In one of his reports dated, March 2, 1858, while describing the strength of therevolutionary army he wrote: ‘There are, it is said, at least 60,000 regulars of all sorts, and about 70,000 nujeebs [irregulars], militia, and matchlockmen.All the great chiefs of Oudh, Mussalman and Hindu, are there, and havesworn to fight for their young king, Birjeis Kuddr [sic], to the last. Their cavalry is numerous, the city is filled with people, the works are continuallystrengthened. All Oudh is in the hands of the enemy, and we only hold the ground we cover with our bayonets.’
Another senior British officer, Thomas Lowe who participated in major British Army's campaigns in the Central India, despite all his hatred for therevolutionaries, had to
admit the fact that ‘the infanticide Rajput, the bigoted Brahmin, the fanatic Mussalman, and the luxury loving, fat-paunchedambitious Maharattah [sic], they all joined together in the cause; the cow-killer and the cow-worshipper, the pig-hater and the pig-eater, the crier of Allah is God and Mohommed [sic] his prophet and the mumbler of themysteries of Brahma.’
Fred Roberts was one of the leading British military commanders who ledthe British army to recapture Lucknow. He later on became the Commander-in-Chief of the British armed forces in India. In one of his letters, from theLucknow front dated Nov 25, 1857, while rejoicing victory on that day atSikander Bagh, Lucknow could not miss out the fact that even in the face of death the rebel army consisting of both Hindus and Muslims did not loseheart and stayed glued to each other. When Fred entered the Sikander Baghhe found nearly 2000 rebels on the ground dead or dyin
g.
I never saw such a sight. They were literally in heaps, and when I went in were a heavingmass, some dead, but most wounded and unable to get up from the crush. How so many got crowded together I can’t understand. You had to walk over them to cross the court. They showed their hatred even while dying,cursed us and said: if we could only stand, we would kill you.

Through out the First War of Independence i.e. 1857-59 every hook and corner of the country is replete with such instances of fearless fighters,supreme sacrifices and strong bond of unity amongst people belonging to different religions. Such glorious instances of unbreakable Hindu-Muslim unity did really happen 150 years back. It can be verified even today by asimple perusal of the contemporary British archives, personal collections,diaries and narrations. Given these realities of history, it is not difficult to understand why a divide between Hindus and Muslims was necessitated,who were instrumental in accomplishing it and who benefited out of this divide. This natural unity between the followers of two largest religions in1857 had greatly alarmed and perturbed the British rulers and they could foresee the end of their imperialist project in India. This danger could only be averted if Hindus and Muslims were made to separate and led to follow opposite directions. The survival of the British Empire in India depended on the successful execution of this strategy. The flag-bearers of the politics of two-nations in the past and communal politics today are the ones who helped the British to execute this evil design. We should never ignore the fact that communalism was a ploy of the British who feared the end of their Empire in India if Hindus and Muslims continually stood united. On the eve of 150th anniversary of the great rebellion, we must rise to take pledge of never betraying the shared heritage and shared martyrdoms of the First Indian War of Independence.


Participation of common people in India's first Independence-struggle
 
There is no denying the fact that India's First War of Independence actually began on 15th February 1857, when the soldiers of the 19th Native Regiment of East India Company rose in revolt at the Berhampur cantonment in Bengal. The immediate reason for this revolt was the use of cartridges which the soldiers had to bite before using. These were very smooth and the soldiers were confident that this was due to the use of the fat of cows and pigs. British rulers too never gave any explanation regarding that. The religious feelings of Hindu and Muslim soldiers was equally hurt by these cartridges and they collectively initiated a rebellion. To suppress this revolt the British rulers held Mangal Pandey responsible for this and presented him in front of a military court which finally ended in his being hanged to death on 8th April 1857. Mangal Pandey's execution helped spreading the revolt in major parts of the country and most of the cantonments of the company army started protesting. Parallel to this were various kings and Nawabs who announced their independence in various parts of the country. This collective revolt came to a critical point when on10th May 1857, Indian soldiers of Bri8tish Army in Meerut devastated the biggest cantonment of North India and proceeded to Delhi for the establishment of an Independent govt. and were joined by thousands of people on the way. Similar to this, revolutionary soldiers from the NorthIndia's various cantonments and the masses continued marching towards Delhi.Under the leadership of Bahadurshah Zafar, an independent govt. was formed in Delhi, which issued an announcement in the name of country men and called upon for eradication of British rule and put all the energy in this holy work because " if the British continue ruling India, they will leave no one alive". One myth which is being spread about this revolt is that this was a mutiny which occurred due to indiscipline and was short lived due to the support of suppressive and corrupt feudal elements like kings and nawabs who backed indisciplined soldiers. The historians who think on this line believe that this  struggle did not enjoy the support of the country's masses.

