Meerut Cantonment and the War of Independence, 1857*
Dr Amit Pathak**
The region of Meerut came under British rule in 1803 after the treaty of Surji - Anjungaon between the British and the Marathas. Thus began a new chapter in the history of Meerut which transformed this region forever through the establishment of one of the largest cantonments of the subcontinent.
Meerut Cantonment
A few Native Regiments were stationed in Meerut between 1803 and 1806, the period in which Meerut Cantt was established. A process of land acquisition and construction of roads as well as buildings was begun culminating in a road network that has remained almost the same all these years. Many of the buildings constructed at that time can still be identified.
The large cantonment at Meerut was established with consideration of specific strategic interests. The location of Meerut was considered important in view of its proximity to the imperial capital Delhi, and being located within the fertile Ganges – Yamuna doab, with its large surplus of food and resultant inflow of revenue, allowing easy stationing of a large military garrison.
In the early 1800s, Meerut Cantt acted as a support pillar for the imperial capital of Delhi. It was also a doorway for both, the mountains which were under the Gurkhas and the plains of the Punjab under the Sikhs. The British, immediately after establishing Meerut Cantt, made it their base for launching operations against the Gurkhas in the hills and after a few years against the Sikhs in Punjab. Thus, within no time, it evolved into one of the most important British military stations of Northern India and one of the largest military stations within the Indian subcontinent.
The cantonment was established near the old walled city of Meerut (the Meerut fort wall does not exist today), but it lay about two to three kilometres away from it with open ground in between. The cantonment was established in the form of a large ‘L’, with a northern section that lay along an east-west axis and a southern section that lay at right angles to it on a north – south axis. These two halves were in themselves separated by about half a kilometre of open ground through which flowed the Abu Nala. Initially it was a fresh water canal, which with the passage of time started carrying sewage due to the increase in population around it.
In 1857, Meerut Cantt had three native (Indian) Regiments and three British Regiments stationed within it, which together formed the Meerut Garrison operating under the East India Company. These two wings of the Company Army lived in its two separate sections, the northern section being for the European regiments and the southern section for the Native regiments.
The main Bazaar for all the soldiers stationed in Meerut Cantt was the Sadar Bazaar. It was a large pocket of civil population lying within the eastern part of the Native section of the cantonment. This had both wholesale as well as retail outlets in it as the sepoys and troops of the regiments stationed here had to buy rations and other necessities directly from the market. Its location within the cantonment saved a long excursion to the city. There was a separate Police station (Kotwali) for the cantonment at Sadar Bazaar, a second Kotwali being there for the city, lying within its walls.
Regiments Stationed in Meerut Cantt in May 1857
There were two Native infantry regiments and one Native cavalry regiment. There was also one British cavalry regiment, a British infantry regiment and the Artillery school of instruction of the Bengal Army, which had been shifted recently to Meerut from Dum Dum in Calcutta.
The British Regiments in Meerut in May 1857. One Infantry regiment - 1st Battalion of the 60th Kings Royal Rifles having 901 men; One Cavalry regiment - 6th Dragoon Guards (the Carabineers) having 652 men; One Artillery regiment - 225 men of the Horsed and Foot artillery.
The Native Regiments Stationed in Meerut. Two infantry regiments - the 11th Native Infantry having 780 men and the 20th native Infantry having 950 men; and one cavalry regiment - the 3rd Native Light Cavalry having 504 men.
In addition, there was 123 Native golandaaz operating with the British Artillery. So the total strength of British soldiers was 1778 men and the total strength of sepoys was 2234.
As seen from an analysis of relative troop strength in Meerut Cantt, the ratio of the Native sepoys to European soldiers in Meerut Cantt was nearly fifty – fifty per cent, the highest ratio of British soldiers to sepoys within any cantonment of the East India Company. No wonder, when the events of 1857 burst upon the British administration of Meerut, the improbability of this ever happening here, due to the high number of British soldiers stationed, must have weighed heavily on the minds of those who were in command at the station, paralysing their immediate decision making capacity.
