‘The Siege of Delhi’ by Amarpal Singh: An account of 4 months in life of Delhi in 1857

Salil Misra

The Rebellion of 1857 is one of those unusual historical themes where scholarly and popular interests tend to converge. Production of more books tends to whet the general appetite and the law of diminishing returns certainly does not apply to 1857. ‘The Siege of Delhi’ is certainly one of the more important ones to have recently come out on the theme.

It tells the story of 1857 meticulously, going into great detail, but without losing a sense of the big picture. To its credit, the book does not attempt to demolish any of the existing perspectives. Nor does it claim to tell a story that has not been told before. Instead, it describes in a comprehensive manner the experiences of Delhi during the four fateful months from May 1857, when the British rule over the city came to an end, till September, when it was re-claimed by the British. Rich in documentation, the book does bring alive both the grandeur and the trauma of Delhi in 1857.

As the narrative proceeds, some questions loom large: why did 1857 happen? Why did it fail, in spite of possessing many advantages and a great propensity for success? How was European knowledge on 1857 constituted? What implications did it have in subsequent times? The answers are spread through the 41 chapters, big and small, divided into five major parts.

The first part describes the hundred years of British rule prior to 1857. It delineates an interesting trajectory of British colonialism, in which the colonial rule may have started being somewhat indigenous but increasingly became more and more alien. The second part narrates the major developments just prior to the Rebellion. There was great resentment among the Indian soldiers, both Muslim and Hindu, for a whole range of reasons pertaining to religious hurt, discriminatory treatment by the British officers, new demands being put on the soldiers, and unfavourable working conditions, among others. Interestingly, there was a strand of the Rebellion that also extended beyond India. There was a rumour that Russia, Persia and Afghanistan were quite invested in what was happening in Delhi and were ready to help the impending Rebellion. Each country had its own reasons though. It also fed into the dominant religious narrative that the king of Persia, even though belonging to the Shia faith, was ready to help restore Islamic rule in India. Whether this was true or not is unclear, but the rumour did give the rebels great confidence.

The third part describes the story of the Rebellion, in which the rebel soldiers arrived from Meerut and actually succeeded in uprooting the British rule from Delhi. The book provides virtually a minute-to-minute account of the fateful days. The fourth part describes the contests, battles, strategies and counter-strategies, the resources and ammunition, the strengths and weaknesses of the rival parties. The fifth, and the last, part tells the story of the recapture of the city. After the British regained control, the main discussion revolved around how to reorganise the city. There was a suggestion that all the symbols of Mughal authority should be demolished. Some British officials even suggested that the entire city be razed to the ground to make way for a memorial and a church to symbolise the triumph of Christianity over Islam. But there were also counter-views that it was better to hold and control the city than destroy it. So the wall encircling Shahjahanabad and the Red Fort could now be deployed in the service of the British imperial authority. In the end, parts of the city were flattened out but the wall, the fort and Jama Masjid were spared the destruction. It would be very difficult to imagine Old Delhi today without these three.

‘The Siege of Delhi’ is an important compendium on the four months in the life of a city in 1857, describing the fluctuating fortunes and the precarious destiny of Delhi. Its basic character could have been altered for good. But that is a story of ‘what might have been’.