On the 150thanniversary of this struggle, it is imperative to let the countrymen aware of the facts and evade the myths about it.Firstly, it is imperative to know about the India's first independence struggle(Karl Marx used this terminology first regarding the incidents of 1857) that however this is being termed as the struggle of 1857, it continued for two long years. This was not a sepoy mutiny which erupted at a point and was suppressed in weeks or a few months. Contemporary official documents(specially contemporary government gazetteer) reveal that from Jammu in the North to Hyderabad in the South and from West in Afghanistan to East in Tripura, everywhere the British rule was opposed and protested. The spark which aroused in Meerut and Berhampur spread in the whole country like fire. The last battle in this struggle was fought on 21st Jan 1859 near Sikar in Rajasthan. In this battle, due to some of the treacherous leaders of Rajasthan, Tantya Tope, Rao Sahib and Shahzada Ferozshah's army had to face the defeat although even after this for approximately a year, more battles had been drawn.In this struggle, army men, Zamindars, Rajas, Nawabs, peasants and people from every walk of life, females, intellectuals and laureates fought together.This truth has been written on every page of contemporary documents and memoirs.

John William Kay who was a witness of the incidents occurred between 1857 and 1859 and who had been authorised by the British Government for writing the 'history of mutiny' underlined the most prominent reality that during Revolt "all the blacks were united and agitated against all the whites". In 1857's revolt which was repressed rigorously in which a senior army official Hudson had sent a letter to his officer on 26thJuly 1857 and he gave him the information that British army is facing a situation in which "not only the army of a country but the whole nation was up to the revolution." One more witness of this revolt was William Russell who was a correspondent of the British newspaper The Times, He wrote in one of his coverage for his daily that "here not only our peasants and laborers and slaves have become united but even the Indian j\kings are with them for toping down the British government. This battle has been transformed into a religious, ethnic and national pride issue." One more contemporary British historian Charles Bail has written that 1857 revolution was a "national revolution". Thomas Lowe has also participated in British Army's campaign in Central India. In that area, he describes the position of 'revolutionaries' in his memoirs that "in this battle, Rajput, Brahmans, Muslims and Maratha, those who remembered Khuda and Mohammed and those who worshipped  Brahma were all against us". He was the British officer who took part in the most long running campaign against revolutionaries. In his memoirs which published in 1860 from London in the form of a book, has had written that the whole country was agitated and up to the revolution because everywhere there was destruction, demolition and poverty as if the earth was paralyzed and it was running through the doom's day. Whoever had the eyes and ears,rather vision he could not suspect even for a second that we had totally ignored the means of production of this strong country and we had just dumped the worst products of our country in every corner of India. It seems as if we (the British) had just done one thing to destroy the indigenous resources by dumping the Indian market by the British products.

