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Siege of Cawnpore

2024-05-20T09:15:00Z

Naveed1511: /* Bibighar massacre */ added some information

{{Short description|Siege during the Indian rebellion of 1857}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{infobox military conflict
| conflict = Siege of Cawnpore
| partof = the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
| image = Massacre in the boats off Cawnpore - The history of the Indian Mutiny (1858-1859), opposite 336 - BL.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = A contemporary engraving of the massacre at the Satichura Ghat
| date = 5–25 June 1857
| place = [[Cawnpore]], [[Company rule in India|India]]
| coordinates =
| map_type =
| latitude =
| longitude =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| map_label =
| territory =
| result = Rebel victory 
* Surrender and killing of the besieged Company forces and non-combatants
* Recapture of Cawnpore and violent reprisals by the Company forces
| status =
| combatant1 = [[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg|22px]] [[East India Company]]
| combatant2 = [[Nana Sahib]]'s forces Rebel [[East India Company|Company]] soldiers
| commander1 = [[Major-General (United Kingdom)|Major General]] Sir [[Hugh Wheeler (British Army Officer)|Hugh Wheeler]]{{KIA}} [[Brigadier]] Alexander Jack{{KIA}} Major Edward Vibart{{KIA}} [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] John Moore{{KIA}}
| commander2 = [[Nana Sahib]] [[Azimullah Khan]] [[Tantya Tope]] Bala Rao
| units1 =
| units2 =
| strength1 = Around 900 including civilians and 300 soldiers
| strength2 = Around 4000 Rebels
| casualties1 = All, except five men and two women
| casualties2 = Unknown
| notes =
}}

{{Campaign box India 1857}}

The '''siege of Cawnpore''' was a key episode in the [[Indian rebellion of 1857]]. The besieged [[East India Company]] forces and civilians in Cawnpore (now [[Kanpur]]) were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel forces under [[Nana Sahib]] in return for a safe passage to [[Allahabad]]. However, their evacuation from Cawnpore turned into a massacre, and most of the men were killed. As an [[Honourable East India Company|East India Company]] rescue force from Allahabad approached Cawnpore, 120 British women and children captured by the [[Sepoy]] forces were killed in what came to be known as the Bibighar Massacre, their remains being thrown down a nearby well in an attempt to hide the evidence. Following the recapture of Cawnpore and the discovery of the massacre, the angry Company forces engaged in widespread retaliation against captured rebel soldiers and local civilians. The murders greatly embittered the British rank-and-file against the Sepoy rebels and inspired the [[Battle cry|war cry]] ''"Remember Cawnpore!"''.

==Background==
Cawnpore was an important [[garrison]] town for the [[East India Company]] forces. Located on the [[Grand Trunk Road]], it was directly connected to the [[Sind Division|Sindh]] (Sind), [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]] and [[Oudh State|Awadh]] (Oudh) regions.

By June 1857, [[Indian rebellion of 1857|the Indian rebellion]] had spread to several areas near Cawnpore, namely [[Meerut]], [[Agra]], [[Mathura]], and [[Lucknow]]. However, the Indian sepoys at Cawnpore initially remained loyal. The British General at Cawnpore, [[Hugh Wheeler (British Army Officer)|Hugh Wheeler]], knew the local language, had adopted local customs, and was married to an Indian woman.<ref name="chilit_vs_saxena">{{cite web
|url = http://www.chilit.org/SAXENA1.HTM
|title = Revolt and Revenge; a Double Tragedy (delivered to The Chicago Literary Club)
|author = V. S. "Amod" Saxena
|date = 17 February 2003
|access-date = 11 July 2007
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070805225742/http://www.chilit.org/SAXENA1.HTM
|archive-date = 5 August 2007
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.arklowsc.ie/Club_Details/cawnpore_cup.htm
|title = History of the Cawnpore Cup
|author = David R. Moody
|access-date = 11 July 2007
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928030636/http://www.arklowsc.ie/Club_Details/cawnpore_cup.htm
|archive-date = 28 September 2007
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> He was confident that the sepoys at Cawnpore would remain loyal to him, and sent two British companies (one each of the [[84th (York and Lancaster) Regiment of Foot|84th]] and [[32nd Regiment of Foot|32nd Regiments]]) to [[Siege of Lucknow|besieged Lucknow]].<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore">{{cite web
|url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/indiancampaigns/mutiny/cawnpore.htm
|title=The Indian Mutiny: The Siege of Cawnpore
|access-date=11 July 2007
}}</ref>

The British contingent in Cawnpore consisted of around nine hundred people, including around three hundred military men, around three hundred women and children, and about one hundred and fifty merchants, business owners, drummers (salesman), engineers and others. The rest were the native servants, who left soon after the commencement of the siege.<ref name="caleb_wright_historic">{{cite book
| last = Wright
| first = Caleb
| title = Historic Incidents and Life in India
| orig-year = 1863
| url = https://archive.org/details/historicinciden00braigoog
| publisher = J. A. Brainerd
| isbn = 978-1-135-72312-5
| page = [https://archive.org/details/historicinciden00braigoog/page/n328 239]
| year = 1863
}}</ref>

In the case of a rebellion by the sepoys in Cawnpore, the most suitable defensive location for the British was the [[magazine (artillery)|magazine]] located in the north of the city. It had thick walls, ample ammunition and stores, and also hosted the local treasury. However, General Wheeler decided to take refuge in the south of the city, in an entrenchment composed of two [[barracks]] surrounded by a mud wall.<ref name="caleb_wright_historic"/> There was a military building site to the south of Cawnpore, where nine barracks were being constructed at the [[dragoon]] barracks. The British soldiers found it difficult to dig deep trenches, as it was hot summer season. The area also lacked good [[sanitation|sanitary]] facilities, and there was only one well (which would be exposed to enemy fire in case of an attack). Also, there were several buildings overlooking the entrenchment that would provide cover for the attackers, allowing them to easily shoot down on the defenders.

General Wheeler's choice of this location to make a stand remains controversial, given the availability of safer and more defensible places in Cawnpore.<ref name="caleb_wright_historic"/> It is believed that he was expecting reinforcements to come from the southern part of the city. He also assumed that, in case of a rebellion, the Indian troops would probably collect their arms, ammunition and money, and would head to [[Siege of Delhi|Delhi]] and therefore, he did not expect a long siege.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/>

==Rebellion at Fatehgarh==

The first sign of the rebellion at Cawnpore came in the form of a rebellion at [[Fatehgarh]] (or Futteghur), a military station on the banks of the [[Ganges]]. To disperse the Indian troops away from Cawnpore, and lessen the chances of a rebellion, General Wheeler decided to send them on various "missions". On one such mission, he sent the 2nd [[Oudh]] Irregulars to Fatehgarh. On the way to Fatehgarh, General Wheeler's forces under the command of Fletcher Hayes and Lieutenant Barbour met two more Englishmen, Mr Fayrer and Lieutenant T. Carey.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Captain R. P. |title=A Personal Journal of the Siege of Lucknow |publisher=W. Thacker and Co. |year=1858 |location=London |pages=200–203}}</ref>

On the night of 31 May 1857, Hayes and Carey departed to a nearby town to confer with the local [[magistrate]]. After their departure, the Indian troops rebelled and decapitated Fayrer. Barbour was also killed, as he tried to escape. When Hayes and Carey came back the next morning, an older Indian officer galloped towards them and advised them to run away. However, as the Indian officer explained the situation to them, the rebel Indian [[sowar]]s (cavalry troopers) raced towards them. Hayes was killed as he tried to ride away, while Carey escaped to safety.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/>

==Outbreak of rebellion at Cawnpore==

There were four Indian regiments in Cawnpore: the 1st, 53rd and 56th Native Infantry, and the 2nd [[Bengal]] Cavalry. Although the sepoys in Cawnpore had not rebelled, the European families began to drift into the entrenchment as the news of rebellion in the nearby areas reached them. The entrenchment was [[fortification|fortified]], and the Indian sepoys were asked to collect their pay one by one, so as to avoid an armed mob.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/>

The Indian soldiers considered the fortification, and the artillery being primed, as a threat. On the night of 2 June 1857, a British officer named Lieutenant Cox fired on his Indian guard while drunk. Cox missed his target, and was thrown into the jail for a night. The very next day, a hastily convened court acquitted him, which led to discontent among the Indian soldiers. There were also rumours that the Indian troops were to be summoned to a parade, where they were to be massacred. All these factors influenced them to rebel against the East India Company rule.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/>

The rebellion began at 1:30 AM on 5 June 1857, with three pistol shots from the rebel soldiers of the 2nd Bengal Cavalry. Elderly [[Risaldar-Major]] Bhowani Singh, who chose not to hand over the regimental colours and join the rebel sepoys, was subsequently cut down by his subordinates. The 53rd and 56th Native Infantry, which were apparently the most loyal units in the area, were awoken by the shootings. Some soldiers of the 56th attempted to leave. The European artillery assumed that they were also rebelling, and opened fire on them. The soldiers of the 53rd were also caught in the [[crossfire]].<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/>

The 1st N.I. rebelled and left in the early morning of 6 June 1857. On the same day, the 53rd N.I. also went off, taking with them the regimental treasure and as much ammunition as they could carry. Around 150 sepoys remained loyal to General Wheeler.<ref name="chilit_vs_saxena"/>

After obtaining arms, ammunition and money, the rebel troops started marching towards [[Delhi]] to seek further orders from [[Bahadur Shah II]], who had been proclaimed the ''Badshah-e-Hind'' ("Emperor of India"). The British officers were relieved, thinking that they would not face a long siege.