Meerut Cantonment and the Events of 1857
Events started rolling in Meerut with the arrival of a fakir (a sadhu or saint) in April 1857. He had been reported to have travelled to Ambala, about two months previous to his arrival in Meerut. It must be remembered that Ambala cantonment was the other most important cantonment closest to Delhi. The fakir had a large entourage and travelled on an elephant, the people being informed that he had come from Ayodhya. He put up his residence at the ancient Suraj Kund; a water tank surrounded by temples situated a short distance from the walled city of Meerut. Here he gave sermons which were attended by a large number of sepoys as well as civilians.
The civil British authorities of Meerut got alarmed by his utterances and ordered him to vacate Suraj Kund. The fakir then went and started living within the lines of the 20th Native Infantry Regiment, in the heart of the Native segment of Meerut cantonment. The arrival of the fakir in Meerut after a visit to Ambala, his stay within the lines of the sepoys during the crucial phase of the beginning of the revolt and his marching off to Delhi with the sepoys on the night of 10th May, impart to his presence there with a lot of importance.
Most of the events of 1857 occurred within the native section of Meerut Cantt, only one incident of firing was reported from within the British section. Thus, the events given below are mostly pertaining to the southern or native half of Meerut Cantt.
Colonel Carmychael Smyth was the commandant of the 3rd Native Light Cavalry Regiment. He wanted to test the willingness of his sepoys (sowars) to use the disputed cartridges of the Enfield Rifles (carbines) that had been recently issued to his regiment. He ordered a parade of the 90 carabineers (skirmishers) of his regiment to be held on the 14th of April, 1857, to teach them the new drill needed for the use of this new weapon and its ammunition, the drill was to be performed using blank cartridges.
On the evening of 23rd April, the sepoys (sowars) of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, which had both Muslims and Hindus within it in equal numbers, took an oath in the name of the holy Ganges and the Koran to refuse orders pertaining to the use of the disputed cartridges on the day of the parade. Naik (Corporal) Shekh Pir Ali and Naik Amir Kudrat Ali took the initiative of organising the sepoys (sowars).
Accordingly, at the parade on the 24th, out of 90 carabineers, 85 refused to use the disputed cartridges. This was taken to be an act of utmost disobedience by the Commandant. A court of inquiry was instituted on the 25th of April. Later, these 85 sepoys were tried at a special court-martial, the proceedings of which lasted 3 days - 6th, 7th and 8th of May, 1857. All 85 sepoys (sowars) were awarded a punishment of 10 years rigorous imprisonment for refusing to obey orders. Later, the punishment of 5 sepoys (sowars) was reduced by 5 years in consideration of their age.
During this period, i.e. between 24th April and 9th May, a lot of incendiary fires were reported within Meerut Cantt. The Barrack Master’s Godown was one of the buildings which thus got burnt on the 6th of May. The Company administration thought these fires to be the result of the extreme dry heat of the Indian summer, but it later came to be understood that they were purposefully lit by firing burning arrows at thatched roofs of certain buildings.
9th May 1857
On the 9th of May the Company authorities committed their gravest mistake. They did it on purpose but had a long time, to repent for it. The Company authorities must have thought that the matter of refusal of cartridges by sepoys had to be handled with a tough approach. The natives needed to be taught a lesson so that they did not dare to disobey British orders again.
On that fateful day, the whole of Meerut garrison was assembled at the British Infantry Parade Ground, which lay within the heart of the European section of Meerut cantt. The punishment of the 85 convicted sepoys (sowars) was carried out in front of the whole garrison. The garrison was made to stand so that they made three sides of a square. The 85 condemned sepoys (sowars) were made to stand in the centre. Around them were the three Native regiments, which had been specifically brought in without issue of regular ammunition so that they possessed empty muskets, the Native cavalry having been dismounted and marched in without horses. The three British Regiments were armed, had service ammunition and the cavalry came in mounted. The British artillery even brought in its artillery guns. These British regiments were then assembled in such a pattern around the Native regiments that if any sepoy dared to commit even the slightest movement in support of his 85 comrades, he would be immediately killed.