That was the only reason that the whole nation was ready to fight against the foreign rule.Whatever facts and documents are remaining about this great independence struggle in the light of those, it is very hard to neglect this truth that whether the initiators of this revolution were army personnel but it didn't took long to become this a national independence struggle. The most important reason of this was that all the revolutionary soldiers used to come from peasant families and the plight of farmers had naturally affected their thoughts and work. The common people who were trapped in misery, they all became the part and parcel of this revolution and fought to throw the British rule lock,stock and barrel.Even after beginning of the independence struggle, the British found that their Indian bonded labors had suddenly disappeared. Hudson had \written in a letter sent to his wife on 5th June 1857 that "I have repeatedly tried to find a servant but no native wants to work for us. Even as I promised double salary, nobody is ready for being my servant". British historian William Kayhas repeatedly written this truth in his memoirs that "before the revolution started, all the home servants of British had fled away and on many places before their disappearance, they had destroyed the weapons of their British masters." Kay writes about the mutiny of Sialkot (now in Pakistan) that the servants of the British brigadier have acc0ompanied the revolutionaries just a night before the revolution. "They have broken down the weapons, brigadiers, cook and butler participated openly in the armed action of revolutionaries. It seemed as if all the classes of our enemies be it rebellions,Gujjars, nearby peasants and all the servants working in the houses and bungalows of British, they all were having a grand friendship". Fred Robert who played a vital role in suppressing the mutiny of 1857 andlater became the chief of the British army in India, wrote a letter to his mother on 7th September 1857 which was as follows-" all the servants who were in the service of the officers have gone missing. All the indigenous people are same for us. You believe me that people in Punjab hate us equallyas in the other parts of the country." In a letter written from Bulandshahar district on 30th September 1857, Robert stated that the peasants had createdsuch an anarchy in the villages that the British rule has no signs left.One more witness of this struggle Trivilion has written in his memoirs thatthe folk artist like the singers of Alha-Udal and the performers of Lavani andTamasha had played a great role in spreading the rebellion. The puppetryartist also played a vital role in this. This British tourist has also stated thatthe Bhishtis (water-carriers) had rejected providing waters to the Whites andthe maid servants including sanitary workers left work in Britishhouseholds.The British historian William Kay has categorically highlighted the causesof the mutiny and held the puppetry artist also responsible for that. Theseartists made a mockery of the company government in their productions andchose a narrative which was primarily based in sowing the seeds of hatredagainst the British rule. This makes it abundantly clear that the masses of our country were involved in wholeheartedly in the revolution.In June 1857 the British had completely fortified Delhi claiming that theywill turn the city into a wreckage. Their spies and compradors werecontinuously present in the city involved in the destructive activities tofacilitate the British to enter Delhi but the British could enter Delhi inSeptember end and that too after a series of conspiracies. The common people of Delhi united against the British attack about which Hudson had awritten to a senior officer in a letter, " people are holding meetings invarious markets and along the roads and they are mobilizing more people."We can no more about the sacrifices of the people of Delhi against theBritish fortification if we read the names of those who laid their lives and this has been documented officially which is a proof of the marginalized sections’ participation in the revolt. 

The available list includes martyrs likeAbdul (rubber stamp maker), Choza Bhishti (water-carrier), Iman Kahar (palki lifter), Gannu ( halwai), Heera ( dome ), Lalu ( teli ) etc. And this could be seen throughout the country.The participation of common people could be understood through this onlythat in Gurgaon, Delhi, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Bulandshahar districts,200 villages were burnt to ashes because everyone from these villages had participated in the revolt. How come the females of western UP were dedicated to this struggle could be easily felt through this folklore only which was sung after the victory of revolutionaries in Meerut- 

 Wow! Come and see/In the lanes of Meerut/A British has been beaten/Awhite has been cornered beaten/In the open market of Meerut/See Wowsee!(Translated from the regional dialect)

These were the common people who gave the British army invading Delhi a run for their money. Hudson, who was leading the British army in Delhi wrote in his diary on 17th September 1857, "All the four walls of the city have been really fortified. We faced extreme pretest and then when we entered into the city, the resistance and bravery, the army, armed people andthe common man had shown. It was really out of our minds."Thousands of people who were martyred in Delhi in them more than 250 people were famous poets, intellectuals and teachers. This fact can be retrieved today only from the official documents.Wherever the revolutionaries established the independent government in lieu of the British government, they were very much concerned about the fact that the tortures which during the British regime common people had faced that could be compensated. In Oudh, British had taken away the ancestral business of gate keeping (chowkidaari) from the Pasis. Begum Hazrat Mahal and Birjis Mahal who were the leaders of Oudh's governments announced in a public meeting that "Pasis should know that to gate keep every city is their ancestral duty but the British appoint Berkandaaz in place of them and so they were deprived of their livelihood. It will not be repeated.”


It is very imperative on the eve of 150th anniversary of India's first independence struggle that we know the truths of this great movement which are till date kept closed in the almirah of archives. Facing these truths will not only help us in assessing this struggle but it will also help us in integrating the great heritage of this struggle.