==Nana Sahib's involvement==

[[Nana Sahib]] was the adopted heir to [[Baji Rao II]], the former [[peshwa]] of the [[Maratha Confederacy]]. The East India Company had decided that the pension and honours of the lineage would not be passed on to Nana Sahib, as he was not a natural born heir. Nana Sahib had sent his envoy [[Dewan]] [[Azimullah Khan]] to London, to petition the Queen against the Company's decision, but failed to evoke a favourable response. In May 1857, Nana Sahib arrived in Cawnpore with 300 soldiers, stating that he intended to support the British: Wheeler asked him to take charge of the government treasury in the Nawabganj area.<ref name="Rajmohan">{{cite book |author=Rajmohan Gandhi |title=Revenge and Reconciliation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVqP54UEe4QC&pg=PA175 |year=1999 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-029045-5 |pages=175–176 }}</ref>

Amid the chaos in Cawnpore in 1857, Nana Sahib entered the British [[magazine (artillery)|magazine]] with his contingent. The soldiers of the 53rd Native Infantry, which was guarding the magazine, were not fully aware of the situation in the rest of the city. They assumed that Nana Sahib had come to guard the magazine on behalf of the British, as he had earlier declared his loyalty to the British, and had even sent some volunteers to be at the disposal of General Wheeler.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/> However, Nana Sahib joined the rebels.<ref name="Rajmohan"/>

After taking possession of the treasury, Nana Sahib advanced up the [[Grand Trunk Road]]. His aim was to restore the [[Maratha Confederacy]] under [[Peshwa]] tradition, and he decided to attempt to capture Cawnpore. On his way, Nana Sahib met with rebel soldiers at [[Kalyanpur, Uttar Pradesh|Kalyanpur]]. The soldiers were on their way to Delhi, to meet Bahadur Shah II. Nana Sahib initially decided to march to Delhi and fight the British as a Mughal subordinate, but Azimullah Khan advised him that leading the rebels in Kanpur would increase his prestige more than serving a weak Muslim king.<ref name="Rajmohan"/>

Nana Sahib asked the rebel soldiers to go back to Cawnpore, and help him in defeating the British. The rebels were reluctant at first, but decided to join Nana Sahib, when he promised to double their pay and reward them with gold, if they were to destroy the British entrenchment.

==Attack on Wheeler's entrenchment==
[[File:1857 hospital wheeler cawnpore2.jpg|right|thumb|Photograph entitled, "The Hospital in General Wheeler's entrenchment, Cawnpore." (1858) The hospital was the site of the first major loss of British lives in Cawnpore]]
On 5 June 1857, Nana Sahib sent a polite note to General Wheeler, informing him that he intended to attack on the following morning, at 10 AM. On 6 June Nana Sahib's forces (including the rebel soldiers) attacked the British entrenchment at 10:30 AM. The British were not adequately prepared for the attack, but managed to defend themselves for a long time, as the attacking forces were reluctant to enter the entrenchment. Nana Sahib's forces had been led to falsely believe that the entrenchment had [[gunpowder]]-filled trenches that would explode if they got closer.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/>

As the news of Nana Sahib's advances against the British garrison spread, several of the rebel sepoys joined him. By 10 June, he was believed to be leading around twelve to fifteen thousand Indian soldiers.<ref name="caleb_wright_historic"/>
[[File:Up to 1,000 British troops, their families and loyal sepoys were holed up in Gen Wheeler's entrenchment in Kanpur for three weeks in June 1857 where they were constantly bombarded by a local prince, Nana Sahib's army..jpg|thumb|Up to 1,000 British troops, their families and loyal sepoys were holed up in Gen Wheeler's entrenchment in Kanpur for three weeks in June 1857 where they were constantly bombarded by a local prince, Nana Sahib's army.]]
The British held out in their makeshift fort for three weeks with little water and food supplies. Many died as a result of [[sunstroke]] and lack of water. As the ground was too hard to dig graves, the British would pile the dead bodies outside the buildings, and drag and dump them inside a dried well during the night. The lack of sanitation facilities led to the spread of diseases such as [[dysentery]] and [[cholera]], further weakening the defenders.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/> There was also a small outbreak of [[smallpox]], although this was relatively confined.

During the first week of the siege, Nana Sahib's forces encircled the entrenchment, created [[embrasure|loopholes]] and established firing positions in the surrounding buildings. Captain John Moore of the 32nd (Cornwall) Light Infantry countered this by launching night-time [[sortie|sorties]]. Nana Sahib withdrew his headquarters to Savada House (or Savada ''Kothi''), situated about two miles away. In response to Moore's sorties, Nana Sahib decided to attempt a direct assault on the British entrenchment, but the rebel soldiers displayed a lack of enthusiasm.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/>

On 11 June, Nana Sahib's forces changed their tactics. They started concentrated firing on specific buildings, firing endless salvos of [[round shot]] into the entrenchment. They successfully damaged some of the smaller barrack buildings, and also tried to set fire to the buildings.

The first major assault by Nana Sahib's side took place on the evening of 12 June. However, the attacking soldiers were still convinced that the British had laid out gunpowder-filled trenches, and did not enter the area. On 13 June, the British lost their hospital building to a fire, which destroyed most of their medical supplies and caused the deaths of a number of wounded and sick artillerymen who burned alive in the inferno. The loss of the hospital was a major blow to the defenders. Nana Sahib's forces gathered for an attack, but were repulsed by [[canister shot]]s from the [[artillery]] under the command of Lieutenant George Ashe. By 21 June, the British had lost around a third of their numbers.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/>

Wheeler's repeated messages to [[Henry Montgomery Lawrence|Henry Lawrence]], the commanding officer in Lucknow, could not be answered as that garrison was itself [[Siege of Lucknow|under siege]].

===Assault on 23 June===
[[File:India; (1909) (14753085992).jpg|thumb|Attack on 23 June 1857]]
The [[sniper]] fire and the [[bombardment]] continued until 23 June 1857, the 100th anniversary of the [[Battle of Plassey]], which took place on 23 June 1757 and was one of the pivotal battles leading to the expansion of [[British Raj|British rule in India]]. One of the driving forces of the sepoy rebellion was a prophecy which predicted the downfall of [[British East India Company|East India Company]] rule in India exactly one hundred years after the Battle of Plassey.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Mukherjee
| first = Rudrangshu
| author-link = Rudrangshu Mukherjee
| date = August 1990
| title = 'Satan Let Loose upon Earth': The Kanpur Massacres in India in the Revolt of 1857
| journal = Past & Present
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| volume = 128
| issue = 128
| pages = 92–116
| doi = 10.1093/past/128.1.92
| jstor = 651010
}}</ref> This prompted the rebel soldiers under Nana Sahib to launch a major attack on the British entrenchment on 23 June 1857.