The order of the punishment was read out to the assembled soldiers and the uniforms of the 85 sepoys (sowars) were publicly torn and removed. Blacksmiths were brought to the parade ground to put shackles on the sepoys (sowars) there and then, in front of the whole garrison, this being the gravest humiliation for a uniformed soldier. During this process, the 85 sepoys (sowars) were shouting at their comrades to come and help them, and also shouting against their commander as well as the military administration of Meerut Cantt. The rest of the sepoys of the Native regiments who were forced to see this humiliation stood through all this, feeling dishonour and shame, which they carried with them to their lines. The British officers thought that a good lesson had been taught to the Native soldiers, but something else rose out of these events of 9th May, 1857.
The sepoys passed the rest of the day with feelings of humiliation and guilt. They were taunted not just by the civilians of Meerut, but even by the prostitutes of Sadar Bazaar, who are said to have thrown bangles at them.
10th May 1857
10th May was a Sunday. It was a hot day of an Indian summer and no European thought of any calamity befalling upon him. The situation was different on the Native side of Meerut cantonment. Under the apparent calm of routine life on a summer day, a volcano was heating up to near eruption. It was noted that many Indian servants did not report for work in British houses on that fateful day. The warnings of a few servants to their British masters regarding the coming of a storm were neglected. It has been reported that a group of Indian sepoys had left for Delhi on the night of the 9th itself, to inform their comrades about the events that were about to take place in Meerut the next day.
On this Sunday evening, like any other, many British soldiers and officers had come down to Sadar Bazaar from the European side of the cantonment to buy necessities and also for recreation. A beer shop present here was an important attraction.
The Sunday church service had been postponed for the evening due to the summer heat and many British officers and their families residing within the Native side of the cantonment were beginning to move towards the European side, towards the St. John’s Church.
It was about this time, around 5.30 PM, that a rumour entered Sadar Bazaar that the British regiments were coming to disarm the Native regiments. This was the proverbial spark that lit the haystack. All hell broke loose.
People of Sadar Bazaar immediately attacked every British soldier or officer who was present in the Bazaar at that time, led in some places by Indian cantonment peons in uniform. The Indian policemen came out of the Sadar Kotwali with unsheathed swords, leading the crowds in their attacks. The sepoys present in the Bazaar at that time immediately started running towards their lines. The War of Indian Independence 1857 had begun.
The soldiers broke the belts of arms and took control of their weapons and ammunition, the sepoys of the cavalry took their horses. A group of cavalry sepoys (sowars) rode towards the New Jail where their 85 comrades were imprisoned. Some of them ran straight towards it, but others ran through the walled city of Meerut. In the city they asked all the people to rise against the Company, shouting ‘deen deen’ (deen means religion) along the way. They broke a part of the jail that housed the 85 convicted sepoys, wrenching off the iron grills that held their comrades. Their shackles were cut there and then by blacksmiths, before all the sepoys ran off to freedom and war. These sepoys did not release rest of the prisoners or harm the British jailer in any way.
The British officers of the Native regiments reached the lines and parade grounds to control their men. The officers who reached the British Cavalry parade ground were told by the sepoys (sowars) to go back as ‘the Company Raj is over forever’.
In all this mayhem Colonel John Finnis, Commandant of the 11th Native Infantry, reached the common parade ground of the two infantry regiments. He was able to make his men listen to his orders and obey his commands. He then decided to ride towards the men of the 20th Native Infantry and try to control them too, but sepoys of this regiment were not ready to listen to his requests and did not pay heed to his commands. When he was returning back towards his own regiment after failing to convince the sepoys of the 20th Native Infantry, a sepoy of this regiment shot him and he died on the spot falling from his horse. With his shooting, the remaining ‘remnants of subjugation’ to British authority also broke down within the lines and parade grounds of the Native regiments. The sepoys started firing at their British officers, who in turn ran off towards the European side of the cantonment for safety or tried to hide wherever they could.
