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Photograph entitled “Outside of well, Cawnpore [Kanpur]” taken by samuel bourne in 1860. The picture shows the outside of the Bibighar Well in Cawnpore (Kanpur) where British women and children died. By 1860, a memorial had been built at the site. In 1948, after India’s independence, the memorial was moved to another site
“The Well and Monument, Slaughter House, Cawnpore” Kanpur Uttar Pradesh, taken in 1858. From ‘Murray Collection: Views in Delhi, Cawnpore, Allahabad and Benares’ taken by Dr. John Murray. Picture shows the Bibigurh house in which European women and children were killed and the well where their bodies were found
Kanpur or Cawnpore as it was known then had been a strategically located garrison town along the Grand Trunk Road. In 1857, when the Northern India faced a first genuine ignition against the colonial regime, Cawnpore then manned by Major General Hugh Wheeler was sure of his troops that they will not join the rebels. So sure that he even despatched 2 companies under him to fight the rebels in neighbouring Awadh.
That proved to be a costly mistake. By June 1857, the fire finally reached Cawnpore. Anticipating an attack from the rebellious soldiers of Fatehgarh, some 80 km from Cawnpore, Wheeler decided to take refuge in the well entrenched positions in the garrison of Cawnpore.
The British had always been a poor master of their native soldiers and Cawnpore was no exception. Behind the fortified positions, a drunk British officer shot his orderly.
The British being the racist they were, absolved the officer and this was the tripping point. On 5th June, desertions start.
Till this time, the ex-Peshwa Baji Rao-II alias Nana Sahab who was living at Bitthur near Kanpur had declared his loyalties to the British. His representations to the Queen had been unsuccessful and that triggered a change of hearts of Nana Sahab. He enters the army magazine on 5th June and declares his loyalty to Bahadur Shah Zafar. The very same day, he sent sent a letter to Wheeler declaring a war against the British very next morning.
As the news of Nana Sahab entering the fray spread, desertions intensify. By 10th June, he had at his disposal some 10 ton 12 thousand soldiers. The British had now held their positions in the fortified entrenchment now for 10 days. Lack of food, water, intense heat and lack of sanitation started taking the toll on the British. Cholera, Smallpox and Dysentery spread.
From 12th to 23rd June, Nana Sahab kept on firing salvos and sniper fire. Comes 23rd June, the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Plassey, Nana Sahab ‘s forces try to break through the fortifications.
Wheeler, whose son had bee decapacitated in the salvo exchange, decides to surrender if promised a safe passage to Allahabad. Nana Saheb, agrees to giving a safe passage to all the resident whites through the Satichaura Ghat.
On June 27th, Nana Saheb sent palkis, dolis, elephants so that the sick, wounded, elderly and the women are taken from the garrison to the ghat.
On the Satichaura Ghat some confusion prevails and gunshots are exchanged between the forces of Nana Saheb and the British.
Tatya Tope who was over looking the extradition operation, asked the forces to kill all the men and take with them all the children, women and the sick into captivity and transfer them to Savada House and then to BibiGhar. Nana Saheb had planned to use the captives as a bargain if the situation so desired arises.
By this time, the British had dispatched a strong contingent under Henry Havelock to take back Awadh and Cawnpore. He is joined by James Neil.
The brutal commander gets the news of the Satichaura Ghat incident and decides to avenge with equal brutality. On his way to Cawnpore, Havelock annihilates each and every ” Bhura” he sees.
The news of his savagery reaches BibiGhar. Azimullah Khan, Nana Saheb’s Dewan perturbed the butchery of Havelock decides to teach the British a lesson. On July 15th, he issues the orders of execution of all tha captives at BibiGhar.
After the first round of firing, the soldiers refuse to kill the women and the children. Enraged by their cowardice, the local prostitute Begum Khannum calls the butchers to hack the remaining captives. Barring a few women and children, all the captives are cleavered to death with their bodies being disposed off in the dried wells.
The very same day, the British defeat Nana ‘s forces in the decisive Battle of Aong and enter the city of Cawnpore the next day.
The British learn about the horror stories of BibiGhar massacre and give a cry ” Remember Cawnpore”. General Neill starts summary executions. The muslim rebel sepoys are first sewn into the pig skin and then executed while the upper caste Hindus executed by the low caste Hindu sweepers to give them a religious disgrace. Before that the Muslim sepoys were force fed pork and the Hindus , beef.
Those who accepted the guilt were made to lick the grounds of BibiGhar after they had been made wet by the blood of those who were killed a day before.
On the 19th of July Nana Sahab ‘ s forces under Tatya Tope give a second try to take back Cawnpore but are defeated by Colin Campbell. Nana Saheb,anticipating his defeat fled to Nepal (from where he is captured in 1859) while Tatya Tope retreated to Gwalior where Rani Laxmi Bai was fighting against the British.
The British dismantled the BibiGhar and raised a memorial cross at the well where the bodies had been disposed off. They levied an indemnity of 30,000 pounds on the natives of Cawnpore for not helping the British while the massacre took place.
Today , the remnants of the cross can be seen at the Nana Sahab park at Kanpur. Satichaura Ghat is now known as Massacre Ghat.
This episode came to be known as the Satichaura Ghat massacre and the BibiGhar massacre, a blot of some kind on the otherwise glorious freedom struggle of 1857.
Its June 26 today, i thought sharing some of the unknown incidents of the great freedom struggle whose reference are usually missing from our text books. These incidents turn 158 this summer and lest we forget, ” Remember Cawnpore”
The Ghat where the the massacre of retreating british took place
Executions after the massacre
Sikh Forces also took part in the relief of kanpur and Bihar under Brigadier James Neil
John Moore (British Major) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hugh Wheeler (East India Company officer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James George Smith Neill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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