The rebel soldiers of the 2nd Bengal Cavalry led the charge, but were repulsed with canister shot when they approached within 50 yards of the British entrenchment. After the cavalry assault, the soldiers of the 1st Native Infantry launched an attack on the British, advancing behind cotton bales and parapets. They lost their commanding officer, Radhay Singh, to the opening [[volley fire (infantry tactic)|volley]] from the British. They had hoped to get protection from cotton bales; however, the bales caught fire from the canister shot, and became a hazard to them. On the other side of the entrenchment, some of the rebel soldiers engaged in a hand-to-hand combat against 17 British men led by Lieutenant [[Mowbray Thomson]]. By the end of the day, the attackers were unable to gain entry into the entrenchment. The attack left over 25 rebel soldiers dead, with very few casualties on the British side.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

==Surrender of the British forces==

The British garrison had taken heavy losses as a result of successive [[bombardment]]s, [[sniper]] fire, and assaults. It was also suffering from disease and low supplies of food, water and medicine. General Wheeler's personal morale had been low, after his son Lieutenant Gordon Wheeler was decapitated by a roundshot.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/> With approval of General Wheeler, a Eurasian civil servant called Jonah Shepherd slipped out of the entrenchment in disguise to ascertain the condition of Nana Sahib's forces. He was quickly imprisoned by the rebel soldiers.

At the same time, Nana Sahib's forces were wary of entering the entrenchment, as they believed that it had gunpowder-filled trenches. Nana Sahib and his advisers came up with a plan to end the deadlock. On 24 June, they sent a female European prisoner, Mrs Rose Greenway, to the entrenchment with their message. In return for surrender, Nana Sahib promised the safe passage of the British to the Satichaura Ghat, a landing on the Ganges from which they could depart for [[Allahabad]].<ref name="caleb_wright_historic"/> General Wheeler rejected the offer, because it had not been signed, and there was no guarantee that the offer was made by Nana Sahib himself.

The next day, 25 June, Nana Sahib sent a second note, signed by himself, through another elderly female prisoner, Mrs Jacobi. The British camp divided into two groups – one in favour of continuing the defence, while the second group was willing to trust Nana Sahib. During the next 24 hours, there was no bombardment by Nana Sahib's forces. Finally, General Wheeler decided to surrender, in return for a safe passage to Allahabad. After a day of preparation, and burying their dead, the British decided to leave for Allahabad on the morning of 27 June 1857.

==Satichaura Ghat massacre==
[[File:Massacre Ghat Kanpur.jpg|thumb|The British boats were stuck on mudbanks preventing departure and, amid much confusion, the soldiers were subsequently captured or massacred by Nana Sahib's rebel army.]]
[[File:Slaughter Ghat, Cawnpore.jpg|thumb|right|1858 picture of Sati Chaura Ghat on the banks of the Ganges River, where on 27 June 1857 many British men lost their lives and the surviving women and children were taken prisoner by the rebels.]]
On the morning of the 27 June, a large British column led by General Wheeler emerged from the entrenchment. Nana Sahib sent a number of carts, [[palanquin|dolis]] and elephants to enable the women, the children and the sick to proceed to the river banks. The British officers and military men were allowed to take their arms and ammunition with them, and were escorted by nearly the whole of the rebel army.<ref name="caleb_wright_historic"/> The British reached the [[Satichaura Ghat]] by 8 AM. Nana Sahib had arranged around forty boats, belonging to a boatman called Hardev Mallah, for their departure to Allahabad.<ref name="financialexpress_echoes">{{cite web
|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=160464
|title=Echoes of a Distant war
|publisher=The Financial Express
|date=8 April 2007
|access-date=11 July 2007
}}</ref>

The Ganges river was unusually dry at the Satichaura Ghat, and the British found it difficult to drift the boats away. General Wheeler and his party were the first aboard and the first to manage to set their boat off. There was some confusion, as the Indian boatmen jumped overboard after hearing [[bugle (instrument)|bugles]] from the banks, and started swimming toward the shore. As they jumped, some fires on the boats were knocked over, setting a few of the boats ablaze.

Though controversy surrounds what exactly happened next at the Satichaura Ghat,<ref name="caleb_wright_historic"/> and who fired the first shot,<ref name="financialexpress_echoes"/> soon afterwards, the departing British were attacked by the rebel sepoys, and were either killed or captured.

Some of the British officers later claimed that the rebels had placed the boats as high in the mud as possible, on purpose to cause delay. They also claimed that Nana Sahib's camp had previously arranged for the rebels to fire upon and kill all the British. Although the East India Company later accused Nana Sahib of the betrayal and murder of innocent people, no evidence has ever been found to prove that Nana Sahib had pre-planned or ordered the massacre.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Hibbert
| first = Christopher
| title = The Great Mutiny: India, 1857
| year = 1978
| publisher = Viking Press
| isbn = 0-670-34983-6
| page = [https://archive.org/details/greatmutinyindia00hibb/page/194 194]
| url = https://archive.org/details/greatmutinyindia00hibb/page/194
}}</ref> Some historians believe that the Satichaura Ghat massacre was the result of confusion, and not of any plan implemented by Nana Sahib and his associates.<ref name="pramod_nayar_uprising">{{cite book
| last = Nayar
| first = Pramod K.
| title = The Great Uprising
| year = 2007
| publisher = Penguin Books, India
| isbn = 978-0-14-310238-0
}}</ref> Lieutenant [[Mowbray Thomson]], one of the four male survivors of the massacre, believed that the rank-and-file sepoys who spoke to him did not know of the killing to come.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Sen
| first = Surendra Nath
| title = Eighteen Fifty-seven
| orig-year = 1957
| year = 1995
| publisher = Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India
| isbn = 81-230-0093-6
| page = 145
}}</ref>

After the fighting began, Nana Sahib's general [[Tatya Tope]] allegedly ordered the 2nd Bengal Cavalry unit and some artillery units to open fire on the British.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/> The rebel cavalry [[sowar]]s moved into the water, to kill the remaining British soldiers with swords and pistols. The surviving men were killed, while the women and children were taken into captivity, as Nana Sahib did not approve of their killing.<ref>G. W. Williams, "Memorandum", printed with Narrative of the Events in the NWP in 1857–58 (Calcutta, n.d.), section on Kanpur (hereafter Narrative Kanpur), p. 20: "A man of great influence in the city, and a government official, has related a circumstance that is strange, if true, viz. that whilst the massacre was being carried on at the ghat, a trooper of the 2nd Cavalry, reported to the Nana, then at Savada house, that his enemies, their wives and children were exterminated ... On hearing which, the Nana replied, that |for the destruction of women and children, there was no necessity' and directed the sowar to return with an order to stay their slaughter". See also J. W. Kaye, History of the Sepoy War in India, 1857–58, 3 vols. (Westport, 1971 repr.), ii, p. 258. (This reprint of Kaye's work carries the title History of the Indian Mutiny of 1857–58.)</ref> Around 120 women and children were taken prisoner and escorted to Savada House, Nana Sahib's headquarters during the siege.

By this time, two of the boats had been able to drift away: General Wheeler's boat, and a second boat which was holed beneath the waterline by a round shot fired from the bank. The British people in the second boat panicked and attempted to make it to General Wheeler's boat, which was slowly drifting to safer waters.

General Wheeler's boat had around sixty people aboard, and was being pursued down the riverbanks by the rebel soldiers. The boat frequently grounded on the [[sandbank]]s. On one such sandbank, Lieutenant Thomson led a charge against the rebel soldiers, and was able to capture some ammunition. Next morning, the boat again stuck on a sandbank, resulting in another charge by Thomson and eleven British soldiers. After a fierce fight on shore, Thomson and his men decided to return to the boat, but did not find it where they expected to.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/>

Meanwhile, the rebels had launched an attack on the boat from the opposite bank. After some firing, the British men on the boat decided to fly the [[white flag]]. They were escorted off the boat and taken back to Savada house. The surviving British men were sat on the ground, and Nana Sahib's soldiers got ready to fire on them. Their wives insisted that they would die with their husbands, but were pulled away. Nana Sahib granted the British chaplain Moncrieff's request to read prayers before they died.<ref name="william_brock_bio_havelock">{{cite book
| last = Brock
| first = William
| title = A Biographical Sketch of Sir Henry Havelock, K. C. B.
| orig-year = 1858
| publisher = [[Tauchnitz]]
| url = https://archive.org/details/abiographicalsk02brocgoog
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/abiographicalsk02brocgoog/page/n172 150]–152
| access-date=12 July 2007
| year = 1858
}}</ref> The British were initially wounded by the guns, and then killed with swords.<ref name="caleb_wright_historic"/> The women and children were confined to Savada House, to be reunited later with their remaining colleagues, who had been captured earlier, at [[#Bibighar massacre|Bibighar]].