Participation of women in India's first independence struggle

Followers of British empire, laureates and historians have claimed that the incidents of 1857 is not more than sepoy mutiny. According to them, in May1857 in which mutiny was inflamed behind that were just some anarchist soldiers and due to their disobedience the country faced violence and destruction. But if we consider the facts, then we can just say this kind of theory as a white lie only. The truth is that the great independence struggle started in 1857 will be always known for that in this not only a particular group, caste, religion or region has participated in it but the whole country and the people of this country participated in it without any kind of discrimination and laid their lives. From 1857 to 1859, this struggle continued and one of the major and unique factor of this battle was that women not only participated in this with males but they provided leadershipat many places also.Generally speaking, we suppose women as without strength. We believe thatshe is weaker and unintelligent than the males. In fact the truth is thatregarding women this kind of thinking is omnipresent but the first strugglefor independence of India had not only proved this kid of thoughts wrong but also preserved so many stories of women's bravery and courage that wecan only be proud of.The first independence struggle of India has so many instances of bravewomen's revolt, sacrifice and laying their lives. This battle has proved thisthing umpteen times that women are not backward even in the battle field just given the chance. In this struggle, not only the males were the heroes butso many women also lead the way.Born in 1835 in Kashi, the queen of Jhansi Laxmibai's (real nameManikarnika) was the first who challenged the authoritarian regime of EastIndia Company. She dreamt of freeing the whole country from British alongwith Jhansi and fought for that. Laxmibai was not fighting for governing astate but she wanted the independence of whole country. We come to knowabout this fact from the letter which she wrote to her supporter King MardanSingh. She wrote, "After discussing this topic with so many companions andTantya Tope, we have come to this conclusion that we must have our owngovernance. This is our own country." Laxmibai used to lead the path in battle front after wearing male clothes. She was a very clever army leader and even the male heroes of 1857 revolution were used to follow her instructions. This can be seen by an another letter written to her by KingMardan Singh only, "You please hurry up to reach Sagar Nagar. In the waytwo platoons of British army are taking position. After defeating them youlead with the king of Shahgarh. Tantya Tope, Nana Sahib and I are involvedin very necessary arrangements. After making Hurose (lieutenant of Britisharmy) flee away, we will move on to Kalpi. We all will meet there andunited attack the British in Gwalior. Don't delay in this work now."Under the leadership of Laxmibai, the rebellion army made British fromJhansi till the end of 1857. After that, on the fronts of Mauranipur andBarwa Sagar, British were devastated. One battle from the British continuedtill 15 days. She had understood this fact very well that till the compradorsof British are not destroyed, it is really very difficult to defeat them. Fightingfor getting this target only, she was wounded seriously on the front of KotaKi Sarai on June 18, 1858 and she laid her life there only. Even the Britishused to praise her bravery. The chief commander of the British Army hadwritten in a letter about Rani, " although she was a woman but she had no comparison regards bravery and she was the best leader of the rebels. She was a man amongst the rebels". In this battle Laxmibai was not only a single women who sacrificed her life fighting against the British, there was a canon-operator Motibai in her army, who gave her life while protecting Rani's life on 4th June 1858. Less people are aware of the fact that there was a women named Mundar who was Rani's security in charge. She had shown her courage in the battles of Jhansi, Koonch, Kalpi and Gwalior with Rani and sacrificed her life in Kot ki Sarai.

In the battle of 1857, there was one more woman warrior Rani Avantibai Lodhi who is less known. She was the ruler of Raigarh in Madhya Pradeshand fought against the British in 1857.There are very less instances of this great woman warrior defeating British in many battles. In July 1857Avantibai led her on horse's back and captured Suhagpur. The next battle was near Shahpura where the British faced the shameful defeat. It is said that thousands of British soldiers were killed in this. The British commander captain Washington had to flee away from the front as he could not carry his small child with him too. Avantibai sent this child to the father very safely.When the British failed in defeating in this queen, they conspired against her. In April 1858 when the queen with her army was fighting against the British in the hilly region of Devhargarh, a neighbor king helped British to attack her from the back instead of accepting defeat or surrendering, the queen took her life by her sword only and thus had recorded her own great sacrifice in the county's independence. 

