David Ochterlony
Encyclopedia
Sir David Ochterlony, 1st Baronet GCB
(12 February 1758 – 15 July 1825) was a British general.
) in nearby Byfield, Massachusetts
. In 1777, he went as a cadet to India
, where he served under Lord Lake in the battles of Koil
, Aligarh and Delhi
, and was appointed resident at Delhi in 1803. In 1804, having been promoted to the rank of major-general, he defended the city with a very inadequate force against an attack by Yashwantrao Holkar
. On the outbreak of the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–15) he was given the command of one of four converging columns, and his services were rewarded with a baronet
cy in 1815. Subsequently he was promoted to the command of the main force in its advance on Kathmandu, and outmanoeuvring the Gurkha
s by a flank march at the Kourea Ghat Pass, brought the war to a successful conclusion and obtained the signature of the Treaty of Sugauli
(1816), which dictated the subsequent relations of the British with Nepal. For this success Ochterlony was created Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
, the first time that honour had been conferred on an officer of the British Indian Army
.
In the Pindari War (1817–18) he was in command of the Rajputana column, made a separate agreement with Amir Khan
, detaching him from the Pindari
s, and then, interposing his own force between the two main divisions of the enemy, brought the war to an end without an engagement. He was appointed resident in Rajputana
in 1818, with which the residency at Delhi was subsequently combined, and during this period encountered and engaged in an ongoing personal feud with James Tod
, which was based most likely on the power politics within the hierarchy of the East India Company.
When Durjan Sal revolted in 1825 against Balwant Singh, the infant Raja of Bharatpur, Ochterlony acting on his own responsibility supported the raja
by proclamation and ordered out a force to support him. Lord Amherst, however, repudiated these proceedings. Ochterlony, who was bitterly chagrined by this rebuff, resigned his office, and retired to Delhi. The feeling that the confidence which his length of service merited had not been given him by the governor-general is said to have accelerated his death, which occurred at Meerut in 1825. The Ochterlony column
at Calcutta commemorates his name.
.
The most prominent among his wives was Bebee Mahruttun Moobaruck ul Nissa Begume, a former Brahmin
dancing girl from Pune
who had converted to Islam
. Nicknamed "Generallee Begum", she was Ochterlony's favorite wife and mother of his youngest children. As such, she took clear precedence over the others. She was known to be a devout Muslim, having once applied for leave to make the hajj
to Mecca
.
Although much younger than Ochterlony, she maintained the dominant part of the relationship. This led one observor to remark that "making Sir David the Commissioner of Delhi was the same as making Generallee Begum". Another observer remarked that "Ochterlony's mistress is the mistress now of everyone within the walls. As a result of her influence, Ochterlony considered raising his children as Muslims and when his two daughters by Mubaruk Begum had grown up, he adopted a child from the family of the Nawabs of Loharu, one of the leading Muslim families of Delhi. Raised by Mubaruk Begum, the girl went on to marry her cousin, a nephew of the famous Urdu
poet Mirza Ghalib
.
She even seems to have set herself up as a power in her own right and to have formed her own independent foreign policy. At one point, it was reported that "Mobarruck Begum, alias Generalee Begum fills the (Delhi) papers with accounts of the Nizars and Khiluts (gifts and dresses of honor) given and taken by her in her transactions with the Vacquils (ambassadors of the different (Indian) powers - an extraordinary liberty, if true."
However in spite of all her power and high status, Mubaruk Begum was widely unpopular among the British and the Mughals alike. She offended the British by calling herself "Lady Ochterlony" and on the other hand, also offended the Mughals by awarding herself the title "Qudsia Begum", a title previously reserved for the Emperor's mother. After Ochterlony's death, she inherited Mubarak Bagh, an Anglo-Mughal garden tomb he had built in the north of Old Delhi
, but her intense unpopularity combined with her dancing girl background ensured that no Mughal gentleman would use her structure. To this date, it is still referred to as the "Rundi ki Masjid" (The prostitute's mosque) by the local inhabitants of the old city.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(12 February 1758 – 15 July 1825) was a British general.