Being unable to find the boat, Thomson's party decided to run barefoot to evade the rebel soldiers. The party took refuge in a small shrine, where Thomson led a last charge. Six of the British soldiers were killed, while the rest managed to escape to the riverbank, where they tried to escape by jumping into the river and swimming to safety. However, a group of rebels from the village started clubbing them as they reached the bank. One of the soldiers was killed, while the other four, including Thomson, swam back to the centre of the river. After swimming downstream for a few hours, they reached shore, where they were discovered by some [[Rajput]] [[matchlock]]men, who worked for Raja Dirigibijah Singh, a British loyalist. These carried the British soldiers to the Raja's palace. These four British soldiers were the only male survivors from the British side, apart from Jonah Shepherd (who had been captured by Nana Sahib before the surrender). The four men included two privates named Murphey and Sullivan, Lieutenant Delafosse, and Lieutenant (later Captain) [[Mowbray Thomson]]. The men spent several weeks recuperating, eventually making their way back to Cawnpore which was, by that time, back under British control. Murphey and Sullivan both died shortly after from [[cholera]], Delafosse went on to join the defending garrison during the [[siege of Lucknow]], and Thomson took part in rebuilding and defending the entrenchment a second time under General Windham, eventually writing a firsthand account of his experiences entitled ''The Story of Cawnpore'' (London, 1859).

Another survivor of the Satichaura Ghat massacre was Amy Horne, a 17-year-old [[Anglo-Indian]] girl. She had fallen from her boat and had been swept downstream during the riverside massacre. Soon after scrambling ashore she met Wheeler's youngest daughter, Margaret. The two girls hid in the undergrowth for a number of hours until they were discovered by a group of rebels. Margaret was taken away on horseback, never to be seen again (it was later rumoured that she survived and was married to a Muslim soldier) and Amy was led to a nearby village where she was taken under the protection of a [[Muslim]] rebel leader in exchange for converting to [[Islam]]. Just over six months later, she was rescued by [[Highland Brigade (Scottish)|Highlanders]] from [[Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde|Sir Colin Campbell]]'s column on their way to relieve Lucknow.

==Bibighar massacre==
[[File:The Indian Mutiny 1857-1859 Q112127.jpg|thumb|The remains of the Bibi-Ghar (the House of the Ladies)]]
[[File:1858 Kanpur well monument.jpg|thumb|right|Bibighar house, in the centre background, where European women and children were killed, 1858. The well where their bodies were found is in the foreground.]]
[[File:A hand-written caption identifies the man as Gungoo Mehter who was tried at Kanpur for killing many of the Sati Chaura survivors, including many women and children. He was convicted and hanged at Kanpur on 8 September 1859..jpg|thumb|A hand-written caption identifies the man as Gungoo Mehter who was tried at Kanpur for killing many of the Sati Chaura survivors, including many women and children. He was convicted and hanged at Kanpur on 8 September 1859.]]
[[File:Outside of well, Cawnpore.jpg|thumb|right|The Bibighar Well site where a memorial had been built by 1859. [[Samuel Bourne]], 1860.]]
Bibi Ghar was the remains of belonging of Sir George Parker's residence, who was a magistrate at Cawnpore. Name "Bibi Ghar" has been coined by two words, ‘Bibi’ and ‘Ghar’, where ‘Bibi’ means a mistress. Even today in India, it is used as an honorific for mistress, as in Bibi Saab, or Bibi Ji. ‘Ghar’ means a house. Original use of this place was actually to house the lady of the house or the wife of the occupant۔<ref>[https://fruit-chat.com/history/bibi-ghar-massacre-mutiny-1857/ Bibi Ghar Massacre, The Day Satan Didn’t Descend on Earth, Beasts Ruled/]</ref>

The surviving British women and children were moved from the Savada House to Bibighar ("The House of the Ladies"), a [[villa]]-type house in Cawnpore. Initially, around 120 women and children were confined to Bibighar. They were later joined by some other women and children, the survivors from General Wheeler's boat. Another group of British women and children from [[Fatehgarh]], and some other captive European women were also confined to Bibighar. In total, there were around 200 women and children in Bibighar.<ref name="barbara_english_kanpur_1994">{{cite journal
| last = English
| first = Barbara
| date = February 1994
| title = The Kanpur Massacres in India in the Revolt of 1857
| journal=Past & Present
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| issue = 142
| pages = 169–178
| doi=10.1093/past/142.1.169
| jstor=651200
}}</ref>

Nana Sahib placed the care of these survivors under a sex worker called Hussaini Khanum (also known as Hussaini Begum). She put the captives to grinding corn for ''[[chapatis]]''. Poor sanitary conditions at Bibighar led to deaths from [[cholera]] and [[dysentery]].<ref name="chilit_vs_saxena"/>

Nana Sahib decided to use these prisoners for bargaining with the East India Company.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/> The Company forces, consisting of around 1,000 British, 150 [[Sikh]] soldiers and 30 irregular cavalry, had set out from Allahabad, under the command of General [[Henry Havelock]], to retake Cawnpore and Lucknow.<ref name="william_brock_bio_havelock"/> The first relief force assembled under Havelock included [[64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot|64th Regiment of Foot]] and [[78th Regiment of Foot|78th Highlanders]] (brought back from the [[Anglo-Persian War]]), the first arrivals of the diverted [[Second Opium War|China expedition]], [[5th Regiment of Foot|5th Fusiliers]], part of the [[90th Regiment of Foot|90th Light Infantry]] (seven companies), the [[84th (York and Lancaster) Regiment of Foot|84th (York and Lancaster)]] from Burma, and EIC Madras European Fusiliers, brought up to [[Calcutta]] from [[Madras]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Barthorp
| first = Michael
| title = The British Troops in the Indian Mutiny 1857–59
| orig-year = 1994
| publisher = Osprey Publishing
| isbn = 1-85532-369-9
| pages = 22–23
| year = 1994
}}</ref> Havelock's initial forces were later joined by the forces under the command of Major Renaud and Colonel [[James George Smith Neill|James Neill]], which had arrived from Calcutta to Allahabad on 11 June. Nana Sahib demanded that the East India Company forces under General Havelock and Colonel Neill retreat to Allahabad. However, the Company forces advanced relentlessly towards Cawnpore. Nana Sahib sent an army to check their advance. The two armies met at [[Fatehpur, Fatehpur|Fatehpur]] on 12 July, where General Havelock's forces emerged victorious and captured the town.

Nana Sahib then sent another force under the command of his brother, Bala Rao. On 15 July, the British forces under General Havelock defeated Bala Rao's army in the [[Battle of Aong]], just outside the Aong village.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/> On 16 July, Havelock's forces started advancing to Cawnpore. During the Battle of Aong, Havelock was able to capture some of the rebel soldiers, who informed him that there was an army of 5,000 rebel soldiers with 8 artillery pieces further up the road. Havelock decided to launch a [[flanking maneuver|flank attack]] on this army, but the rebel soldiers spotted the flanking manoeuvre and opened fire. The battle resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, but cleared the road to Cawnpore for the British.

By this time, it became clear that Sahib's bargaining attempts had failed and the Company forces were approaching Cawnpore. Nana Sahib was informed that the British troops led by Havelock and Neill were indulging in violence against the Indian villagers.<ref name="chilit_vs_saxena"/> Pramod Nayar believes that the ensuing Bibighar massacre was a reaction to the news of violence being perpetrated by the advancing British troops.<ref name="pramod_nayar_uprising"/> Other suggestions are that there was a fear of future identification of key ring leaders if the prisoners were liberated.

Nana Sahib, and his associates, including [[Tatya Tope]] and [[Azimullah Khan]], debated about what to do with the captives at Bibighar. Some of Nana Sahib's advisors had already decided to kill the captives at [[Nana Rao Park|Bibighar]], as revenge for the executions of Indians by the advancing British forces.<ref name="chilit_vs_saxena"/> The women of Nana Sahib's household opposed the decision and went on a [[hunger strike]], but their efforts went in vain.<ref name="chilit_vs_saxena"/>

Finally, on 15 July, an order was given to murder the women and children imprisoned at Bibighar. The details of the incident, such as who ordered the massacre, are not clear.<ref name="barbara_english_kanpur_1994"/><ref name="rudrangshu_reply_1994">{{cite journal
| last = Mukherjee
| first = Rudrangshu
| author-link = Rudrangshu Mukherjee
| date = February 1994
| title = The Kanpur Massacres in India in the Revolt of 1857: Reply
| journal = Past & Present
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| volume = 142
| pages = 178–189
| doi = 10.1093/past/142.1.178
| jstor = 651201
}}</ref>

The rebel sepoys executed the four surviving male hostages from Fatehghar, one of them a 14-year-old boy. But they refused to obey the order to kill women and the other children.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/> Some of the sepoys agreed to remove the women and children from the courtyard, when Tatya Tope threatened to execute them for dereliction of duty. Nana Sahib left the building because he didn't want to be a witness to the unfolding massacre.