Within an hour or two, the sepoys stated marching towards Delhi, taking their weapons, ammunition and horses. They collected at a village close to Meerut called Rithani on the main Delhi Road. Here there was a meeting where the sepoys who had not known what had to be done were told that they all had to march to Delhi. A few sepoys rode off towards Moradabad, carrying the news of the ‘uprising’ into Rohilkhand.
When the incidents narrated above were taking place, mobs from the slums that lay between the walled city and Sadar Bazaar attacked the bungalows of the British officers who were residing in the Native half of the cantonment (mostly officers of these Native regiments). The house of the Commissioner of Meerut, HH Greathed, which was situated near the city, was also attacked. The story of his escape with his wife makes interesting reading. Looting and burning lasted a few hours till around midnight when a group of British soldiers was sent to collect the bodies of the dead from the Native side of the cantonment.
The Native Cavalry led the march to Delhi and had reached the walls of the imperial city by about seven o’ clock in the morning on the 11th of May. The infantry followed by a gap of about five hours. By afternoon the same day Delhi had been taken.
Meerut After 10th May
By the morning of the 11th of May all was quiet again within Meerut Cantt and the City, though in the villages around, the flames of revolt were continuously spreading. On 11th May itself, Sardhana Tehsil close to Meerut cantt, was attacked by residents of the surrounding villages. Village after village declared independence as time passed and the Company officers, soldiers and civilians did not dare to move out of their half of Meerut Cantt for many days to come. Here they constructed an artificial fortification for the safety of their non-combatants called the Dum Duma.
‘‘Many of the people of the north and south-western parts of the district began openly to transfer their allegiance to the King of Delhi’’
- page 42, para 278, Mutiny Narratives of the United Provinces, Meerut.
No direct confrontation took place between the British soldiers and Native sepoys in Meerut Cantt. The above fortification was never to be used and was pulled down completely after the Revolt and no remains of it can be found today.
On 15th May, 1857, a detachment of Native Sappers and Miners came to Meerut from Roorkee. It was made to encamp near the Artillery lines within the European side of the cantonment, very close to the barracks of British soldiers. On 16th May, a sepoy of this detachment shot at the Commanding Officer of his regiment Major Frazer. the exact reason was never known, but it could be that the close proximity of the British soldiers unnerved the Native sappers, resulting in this reaction. The Native sepoys then immediately ran away, many towards the Kali Nadi. The British soldiers followed them and organised a cavalry charge on those who could be caught up with. A skirmish took place between them and the tail end of these escaping sepoys on the sand embankments that lay just beyond the cantonment. All the Native sepoys who were involved in this skirmish were killed. Karl Marx took note of this episode and wrote in the New York Daily Tribune dated July 15th, 1857: … ‘‘and made at once for the open country, pursued by troops of horse artillery and several of the 6th dragoon guards. Fifty or sixty of the mutineers were shot, but the rest contrived to escape to Delhi.’’
So, that was the end of the turbulent and major events of Meerut Cantt and the city. But the fire of ‘revolt’ spread into the whole countryside around Meerut, travelling through district after district, till it had enveloped large tracts of the Indian subcontinent, creating a mass Indian uprising against the British colonial rule the parallels of which were never again seen. It will be never known how many Indians died in this ‘Great Upsurge’, whole villages were destroyed in reprisal killings by the colonial British army, whole cities were converted into ghost towns. The repercussions of this great event which had horrified the countryside of India still survive to remind later generations about the atrocities committed in the aftermath of the Native uprising at Meerut Cantt.
* Text of the talk delivered at USI on 16 Jun 2010.
**Dr Amit Pathak is a Radiologist and specialises in Endoscopic Ultrasonography. Amongst many other subjects, he takes keen interest in history. Recently, he has researched on events related to the ‘upsurge of 1857’ at Meerut and its surrounding area.
Journal of the United Service Institution of India, Vol. CXL, No. 581, July-September 2010.