Biography
David Ochterlony was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and attended the Dummer Charity School (now known as The Governor's AcademyThe Governor's Academy
The Governor's Academy is an independent school located on in the village of Byfield, Massachusetts, United States ; north of Boston. The Academy enrolls approximately 385 students in grades nine through twelve, 70% of whom are boarders...
) in nearby Byfield, Massachusetts
Byfield, Massachusetts
Byfield is a village in the town of Newbury, in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It borders West Newbury, Georgetown, and Rowley. It is located about 30 miles north-northeast of Boston, along Interstate 95, about 10 miles south of the border between New Hampshire and...
. In 1777, he went as a cadet to India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, where he served under Lord Lake in the battles of Koil
Koil
Koil or Kovil "King's House" is the Tamil term for a distinct style of Hindu temple with Dravidian architecture.The koil in Tamil Nadu and kovil of Ceylon has a long history and has always been associated with the ruler of the time. Most kings patronised temple building in their kingdom, and...
, Aligarh and Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, and was appointed resident at Delhi in 1803. In 1804, having been promoted to the rank of major-general, he defended the city with a very inadequate force against an attack by Yashwantrao Holkar
Yashwantrao Holkar
H. H. Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Sawai Shrimant Yashwant Rao Holkar Bahadur, Nusrat Jang, Maharaja of Maratha Empire, was born on 3 December 1776...
. On the outbreak of the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–15) he was given the command of one of four converging columns, and his services were rewarded with a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
cy in 1815. Subsequently he was promoted to the command of the main force in its advance on Kathmandu, and outmanoeuvring the Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
s by a flank march at the Kourea Ghat Pass, brought the war to a successful conclusion and obtained the signature of the Treaty of Sugauli
Sugauli Treaty
The Sugauli Treaty was signed on December 2, 1815 and ratified by March 4, 1816, between the British East India Company and Nepal, which was a kingdom during that era. This ended the second British invasion of the Himalayan kingdom during the Anglo-Nepalese War...
(1816), which dictated the subsequent relations of the British with Nepal. For this success Ochterlony was created Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, the first time that honour had been conferred on an officer of the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
.
Amir Khan (Pindari)
Nawab Muhammad Amir Khan was a leader, of Pashtun origin belonging to its Salarzai branch and the first ruler of the princely state of Tonk . He was the son of Hayat Khan and the grandson of Taleh Khan.He is often confused as a member of the Pindaris although he was a Pathan with his Pathan...
, detaching him from the Pindari
Pindari
The Pendharis or Free Companions were dispersed throughout the Maratha states and were countenanced and protected by the Maratha chiefs to whom they acted as agents for supplying all the commissariat required by their armies. They were composed of different tribes who congregated together solely...
s, and then, interposing his own force between the two main divisions of the enemy, brought the war to an end without an engagement. He was appointed resident in Rajputana
Rajputana
Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...
in 1818, with which the residency at Delhi was subsequently combined, and during this period encountered and engaged in an ongoing personal feud with James Tod
James Tod
Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod was an English officer of the British East India Company and an Oriental scholar.Tod was born in London and educated in Scotland, later joining the East India Company as a military officer. He travelled to India in 1799 as a cadet in the Bengal Army where he rose...
, which was based most likely on the power politics within the hierarchy of the East India Company.
When Durjan Sal revolted in 1825 against Balwant Singh, the infant Raja of Bharatpur, Ochterlony acting on his own responsibility supported the raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
by proclamation and ordered out a force to support him. Lord Amherst, however, repudiated these proceedings. Ochterlony, who was bitterly chagrined by this rebuff, resigned his office, and retired to Delhi. The feeling that the confidence which his length of service merited had not been given him by the governor-general is said to have accelerated his death, which occurred at Meerut in 1825. The Ochterlony column
Shaheed Minar, Kolkata
The Shaheed Minar , formerly known as the Ochterlony Monument , is a monument in Kolkata originally built in 1848 by Major-general David Ochterlony, commander of the British East India Company's main force to commemorate his victory in Gurkha War...
at Calcutta commemorates his name.