The British women and children were ordered to come out of the assembly rooms, but they refused to do so and clung to each other. They barricaded themselves in, tying the door handles with clothing. At first, around twenty rebel soldiers opened fire from the outside of the Bibighar, firing through holes in the boarded windows. The soldiers of the squad that was supposed to fire the next round were disturbed by the scene, and discharged their shots into the air. Soon after, upon hearing the screams and groans inside, the rebel soldiers threw down their weapons and declared that they were not going to kill any more women and children.

An angry Begum Hussaini Khanum denounced the sepoys' act as cowardice, and asked her aide to finish the job of killing the captives.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/> Her lover hired butchers, who murdered the captives with [[cleaver (knife)|cleavers]]; the butchers left when it seemed that all the captives had been killed. However, a few women and children had managed to survive by hiding under the other dead bodies. It was agreed that the bodies of the victims would be thrown down a dry well by some sweepers. The next morning the rebels arrived to dispose of the bodies and they found that three women who were still alive, and also three children aged between four and seven years old .<ref name="chilit_vs_saxena"/> The surviving women were cast into the well by the sweepers, who had also been told to strip the corpses. The sweepers then threw the three little boys into the well one at a time, the youngest first. Some victims, among them small children, were therefore buried alive in a heap of butchered corpses. None survived.<ref name="caleb_wright_historic"/>

==Recapture and Retaliatory actions by the British==

The Company forces reached Cawnpore on 16 July, and captured the city. A group of British officers and soldiers set out to the Bibighar, to rescue the captives, assuming that they were still alive. However, when they reached the site, they found it empty and blood-splattered, with the bodies of most of the 200 women and children having already been dismembered and thrown down the courtyard well or into the Ganges river.<ref name="Hibbert, Christopher 1980, p. 212">Hibbert, Christopher. ''The Great Mutiny: India, 1857''. [[Penguin Books|Penguin]], 1980, p. 212. 0140047522.</ref> Piles of children's clothing and severed women's hair blew on the wind and lodged in tree branches around the compound; the tree in the courtyard nearest the well was smeared with the brains of numerous children and infants who had been dashed headfirst against the trunk and thrown down the well.<ref name="Hibbert, Christopher 1980, p. 212"/>

The British troops were horrified and enraged. Upon learning of the massacre, the infuriated British garrison engaged in a surge of violence against the local population of Cawnpore, including looting and burning of houses, with the justification that none of the local noncombatants had done anything to stop the massacre.<ref name="britishempire_cawnpore"/><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/indiaRising/page10.shtml
|title = India Rising: Horrors & atrocities
|publisher = National Army Museum, Chelsea
|access-date = 11 July 2007
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070718011021/http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/indiaRising/page10.shtml
|archive-date = 18 July 2007
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> Brigadier General Neill, who took the command at Cawnpore, immediately began a program of swift and vicious [[Drumhead court-martial|drumhead military justice]] (culminating in [[summary execution]]) for any sepoy rebel captured from the city who was unable to prove he was not involved in the massacre. Rebels confessing to or believed to be involved in the massacre were forced to lick the floor of the Bibighar compound, after it had been wetted with water by low caste people, while being [[Flagellation|whipped]].<ref name="Raugh, Harold E. 2004, p. 89">Raugh, Harold E. ''The Victorians at War, 1815–1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History''. [[ABC-CLIO]], 2004, p. 89. 1576079252.</ref> The sepoys were then religiously disgraced by being forced to eat (or [[Force-feeding|force fed]]) beef (if Hindu) or pork (if Muslim). The Muslim sepoys were sewn into pig skins before being hanged, and low-caste street sweepers were employed to execute the high caste Brahmin rebels to add additional religious disgrace to their punishment.<ref name="Raugh, Harold E. 2004, p. 89"/> Some were also forced by the British to lick clean buildings stained with the blood of the recently deceased, before being publicly hanged.<ref>{{cite book | author= Nikki Christie, Brendan Christie and Adam Kidson |title = Britain: losing and gaining an empire, 1763-1914 | isbn=978-1-447-985341 | pages=150}}</ref>

Most of the prisoners were [[hanging|hanged]] within direct view of the well at the Bibighar and buried in shallow ditches by the roadside. Others were shot or bayonetted, while some were also [[Blowing from a gun|tied across cannons that were then fired]], an execution method initially used by the rebels, and the earlier Indian powers, such as the [[Maratha confederacy|Marathas]] and the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]]. It is unclear whether this method of execution was reserved for special prisoners, or whether it was merely done in the retributive spirit of the moment.<ref name="barbara_english_kanpur_1994"/>

The massacre disgusted and embittered the British troops in India, with "Remember Cawnpore!" becoming a war cry for the British soldiers for the rest of the conflict. Acts of summary violence against towns and cities believed to harbour or support the rebellion also increased.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Ernst
| first = Waltraud
|date=January 1997
| title = Idioms of Madness and Colonial Boundaries: The Case of the European and "Native" Mentally Ill in Early Nineteenth-Century British India
| journal = Comparative Studies in Society and History
| volume = 39
| issue = 1
| pages = 153–181
}}</ref> In one of the villages, a detachment of [[Scottish regiment#Highland Line Infantry (Highland Brigade)|Highlanders]] caught around 140 men, women and children. Ten men were hanged without any evidence or trial. Another sixty men were forced to build the gallows of wooden logs, while others were flogged and beaten.<ref name="chilit_vs_saxena"/> In another village, when around 2,000 villagers came out in protest brandishing [[Baton (law enforcement)|lathis]], the Highlanders surrounded them and set the village on fire. Villagers trying to escape were summarily executed by the Highlanders.<ref name="chilit_vs_saxena"/>

== Aftermath ==

On 19 July, General Havelock resumed operations at Bithoor. Major Stevenson led a group of [[Madras Fusiliers]] and Sikh soldiers to Bithoor and occupied Nana Sahib's palace without any resistance.<ref>{{cite book | title = Nana Sahib and the rising at Cawnpore | author = Pratul Chandra Gupta | publisher = Clarendon Press | year = 1963 | oclc = 1077615 | page = 145 }}</ref> The British troops seized guns, elephants and camels, and set Nana Sahib's palace on fire.

In November 1857, [[Tatya Tope]] gathered an army, mainly consisting of the rebel soldiers from the Gwalior contingent, to recapture Cawnpore. By 19 November, his 6,000-strong force had taken control of all the routes west and north-west of Cawnpore.<ref>{{cite book | title = Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Volume 100 | editor = Shyam Singh Shashi | isbn = 978-81-7041-859-7 | publisher = Anmol | year = 1996 | page = 101 }}</ref> However, his forces were defeated by the Company forces under [[Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde|Colin Campbell]] in the [[Second Battle of Cawnpore]], marking the end of the rebellion in the Cawnpore area.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hibbert|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher Hibbert|title=The Great Mutiny – India 1857|publisher=Penguin|year=1980|isbn=0-14-004752-2 | page = 353 }}</ref> Tatya Tope then joined [[Rani Lakshmibai]].

Nana Sahib disappeared and, by 1859, he had reportedly fled to [[Kingdom of Nepal|Nepal]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Wright | first = Daniel | title = History of Nepal: With an Introductory Sketch of the Country and People of Nepal | publisher = Asian Educational Services | isbn = 81-206-0552-7 | pages = 64 | year = 1993 }}</ref> His ultimate fate was never determined. Up until 1888, there were rumours and reports that he had been captured and a number of individuals turned themselves in to the British claiming to be the aged Nana. As the majority of these reports turned out to be untrue, further attempts at apprehending him were abandoned.

British civil servant Jonah Shepherd, who had been rescued by Havelock's army, spent the next few years after the rebellion attempting to put together a list of those killed in the entrenchment. He had lost his entire family during the siege. He eventually retired to a small estate north of Cawnpore in the late 1860s.