One more queen who never surrendered weapons in front of British Supremacy and lead the Independence struggle with Tantya Tope, Nana Sahib and Azimullah Khan was Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow. Although Company had deprived them of their rule, but these formed a United Front against the British and challenged them vigorously in the Oudh region. They had brought out a manifesto of India’s Independence in 1858. When the British Army attacked Lucknow, she fought bravely with her associates. The bravery shown byrevolutionaries on this front are now the part of folk stories and folklore. Itwas a mishap only that she was defeated on the Lucknow front becauseGorkhas and some other Kings who supported the British rule help Britishwith their huge army. She left Lucknow and lead in the Shahjahanpur battle but there also she could not succeed due to the treachery King of Pawai. This brave queen instead of throwing away weapons jointly with Nana Sahibcontinued fighting in the Tarai areas of Nepal. It is believed that she diedthere only. Contemporary British journalist Russell wrote in her appraisal that ‘Begum was a great worshipper of God and she had great efficiency too.In spite of being a woman she was very intelligent and intellectual and she had a complete capacity to lead the males.’


Our country is unaware of the sacrifice of queen of Tulsipur. The queen of Tulsipur, located in the Tarai between India and Nepal, not only raised arms against the repression and treachery of British but also formed a joint armed front with Nana Sahib, Begum Hazrat Mahal and Raja Devibaksh Singh of Gonda. She neither surrendered nor she could be caught by them. 

In the India’s first independence struggle, not only queens  but a large number of women coming from common families also participated. Official documents related to the revolt of 1857 secured in the archives speak of hundreds of revolutionary females who raised arms against the British andlaid their lives. In the western district of Uttar Pradesh Muzaffarnagar itself,more than 50 women embraced the death. Some of the heroines and their  brave stories are as follows. Asghari Begum was born in 1811 and played aleading role in the anti-British activities in Western Uttar Pradesh. Britishcaptured her in a battle in 1858 and burnt her alive. Another revolutionaryfemale from this area was Asha Devi who was born in a Gujjar family whokept on fighting with the British forces and finally was captured in 1857 andhanged. Bakhtawari, born in 1811 in the Bakhra village of Muzaffarnagar had also met the same fate.Another revolutionary women was Bhagwati Devi from this region born in aTyagi family. She was also hanged for raising arms against the British rulein 1857. Another women was Habiba hailing from this region only born in1833 coming from a Muslim Gujjar family. She also took part in various battles near Muzaffarnagar against British and was hanged with other 11rebel females. Same was the story of Indra Kaur and Jamila, a women fromPathan family who laid their lives for the country.There is a very long series of sacrifices done by women. Another rebelwomen was Mankaur born in a Charwaha (shepherd) family who washanged to death in the initial stage of the struggle in 1857. Some othersinclude Rahimi born in 1829, Raj Kaur born in 1833, Shobha Devi born in1832 and Umda born in 1831. A brave women Mainawati was from Bithoor in Kanpur. She was a part of the army of Nana Sahib and had made Britishrun for the money. At the end of 1857, British captured her and burnt her alive.The saga of rebel women laying lives in the 1857 struggle is present in everynuke and corner of the country, although a good bunch of information isavailable about them specially in western Uttar Pradesh just because theBritish records and the official contemporary documents are secure till date.In other parts of the country, these documents were either destroyed or lost  in the flow of time. There are uncountable names whose sacrifices could not be forgotten. Sursi, a women from the tribal (Bheel) family of Madhya Pradesh wa sunique in inspiring her son Bheem Nayak to raise arms against British rule.She with the help of her son constituted a joint front of Bheels, Bhilal,Mandlois and Nayaks to challenge the British. She was captivated in Salodaon 8thFebruary 1849 and jailed in a fort of Mandleshwar where she died on 28th February 1859. Delhi, where an independent government was announced under theleadership of Bahadurshah Zafar on 10th May 1857 witnessed many brave women which could be found out from a letter written by the English military official Hudson to a senior officer. Hudson wrote, “One incident created panic in our camp was the arrest of a rebel women under the leadership of whom revolutionary forces attacked from outside in Delhi. Mr. Great Head has compared her to the Joan Of Arch. She came on the horse’s  back and fought like a devil. She was heavy on our five soldiers.” But this letter does not give us information about her name. Perhaps he was not aware of her name. Hudson wrote another letter which informed that later she was captured, sent to Ambala and hanged to death. His letter disclosed of one more brave woman Bijabai who was leading the battle near Agra.Under her leadership, revolutionary forces attacked the Agra jail and helped release of all the jailed rebels and ambushed the British forces present there.The participation and sacrifices of hundreds of women in the 1857 revolution again proves that this was not a mutiny rather a nation wide liberation struggle.


