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1857 के विद्रोह में मीरजापुर* की भूमिका

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शोध छात्र, इतिहास विभाग, सामाजिक विज्ञान संकाय, काशी हिन्दू विश्वविद्यालय, वाराणसी, पिन .221005

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प्रागैतिहासिक एवं ऐतिहासिक धरोहरों, साथ ही शक्ति साधना के प्राचीन महत्व की आधारशिला पर स्थित विन्ध्य धाम मीरजापुर एक अतिप्राचीन महत्व का भौगोलिक एवं सांस्कृतिक क्षेत्र है। मीरजापुर, प्रयागराज और काशी जैसे पवित्र धार्मिक मान्यताओं एवं पौराणिक महत्व के शहर के ठीक बीच में स्थित है। इसकी खास विशेषताओं में आदिवासीय सँस्कृति को सजोये हुए लोक चेतना के रूप में 'कजरी' लोकगीत जुड़ा हुआ है। मीरजापुर शाक्त साधना का केंद्र है। इस अतिप्राचीन कालीन शहर की स्थापना की अवधारणा प्रागैतिहासिक काल से जुड़ा हुआ है। सी.ए. बेयली ने अपनी पुस्तक 'रूलर टाउन्समेन एंड बाजार' में मीरजापुर को एक व्यापारिक शहर के रूप में चिह्नित किया है जिसका केंद्र 'कंतित' नामक शहर है। एस. एन. सिन्हा ने अपनी पुस्तक 'सूबा ऑफ इलाहाबाद' में कंतित व चुनार को इलाहाबाद सुबे का हिस्सा बताते हुए ‘सरकार’ के रूप में चिह्नित किया है। आधुनिक मीरजापुर की स्थापना के बारे में डगलस डेवार ने 'प्री मुटिनी रिकॉर्ड' में बनारस से पृथक 1795 में जोनाथन डंकन द्वारा मीरजापुर की स्थापना किया गया। आज देश में आजादी का अमृत महोत्सव चल रहा है। हम अपने विलुप्त लोक संस्कृति, किवंदिती व उपेक्षित इतिहास को पुनः लिखने व परिभाषित करने का कार्य राष्ट्रीय स्तर कर रहे हैं। यह वह समय है जब देश में दबे हुए तथ्यों व लोकाख्यानों पर पुनः विचार भी किया जा रहा है। ऐसे में 1857 के विद्रोह में जनपद मीरजापुर के योगदानों के बारे में परिचर्चा महत्वपूर्ण है। इस कार्य का मुख्य सरोकार अपने देश के स्थानीय इतिहास को न केवल पुनर्जीवित करना है बल्कि राष्ट्रीय ऐतिहासिक प्रतिमाओं के दायरे को विस्तृत करना भी है।

भारत के इतिहास में 1857 की लड़ाई व उसके जुड़ी अवधारणा अपने आप में उलझा हुआ है। साम्राज्यवादी इतिहासकार जो ब्रिटिश साम्राज्य के पक्षधर थे उनका मानना था कि यह 1857 का विद्रोह मात्र सैनिक विद्रोह है। माल्सन ने अपनी पुस्तक 'हिस्ट्री ऑफ द इंडियन म्युटिनी ऑफ 1857-58', जार्ज ओटो ट्रेविलियन अपनी पुस्तक 'कानपुर' में और टी.आर.ई होम्स अपनी पुस्तक 'ए हिस्ट्री ऑफ द इंडियन म्युटिनी' में 1857 के विद्रोह को सैनिक विद्रोह माना है। वहीं, एल.ई.आर रीज का मानना है कि 1857 का विद्रोह कुछ धर्मान्ध लोगों का ईसाइयत के विरुद्ध युद्ध था। टी.आर. ई होम्स का मानना है कि 1857 का विद्रोह 'बर्बरता और सभ्यता’ के बीच का युद्ध था। सर जेम्स आउट्रम अपनी पुस्तक 'कैम्पेनिंग इन इंडिया 1857-58' में 1857 के विद्रोह को हिन्दू-मुस्लिम षड्यंत्र का परिणाम बताते हैं। डब्लू. टेलर ने अपने सुप्रसिद्ध स्मरण 'पटना क्राइसिस' में इस विद्रोह को हिन्दू-मुस्लिम षड्यंत्र माना है। एकमात्र ब्रिटिश प्रशासक जो उस समय ब्रिटिश संसद में रूढ़िवादी पार्टी के नेता थे, बेन्जामिन डिजरेली जिन्होंने 1857 के विद्रोह को राष्ट्रीय विद्रोह माना है। 1857 की घटना के शताब्दी वर्ष के उपलक्ष्य में, यानी 1947 में जब देश आजाद हुआ तब 1857 पर फिर से सरकारी व निजी प्रयासों से मजबूत लेखन कार्य हुआ। इस मजबूत लेखन की शुरुआत 1909 में प्रकाशित वीर दामोदर सावरकर की पुस्तक '1857 का स्वतंत्रता समर' से होती है। सावरकर ने साम्राज्यवादी इतिहास लेखन को चुनौती देते हुए 1857 के विद्रोह को प्रथम स्वतंत्रता संग्राम मान कर ही लेखन कार्य किया है। सावरकर ने 1857 के विद्रोह में एक नए बहस की नींव रखी। जिसका प्रतिउत्तर रमेश चन्द्र मजूमदार 1957 में प्रकाशित अपनी पुस्तक 'सिपोय म्युटिनी एंड द रिवोल्ट ऑफ 1857' में देते हैं कि "तथाकथित 1857 का राष्ट्रीय स्वतंत्रता का प्रथम संग्राम, न तो प्रथम, न राष्ट्रीय, और न ही स्वतंत्रता संग्राम था।" इसी क्रम को आगे बढ़ाते हुए सुरेन्द्र नाथ सेन भी 1947 में सरकारी प्रयास से प्रकाशित अपनी प्रसिद्ध पुस्तक 'एट्टीन फिफ्टी सेवन' में 1857 के विद्रोह पर अपने विचार रखते हुए कहते हैं कि "मध्य उन्नीसवीं शताब्दी में भारतीय भारतीय राष्ट्रीयता भ्रूणावस्था में थी।" एस. बी. चौधरी 1957 में प्रकाशित अपनी पुस्तक ' थेओरी ऑफ द इंडियन म्युटिनी' के माध्यम से राष्ट्रवादी स्वर में कहीं न कहीं वीर सावरकर के लेखन समर्थन करते हैं। बाद में इतिहास लेखन में पार्थ चटर्जी, रणजीत गुहा, ज्ञानेंद्र पांडेय और डेविड अर्नाल्ड जैसे बुद्धिजीवियों द्वारा उपेक्षित वर्ग के निरंतर ऐतिहासिक प्रतिरोध को इतिहास की मुख्य धारा में स्थापित करने का कार्य किया है।

