Public and Private Tragedies:
Voices of the Indian Mutiny
The Great Mutiny
By the 1850s, the British had progressed happily to annexing even the least aggressive and most pliant Muslim states. On 7 February 1856, they unilaterally took possession of the particularly rich and prosperous kingdom of Avadh (or Oudh) on the excuse that the nawab, Wajd Ali Shah, an extremely unwarlike dancer and epicure, was ‘excessively debauched’.
By this time, British officials who believed in a ‘forward’ policy of pre-emptive action were nursing plans finally to abolish the Mughal court in Delhi. They also wanted to impose on India, not just British laws and technology, but also British values – in the form of Christianity.
A ‘strong attack’ was needed to take on such deeply embedded ‘Muslim fanatics’
If the missionaries reinforced Muslim fears, increasing opposition to British rule and creating a constituency for the rapidly increasing number of jihadis, so the existence of ‘Wahhabi conspiracies’ strengthened the conviction of the evangelicals that a ‘strong attack’ was needed to take on such deeply embedded ‘Muslim fanatics’.
Clash of rival fundamentalisms
The eventual result of this clash of rival fundamentalisms came in 1857 with the cataclysm of the Great Mutiny. Of the 139,000 sepoys of the Bengal Army – the largest modern army in Asia – all but 7,796 turned against their British masters. In some parts of northern India, such as Avadh, they were joined by a very large proportion of the population, intent on regaining their freedom from Christian rule.
Delhi was the principal centre of the uprising. As mutinous troops poured into the city from all over northern India, it was clear that the British had to recapture it or lose their Indian empire. Equally the rebels realised that if they lost Delhi they lost everything.
Every available British soldier was sent to the Delhi Ridge. For the four hottest months of the Indian summer, the Mughal capital was bombarded by British artillery, with thousands of helpless civilians caught up in the horrors.
