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1857 Revisited: Based
on Persian and Urdu Documents The book opens with a 32-page scholarly introduction written in a modest spirit and in free and flowing Urdu prose, bereft of artifice and frills. The author, Prof S. M. Azizuddin Husain, a Professor and Head of the Department of History at Jamia Millia Islamia and a specialist in medieval history, has compiled in this work the generally neglected primary Urdu and Persian source-material relating to the Revolt of 1857. The author rightly laments that individual scholars and universities, especially the reputed ones known for their contribution to historical knowledge have been completely indifferent to the existence of mutiny records now sulking in the National Archives of India. Husain rightly deplores the piteous spectacle, which the studies of Urdu and Persian languages present. He attributes their pathetic state to their complete neglect in school education. Husain praises William Dalrymple, the author of the recently published work, The Last Muahal: the Fall of the Dynasty, for using and bringing to the notice of scholars the hitherto forgotten treasure trove of the mutiny records. Of course, Dalrymple’s work, a historical narrative, written wonderfully in the style of A.J.P. Taylor, captures the spirit of the last days of the Mughal era. But his claim that he is the first scholar to have used the mutiny records is fallacious, the view which Husain endorses. Aslam Parvez, in his excellent biography of Bahadur Shah, has made an extensive use of the Urdu and Persian sources relating to the Revolt of 1857, including the mutiny records. On the other hand, Dalrymple uses on Ghalib’s perceptions of 1857 the English translations of Ralph Russell’s biography of Ghalib. The writer regrets to point out that while in some of the Persian and Urdu texts a full document is reproduced, but in English only a portion of the text is given, which deprives the reader of English text in forming a full picture. There are quite a number of orders issued which prohibit the practice of cow slaughter in Delhi, and where the orders are disobeyed, the guilty are punished. It is clear from some of the documents that the Emperor Bahadur Shah is extremely anxious to preserve law and order when the rebels and even the Princes were indulging in loot, plunder and killing of people. Documents 43 and 44 are highly significant because they throw light on the character of Bahadur Shah. These documents show that Bahadur Shah was a man of peace, a poet, a rare human being, a humanist in the authentic sense of the term, a true descendant of Akbar the Great, completely averse to the idea of rapine, pillage and slaughter. Bahadur Shah was dragged into the rebellion of 1857—he had no heart in it. The documents 43 and 44 show that he wanted to get out the exasperating predicament in which he had been forcibly put. It is true that several orders were issued in his name and Husain has listed them, but the avenging force of fact is that the orders were issued under duress. Bahadur Shah was just a prisoner in the hand of the rebels. Document 19 shows that Bahadur Shah was helpless because his economic resources were utterly exhausted, and that he was dependent on the Jain and Khatri moneylenders of Chandi Chowk for waging his war. Regrettably, the Persian document relating to Bahadur Shah’s straitened circumstances is full, while the English translation is fragmentary. There is a mixing up of documents (23). From some of the letters, it is evident that there are misgivings about Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabhgarh’s loyalty to the Emperor. There were rumours that he was playing a duplicitous role, but Nahar Singh assured the Emperor of his determination to stand by him and support his cause of fighting the British. Bahadur Shah was satisfied, and wrote a letter to Nahar Singh, assuring him that he fully trusted him. Document 73 reproduces a note written by Bahadur Shah sometime in September, 1857, when the game was up and the British were just on the way of recapturing Delhi. There was turmoil in his mind. He felt that the fort, sovereignty, and the court splendour were lost, but not all was lost as he was seeking the bliss of spiritual uplift, which is evident in the letter addressed to the Nawab of Jhajjar. Zafar wrote, "I have decided to follow the path of Darwaishi (sufi path). I have decided`85I should go to the dargah of Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki and then to Harmain-i-Sharifain (Mecca and Madina) and there I shall spend the rest of my life in prayer." Bahadur Shah requested the Nawab of Jhajjar to provide him some persons and horsemen of confidence. It seems that the letter was not delivered to the Nawab of Jhajjar. Hussain has published several documents drawn from the state archives of U.P. and Rajasthan, which show people’s participation in the revolt of 1857. These documents also give sufficient evidence to support the view that quite a number of people from outside were coming to Delhi to lend their support to the Emperor in his fight with the British. These people looked on Bahadur Shah as a symbol of royal authority. Some of them were prepared to fight even without asking for salary and rewards. There are quite a number of documents in this volume that have no bearing on the revolt of 1857 such as the abduction of prostitutes who refused to pay house rents, the destruction of Imambaras, and marriage proposals. Hussain’s idea of collecting and publishing these documents from a variety of sources, painstaking exercise indeed, is commendable, but it seems that the author has been in a desperate hurry to finish this work. A work of this type and for that matter, any creative work, requires sitting back and reflections, which are wanting in this research. That is why this study lacks a framework and a sharp reference-point.
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