अब विषय यह है कि इतिहासकार जो कह रहे हैं उसे साहित्यकार कैसे देख रहे है!, साहित्यकारों की मुखर लेखन ने न केवल 1857 के इतिहास बल्कि इतिहासकारों को भी लाकर साहित्य के कटघरे में खड़ा कर दिया। इतना ही नहीं अपने धरातलीय भ्रमण व इतिहास की मौखिक परंपरा का संवर्धन करते हुए साहित्यकारों ने पूरे विषय को दिलचस्प बना दिया। 1946 में वृंदावन लाल वर्मा की 'झांसी की रानी लक्ष्मीबाई' नामक उपन्यास प्रकाशित हुई। वर्मा जी के पूर्वज यानी परदादा दीवान आनन्द राय 1857 के विद्रोह में रानी लक्ष्मीबाई की ओर से लड़ते हुए मऊ की लड़ाई में मारे गए थे। वर्मा जी की परदादी अपनी बहू यानी वृंदावन लाल वर्मा की दादी को जो बताया था उसी आधार पर इस उपन्यास को लिखा गया है। ऐसा भी नहीं है कि उपन्यास केवल मौखिक विधा पर आधारित है। स्वयं लेखक ने कई ख़तों और समकालीन प्रशासनिक अधिकारियों के लेखों का उल्लेख किया है। वर्मा जी तुराबअली नामक 115 वर्ष पुराने वृद्ध से भी मुलाकात की। तुराब अली अंग्रेजों की ओर से पुलिस में थानेदार थे। उन्होंने झांसी की रानी को कई बार देखा था।

प्रसिद्ध साहित्यकार अमृत लाल नागर ने 1957 में उत्तरप्रदेश सरकार के सहयोग से प्रकाशित अपनी प्रसिद्ध रचना 'गदर के फूल' में 1857 के विद्रोह पर अलग तरीके से प्रकाश डाला है। अपनी पुस्तक में नागर जी कहते हैं कि "न तो मैं इतिहासकार हूँ और न ही इतिहास की विद्या का पण्डित हूँ!, लेकिन इतिहास के प्रति जिज्ञासु जरूर हूँ! हाल ही में प्रकाशित होने वाले, अपने स्वनामधन्य इतिहासकारों के द्वारा लिखित सन सत्तावन की क्रांति के इतिहास पर लिखी कृतियों से मेरे मन में बड़ा ही क्षोभ है। अचानक जमी-जमाई आस्था को धक्का लगने के कारण नहीं, वरन इसलिए क्षुब्ध हूँ कि हमारे राष्ट्रीय स्वाभिमानरहित स्वनामधन्य इतिहासकारों ने ऐसे सत्य को जिसका जनचेतना से बहुत ही गहरा लगाव है, महज ऊपरी तौर पर टटोल कर अपना फतवा दे डालने का दम्भ भरता है। कोई क्यों न हो, बड़े से बड़ा व्यक्ति क्यों न हो, एक राष्ट्र के प्रति अपना झूठा दम्भ लेकर नहीं आ सकता, सत्तावन के विद्रोह को लेकर आना तो और बात है।" अपनी रचना 'गदर के फूल' में नागर जी किंवदंतियों, सन सत्तावन के विद्रोह के समय के जीवित सेनानी या उनके बेटों का साक्षात्कार, प्रचलित लोकगीतों, कहावतों के साथ ही जमीनी अवशेषों का सहारा लेते हुए बहुत से गुमनाम सेनानियों और देशभक्तों को साहित्य की पटल से उजागर करने का काम किया है। इसी क्रम में श्रीयुक्त दत्तात्रेय बलवंत पारसनीस की 1974 में हिन्दी भाषा में प्रकाशित पुस्तक 'झाँसी की रानी लक्ष्मीबाई' पुस्तक प्रमुख है। दत्तात्रेय जी अपनी पुस्तक के प्रस्तावना में इतिहासकारों की ऐतिहासिक असफलता के प्रति अपना क्षोभ प्रकट किया है- "जब तक किसी महान विषय को इतिहास में स्थान नहीं दिया जाता तब तक उसका चिरस्मरणीय रहना नहीं बल्कि असम्भव है। अतएव अपने देश के महापुरुषों का वर्णन इतिहास में लिखा जाना बहुत ही आवश्यक है। अन्यथा उनके अपूर्व असाधारण कार्य यूँ ही नष्ट हो जाएंगे।" एक और साहित्यकार महाश्वेता देवी मूल बांग्ला भाषा में लिखित अपनी प्रथम प्रसिद्ध पुस्तक 'झांसी की रानी' के प्रस्तावना में ही इतिहासकारों के सतही कार्यों की आलोचना करते हुए इतिहास की मौखिक व यथार्थ धरातलीय परंपरा व पृष्ठभूमि पर जोर दिया है।

जब हम मीरजापुर में 1857 के विद्रोह की बात करते हैं तो हमें यह ध्यावत हो कि उस समय मीरजापुर, बनारस मंडल का ही हिस्सा था। उस समय बनारस मंडल में बनारस सहित मीरजापुर, गाजीपुर, जौनपुर एवं आजमगढ़ सम्मलित था। लखनऊ, इलाहाबाद, कानपुर, झांसी और जगदीशपुर बिहार के ठीक बीच में बनारस मंडल का सामरिक महत्व मध्य गंगा क्षेत्र के व्यापारिक व राजनैतिक गंगा मार्ग से स्वयं सिद्ध होता है। मीरजापुर में उत्तर भारत के सर्वोच्चता का प्रतीक ऐतिहासिक चुनार दुर्ग स्थित था। जिसपर 1765 से ही ब्रिटिश प्रशासन का कब्जा था। यहाँ से सैनिक सहायता समस्त उत्तर भारतीय विद्रोह स्थलों को सुलभ कराया जा रहा था।

