One of the reasons attributed to the revolt of 1857 is that the British were conspiring to destroy the faith of the Hindustani soldiers and had greased the cartridges with fat of pigs and cows. When the soldiers would bite the cartridges to load it in the rifles, their faith would be compromised. Also, the British wanted to convert us (Indians) to Christianity.
I came across this interesting piece of history from pages 100 to 108 of the book 'Tears of the Begums: Stories of Survivors of the Uprising of 1857' (originally in Urdu as Begumat ke Aansoo) written by Khwaja Hasan Nizami and translated by Rana Safvi which I had reviewed on 6th of October, 2023.
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Coming up: Did Misunderstandings Lead To The Revolt Of 1857?
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
I came across this interesting piece of history from pages 100 to 108 of the book 'Tears of the Begums: Stories of Survivors of the Uprising of 1857' (originally in Urdu as Begumat ke Aansoo) written by Khwaja Hasan Nizami and translated by Rana Safvi.
First of all, greetings to your family and you on the festive occasion of Deepavali. Also, please excuse me if I am a bit inconsistent in posting the next few episodes as I am busy with housework and facing a few health issues. Thank you for being understanding.
Now, coming to this episode, as well all know, one of the reasons attributed to the revolt of 1857 is that the British were conspiring to destroy the faith of the Hindustani soldiers and had greased the cartridges with fat of pigs and cows. When the soldiers would bite the cartridges to load it in the rifles, their faith would be compromised. Also, the British wanted to convert us (Indians) to Christianity.
This episode involves five characters. First is Muhammad Yusuf, a goldsmith by profession. Second was his uncle who dealt in arms and was a frequent visitor to the Delhi magazine (arsenal) and who knew all about the goings on there. Third was a Maulvi sahib who wanted Yusuf to get access to the magazine officers and obtain their secret documents. The two other small characters are Yusuf’s father and Rahim Baksh who was a guard at the magazine.
After the British had won back Delhi, Yusuf, his father and uncle were arrested. After an enquiry, it was established that Yusuf and his uncle were guilty of being a part to bring down the magazine, while Yusuf’s father was declared innocent. His father was released but the other two were sentenced to death by hanging.
Yusuf saw the Maulvi sahib in the jailhouse where all these prisoners were locked up.
Yusuf asked Maulvi sahib where he had gone. The Maulvi sahib replied, “I had gone to Meerut but later returned to Delhi. The spy had shared all the details of the incident with the British officers. Rahim Baksh was blown up with the magazine and I was arrested in Delhi.”
Maulvi Sahib said to Yusuf’s uncle, “Undoubtedly, our circumstances are very distressing but we did what we did for the sake of our faith. We were convinced that the British wanted to convert us to Christianity. Now, I know that the British were blameless and false rumours had been spread by those who wanted to sow seeds of discord. However, our intentions were good and we did everything for our faith. God will reward us and we will become martyrs. This sin has been committed by those who caused the ghadar (revolt) by spreading false rumours.”
Yusuf said, “When you saw the papers you had said that they prove the deceit of the British. Now you are calling them innocent.”
Maulvi sahib replied, “That is what I thought at that time. However, when I reached Meerut and we studied the papers in detail I informed the Indian army officers that there was no proof of the ill intentions of the British. But they refused to listen to me and the mutiny took place.”
In the morning they were all taken to the gallows. Maulvi sahib was the first to be hanged. He called out, “Nobody should dare to lose hope. We are all victims of a misunderstanding. God will forgive us and punish those who committed atrocities against English women and children.”
Yusuf and his uncle were hanged after Maulvi sahib.
As we can see, this is totally opposite to what is generally believed to be one of the reasons for the uprising of 1857. You are free to draw your own conclusion and have your own opinion.
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Historylogy podcast. Hope you learnt something new today. To know more such interesting tidbits from the pages of History, please don't forget to subscribe to the Historylogy podcast on your favourite podcasting app and check Historylogy.com for previous episodes. Looking forward to hearing from you. Have a great day and take care. Bye!