Tribute to Begum Hazrat Mahal


 Begum Hazrat Mahal
Freedom Fighter par excellence

Radiance Weekly
31, August - 6, September, 2003,
New Delhi 23.6.1985

NAYEEM RAZA digs out the historical records and recreates the inspiring image of Begum Hazrat Mahal, a freedom fighter par excellence who left her indelible mark on the annals of Indian Freedom Struggle because of her devotion to the cause of freedom, courage and patriotism.

There were hundreds of unknown Muslim women who laid down their lives for the cause of their motherland. From the date of the Sepoy Mutiny (June 30, 1857) at Chinhut near Lucknow till the last phase of the rebellion of 1857-58, the revolutionary history of Awadh was overshadowed by a woman who was in no respect less illustrious than the Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi. She was Hazrat Mahal, a Begum of the deposed King Wajid Ali Shah.

The King gave her the title of Iftikhar-un-Nisa (the Pride of all Women) at the time of marriage. After her only child Birjis Quder was born, her husband gave her the title of Hazrat Mahal.

Born in a poor family, Muhammadi Khanum (her pre-marital name) was an astute politician. On February 7, 1856 came a bolt from the blue on that land. The greed of Lord Dalhousie swallowed up the happy kingdom overnight. The King Wajid Ali Shah, and with him the peace of Awadh, was removed.

        Prince Birjis Quder, then 14 years old, was crowned the King of Awadh on July 5, 1857. Hazrat Mahal herself assumed charge as his guardian and regent. She inspired the people of Awadh along with Maulvi Ahmad Shah so much that the toughest efforts had to be made by the British to subdue Lucknow and Awadh.

        In the early stages of the War of 1857 when British rule from Awadh had overnight vanished like a dream, "Gen. Outram offered to restore vast territiories of Shuja-ud-daulah's time to King Birjis in lieu of peace". This obviously meant that the rest of India should go to the English with the help of the forces of Awadh. Hazrat Mahal simply refused to be selfish, to play dirty, and to betray the greater cause of Indian freedom.

        After the capture of Lucknow the Begum was listed by the English as No. 1 of the enemies still at large. From Lucknow she retired with a large following across the River Ghaghra and posted herself in the Fort of Bundi, in Bahraich district. She fortified her stronghold with heavy guns and armed men.

        It was her sincerity of purpose, that attracted around Begum Hazrat Mahal, over one and a half lakhs of rebel sepoys and native soldiers - an army numerically more than what any other leader brought against the English anywhere. This army consisted mainly of the people of Awadh and most of them were retained by the Rajas, Jagirdars and Talukdars who were the vassals during the kingdom and allies of Hazrat Mahal in the freedom struggle. Historians are surprised to find that the revenues and taxes which used to be paid to previous Rulers of Awadh after much harassment and bloodshed, were paid to Hazrat Mahal promptly by the same landholders. And the love and esteem in which the Queen Mother and the young last King of Awadh, Birjis Quder, were held, bellied the theory of those who justified the annexation of Awadh on grounds of unpopularity of the ruling family.

        While the English were busy in re-establishing their authority in Lucknow, the Begum once again succeeded in stirring the rest of Awadh to rebellion. In fact, 1858 saw a series of sporadic outbursts in different areas of Awadh, and the English experienced some of the toughest encounters of the rebellion. The heroes were, mainly and obviously the taluqdars and zamindars of Awadh, and there is enough evidence on record to show their attachment to the Begum.