4 जून को बनारस में 37 वीं नेटिव बटालियन के असफल विद्रोह की सूचना मंडल के अन्य जनपदों में पहुँच चुका था। जनपद मीरजापुर के संदर्भ में राज्य अभिलेखागार लखनऊ में सुरक्षित पी.वाकर की डायरी से मीरजापुर में 1857 में घटित घटनाओं का विस्तृत उल्लेख मिलता है। पी. वाकर उस समय मीरजापुर के डिप्टी कलेक्टर थे। पी.वाकर अपने डायरी में लिखते हैं कि जब 4 जून को जब बनारस में घटना घटित हुई उसके बाद 17 मई 1857 को हमने सभी ब्रिटिश अधिकारियों को सचेत रहने का संकेत दिया। कैप्टन मांटेग्यू को मजबूत सिक्ख बटालियन के साथ जनपद के खजाने की सुरक्षा सौंपी गयी। 25 मई को रीवां के राजा के सहयोग से सिंगरौली क्षेत्र में सुरक्षा की कड़ी व्यवस्था की गयी। इसी बीच मीरजापुर से इलाहाबाद के बीच विद्रोहियों ने डाक व्यवस्था को नष्ट कर दिया। 10 जून को ठेकेदार माधोसिंह ने जिला प्रशासन को यह खबर भेजी इशानपुर के कुछ शसस्त्र लोगों द्वारा पड़ोसी गाँव की सम्पत्ति जब्त कर ली गयी है। 4 जून के बनारस 37 वीं नेटिव बटालियन के निशस्त्रीकरण के प्रतिक्रिया स्वरूप गौरा, कोलापुर, भेवर, इंद्रपुर और ईसापुर में विद्रोह हुआ। 9 जून 1857 को विंध्याचल थानाध्यक्ष ने सूचित किया कि कटरा, मिसरान घाट पर कोलापुर के संदिग्ध लुटेरों ने अनाज से लदी हुई कुछ नावों को लूट लिया। भदोही गोपीगंज के थानेदार ने जिला प्रशासन को सूचित किया कि भिण्डा गाँव के कुछ विद्रोहियों ने राजा बनारस के सजावल की हत्या कर दी। इस प्रकार की घटनाओं के द्वारा विद्रोहियों ने ब्रिटिश हुकूमत को हिला कर रख दिया। पी. वाकर अपने डायरी में लिखते हैं, कमिश्नर टकर महोदय ने विद्रोहियों के विरुद्ध सख़्त कारवाई के निर्देश दिए। अंग्रेजों ने प्रतिक्रिया में पूरे गौरा गाँव को जला डाला। इस घटना में सैकड़ों गाँव की निर्दोष जनता जल कर राख हो गयी। 17 विद्रोहियों को बंदी बनाया गया। इस घटना से विद्रोहियों में गुस्सा और बढ़ गया।

15 जून 1857 को सिकरी, रामनगर की एक फर्म ने रिपोर्ट किया कि उनकी नाव सिकरी में लूट ली गयी है। इस समय मीरजापुर में भीषण अकाल पड़ा था। मिस्टर पी. वाकर के अनुसार सिकरी में लूटपाट के बाद 15 सिपाहियों और 6 सवारों के साथ जब वह सिकरी गये तब 15 विद्रोही सो रहे थे। जब उन्हें पता चला की उनको चारों तरफ से घेर लिया गया है तब भागने की कोशिश करने लगे जिस दौरन एक विद्रोही मारा गया, चार विद्रोही भाग गये और 10 विद्रोहियों को बंदी बना लिया गया। भदोही परगने में विद्रोह का मुख्य कारण प्रमुख रूप से जबरन अंग्रेजों द्वारा करायी जाने वाली नील की खेती थी। इन विद्रोहों का नेतृत्व भदोही के मौनस राजपूत कर रहे थे। इसमें सबसे प्रमुख नाम उदवन्त सिंह का आता है। काशी नरेश की जमीनदारी का विरोध करते हुए उदवन्त सिंह ने अपने आप को भदोही का राजा घोषित कर दिया। अपने नजदीकी भोला सिंह और रामबख़्श को अपना दीवान बनाया। इन्होंने 1000 से 2000 तक का अपना एक फ़ौज भी बना लिया था। इस दौरान काशी नरेश के दीवान मुंशी दर्शनलाल और उदवन्त सिंह के बीच कई मुखभेंड़ हुए। अंत में, धोखे से उदवन्त सिंह, भोला सिंह और रामबख़्श को पकड़ लिया गया और 20 जून 1857 को गोपीगंज में एक इमली के पेड़ से लटकाकर मार्शल ला के अधीन तीनों को फाँसी दे दिया गया। इसके बाद पूरे जनपद में विद्रोह की लहर और तेज हो गयी।

उदवन्त सिंह की हत्या के बाद से ही गोपीगंज की पाली नील फैक्ट्री विद्रोहियों की निगाहों में चढ़ा हुआ था। पाली नील फैक्ट्री के मैनेजर मिस्टर जोंस ने विलियम रिचर्ड्स को पत्र लिख कर सूचित किया कि सरनाम सिंह परमार व उनके विद्रोही साथियों द्वारा फैक्ट्री के गोदाम को लूट लिया गया है। 3 जुलाई 1857 को रात्रि 1:30 बजे विलियम रिचर्ड्स मुर, फैक्ट्री सार्जेंट मिस्टर जोन्स और मिस्टर कैश पाली नील फैक्ट्री में पहुँचे। यहाँ एक विद्रोही टुकड़ी के साथ शिवदयाल सिंह को गिरफ्तार कर लिया। अगली सुबह 4 जुलाई 1857 को झुरी सिंह उनके साथी सरनाम सिंह, रघुवर सिंह और बलभद्र सिंह पाली नील फैक्ट्री को आग लगा दिया। जिसमें सार्जेंट जोंस और मिस्टर कैश मारे गये। उसी समय झुरी सिंह द्वारा ज्वाइंट मजिस्ट्रेट कैप्टन विलियम रिचर्ड्स मुर की हत्या कर दी गयी। उदवन्त सिंह की विधवा पत्नी के सामने मुर का कटा सिर लाकर भेंट किया गया। उदवन्त सिंह की विधवा पत्नी सुबूरिया देवी ने 300 सौ रुपये का नगद सम्मान झुरी सिंह को प्रदान किया। पाली नील फैक्ट्री के घटना के बाद झुरी सिंह अंग्रेजों की निगाहों में चढ़े हुए थे। गोपीगंज के थानेदार ने झुरी सिंह के ऊपर 1000 रुपये का इनाम घोषित किया। उदवन्त सिंह की पत्नी को गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया। झुरी सिंह के साथी विद्रोहियों पर यही इनाम राशि 500 रुपये की थी। 23 अगस्त 1857 को झुरी सिंह ने कारे गाँव को लूटा, फिर बिसौली को लूटा अंत में 23 अगस्त को कोटगाँव के सुरियाना बनियों को लूटा उनसे 2000 रुपये वसूल किया। अंत में, अगस्त के अंतिम दिनों में झुरी सिंह को गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया, उनके साथ 10 विद्रोही और पकड़े गये। लिखित दस्तावेजों में झुरी सिंह की मृत्यु कालरा होने से लिखित है। इस घटना के बाद पश्चिमी मीरजापुर में 1857 का विद्रोह समाप्त हो गया।