Personal life
As the official British resident of Delhi, David Ochterlony acculturated and thoroughly embraced Persian Mughal culture. He was reputed to have thirteen Indian concubines. Every evening, he used to take all his thirteen wives on a promenade around the walls of the Red Fort, each on the back of her own elephantElephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
.
The most prominent among his wives was Bebee Mahruttun Moobaruck ul Nissa Begume, a former Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
dancing girl from Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
who had converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Nicknamed "Generallee Begum", she was Ochterlony's favorite wife and mother of his youngest children. As such, she took clear precedence over the others. She was known to be a devout Muslim, having once applied for leave to make the hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
.
Although much younger than Ochterlony, she maintained the dominant part of the relationship. This led one observor to remark that "making Sir David the Commissioner of Delhi was the same as making Generallee Begum". Another observer remarked that "Ochterlony's mistress is the mistress now of everyone within the walls. As a result of her influence, Ochterlony considered raising his children as Muslims and when his two daughters by Mubaruk Begum had grown up, he adopted a child from the family of the Nawabs of Loharu, one of the leading Muslim families of Delhi. Raised by Mubaruk Begum, the girl went on to marry her cousin, a nephew of the famous Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
poet Mirza Ghalib
Mirza Ghalib
Dabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan , pen-name Ghalib and Asad , was a classical Urdu and Persian poet from India during British colonial rule...
.
She even seems to have set herself up as a power in her own right and to have formed her own independent foreign policy. At one point, it was reported that "Mobarruck Begum, alias Generalee Begum fills the (Delhi) papers with accounts of the Nizars and Khiluts (gifts and dresses of honor) given and taken by her in her transactions with the Vacquils (ambassadors of the different (Indian) powers - an extraordinary liberty, if true."
However in spite of all her power and high status, Mubaruk Begum was widely unpopular among the British and the Mughals alike. She offended the British by calling herself "Lady Ochterlony" and on the other hand, also offended the Mughals by awarding herself the title "Qudsia Begum", a title previously reserved for the Emperor's mother. After Ochterlony's death, she inherited Mubarak Bagh, an Anglo-Mughal garden tomb he had built in the north of Old Delhi
Old Delhi
Old Delhi , walled city of Delhi, India, was founded as Shahjahanabad by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in 1639. It remained the capital of the Mughals until the end of the Mughal dynasty....
, but her intense unpopularity combined with her dancing girl background ensured that no Mughal gentleman would use her structure. To this date, it is still referred to as the "Rundi ki Masjid" (The prostitute's mosque) by the local inhabitants of the old city.
Descendants
Ochterlony had at least six natural children by two or more of his concubines:- Roderick Peregrine Ochterlony, of Delhi (1785-d by 1823), only son; he married 1808 Sarah Nelly, the daughter of Lt. Col. John Nelly of the Bengal Engineers, at Allahabad, India. Roderick and Sarah Ochterlony had three children. A daughter Charlotte Ochterlony died in 1835 (death mentioned in The Gentleman's Magazine.
- Sir Charles Metcalfe Ochterlony, 2nd Baronet (1817–1891), who succeeded his grandfather by special remainder in 1825. He married 1844 a Miss Sarah Tribe of Liverpool, and had descendants 3 sons and 2 daughters. This creation became extinct on the death of the fifth Baronet in 1964.
- Charlotte Ochterlony (d. 1835)
- Sir Charles Metcalfe Ochterlony, 2nd Baronet (1817–1891), who succeeded his grandfather by special remainder in 1825. He married 1844 a Miss Sarah Tribe of Liverpool, and had descendants 3 sons and 2 daughters. This creation became extinct on the death of the fifth Baronet in 1964.
- [by Mubarak Begum] a daughter
- [by Mubarak Begum] a daughter