Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-14
ENGLISH BLUNDERS
TAKEN OF THE SIT
UATIoN BY MANA sAHIB.
The Massacre of Foreigners at Delhi
Capture of the Emperor-Shooting
of the Princes.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

guls upon the dead bodies of his father
and three elder brothers the glory and pow
er of that empire began to decay. He reign
ed forty-nine years. His court was magnif-
cent. At first his administration was wise
and just, and he was without question an
able, brave and cultured king. But wheth-
er as an atonement for his crimes or for
some other reason, he became religious
fanatic, and after few years the broad
minded policy of religious liberty and toler-
alton which the chief feature of the
reign of his father and his grandfather
was reversed, and he endeavored to force
all of his subjects into the Mohammedan
Church. He imposed a heavy head tax
upon all who did not profess that faith; he
excluded all but Moslems from the public
service; he deprived 'infdels,'' as they were
generally termed, of valuable civil rights
and privileges he desecrated the ShrineS
and destroyed the sacred images of the
Hindus, and prohibited the religious festi-
walls and other features of their worship
The purpose of his policy was no doubt
conscientious, but the effect was the same
as that which has followed similar secta-
rian zeal in other countries. The history of
the world demonstrates that religious in
tolerance and persecution always destroys
prosperity No nation over prospered that
prohibited freedom of worship You will
find striking demonstration of that truth
Ottoman empire in modern times without
going back to the ancient races.
The career of AurangZeb is Strkingly like
thai of Philip II of Spain, and his char
acter was similar to that of Louis XIV of
France, who was his contemporary. Both
were INSCRIPTIONS, arrogant, egoGstical
and cruel kings: both were religious devo-
tees and endeavored to compensate for a
lack of morals by excessive zeal in perse-
cutting heretics and in promoting what they
considered the interests of their church,
and both created disaffection and provoked
rebellion among their subjects, and under
mined the power and authority of the dy-
nasties to which they belonged.
Decay of the Mogul Empire.
1t is needless to review the slow but
gradual decay of the Great Mogul empire.
With the ADOPTING of Aurangzeb's policy of
intolerance 1t began to crumble, and none
of his successors proved able to restore it.
He died in 1707. and the throne of the
Moguls was never again occupied by man
of force or notable ability. The history of
the empire during the eighteenth century is
merely record of successive failures, of
dfsintegration, of successful rebellionS and
Of invasions by foreign foes. which stripped
the Moguls of their wealth and destroyed
their resources. First came the Persians;
then the Afghans. who plundered the impe-
rial capital. desecrated tombs and temples.
destroyed the fortresses and palaces and
left little but disgrace and devastation
when they departed. One by one the PROV
inces separated themselves from the en-
pire and set I'D their own independence;
until in 1904 the English took possession
of the remnant and have maintained their
authority ever since.
Within the wall of the great citadel at
Delhi. for reasons of policy, the English al
lowed the great Mogul to maintain a fcti-
tious court. and because the title continued,
to command the generation of the natives
at state ceremonies the nominal successor
of Timour the Great was allowed to sit
upon a throne in the imperial hall of au-
dience and receive the homage of the peo-
pie. But none of the Moguls We're allowed
to exercise authority and were idle puppets
in the hands of their advisers until the
great mutiny of 1857 brought the native
soldiers into the palace crying: Help oh
king, in our fight for the faith
The Great sepoy Mutiny.
1t is not necessary to relate the details of
that awful episode of Indian history, but it
will do no harm to recall what we learned
in our school days of the principal incidents
and refer to the causes which provoked it. |
From the beginning of the British occupa-
ton of India there had been frequent local
uprisings caused by the discomfort or con- |
spiracy, but the East Indian Company and |
the officials of the British government who |
supported it had perfect confidence in the |
loyalty Of the sepoys-the native soldiers |
who were hired to fight against their fellow |
countrymen for so much pay They were |
differed by Englishmen, whose faith in |
them was only extnguished by assassina- |
ton and massacre. The general policy and |
the general results of British administra- |
ton have been worthy OF the highest COM |
mendation, but there have been many blum
derS and much injustice from time to time. |
due to individuals rather than to the ma
ton. weak and unwise man in authority
can do more harm in year than can be
corrected in a century.
Several so-called reforms" had been in
troduced into the native army; orders had
been issued forbidding the of caste
marks, the wearing of earrings and other
things which Englishmen considered trivial |
but were of great Importance to the Hindus
Native troops were ordered over the sea- |
which caused them to lose their caste; new
regulations admitted lOw-caSte men to the
service the entire army was provided with
a uniform with belts and cockades
made from the skin of animals which the
Hindus considered sacred, and cartridges
were issued which had been covered with
lard to protect them from the moisture of
the climate. and as everybody knows, the
flesh of swine Is the most unclean thing in
existence to the pious Hindu. All these
things. which the stubborn, stupid English
men considered insignificant were regarded
by the sepoys as deliberate attacks upon
their religion. and certain conspirators. who
had reasons for desiring to destroy British
authority, used them to convince the ma
tive soldiers that the new regulations were
a long-considered and deliberate attempt
to deprive them of their caste and force
them to become Christians. Unfortunately,
the British officers in command refused to
treat the complaints seriously and laughed
in the faces of their men, which was insult
added to injury. and was Interpreted as
positive proof of the evil intentions of the
government.
Mana Sahib
This situation was taken advantage of by |
certain Hindu princes who had been de-
prived of power or of pensions previously |
granted Mana Sahib, the deposed rajah of |
Poona, was the leader, and the authorities
allowed him to travel about the country, |
stirring up discomfort and conspiring with |
other disloyal native chiefs for general
uprising and massacre which. according to
their program. occurred in northern India |
in the summer of 1857. If the British had |
desired to play into the hands OF the con-
spirators they could not have adopted a |
policy more effective in that direction. Ut
terly unconscious of danger and unsus-
picious of the conspiracies that were enfold- |
ing them, they relieved city after city of
its guard of English troops and Issued arms |
and ammunition in unusual and unneces-
sary quantities to the sepoys, at whose |
mercy the entire foreign population was
left.
The outbreak occurred according to the |