मीरजापुर जनपद के दक्षिणी हिस्से में राबर्ट्सगंज तहसील स्थित है। इस क्षेत्र में रहने वाले चंदेल राजपूत बाबू कुँअर सिंह के रिश्तेदार थे। इन नदी-पहाड़ी इलाके में विद्रोह को कुचलना मुश्किल था। 24 अगस्त को दानापुर के विद्रोही बाबू कुँअर सिंह के नेतृत्व में कर्मनाशा नदी पार कर मीरजापुर में प्रवेश करते हैं। घोरावल बाजार, खरेही गाँव और खैरा गाँव को उन्होंने लूटा। पुनः 29 अगस्त को चंदेल राजपूतों की सहायता से कुँअर सिंह द्वारा घोरावल बाजार को लूट लिया गया। इस दौरान सरकारी भवनों, दस्तावेजों और अभिलेखों को नष्ट किया गया। इन घटनाओं को देखते हुए कमिश्नर टकर महोदय द्वारा पुरे मीरजापुर में कठोर कारवाई करने का निर्देश दिया गया। विजयगढ़ के राजा लक्ष्मण सिंह इस समय विद्रोहियों का पूरा साथ दे रहे थे। 11 अक्टूबर को सिरसी समीप रामगढ़ में मद्रास बटालियन गयी। दक्षिणी मीरजापुर के जमींदार फतेहबहादुर सिंह, विजयगढ़ के इलाक़ेदार ईश्वरी सिंह भी विद्रोहियों का साथ दे रहे थे। विजयगढ़ राजघराने के वंशज जितेंद्र सिंह लिखते हैं कि 1857 के अंत महीनों में यह स्थिति हो गयी की पूरा विजयगढ़ स्वतंत्र हो चुका था। 5 नवंबर 1857 को 16 हांथी और 100 घुड़सवार सेना लेकर विद्रोहियों ने लालगंज, घोरावल और रॉबर्ट्सगंज को लूटा लिया। अंत में, 9 जनवरी 1858 को ब्रिटिश सेना के सिपाहियों व भारतीय स्वतंत्रता संग्राम के सपूतों के बीच भीषण युद्ध हुआ। इस युद्ध के बाद से दक्षिणी मीरजापुर में विद्रोह लगभग शांत हो गया।

मीरजापुर एक प्राचीन कालीन व्यापारिक नगर है; जो गंगा के किनारे स्थित है। अंग्रेजों के समय में मीरजापुर पीतल, कांसे व कालीन की व्यापार और नील की उपजाऊ फ़सल की व्यापार के लिये जाना जाता था। 1857 विद्रोह के दौरान असंतुष्ट सामंत व जमींदारों द्वारा साहूकारों, उद्योगपतियों और बिचौलियों को इस लिए निशाना बनाया गया ताकि आमजन के शोषण से इनका प्रत्यक्ष जुड़ाव था। जेम्स आउट्राम अपनी पुस्तक में मीरजापुर की कोयला खदानों को सेनानियों द्वारा लुटे जाने का उल्लेख किया है। माल्सन ने अपनी पुस्तक में दर्शाया है कि विद्रोह के दौरान बनारस में खाद्यान आपूर्ति मीरजापुर के बाजार किया जा रहा था। बनारस, गाजीपुर, जौनपुर की विद्रोहों से मीरजापुर का विद्रोह एकदम भिन्न था। बाद के गांधीवादी आंदोलन में भी जनपद मीरजापुर का महत्वपूर्ण योगदान रहा।

संदर्भ

1. सुरेंद्र नाथ सिन्हा, सूबा ऑफ इलाहाबाद, अंडर द ग्रेट मुगल, जामिया मिल्लिया इस्लामिया, नई दिल्ली, 1974.

2. डगलस डेवार, ए हैंड बूक टु द इंग्लिश प्री-मुटिनी रिकॉर्ड, गर्वनमेंट प्रेस, 1860.

3. जार्ज ओटो ट्रेवेलियन, कानपुर, मैकमिलन एंड कंपनी, लंदन, 1865.

4. विनायक दामोदर सावारकर, 1857 का स्वतंत्रता समर, प्रभात प्रकाशन, नई दिल्ली, 2000.

5. रमेश चन्द्र मजूमदार, सिपोय म्युटिनी एंड द रिवोल्ट ऑफ 1857, के.एल.मुखोपाध्याय फर्मा, कलकत्ता, 1957.

6. ट्रॉय डाउन, राजपूत रिवोल्ट इन साउदर्न मीरजापुर, 1857-58, जनरल ऑफ साउथ एशिया स्टडी, साउथ एशिया, 2007.

7. परमानंद मिश्र, गजेटियर ऑफ मीरजापुर, फोटो-लिटो प्रेस, रुडकी, 1998.

8. एस.ए.ए रिजवी एंड एम.एल भार्गव,फ्रिडम स्ट्रगल इन उत्तर प्रदेश, वाल्युम.4,1958.

9. पण्डित देवकुमार मिश्र, सोन के पानी का रंग, हिन्दी विश्वकोश, भाग-7,1983.

10. सर जेम्स आउट्रम, कैम्पेनिंग इन इंडिया 1857-58, स्मिथ इल्डर एंड कंपनी, कम हिल, लंदन, 1860.

11. शशि भूषण चौधरी, सिविल रिबेलियन इन द इंडियन मुटिनी (1857-59), द वर्ड प्रेस प्राइवेट लिमिटेड, कलकत्ता, 1957.