Says Howard Russel in his My Indian Mutiny Diary of Hazrat Mahal:
        "She was a woman of great energy and ability. She has excited all Awadh to take up the interests of her son, and the chiefs have sworn to be faithful to him. The Begum declares undying war against us; and in the circumstances of the annexation of the kingdom, the concealment and suppression of the Treaty, the apparent ingratitude to the family for money lent, and aid given at the most critical times, has many grounds for her indignant rhetoric."
The Begum's Proclamation stated: "At this time certain weak-minded, foolish people, have spread a report that the English have forgiven the faults and crimes of the people of Hindustan. This appears very astonishing, for it is the unvarying custom of the English never to forgive a fault, be it great or small, so much so, that if a small offence be committed through ignorance or negligence they never forgive it….. Therefore we, the ever-abiding government, parents of the people of Awadh, with great consideration, put forth the present proclamation, in order that the real object of the chief points may be exposed, and our subjects placed on their guard."

        In the battle of Musabagh, Hazrat Mahal personally led 9,000 troops against the English invaders. When her palace at Kaiserbagh was being stormed and five thousand faithfuls turned traitors, she struck to her guns like a man. Hazrat Mahal was the last leader to retreat when the Indian forces were finally defeated in Lucknow on March 18, 1858.

        Vanquished though she was, the Begum remained faithful to her cause to the last and maintained a never failing resolution of purpose. She was determined not to fall into the hands of the English; and leaving the Fort of Baundi in December, 1858, she wandered in the dense jungle of the sub-Himalayan spur with a handful of faithful soldiers, "half-armed, half-fed and without artillery". Eluding the English, she ultimately crossed over to Nepal (some time in the last quarter of 1859), where she was given refuge by the King of Nepal despite English protests.

        On defeat Hazrat Mahal was offered the principality of Lucknow and a large annuity. The proud queen spurned the offer with open derision. Lastly, through an European artist who went for a portrait of Birjis Quder to their residence in Nepal the Governor-General offered a British pension of fifteen lakh rupees to Birjis Quder and five lakh to Hazrat Mahal if they returned home". But Hazrat Mahal refused. She could not countenance returning to her own land as a subject and slave in chains of gold and silver.

        Only after 16 years when she died in Kathmandu in 1874 there was not enough money to spare for even a modest mausoleum on her grave. Hazrat Mahal had spent her entire wealth in sustaining the vast number of Indian refuges in Nepal. Considering that she had no income and no hope of an income for generations to come for herself or her young son Birjis. Hazrat Mahal's sense of supreme sacrifice, generosity, valour and patriotism in this regard speaks volumes of her character, upbringing and greatness of the woman that she was.

        A girl from a poor family, she rose to the height of being a Queen and still higher to a place in history where her selfless devotion to the cause of freedom, her feminine courage, her patriotism, her example of national pride shall ever remain resplendent with hundred inspiring themes. "Iftikhar-un-Nisa" was really the "Pride of all Women".

        Eminent English and Indian historians are eloquent about the military and administrative ability of Hazrat Mahal. To defy the English with success, to wrest the land from them and hold for almost a year, to defeat them in many battles, and to successfully and elegantly elude their hunting armies on defeat were no mean achievements. By doing these, Hazrat Mahal did what no other woman, or even man, could do in the great though unsuccessful Revolution of 1857.

        Besides Begum Hazrat Mahal we come across the names of a lot of Muslim women who actively participated in the Freedom Struggle. Prominent among them are : Begum Zeenat Mahal (wife of Bahadar Shah Zafar), Begum Azeezun, Begum Habeeba, Begum Raheema, Asghari Begum, Abadi Bano Begum, Kudeeram Ki Deedi, Razia Khatoon, Shaheed Umar Bibi, Muneera Begum, Begum Jafar Ali Khan, Zahida Khatoon Sherwani, Ismath Ara Begum, Fatima Begum, Begum sisters of Delhi, Hameeda Tayabji, Begum Mohammad Alam, Ameena Taybji, Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani, Majeeda Haseena Begum, Shamshunnisa Ansari, Zulekha Begum, Sufia Som, Rabia Bi, Amjadi Begum, Shafazunnisa Begum, Fatima Tatab Alik Zubeda Begum Dawoodi, Syed Kaniz Begum, Sakina Khatun, Sadath Bano Kichloo, Majida Bano, Begum Rehana Taybji, Khurshid Khaja, Bibi Amtussalam, Hazra Apa, Sultana Hayat Ansari, Padamshree Kulsum, Johra Ansari, Khatoon Bibi, Hazar Bibi, Bakhtavar Mayee, Sathiya Abdul Wajid, Fatima Begum, Nafis Ayesha Begum.