Glimpses of the Untold History of the Indian Freedom Struggle - Part 19

Hariom

Kathamanjiri 4 3-19

The men and women of the Laman clan delivered milk to almost all the houses of the village. The milk they delivered had not a drop of water mixed in it and so it had grown popular and gradually all the villagers grew fond of it.

All alone, Kashibai sat in silence on the banks of a pond very nearDulherao’s mansion. Innumerable thoughts flooded her mind. She did of course, want to see Dulherao meet his end but she had set her sights on Brigadier Smith, he was her real target. While he was in Jhansi, a year and a half before, Brigadier Smithhad cultivated good relations with several locals and trying multiple means, hehad charmed them and managed to bring them under his thumb. Engaging her in combat, these collaborators helped maneuver RaniLaxmibai to a spot which he had picked well beforehand – a spot that could be used as a sort of lurking place from where she could be ambushed. He had himself chosen this difficult terrain and had stacked huge boulders designing a structure conducive to the execution of his plan. No sooner did Laxmibai find herself before the boulders,than Smith, hiding behind the boulders leaped on top of them and shoved his sword through her back, right across, clean. He was the one, whosprayed Badal’s four legs with bullets. Badal was RaniLaxmibai’s dear horse.

It was only three days ago that ‘Sundarbai’, Kashibai’s close and trusted friend had narrated this gruesome saga.

Sundarbai was always found accompanying Mundar Begum, i.e. MundarKhatun like a shadow.

However, when the fight was on its last lap, Sundar was injured and fell to the ground. A kick from a horse sent her flying, landing her right behind the wall of boulders constructed by Brigadier Smith. She had lost her sword and was creeping forward, dragging on, looking to lay her hands on the weapon of a fallen soldier. It was then that Smith launched the vicious and dastardly assault on RaniLaxmibai.

Both her legs grievously injured, she was just not able to stand. So, all the more enraged, burning with revenge, she crept back behind the boulders and remained hidden there for an entire day. After the British soldiers moved out, Sundarbai crawled to a tribal settlement nearby and received treatment for her wounded legs. It was three days back that she had reached the Laman settlement and was reunited with the rest of her companions. Even now, it was not more than ten or maybe twenty steps that Sundarbai could walk so to say but revenge still blazed in her heart. Kashibai had given Sundar her word and pledged to punish both Dulherao and Smith for their heinous sins.

Kashibai sat by the pond waiting for ‘RamdinValmiki’. It was he, who had brought Sundarbai here to safety and at midnight, he was expected to arrive there by the pond armed with complete information about Brigadier Smith’s whereabouts.

RamdinValmiki was the eldest son of martyr MatadinValmiki, a sweeper in MangalPandey’s cantonment. It was he, who had informed MangalPandey that there was ‘something grossly wrong’ with the new rifles to be received from the British and it was with his help that MangalPandey had procured in-depth information about the cartridges.

Many soldiers addressed Matadin as ‘Matadin, bhangi’ (bhangi=the garbage man) as that was his job.But after he passed on the news about the cartridges, MangalPandey began referring to him as ‘MatadinValmiki’. Matadin fought the British along with MangalPandey, was caught and later hanged. 

Walking in his father’s footsteps, RamdinValmiki joined DhansinghGurjar and later, after Dhansingh’s death, he joined the army of the Rani of Jhansi. In keeping with the instructions of Motibai and Kashibai, he had found himself the job of sweeper in the British cantonment and later wriggled his way into Brigadier Smith’s cantonment as a ‘sweeper’.   

Kashibai waited eagerly for RamdinValmiki. Just at the stroke of midnight, Ramdin arrived. He explained to her in detail, the entire layout of Brigadier Smith’s cantonment.

Kashibai sent him back to Brigadier Smith’s camp instructing him to wait for her in that very place, on the day of the full moon, eight days away then.

On the night of the full moon, disguised as maids, 40 women of the DurgaDal, had slipped into Dulherao’s mansion. Sprawling as the mansion was, it lacked any record of servants, allowing for a safe and unchecked influx of people.

Also, there was this other reason for choosing the full moon day to strike: it was the occasion of the naming ceremony of the first born of Dulherao’s eldest wife and a really huge turnout of relatives had arrived to stay in the mansion along with their respective retinues of servants.

As night fell and the mansion was quiet, 200 Laman men and women launched a coordinated attack from the inside as well as from the outside.

Motibai and ManjunathPahadi had, to begin with, sounded the conch shells loud enough to ensure that all were awake and alert. It was not like them to attack a sleeping enemy. Moreover, the villagers were not to provide any help to Dulherao once the conch sounded – that was the instruction given by Mundar Begum, disguised as a ‘British officer’.

Every Laman man and woman carried at least two weapons. LalabhauBakshi and Mundar Begum carried two rifles each and they planned to pick off and kill Dulherao’smen, but not Dulherao.

 What erupted was a stormy, brutal fight. Panic gripping them, Dulherao’s relatives and even his servants began running helter-skelter. Some servants and guards did muster the courage to fight but swords ripped through them striking them repeatedly and ruthlessly.

Finally Dulherao was the only one left. His hands and feet were tied with a rope.He was dragged all the way to a huge tree that stood before the wide gateway to his mansion and then hoisted up to be suspended from a branch. 

Each one struck him, each hit making his body lurch and sway violently.

 The conch began to sound, this time in a different tone sending out a different signal to the villagers. They gathered around the mansion. All the wives of Dulherao watched from inside the mansion.

One after another the Laman soldiers stepped forward to poke Dulherao’s body with the tip of their sword. They poked his body once too many times leaving him sapped and his body, battered.Motibai then reached out for the whip and rained furious lashes on him. The villagers could not bear to watch Dulherao’s torment.However, the 200 armed Laman soldiers had now not only acquired more weapons but also a horse each, from Dulherao’s stables. Nobody could have dared to challenge this cavalry.

Dulherao’s torture continued for three whole hours. Motibai and Mundar Begum then thrust their blades right into his belly and disemboweled him. The Laman soldiers then quickly vacated the scene.

SardarManjunathPahadi who left last roared out addressing the by-standers in a thunderous voice, “This is the fate you meet if you betray Bharat, our Motherland and RaniLaxmibai and henceforth every traitor will have to pay exactly this price.”

This message was a blatant warning, so clear and defiant that the British Viceroy had no choice but to arrive there in a mere seven days.

Galloping through the forest, the Laman soldiers headed towards Smith’s camp. But then buzzing in all the minds was just the one question – ‘Where is Kashibai?’

 

….to be continued