12. पी. वाकर डायरी, राज्य अभिलेखागार, लखनऊ, उत्तर प्रदेश

13. ट्रॉय डाउन,फियर एंड लोथिंग इन भदोही, द रिवोल्ट ओफ मोनास राजपूत 1857-58, इंडियन इकॉनॉमी एंड सोशल हिस्ट्री रिव्यू, लंदन,नई दिल्ली, 1990.

14. हेनरी जार्ज केने, फिफ्टी सेवन, सम अकाउंट ऑफ द एडमिनिस्ट्रेशन ऑफ इंडियन डिस्ट्रिक्ट दुरिंग द रिवोल्ट ऑफ द बंगाल आर्मी, डब्लू एच एलेन एंड कंपनी, लंदन, 1883.

*मीरजापुर = पर्वतपुत्री का नगर (मिर्ज़ापुर की एक वैकल्पिक वर्तनी)

सेतु, अगस्त 2023

Excerpt: Tatya Tope's Operation Red Lotus

Author: Parag Tope

Tatya Tope's Operation Red Lotus
First published: 2010
Number of pages: 431
Genre: Non-fiction
Language: English
Publisher: Rupa & Co, New Delhi
ISBN: 9788129115621
Price, hard cover: ₹ 595.00
Price, Kindle: $ 12.99

The Forever Nation

Author: Parag Tope

European polity has dominated modern discourse in recent times. Western notions of a nation evolved from their tribal roots, where linguistic and cultural identities eventually defined their political units as nations. Influences of the three Semitic religions during varying periods reinforced this rigidity. These religions derive their own identity from books, each considered as the ‘final’ word from God, therefore unique and superior to others. Tribal identities, and later religious dogmas eventually emerged as the glue that bound these European tribes. Europe evolved from a large collection of warring tribes to a smaller collection of warring states that had distinct individual identities. This became Europe's definition of a nation-state. Recently there has been an attempt in Europe to reassess the impliability of these attributes. Since the late twentieth century, Europe is making an attempt to politically unite these disparate nations.

Indic polity, however, is in complete contrast to these western experiments in nation building. Western ideas of a nation can therefore, never apply to India. In India’s history, not a single major empire ever was limited to one language group or a sectarian association. While hundreds of sects have existed within the framework of Indic thought, one’s existence was never considered a threat by others. From Emperor Ashoka to the times of the Marathas and Mughals, empires enlarged and shrunk, but language and sects were never a primary criterion in their identity - neither the Vijayanagar Empire, nor the Marathas. For the English and other European intellectuals, in their own sense of logic, the Indian identity was too nebulous to be considered a nation. The same applied to faiths that have originated in India, the world’s ‘thought factory.’

Unfortunately, historians like R.C. Majumdar and many others, who viciously refute the existence of the Indian nation during 1857, view India from these European lenses.

The words ‘nation’ and ‘country’ are often used interchangeably; however, there is an important distinction between the two. Geographical boundaries only define a country as a political unit. The Indian nation, however, is defined by a few core attributes, such as traditions, stories that are narrated across generations and the faiths that have originated on its soil.

Unlike many modern nations that came into prominence in the second millennium AD, the political boundaries of ancient nations such as India, or China, spanned across their diverse cultures and languages. The current process of the attempted unification of Europe was, in many ways, already mature in nations such as India and China a few thousand years ago. Whether empires in India shrank or expanded, or their names changed with time, the concept of a common polity, which we describe as a nation, was always well recognised, both within and outside.

India as a nation has a unique place in world history: it is the only nation in the world that has successfully defended the continuity of the core attributes that define it. India is the only living ancient civilisation in the world. India’s continuity in its history, culture and polity is unmatched by many other great nations. Not China, Japan or Egypt. Not Greece or Rome; neither Mesopotamia, Sumeria nor Europe. Not any nation in the Americas, Africa or Southeast Asia.[i]

To be able to successfully defend the nation and its core beliefs, in addition to military prowess, economic freedom and more importantly, political freedom, is a prerequisite.

Despite a few hiccups, India to its credit has had the longest winning streak in its ability to remain both, a free nation and a free country; five thousand years as a nation and nearly four thousand years as a country.

This is not to suggest that everything in India is five thousand years old, but that the continuous evolution of ideas, stories, faiths and philosophies from ancient times until today, continued on its own terms, and even thrived, despite the advent of foreign political and religious influences.

As a free country, if one measures the continuity of political freedom, India's winning streak spans from its beginnings which predated 3000 BCE until significant parts of northern India fell to invaders around 900 CE. No other nation in the world has ever successfully defended itself militarily for this long.[ii] There has to be something about its people that makes India unique. Unfortunately, too many historians are unwilling to recognise this fact.

Even after 900 CE, while northern India kept up its spirited resistance against the invaders, southern India flourished, and in fact, continued to dominate the oceans. Southern India, via its large seaboard was the primary channel for a very large export market of textiles, spices and other goods. The empire of Vijayanagar was thriving even as the northern states came under foreign political rule all the way until the 1500s.

This was no easy achievement.

Ocean trade was disrupted when state-sanctioned European piracy that started in the sixteenth century shortly after India was ‘discovered’, strengthened in the seventeenth century. This had a significant impact on India's ability to control the supply chain of the products it exported. There was a large-scale trade diversion primarily by means of force in the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries. This shifted significant profits and surplus away from India to Europe. Rapid erosion in this profitability had an ominous impact on its domestic socioeconomic conditions.

This period from the 1500s to 1818 early 1800s was perhaps the most dramatic transition for India than any other nation. Even as the socioeconomic conditions rapidly declined, and the odds were heavily stacked against India, its people put up an incredible resistance. All the way from the north to the south and along a coastline that extends to more than 7600 kilometres, they defended every port, protected their trade and markets and, most significantly, their way of life.

Trade along the southern half of India's West Coast was protected by the Samuthiris (Anglicised as Zamorins). The Marathas, under Shivaji, defended the northern half of the West Coast. Shivaji rebuilt the navy, first, to protect its ports and second, to protect trade routes. He encouraged innovation in the ship building industry and oversaw the building of smaller and more navigable ships to replace the much larger but sluggish cargo ships, to outrun the European pirates in the open seas. As different ports fell to the Europeans, he would reconquer them, right from Surat and all along the Konkan Coast. Shivaji did not limit himself on to the west. Shivaji’s last major campaign was in the south as he engaged the French near Puducherry (Pondicherry).

