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Waiting for 100 years!
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The centenary of the Battle of Plassey!
Excitement has reached a high pitch because The Maulavis and Pandits have been predicting that the British rule would come to an end exactly a hundred days after the Battle of Plassey which took place on June 23, 1757.
Everyone believes the prediction and preparations for the battle have already been on for quite sometime now. The nationalist forces have been beefed up with the arrival of fresh troops from Jalandhar and Phillaur. The day began early with a furious cannonade being opened on the British position from the city walls by the sepoys. And throughout the day, a heavy enfilading fire was kept up on Hindu Rao’s House which is under the occupation of the Sirmur battalion of Gurkha’s commanded by Major Reid. With his few guns, Maj Reid is finding it difficult to stop the onslaught.
The nationalist forces have succeeded in occupying Kishangunj and Subzi Mandi. Our spies brought us information that the enemy is full of admiration for valiant action of our forces. In fact when at about 12 O’Clock, our forces made a desperate attack on the enemy position, Major Reid was actually heard saying that “No man could have fought better. The mutineers charged the Rifles, the Gurkhas and my own men again and again and at one time I thought I must have lost the day.”
The heat has become terrible and many British soldiers have fallen from the effects of the sun. The battle continued the whole day. The British losses have been heavy. 38 men killed and 118 wounded! We kept up the attack for eleven hours our casualties are mounting. 499 have been killed and 300 wounded. We have no choice now but to retreat within the walls of the city.
Alas! We had started off with so much enthusiasm and fought so valiantly, yet nationalist forces lost! If only we had been better organized and had a strong leader who could inspire us; who know? The outcome might have been very different!
The nationalist forces had started off with so much enthusiasm and fought so valiantly, yet they lost! Why? There are a number of factors responsible for the wretched plight of the nationalist army, the most important one of course is that the nationalists forces lacked proper leadership and organization, there was lack of trust and mutual bickering. Intrigues at the royal court were also. Matters were made worse by the fact that here was no money to pay the troops or even buy ration to feed the forces. Thus the King’s order to Mirza Mughal to ensure supply of ration was useless. The situation became so desperate that the soldiers had to resort to plundering. The result was that they even lost the sympathy of some sections of the people like trading community, whose sympathy was with the British rather than with the nationalists as the British paid them handsomely for the supplies received.
Rupa Gupta
What was the battle of Plassey? Was it 100 Indian lunar years or solar years since the battle?
The battle of Plassey,or Pilashi,ocurred in 1757.The British forces were led by Robert Clive and
they defeated the ruler of Bengal,Siraj ud Daula.This marked the start of effective British control
over India and arguably the start of the New World Order.The post Plassey plunder made Clive and many others very rich.The plunder flowed into England and initiated the Industrial Revolution.Brooks Adams excellent book “The Law of Civilisation and Decay” (written in 1895) describes how this happened.Clive’s descendants probably still own Powys castle in Wales which Clive bought and recently sold some of the loot for millions of pounds.
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