==Memorials==
[[File:The well as it was in Cawnpore in 1860 ILN-1874-1031-0017.jpg|thumb|The well as it was in Cawnpore in 1860, [[The Illustrated London News]]]]

After the revolt was suppressed, the British dismantled Bibighar. They raised a memorial railing and cross at the site of the well in which the bodies of the British women and children had been dumped. Meanwhile, the British conducted a retaliatory action under the command of [[Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet]] by demolishing Nana Sahib's palace in Bithoor with cannon-fire.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Bithur|volume=4|page=12}}</ref><ref name="Gupta1963">{{cite book|last=Gupta|first=Pratul Chandra|title=Nana Sahib and the Rising at Kanpur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTZAAAAAMAAJ|access-date=16 June 2012|year=1963|publisher=Clarendon Press}}</ref> In addition, the inhabitants of Cawnpore were forced to pay £30,000 for the creation of the memorial as a 'punishment' for not coming to the aid of the British women and children in Bibighar.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/indiancampaigns/mutiny/cawnporewell6.htm
|title=Angel of Cawnpore
|access-date=11 July 2007
}}</ref>[[File:Cawnpore Memorial, 1860.jpg|thumb|right|A memorial capping the Bibi Ghar well, was erected {{circa|1860}}, by the British after the rebellion was suppressed. The memorial was created by [[Carlo Marochetti]]. After India's independence, the memorial was moved to the [[Kanpur Memorial Church|Memorial Church]] in Kanpur. Albumen silver print by [[Samuel Bourne]], 1860.]] ''The Angel of the Resurrection'' was created by Baron [[Carlo Marochetti]] and completed in 1865. It has been called by various names throughout the centuries and came to be the most visited statue of British India. The chief proponent and private funder was [[Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning|Charlotte, Countess Canning]], wife of the first Viceroy of India, [[Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning|Earl Canning]]. She approached her childhood friend, Marochetti, for models. In turn, Marochetti suggested that other sculptors be invited. Following the Countess's death, Earl Canning took over the commission. Canning rejected a number of designs accepting, in the end, a version of Marochetti's Crimean War memorial at Scutari, Turkey. The understated figure is an angel holding two branches of palm fronds across her chest. Despite assurances, 'The Angel' had some damage during the Independence celebrations of 1947 and she was later moved from her original site over the Bibi Ghar well to a garden at the side of All Soul's Church, Kanpore (Kanpur Memorial Church).<ref>{{Cite book|title=British Sculpture in India: New Views and Old Memories|last1=Steggles|first1=Mary Ann|last2=Barnes|first2=Richard|publisher=Frontier|year=2011|isbn=978-1-872914-41-1|location=Norfolk|pages=260–261}}</ref>

The remains of a circular ridge of the well can still be seen at the [[Nana Rao Park]], built after Indian independence. The British also erected the [[Kanpur Memorial Church|All Souls Memorial Church]], in memory of the victims. An enclosed pavement outside the church marks the graves of over 70 British men captured and executed on 1 July 1857, four days after the Satichaura Ghat massacre.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.battlefieldtoursindia.com/indian-mutiny.html
|title=Indian Mutiny
|publisher=Indian Battlefield & Saga Tours
|access-date=11 July 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928231621/http://www.battlefieldtoursindia.com/indian-mutiny.html  |archive-date = 28 September 2007}}</ref> The marble Gothic screen with "mournful seraph" was transferred to the churchyard of the All Souls Church after Indian independence in 1947. There were originally plans to replace the memorial to the British victims with a bust of [[Tatya Tope]] but the local British community objected strongly to the plans, and the bust was eventually installed some distance away from the site.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The 1857 Indian Uprising and the Politics of Commemoration|last=Pender|first=Sebastian Raj|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2022|isbn=978-1-009052-27-6|doi=10.1017/9781009052276|location=Cambridge|pages=185–186|s2cid=248341742 }}</ref>

There is a plaque to Capt. W Morphy and Lieut. Thomas Mackinnon who were killed on 28 November 1857 in [[Lichfield Cathedral]].

An additional memorial detailing the losses suffered by the 32nd Cornwall Regiment Light Infantry is located inside the west entrance to [[Exeter Cathedral]].

==Literary references==
Many references to the event were made in later novels and films. [[Julian Rathbone]] describes the brutality of both British and Indian forces during the siege of Cawnpore in his novel ''The Mutiny''. In the novel, the Indian nurse Lavanya rescues an English child, Stephen, during the Satichaura Ghat massacre.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Rathbone
| first = Julian
| title = The Mutiny
| orig-year = 2007
| publisher = Little, Brown
| isbn = 978-0-316-73113-3
| year = 2007
| url = https://archive.org/details/mutinynovel0000rath
}}</ref> In ''Massacre at Cawnpore'', V. A. Stuart describes the siege and the British defence through the eyes of the characters Sheridan, and his wife Emmy.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Stuart
| first = V. A.
| title = Massacre at Cawnpore
| series = Alexander Sheridan Adventures: Vol 3
| orig-year = 2003
| publisher = McBooks Press
| isbn = 978-1-59013-019-3
| year = 2002
}}</ref> [[George MacDonald Fraser]]'s ''[[Flashman in the Great Game]]'' also contains lengthy scenes set in the entrenchment during the siege and also during the ensuing escape.
Tom Williams' novel, ''Cawnpore'', is also set against the background of the siege and massacre, which is seen from both the European and the Indian perspective.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Williams
| first = T.C.
| title = Cawnpore
| orig-year = 2012
| publisher = JMS Books
| isbn = 978-1-61152-270-9
| year = 2012
}}</ref>
The contemporary Indian report by Kalpi devi in the local journal Hindupanch covered the incident of the punitive action by the British and burning down of Nana Sahib's palace along with his young daughter Mainavati in a prose.<ref>Kalpi Devi, "Nana Sahib's daughter Maina was burnt alive by Britishers", Vol. "[http://www.philoid.com/epub/ncert/9/119/ihks105 Balindan]", Hindupanch news report, 1858. (Hindi)</ref>

The British press used it to describe the brutality involved in the public feeding of reptiles at the London zoological garden. In 1876, the Editor of the Animal World drew Dr. P L Sclater's attention to this and the press charged the [[Zoological Society of London]] with encouraging cruelty, "pandering to public brutality" while one writer in the Whitehall Review (27 April 1878), protested against "the Cawnpore Massacre enacted diurnally," and headed his article, "Sepoyism at the Zoo."<ref name="Henry1905">{{cite book | author=Henry Scherren | title=The Zoological Society of London: A Sketch of Its Foundation and Development and the Story of Its Farm, Museum, Gardens, Menagerie and Library | url=https://archive.org/details/zoologicalsociet00scheuoft | access-date=20 April 2013 | year=1905 |publisher=Cassell | page = [https://archive.org/details/zoologicalsociet00scheuoft/page/167 167] }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Second Battle of Cawnpore]]
* [[Indian rebellion of 1857]]
* [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre]]
* [[Patharighat#Massacre|Patharighat massacre]]
* [[List of massacres in India]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Siege of Cawnpore}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050510005945/http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/5443/indmut4.htm 1857 Cawnpore] via the [[Internet Archive]]
* [http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/indiancampaigns/mutiny/cawnporeimages.htm The Siege of Cawnpore Images]

{{Kanpur}}
{{Kanpur division topics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|26.4607|N|80.3334|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege Of Cawnpore}}
[[Category:Battles of the Indian Rebellion of 1857|Cawnpore, Siege of]]
[[Category:Sieges involving the United Kingdom|Cawnpore, Siege of]]
[[Category:History of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Massacres in India|Satichaura Ghat massacre]]
[[Category:1857 in India]]
[[Category:History of Kanpur]]
[[Category:Sieges involving the Indian kingdoms|Cawnpore]]
[[Category:June 1857 events]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1857|Cawnpore]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1857]]

Mohammad Iqbal Shedai

2024-05-19T11:08:48Z

Naveed1511: added internal refference

{{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2013}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2011}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Shedai
| image = Iqbal Shedai.JPG
| image size = 200px
| caption =
| birth_place = PuraHairanwala, [[Sialkot]]
| birth_date = 1888
| death_place = [[Lahore]], [[Punjab, Pakistan]]
| death_date = 13 January 1974
| spouse = Bilquis
}}

'''Mohammad Iqbal Shedai (in Punjabi محمد اقبال شیدائ ਮੁਂਹਮਦ.ਇਕਬਾਲ ਸ਼ੇਦਾਈ)''' was a British Indian and later Pakistani activist who espoused independence for India and opposition to British colonial policies. He spent most of his life in self-exile in Asian and European countries.