As the Mughals crumbled in the eighteenth century, the Marathas ruled over this empire with a proxy government that paid the emperor of Delhi an annual pension of Rs. 13 lakhs (1.3 million). It controlled large parts of India from Orissa in the East to the Indus in the West and, put up a spirited resistance to defend this young empire under the leadership of Mahadji Shinde. This period of expansion of the Maratha Empire in the late eighteenth century is very relevant to the events of 1857, especially in the context of the Mughal-Maratha relations and will be discussed in detail later. After a near half century of controlling an area that was nearly the size of Ashoka's empire, the Marathas finally fell in the early nineteenth century.

The nineteenth century saw a complete loss of political and economic freedom. For the first time in India's history, the core attributes that defined India as a nation were also challenged in a substantive way by the policies enforced after William Bentinck’s proclamation on Indian education(discussed later). In addition to plundering India's wealth and causing long-term damage to its economy, the English unleashed a systematic policy to unravel India's education system, its culture, its history, its faiths and its traditions.

This was a period of transition when the last of a major Indian resistance was defeated and English rule was taking hold. However, it was not that this transition went unchallenged. Scores of battles were fought all over India even after the fall of the Marathas in the period that spanned from 1818 to 1857. These battles continued, until something significant happened again in the 1840s. The wars in the Punjab, the second one in particular at Chillianwala (1848-9), demonstrated that the British were vulnerable. Taking a cue from Chillianwala, events were set in motion to challenge the enemy once again, but on a much larger scale.

What started in 1857 was the continuation of India's obsession to be free.

India's defeat in this War meant that India as a political unit remained under the tyranny of the English, until the events of 1946. However, Tatya’s dramatic resurgence in the October of 1858 forced the English to make an important concession. They rolled back their policies to subvert India as a nation. England backed off from its attempts to destroy the core attributes that have defined India for the longest of times. As a country India remained in chains, but as a nation, India survived.

There were many heroes who shared this obsession. An obsession to protect India's traditions, its stories, its languages, its faiths, its markets, and its economy. India has had many heroes who laid down their lives for this freedom. This book attempts to analyse and narrate the stories of Tatya and his times, the War between the English and the Indians from 1857-9, which inspired the events of 1946 and reestablished India's unique place in the world and history. This book is a tribute to the heroes of 1857 who inspired the unnamed heroes of 1946. Thanks to them, India remains today, the forever nation.

Eighteen Fifty-seven and the Triad of Freedom

The Indian leaders of the War of 1857 including Tatya Tope, Nana Saheb Peshwa as well as Bahadur Shah Zafar, the emperor of Delhi, under whose name the War was fought, made various proclamations during the War. One such proclamation was made by the forces that liberated Azamgarh, sixty miles north of Varanasi, by Bahadur Shah’s grandson.[iii] The proclamation was made with a specific purpose of encouraging the Indian population in this cause of freedom and seeking their support during difficult times. The following is a summary of the key points made in the five sections of the proclamation.

The people of India are keenly aware of the tyranny and oppression of the English. I, the grandson of Bahadur Shah, have come here to declare that we will rid India of the English and will liberate the poor people who are groaning under their iron rule. I present this proclamation, to all the people of India, so that they can understand the policies that the Badshahi Government will enact. This will bring reform and freedom to the people in the following five key areas.

1. Taxation

India has been reeling from the heavy taxation the British have imposed on all the landed people of India, who in return tax the rest. I commit to lower the taxes, to preserve the dignity and honor of the people.

2. Trade and Commerce

The English government has monopolized the trade of all the fine and valuable goods that India manufactures. Products such as textiles, indigo and other articles that India has exported in the past are now a complete monopoly of the English. This leaves only the trade of trifles to the people, and even in this, they are not without their share of profits by means of high customs, stamps, and bureaucracy that is entrenched in limiting freedom in trade.

My government will abolish these fraudulent practices and open the trade of every article, without exception, both by land and water, to all Indian merchants. The government will support this trade with steam-vessels and steam-carriages for their merchandise. Merchants with little or no capital of their own shall have access to capital at lower costs with the assistance of the government treasury as necessary.

3. Public Servants

Today, Indian officials in the British Government have a limited scope for growth—the highest level they can reach is that of a Subhedar with a salary of no more than Rs. 60 or Rs. 70 per month. All the Officers under my government will have starting salaries of Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 per month with the promise of reaching higher levels in public service. Understandably, if they cannot publicly proclaim their support to my government today—I ask them help my government indirectly and help assist us to free India from the British.

4. Industry

The British economic policies have thrown India's skilled workforce into a life of poverty. From weavers to cotton dressers, from carpenters to blacksmiths to shoemakers have all lost their livelihood under this oppressive rule of the British. Support us in this effort and help us to enjoy the fruits of our labor and economic freedom for eternal prosperity.

5. Personal Freedom

The British have imposed and forced Christianity upon us—Hindus and the Muslims alike. I urge the guardians of both faiths to join me in this effort to rid India of the British and to create a nation that freely practices its faiths and its culture.

At the core of this proclamation was the message that can be paraphrased as, ‘help us gain political freedom, so you can enjoy economic and personal freedom. ’This simple message is the summary of the manifesto presented by the leaders of 1857. With this, the leaders displayed an understanding of the ‘triad’ of freedom and the government’s role in ensuring freedom for its subjects. They specifically indicted the English for the state’s interference in these areas.

European historians invented the concept of the ‘Oriental Despot’ from who they were ‘saving the natives.’ This proclamation demonstrates that, far from being ‘despots’, Indian rulers were very aware of the importance of governing principles that ensured political and personal freedom for economic prosperity.

The leaders of 1857 demonstrated that they understood the foundations of the Indian nation. A foundation that existed in the form of an implicit charter that governed organised society.

The charter that has historically existed in Indic polity for many millennia is not only the least understood of all Indian history, but also perhaps the most misunderstood. While India remains the only nation in the world which had evolved ideas and maintained a cultural continuity for the longest of times, many ideas that allowed India to be a prosperous and free nation in the past have dramatically dimmed during the last millennium. Although these ideas were embedded in tradition, they were either lost or dismantled over a long period of foreign political rule.

The foundation of Indic polity displays a fundamental understanding of what freedom really means. Freedom in one sense comprises three mutually exclusive, but interdependent, attributes: political, economic and personal. In any organised society, these attributes correspond to some core functions that exist in society. They correspond to administrative and military functions, commercial and financial functions, and theological and philological functions respectively.

