Nana saheb

A little coverage on Nana Saheb- hero of 1857 revolt.
it does not covers entire events, so please refer other information too.

1. THE HERO OF 1857 REVOLT NANA SAHEB (1824-1859)

2. Early life Nana was born on 19 May 1824 as Nana Govind Dhondhu Pant, to Narayan Bhat and Ganga Bai He was adopted by the exiled Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II, of Bithoor . Nana Saheb’s childhood associates who later became famous and face of revolt: Tatya Tope, who was the fencing master to Nana Saheb and fondly called as “ Tatya Guru”. Azimullah Khan who joined the court of Nana Saheb as secretary, after the death of Baji Rao in 1851and later became the dewan. Mnikarnika Tambe , his sworn sister fondly called “ Chhabili ” who later became Rani Lakshmi Bai, the queen of Jhansi.

3. inheritance Under an annexation policy ,The Doctrine of Lapse devised by Lord Dalhousie, who was the British Governor-General of India between 1848 and 1856, any princely state or territory under the direct influence (paramountcy) of the British East India would automatically be annexed if the ruler was either "manifestly incompetent or died without a direct heir“ The company took over the princely states of Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Baghat (1850), Nagpur (1853), and Jhansi (1854) using this doctrine.

4. Under the Peshwa's will Nana Saheb was, through his adoption, heir-presumptive to the Maratha's throne, and eligible for his adoptive father's continuing annual pension of £80,000 from the East India Company. However, after the death of Baji Rao II, the Company stopped the pension on the grounds that Nana was not a natural born heir and that the kingdom no longer existed. The Nana, while still wealthy, was greatly offended by both the termination of the pension and by the suspension of various titles and grants that had been retained by Baji Rao II, in exile. Accordingly, Nana Saheb sent an envoy ( Azimullah Khan) to England in 1853 to plead his case with the British Government. However, Azimullah Khan was unable to convince the British to resume the pension, and he returned to India in 1855.

5. 1857 uprising Nana Saheb won the confidence of Charles Hillersdon , the Collector of Cawnpore . It was planned that Nana Saheb would assemble a force of 1,500 soldiers to support the British, in case the rebellion spread to Cawnpore. On 6 June 1857, at the time of the rebellion by forces of the East India Company at Cawnpore, the British contingent had taken refuge at an entrenchment in the northern part of the town. Amid the prevailing chaos in Cawnpore, Nana and his forces entered the British magazine situated in the northern part of the town. The soldiers of the 53rd Native Infantry, who were guarding the magazine, thought that Nana had come to guard the magazine on behalf of the Company. However, once he entered the magazine, Nana Saheb announced that he was a participant in the rebellion against the Company, and intended to be a vassal of Bahadur Shah II.

6. Attack on Wheeler's entrenchment On 5 June 1857, Nana Saheb sent a letter to General Wheeler informing him to expect an attack next morning at 10 am. On 6 June, his forces (including the rebel soldiers) attacked the Company entrenchment at 10:30 am . As the news of advances over the British garrison spread, more rebel sepoys joined Nana Saheb. By 10 June, he was believed to be leading around twelve thousand to fifteen thousand Indian soldiers. The sniper fire and the bombardment continued until 23 June 1857, the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Plassey. On 24 June, he sent a female European prisoner, Rose Greenway, to the entrenchment to convey their message. In return for a surrender, he promised the safe passage of the Europeans to the Satichaura Ghat . General Wheeler rejected the offer, because it had not been signed, and there was no guarantee that the offer was made by Nana Saheb himself. on 25 June, Nana Saheb sent a second note, signed by himself, through another female prisoner, Mrs.Jacobi . Finally, Wheeler decided to surrender, in return for a safe passage to Allahabad.

7. Satichaura Ghat massacre On the morning of the 27 June, a large column led by Wheeler emerged from the entrenchment. Nana sent a number of carts, dolis and elephants to enable the women, the children and the sick to proceed to the river banks. During their jump, some of the cooking fires were knocked off, setting some of the boats ablaze. Though controversy surrounds what exactly happened next at the Satichaura Ghat , and it is unknown who fired the first shot,the departing European were attacked by the rebel sepoys, and most either killed or captured. Although the East India Company later accused Nana of betrayal and murder of innocent people, no definitive evidence has ever been found to prove that Nana had pre-planned or ordered the massacre The surviving men were killed, while women and children were captured, as Nana did not approve of their killing. Around 120 women and children were taken prisoner and escorted to Savada House, Nana Saheb's headquarters during the siege.

8. Recapture of Cawnpore by the British and his disappearance The Company forces reached Cawnpore on 16 July 1857. General Havelock was informed that Saheb had taken up a position at the Ahirwa village. His forces launched an attack on Nana's forces, and emerged victorious. Nana then blew up the Cawnpore magazine, abandoned the place, and retreated to Bithoor . On 19 July, General Havelock resumed operations at Bithoor , but Nana Saheb had already escaped. British forces murdered all the villagers of the Bithoor mercilessly. Nana disappeared after the Company's recapture of Cawnpore. His general, Tatya Tope, tried to recapture Cawnpore in November 1857, after gathering a large army, mainly consisting of the rebel soldiers from the Gwalior contingent. He managed to take control of all the routes west and north-west of Cawnpore, but was later defeated in the Second Battle of Cawnpore. In September 1857, Nana was reported to have fallen to malarious fever however, this is doubtful. Rani Laxmibai , Tatya Tope and Rao Saheb proclaimed Nana Saheb as their Peshwa in June 1858 at Gwalior. By 1859, Nana was reported to have fled to Nepal and his ultimate fate remains unknown.

9. Revolution never dies