==Early life==
One of eleven children,<ref>Iftikhar Haider Malik, ''US-South Asia relations, 1784-1940: a historical perspective'', Area Study Centre for Africa, North & South America, Quaid-i-Azam University, 1988, p. 229</ref> Shedai was born as Muhammad Iqbal Shedai in 1888 in Pura Hairanwala, [[Sialkot]], [[British India]] (now [[Pakistan]]), into a [[Punjabi Muslim]] family belonging to the [[Muslim Rajputs|Rajput]]-Bhutta caste, to Chaudhary Ghulam Ali Bhutta, who taught science, mathematics and English at the [[Government Murray College Sialkot|Scotch Mission School]] and whose students included [[Muhammad Iqbal]]. He graduated from Sialkot's [[Murray College]] but wasn't accepted in Lahore’s Law College as he was considered to be too anti-British.<ref>Majid Sheikh (18 November 2019), [https://www.dawn.com/news/1517371 "Harking Back: The tale of the ‘other’ Iqbal of Sialkot"], ''Dawn News''. Retrieved 3 February 2020.</ref>

==Political activism==
Shedai's political involvement began in 1914 <ref>M. Phil: Thesis on ''Iqbal Shedai, the Revolutionary'' by M. Gulzar Awan of history Department, University of the Punjab.</ref> when he joined [[Mohammad Ali Jouhar|Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar]] and [[Maulana Shaukat Ali]] in their organization, "Anjuman Khadami Kaaba". Soon he became a "Shedai – e –Kaaba". one of only nine in India.

In 1915, Shedai went to [[Hoti, Mardan]], now in Pakistan, to work as a teacher in the local government school. However, he was soon expelled from [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|N.W.F.P.]] for what the authorities considered to be anti-British actions. In August 1915 Shedai's movements were restricted to Pura Hairanwala in [[Sialkot]]. In October 1915, the Deputy Commissioner of Sialkot removed those restrictions. In 1916, Shedai tried to get enter the law college in [[Lahore]], but the Principal refused him admission, supposedly due to Shedai's political activism.

===Ghadr Party and Hijrat Movement===
In 1918, Shedai joined the Hindustan [[Ghadr Party]], which stood for Indian independence and soon became one of its top leaders.

In early 1920, the Hijrat Movement of [[protest emigration]] started. [[Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar]] and Maulana [[Shaikh Abdul Majeed Sindhi]] declared India as "Darul Harab (house of war)" and exhorted Muslims to migrate to [[Afghanistan]].

With an introductory letter from Maulana Jouhar, Shedai started his trip to Afghanistan. He travelled to Haripur where he was joined by Akbar Qureshi. After Shedai arrived in [[Kabul]], [[Amanullah Khan]] appointed Shedai as his Minister for Indian refugees. During his tenure there, Shedai was reportedly distressed at the poverty and deprivation faced by Indians who had migrated to Afghanistan.

===Visits to Moscow and Ankara===
Shedai and Akbar Qureshi then decided to visit Moscow to study the [[socialism]] of the Russian [[Bolshevik Party]]. At that time, both men decided to work for the spread of socialism worldwide. After returning to Kabul, Qureshi went back to Haripur while Shedai went to [[Ankara, Turkey]].

During his visit to Turkey, Shedai met with [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], the first President of Turkish Republic and [[İsmet İnönü]], the first Prime Minister. Both Turkish leaders expressed bitterness against Muslims of the [[Indian Army]] who had fought against the [[Ottoman Empire]] during [[World War I]].
===Collaboration with Italy===
In 1933, Shedai became an advisor to the [[Italian Foreign Ministry]] on propaganda efforts targeted at Muslims in India and the Middle East. The Italians gave Shedai facilities and funding to conduct propaganda campaigns.

With the beginning of [[World War II]], Shedai and Ajit Singh established Radio Himalaya. Using a [[shortwave radio]] station in Rome, Shedai made daily broadcasts to for Indians (many of whom thought he was broadcasting from India.

Shedai became a dangerous rival for [[Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose]] for influence with the Italians. His position is best summarized by Trott who met him in 1941. He wrote: "The driving force in the entire Indian and partly in the oriental activities of the Italian External Ministry is the Indian Iqbal Shedai, who is known in Berlin. He enjoys the fullest confidence of all Italian authorities concerned".<ref>
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose-Relevance to Contemporary World.</ref>

In 1941, Shedai established the Azad Hind Government, an exile government for an independent India, in Rome. Shedai was appointed as the President of this Government. Sardar Ajit Singh was Shedai’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

In early 1942, Shedai served with the [[Kingdom of Italy under Fascism (1922–1943)|Fascist regime]] as a political [[commissar]] and consultant for the ''[[Battaglione Azad Hindoustan]]''. The unit was recruited from Indian POWs captured by the [[Royal Italian Army during World War II|Royal Italian Army]]. However, the unit never saw combat; it was dissolved later in 1942 after a mutiny.

In 1944, Shedai fled Rome to Milan to avoid capture by the Allied armies.

====Shedai and Bose meetings in Italy====
Martellos book dwells at length on the rivalry that developed in Italy and Germany between the endeavours of Chandra Bose and Mohammed Iqbal Shedai to further attention and support towards the Indian cause. In fact, partly because of Netajis choice to give priority to seeking German support (in consideration of its stronger position within the Axis) Iqbals position in Italy became gradually more important, so as to become the principal point of reference to Italy's Eastern policy. Of course, Chandra Bose kept good contacts and support of friends in the Italian Foreign Office, but Foreign Minister Ciano gradually showed mistrust towards Netaji and Italy's policy, in general, grew more and more supportive (because of its interest in courting Arab support in the Middle East) of the Muslim element in the struggle for Indian independence. Martelli records the Bose-Shedai misunderstandings and growing rivalry in detailed reports of their meetings in Italy in May–June 1941. A common, persuasive support by both on the need of a clear statement of support to India's independence by the Axis emerged from a German-Italian policy meeting in December 1941 to which Chandra Bose, Shedai and Gulam Siddiq Khan were invited to represent Indias interests. I can make the full report on this meeting, as drafted by the responsible officer in the Italian Foreign Ministry, available for the records. As it emerges from the conclusion the result of the common proddings was only a German commitment to try to have Hitler-Ribbentrop reconsider their cautious attitude of not acting prematurely. It might be interesting to note that, at this meeting, a new element had emerged, Japan's entry into war. Both Bose and Shedai expressed their apprehensions about Japans real war aims of dominating Asia and used this as a further necessity to gain Germany's and Italy's clear support for Indian national aims. External Reference 7. Bose had to cooperate (and compete) with Shedai, take his help in setting up his own radio infrastructure, even staff, and retained even the name of Shedai’s organization "Azad Hindustan" with a minor abridgement as "Azad Hind".8.

===Pan-Islamism===
After the end of WWII and the creation of Pakistan, Shedai would turn to [[Pan-Islamism]], having founded in 1948 the ''World Muslim Association of Pakistan'', serving as its inaugural secretary-general as well.<ref>''The Islamic Review'', Volume 37, p. 48 (1949)</ref>

== On My Way Back==
Dr. Iqbal Shedai had compiled his return travelogue.<ref>On my way back to Pakistan, A revolutionary homecoming |[https://fruit-chat.com/iqbal-shedai/on-my-ay-back-a-revolutionerys-home-coming/ https://fruit-chat.com/iqbal-shedai/on-my-ay-back-a-revolutionerys-home-coming//]</ref>"My Way Back" but unfortunately it was never published. In this travelogue, Dr. Shadai described in detail how Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad helped him on his return journey and made it possible for him to get a passport. And on his return home.

"On 14th September, 1946, His eminence Maulana Abul Kalam Aazad wrote to me from Masoori in which he advised me to return to India as soon as possible because, he said, that all patriots must come back to Delhi."

"The reason was that I had been asked by Maulana Azad to reach India as soon as possible. Sardar Ajit Singh who had met both Mr. Nehru and the Maulana wrote to me that they had decided to appoint me as the Indian ambassador to Italy.