At the root of Indic polity were embedded rules that would limit the privileges of these functions. Historically, without these limits, these positions have lend themselves to abuse and misappropriation of power.

While representatives in each of these three functional categories have a potential to misuse their power, the abuse gets worse when two or more of these groups connive under the pretext of collaboration. Historically in India, traditions and precedence served as a broad charter that would restrict their powers at many levels. This implicitly served as the Indic Constitution.

Western history is replete with examples of one or more of these functions grossly abusing their powers. At one point, the Roman Catholic Church not only had its own army, it also connived with mercantile interests. This represented the conglomeration of all three sources of power in the hands of a few. Protestantism emerged as a form of rejecting papal authority and doctrine.

Learning from these lessons, the founders of the United States of America, separated the powers of the church and the state in the American Constitution. While this concept was an important first step for Western civilisation, Indic thought was not only rooted in these ideals, it had additional limits on powers of the state, reflected even in the Proclamation of 1857. Not only was the Indian leadership demanding the withdrawal of religious dogma as a state policy, they specifically censured the interference of the state in economic affairs as well. In fact, three of the five sections have an emphasis on economic freedom. This message was potent and has been at the foundation of the Indian nation for the longest of times. The leaders of 1857 demonstrated a definitive understanding of Indian polity.

Despite celebrating ideals of democracy, western societies have been unable to separate economic power from the state’s jurisdiction. While the Constitution of the United States set out to limit the power of the government, the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 went against the spirit of the US Constitution.[iv] Many other nations followed and all powerful central banks became the central authority in defining monetary policies. In continuation of their mercantile history, trade and monetary policies today remain to be the cornerstone of political power in the West. Although these principles are in complete contradiction to India’s long history, ‘modern’ India embraced these principles, under the pretext of a ‘benevolent’ government.

Of the three primary goals of the War of 1857 as presented in the manifesto of 25 August 1857, Tatya Tope achieved one monumental goal on 1 November 1858. As a later chapter discusses, India succeeded in taking one important step towards freedom. The next step was taken on 18 February 1946. However, in view of the triad of freedom, Tatya’s task remains unfinished. The book later discusses some important additional steps India must take to achieve complete freedom in this context.

Understanding 1857 is critical for India to build on its current system, to allow its people to live their lives freely and enjoy the fruits of their labour; to create a government that, neither abuses its powers, nor interferes in economic and personal freedom of its subjects.

Only with this understanding can India truly celebrate its unbroken streak as the world’s only ancient living civilisation, and the world’s only Forever Nation.

Three Steps to Freedom

Fortunately, they already had a clear roadmap for the future of and India without the English. A roadmap created by the leaders of the War of 1857. The Proclamation of Freedom made on 25 August 1857, clearly articulated Indic traditions that manifested themselves in the triad of freedom for its people for thousands of years. The path for the policymakers of a free India was clear. India needed to unshackle the economic and political chains that had prevented its people from enjoying the fruits of their labour. They needed to implement the ideals neatly outlined in the principles presented by India's past leadership to embark on a road of freedom and prosperity.

Unfortunately, the policy makers chose a path that was in complete contradiction to India's history and polity. They chose economic autarky and isolation, and continued variations of the English policy of centralised decision-making that continued to hold India in chains. A goal that was in conflict with the principles laid out in the Proclamation of 1857. Direct and indirect taxation, though reformed, remained high. Contrary to the spirit of the Proclamation, the bureaucracy entrenched themselves even further. Although India had attained political freedom, economic freedom remained a distant goal.

Another key goal of the leaders of 1857 was to liberate India from the tyranny of government policies on religion and education.

Instead of creating laws that were blind to an individual's religious choices, the Constitution of India actually divided people according to their faiths, amplifying their differences and applying different sets of laws to each group. After 1835, following Bentinck’s proclamation, English policies of intervention had dismantled India’s private and successful educational system. After 1947, Indian policies continued to intervene in education, particularly higher education and continued the monopoly of a foreign language. India’s ‘personal’ freedom though improved remained restricted.

Nevertheless, the biggest opportunity to achieve economic freedom was wasted, when trade, commerce, and manufacturing; the primary motivators for the War of 1857, remained under the implicit control of the government.

When the last of the Indian empires fell to the English, India had lost its political freedom. The EEIC’s administration was directly or indirectly the final authority. The English used the power of state to attack India’s personal and educational freedom after 1830’s. India had already lost most of its economic freedom in the preceding decades. On 1 November 1858, England reversed its policies on religion. Overt missionary activities were called off; however, ‘education’ became a tool of the state to marginalise India’s backbone of a private and successful system of education. Tatya and other leaders of the War of 1857 had allowed India to take the first step towards freedom.

Figure 64—Scoring Freedom

India’s post-Independence policies were largely a continuation of the English platform relative to personal and economic freedom. These policies were in complete contrast to what the leaders such as Tatya Tope, Nana Saheb and Bahadur Shah had presented in 1857.

The preface argues that historically, India’s polity uniquely demonstrated the understanding of the triad of freedom. Western nations have attempted but failed in the creation of a system where these three functions are restricted from misappropriating power.

A ‘modern’ India went from emulating ‘socialism’ to emulating ‘crony-capitalism’, both failed western concepts.

Around 500 BC, this Indic charter survived an assault from one of three sources of power—the priests. The revival period lasted nearly 1,500 years, when parts of India finally lost political freedom. Indic polity faced destruction. Over time the original ideas of this ancient Indic charter were not only lost, they were reversed. Once entrenched, the functional powers that once attacked the charter became its ardent defenders. The letter and the spirit of original Indic polity were destroyed.

However, some aphorisms exist even today that represent the genius of the original guiding principles. For example, the saying, ‘Raja bane vyapari, praja bane bhikhari’ (If a king became a merchant, the population would become beggars) delivers a simple yet powerful message that recognises the need for the separation of political and economic power as a basis for societal prosperity.

India took the second step towards freedom on 18 February 1946 when political freedom was secured; although the first step remained incomplete. In terms of personal freedom, India needs to create a charter that is blind to people’s personal choices.

Bentinck’s proclamation had first introduced the monopoly of English language on higher education, with the intent to dissociate the elite from the rest. A free India had the opportunity of eliminate this monopoly. Unfortunately, the Indian government continued English policies of an implicit monopoly of the English language of higher education.

While the socialist ideals preached the ideals of opportunities for the masses, the continued elitist policies did exactly the opposite.

