Azimullah Khan
Encyclopedia
Azimullah Khan Yusufzai also known as Dewan
Azimullah Khan, was initially appointed Secretary, and later Prime Minister (hence the prefix Dewan) to Nana Sahib
. He is also known as the Krantidoot Azimullah Khan (Krantidoot is Hindi
for "Ambassador of Revolution").
Azimullah Khan was involved in the Indian Mutiny of 1857, primarily ideologically, influencing important nobles such as Nana Sahib.
After working as secretary to several British officers, he was taken into the service of the Nana Sahib, adopted son of the late Peshwa Baji Rao II (died 1851), as secretary and advisor.
to restore to him the £80,000 annual pension that his father (exiled to the Kingdom of Oudh) had been granted. He chose the smooth-talking Azimullah to go to England in 1853 to plead his case with the Board of Control, the British government, or anyone else who cared to listen.
, who was an official of the East India Company and had been a childhood friend of Lucie's. Azimullah lodged with the Duff Gordons at their home in Esher
, and in Lucie's company may have met her friends Dickens
, Carlyle
, Meredith
, Tennyson, Browning
and Thackeray
(though there is no direct evidence).
Lucie's attitude to Azimullah was probably motherly, but other, younger, British ladies seem to have entered into compromising relationships with him. His charm, good looks, and gorgeous costumes - and perhaps also the assumption (which he may even have encouraged) that he was a genuine Indian prince - made him an attractive, exotic figure. Despite his social success, and the outlay of £50,000 of his master's money, the mission to London was unsuccessful, and a bitter and frustrated Azimullah began his journey back to his homeland in 1855.
, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire
. He also visited the battlefield of Crimea
and saw tired British soldiers returning, and heard reports of bad leadership from British officers (see Charge of the Light Brigade
). Azimullah is reported to have contacted Turkish and Russian spies.
. (Azimullah also brought back a French printing press, which was used - by others - to print and distribute subversive literature against the British in India.)
Azimullah's own role in the great uprising that followed, the "Indian Mutiny", was political rather than military. Although he was chief advisor to the Nana Sahib, one of the principal leaders of the rebellion, he was a Muslim
at a Hindu
court, a talker, at a time when military men were needed, and without personal wealth, nobility, or a following of supporters, and so he soon became a marginal figure. His complicity in the two notorious massacres at Cawnpore - the treacherous attack on the retreating British at the Satichaura Ghat, and the slaying of the women and children held captive in the Bibighar, or House of the Women - is uncertain.
Azimullah Khan probably died of a fever in late 1859, after the crushing of the rebellion, on the run from the British in the inhospitable border country of the Nepalese Terai
.
Dewan
The originally Persian title of dewan has, at various points in Islamic history, designated various differing though similar functions.-Etymology:...
Azimullah Khan, was initially appointed Secretary, and later Prime Minister (hence the prefix Dewan) to Nana Sahib
Nana Sahib
Nana Sahib , born as Dhondu Pant, was an Indian leader during the Rebellion of 1857. As the adopted son of the exiled Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II, he sought to restore the Maratha confederacy and the Peshwa tradition....
. He is also known as the Krantidoot Azimullah Khan (Krantidoot is Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
for "Ambassador of Revolution").
Azimullah Khan was involved in the Indian Mutiny of 1857, primarily ideologically, influencing important nobles such as Nana Sahib.
Origins
Azimullah was rescued as a starving Muslim boy from the famine of 1837-38 along with his mother when they were provided shelter at a mission in Cawnpore. There he learnt English but also French, no mean achievement for an Indian in the 19th century.After working as secretary to several British officers, he was taken into the service of the Nana Sahib, adopted son of the late Peshwa Baji Rao II (died 1851), as secretary and advisor.
The Maratha mission
Nana Sahib was involved in a long drawn out appeal to the British East India CompanyBritish East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
to restore to him the £80,000 annual pension that his father (exiled to the Kingdom of Oudh) had been granted. He chose the smooth-talking Azimullah to go to England in 1853 to plead his case with the Board of Control, the British government, or anyone else who cared to listen.
England
In England, Azimullah was taken under the wing of Lady Lucie Duff Gordon, an intellectual and translator whose husband was a civil servant, court functionary and the cousin of the then Prime Minister. This introduction probably came about through the philosopher John Stuart MillJohn Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
, who was an official of the East India Company and had been a childhood friend of Lucie's. Azimullah lodged with the Duff Gordons at their home in Esher
Esher
Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the Greater London Urban Area, largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross....
, and in Lucie's company may have met her friends Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
, Meredith
George Meredith
George Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two...
, Tennyson, Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
and Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
(though there is no direct evidence).
Lucie's attitude to Azimullah was probably motherly, but other, younger, British ladies seem to have entered into compromising relationships with him. His charm, good looks, and gorgeous costumes - and perhaps also the assumption (which he may even have encouraged) that he was a genuine Indian prince - made him an attractive, exotic figure. Despite his social success, and the outlay of £50,000 of his master's money, the mission to London was unsuccessful, and a bitter and frustrated Azimullah began his journey back to his homeland in 1855.
Constantinople
On his way back, Azimullah's retinue stopped in ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. He also visited the battlefield of Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
and saw tired British soldiers returning, and heard reports of bad leadership from British officers (see Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The charge was the result of a miscommunication in such a way that the brigade attempted a much more difficult objective...
). Azimullah is reported to have contacted Turkish and Russian spies.
Subversion and revolt
Although his mission had failed, he probably came back with a more dangerous idea, planting in the Nana Sahib's mind the seed of the Indian rebellion of 1857Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
. (Azimullah also brought back a French printing press, which was used - by others - to print and distribute subversive literature against the British in India.)
Azimullah's own role in the great uprising that followed, the "Indian Mutiny", was political rather than military. Although he was chief advisor to the Nana Sahib, one of the principal leaders of the rebellion, he was a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
at a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
court, a talker, at a time when military men were needed, and without personal wealth, nobility, or a following of supporters, and so he soon became a marginal figure. His complicity in the two notorious massacres at Cawnpore - the treacherous attack on the retreating British at the Satichaura Ghat, and the slaying of the women and children held captive in the Bibighar, or House of the Women - is uncertain.
Azimullah Khan probably died of a fever in late 1859, after the crushing of the rebellion, on the run from the British in the inhospitable border country of the Nepalese Terai
Terai
The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...
.
Additional readings
- Lutfullah, Syed. Azimullah Khan Yusufzai: The man behind the war of independence 1857. Karachi: Mohamedali Educational Society, second edition, 1970.
- Ward, Andrew. Our Bones Are Scattered: The Cawnpore Massacres and The Indian Mutiny of 1857. New York: Henry Holt, 1996.
- Fisher, Michael H. Indian Political Representations in Britain during the Transition to Colonialism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
- Fisher, Michael H. Counterflows to Colonialism: Visitors and Settlers from India in Britain, c. 1600–1857. Delhi: Permanent Black, 2004.
- Jarman, Francis. "Azimullah Khan - A Reappraisal of One of the Major Figures of the Revolt of 1857". In: South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, vol. XXXI, no. 3, December 2008, pp.419-49.
- Swatantryaveer Sawarkar, Marathi: 1857 che Swatantrya Samar