The second reason was that all my life I had been working for Indian Independence and I had no notion of Pakistan although I had read something about it in the London Times in the year 1933."

He also compiled how he countered the false propaganda against the Muslims of India in the Arab countries.

==='''Role of Mulana Azad in homecoming'''<ref>Role of Moulana Azad in homecoming. https://fruit-chat.com/iqbal-shedai/role-of-maulana-abdul-kalam-azad-in-dr-iqbal-shidais-homecoming/</ref>===
Moulana Azad helped and also offer him the ambassador to Italy but Dr. Shedai chose, Dr. Shedai wrote in detail about Moulana Azad in his Travelogue.

"On 14th Sepatember, 1946, His eminence Maulana Abul Kalam Aazad wrote to me from Masoori in which he advised me to return to India as soon as possible because, he said, that all patriots must come back to Dehli.

I had no passport with which I could travel freely. I had the Italian passport but it too was to be renewed. The new Italian government did not like to renew it as my passport was issued during Signor Mussolini’s regime.

I, therefore, wrote to Maulana Azad that the passport difficulty was a great hindrance in my return to India. He wrote to me in return that he was going to Dehli and would talk with Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the interim Prime Minister of the Indian Government.

I had also informed my younger brother, Dr. Mohammed Jamal Bhutta, about my passport difficulty. He went to Dehli and met Mr.Asif Ali who in turn introduced him to Maulana Azad who was also in Dehli in those days. My brother explained to him my passport difficulty.

The Maulana introduced him to Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru who, the Pundit, after hearing about my difficulty said that he had already written to me to come back. In reality, I had received a letter from Mr.Dyal, personal secretary of Pundit Nehru, that the Indian Government was in touch with the British Government to facilitate my return to India.

(This letter of Mr.Dyal is still with me.)"

Source: The reason was that I had been asked by Maulana Azad to reach India as soon as possible. Sardar Ajit Singh who had met both Mr. Nehru and the Maulana wrote to me that they had decided to appoint me as the Indian ambassador to Italy.<ref>[https://fruit-chat.com/iqbal-shedai/dr-iqbal-shedai-anonymity-in-pakistan-or-ambassador-in-india/ Dr. Iqbal Shedai’s: Anonymity in Pakistan or Ambassador in India/]</ref>

source:

===Pakistan Day Cairo, Egypt<ref>[https://fruit-chat.com/iqbal-shedai/iqbal-shedai-speech-on-pakistan-day-cairo-egypt-23-8-1947/ Dr. Iqbal Shedai’s speech on Pakistan Day Cairo, Egypt 23/8/19477]</ref>===
Dr. Iqbal Shedai celebrated Pakistan Day on 23-8-1947, in Cairo, Egypt. And deliver an historic speech.

"Ladies and Gentlemen-Assalam-o-aleikum wa Rahmatullah,

On behalf of the Pakistanis here in Egypt and elsewhere in the world, I thank you and through you, your respected kings, presidents, and nations for joining us in our rejoicing and happiness for the historic achievement of our freedom and independence.

I assure you, brethren, that we shall never forget your kindness and sympathy shown to us in these last 8 days.

Through press and platform. I pray to Allah Karim that those of our brethren who are still suffering under the foreign yoke should see the most happy days.

As we the Pakistanis are seeing and enjoying. They must rest assured that we are and shall remain with them spiritually in their adversity and in their happiness as well.

Gentlemen, much has been said and written about my newly-born country and its great and illustrious leader-Quad-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah I, there Fore need not repeat the same things at this moment as we have very limited time at our disposal and secondly the weather, too, does not permit us to remain closed in this hall. I would simply tell you in a few words that our freedom which we have snatched from our foes is the work of only one person.

Our dearest quad-i-Azam [[Mohammed Ali Jinnah]]. Before this great son of Islam took the reins of our leadership, we did not know what we were struggling for.

Our old leaders had no clear-out program to put before us. We were wandering behind them in an unlimited wilderness without any aim or object. This man was sent by God Almighty to lead us to victory, light, and freedom. In six years only he got back that most precious and dearest gem of liberty which had been snatched from us by the British a century and a half ago.

Gentlemen this brave and courageous man was alone in the midst of a terrible whirlwind of taunts from both our friends and foes. Some called him a lackey of the British Imperialists and others called him the enemy of India and of the whole East. But that great Son of Islam stood like a rock amidst this stormy ocean of human taunts.

His only reply to his friends and foes was,

“I shall get for my people a free and independent PAKISTAN”.

He succeeded in his aims and today we are here to congratulate him and his happy nation,

The Pakistan, Free and independent Pakistan is a great boon for the East in general and for the Muslim peoples in particular. We are not imperialists but we shall fight against any eventual enemy to the last man for the freedom and independence of our fatherland which our QUAD-i-AZAM has entrusted us.

At the same time, we shall help those of our brothers who are suffering under foreign yoke and are struggling for their freedom." also speak out his vision about Muslims of the world.

This travel book is still in the archives of the Government of Pakistan.

==Family life==
[[File:Iqbal Shedai with his wife.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Iqbal Shedai with his wife and other family members in Paris, France]]
[[File:Iqbal Shedai and Battalion Azad Hind.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Muhammad Iqbal Shedai is at the sixth from left, in white turban, with Lt Col. Inverea at eight, Ajit Singh at fourteenth and other officers of Battalion Azad Hindustan]]
Shedai decided to leave for France where he landed in Marseilles, a part of France. For a decade from 1930 to 1939, he lived in Paris.

==Last years and death==
After the partition of India in 1947, he moved with his French wife in Lahore for some years, before leaving for [[Italy]] and teaching [[Urdu]] at [[Turin University]] because of the apathy and enmity from the government for his progressive ideas. After refusing an Indian citizenship because "as a Pakistani he could not betray his soil", he returned to Lahore, Pakistan, in 1964, passing away on the 13th of January, 1974. He is buried in Miani Sahib Graveyard in Mozang, Lahore. <ref>Majid Sheikh (18 November 2019), [https://www.dawn.com/news/1517371 "Harking Back: The tale of the ‘other’ Iqbal of Sialkot"], ''Dawn News''. Retrieved 3 February 2020.</ref>

==Sources==
*''Shedai Papers'', preserved by Dr. Muhammad Jamal Bhutta, the younger brother of Muhammad Iqbal Shedai.
*M. Phil: Thesis on ''Iqbal Shedai, the Revolutionary'' by M. Gulzar Awan of history department, University of the Punjab.
*''Daily Imroaz'' newspaper from Lahore
*''History of Sialkot'' by Isfaq Niaz page 560.

==External sources==
*[http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=69859] A forum discussion on Radio Himala and Iqbal Shedai.
*[http://www.freeindianlegion.info/pag_sample-pages3.php] The Battaglione Azad Hindostan and Iqbal Shedai.
*[http://giuseppetucci.garzilli.com/categorie/iqbal-shedai] Media at the time of Mussolini and Tucci, a fascist radio in Kabul.
*[http://giuseppetucci.garzilli.com/2008/12/14/shedai-mussolini-e-la-missione-in-afghanistan] Shedai, Mussolini and the mission in Afghanistan.
*[http://www.nembo.info/Paracadutismo/ragg_frecce_rosse.htm] Raggruppamento "Frecce Rosse"
*[http://www.freeindianlegion.info/pag_sample-pages3.php] The free Indian legion Chapter 3
*[http://www.netaji.org/oracle_2010.pdf]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Page 15,16 Speech of Italian AMBASSADOR ALESSANDRO QUARONI
*[http://bharatendu.com/2011/04/19/subhas-chandra-bose-5/comment-page-1/] Subhas Chandra Bose – Another Look Part 5
*[http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=69859&start=15] Radio Himalaya Discussion forum on Axis History
*[https://fruit-chat.com/iqbal-shedai/role-of-maulana-abdul-kalam-azad-in-dr-iqbal-shidais-homecoming/ <nowiki>[10]</nowiki>] Role of Mulana Azad in homecoming
*[https://fruit-chat.com/iqbal-shedai/dr-iqbal-shedai-anonymity-in-pakistan-or-ambassador-in-india/ <nowiki>[11]</nowiki>] Anonymity in Pakistan or Ambassador in India

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Subhas Chandra Bose]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Pakistan]]
[[Category:Pakistani revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Pan-Islamism]]
[[Category:University of Turin faculty]]
[[Category:1888 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]