There is not a single country in the world, which has successfully forced a foreign language on its people and reaped economic rewards for its masses. Not China nor Taiwan. Not South Korea nor Japan. Not Malaysia nor Thailand. Not England, nor Germany. Not Russia, not France or any European country. The Americans, Canadians and Australians who unleashed genocide against the native populations, and forced a racially segregated society for the longest of times, can hardly be a role model for India.

The only countries who have followed policies similar to that of modern India are South American nations where the indigenous languages are officially marginalised in favour of European languages. These countries are a showcase of bleak economic divisions and hierarchies that arise from an individual's identification with people of European heritage and language. Is that a role model for India to follow in the new millennium?

Before the domination of English, Spanish was the “international” language of choice, preceded by Persian. What language could be next? Mandarin? Cantonese? Hebrew? Japanese? Should one of these languages be forced upon India’s population next?

The continued state sanctioned monopoly of the English language has created a culture of exclusivity and has limited access to opportunities to the general population. While individuals and institutes should be free to choose any Indian or foreign language of their choice, state patronage of any foreign language, simply represents the continuation of the oppressive ideas within Bentinck’s proclamations.

Some ‘modern’ historians suggest, that in hindsight, India's defeat in 1857 was as a blessing, because the ‘old order’ represented by the leaders of the war, was supposedly ‘regressive’ in comparison to the rule of the English. To these historians, the English represented ‘change’ and the ‘old order’ represented stagnation. This idea is not only nonsense but also an insult to the concepts of freedom and liberty. It was this ‘old order’ that made the proclamation of Freedom of 25 August 1857. It was a manifesto that laid out goals of economic and personal freedom and presented ideas that resound even today. These ideas of freedom and liberty and good governance are embodied in Indic traditions, and were clearly presented in that proclamation.

The value of ideas should not be gauged by their novelty or their packaging. Nana Saheb, Tatya Tope, Lakshmibai and others represented this so-called ‘old order’, fought and died for India's liberty. Vishnubhat Godse met Lakshmibai in a chance encounter while on the road to Kalpi a few weeks after her breakout from Jhansi. In a solemn tone, she gave a precise reason to the priest, for her personal reasons for fighting the war. ‘I did not need anything. However, I proudly made it my responsibility to protect our beliefs. That is what motivated me.’[v] Their sacrifice and their perseverance represent these timeless, but yet perpetually fresh ideas. The oldest of them, but perhaps decadent to some, was the idea to defend and fight for your freedom.

Great ideas and traditions do not have expiry dates; they remain new and fresh for eternity. This idea of eternal rejuvenation within Indic thought is aptly represented in these words

सनातनो नित्यनूतनः

India should benefit from the wisdom from its ancestors and the message embodied in the proclamation made by its leaders on 25 August 1857. While 1857 and 1946 were two important steps towards freedom, freedom remain incomplete as India continues to face the paradox of fractional freedom. India needs to take a few more steps towards complete freedom.

These additional steps are the key to fulfilling the dreams that Tatya and others dreamt when they sacrificed their lives for the Indian nation. India the country lost the war and remained in chains, but India the nation was free.

Tatya Tope is not just the grandfather of the Tope family; he is the grandfather of the Indian nation. Completing Tatya’s unfinished task is the key to allow the forever nation to remain a nation forever.

[i] China has a long and thriving civilization that goes back nearly to the third millennium BC. While its traditions date back a long time, Buddhism, a religion foreign to China interrupted that continuity in the first millennium AD. The conflicts and the fault lines that were created within China when it first faced a foreign religion exist even today. China had a strong core set of traditions and faiths in existence prior to the advent of Buddhism. Therefore, the assimilation of Buddhism into China was no easy transition and was met with stiff resistance. The Persians have had a similar history. On the other hand, the Jewish people have demonstrated long and unbroken continuity in their faith and their culture. However, the Jewish state itself has had a largely broken existence through the ages, resurfacing again after a long gap, in the twentieth century.
The Southeast Asian countries also faced breaks in their continuity in these core attributes that defined them as nations. Central Asian, West Asian and African nations which include the great and ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Egypt, civilizations of the upper Nile, and others, saw huge upheavals where Islam and in some cases Christianity became not just religious but also major political influences. The indigenous people in the Americas, sheltered by distance from outside influences saw the most dramatic collapse in their traditions and faiths, and in some cases even their existence, following the European conquest in the sixteenth century and onwards. Southern European societies such as Greeks and the Romans, whose civilization spans to the first millennium BC, also saw dramatic changes with the advent of Christianity.
In all of these cases, when and where the continuity was broken there was formidable resistance from the people, whether or not the changes were introduced by force; although most were. However, the idea is not to suggest that the changes that were brought on, whether by force or otherwise, were necessarily for the worse, economically or politically. Nevertheless, in fact, these were changes that reshaped the definition of nations. Old nations died and new nations emerged.
[ii] The battleground with Alexander and the later Greek during the periods of 250BC and later, were primarily only the western parts of India. India as a political unit was never really threatened by the Greeks. Many western self-proclaimed Indologists and their Indian followers continue to claim that the ‘Aryans’ were ‘foreigners.’ While this debate is still ongoing, the ‘story’ of an ‘Aryan Invasion’ is no longer considered viable.
[iii] 1857 in India: Mutiny or War of Independence, Ainslee T. Embree, D. C. Heath and Company, Boston, 1963, p. 1
[iv] Hearings of Sept. 2 to Oct. 27, 1913, on ‘A bill to provide for the establishment of federal reserve banks, for furnishing an elastic currency, affording means of rediscounting commercial paper, and to establish a more effective supervision of banking in the United States, and for other purposes.’
In 1913, before the Senate Banking and Currency Committee, Mr. Alexander stated: ‘But the whole scheme of a Federal Reserve Bank with its commercial-paper basis is an impractical, cumbersome machinery, is simply a cover, to find a way to secure the privilege of issuing money and to evade payment of as much tax upon circulation as possible, and then control the issue and maintain, instead of reduce, interest rates. It is a system that, if inaugurated, will prove to the advantage of the few and the detriment of the people of the United States. It will mean continued shortage of actual money and further extension of credits; for when there is a lack of real money people have to borrow credit to their cost.’
[v] माझा प्रवास, १८५७ च्या बंडाची हकीकत, कै. वे. शा. सं. विष्णुभट गोडसे, Maza Pravas, Vishnubhat Godse, Venus Publishers, November 2000, p. 110

Setu, August 2017

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