[ Chapter three describes how and why the revolt failed. Additionally, it explains how British rulers were able to fight natives and other kings during wars in India and rule despite there small numbers. As a conclusion, this paper hopes to make the reader think if they are doing their best to build a nation that we can feel proud of and make our sacrifices for freedom worthwhile.]
'Shatrang' a game that became Shogi in Japan, xiangqi in China and in Europe became 'Chess' and so on all over the world.
A game with battle field consisting of no more than just sixty-four squares. Were both armies are on power with each other in strength. The only difference was Intellect of player. But on this ground, nothing was equal nothing was just and yet everything was justified for both in their own worlds.
Fateh Bahadur Sahi led an army of twenty thousand men, along with several other zamindars, in launching his rebellion. The company had deployed its soldiers as quick response. Ironically the soldiers who were being loyal to the company and fighting a war against the Indians were Indians as well. Company had nothing to lose when it came to soldiers. They were Indian after all they can get new ones if some of them die in company's greed.
Rudra stood in front of the village's main entrance. Alone. The only thing he had was a wooden bamboo cane handed down from his grandfather, and eyes that surveyed the company's army in the same manner a hungry tiger surveys its prey.
Both Rudra and the soldiers charged head-on at each other. Both holding wooden sticks. Approximately six of them were battling one Rudra, but he was more than just a difficult opponent for them. As Rudra approached the watch post, two guards pointed their rifles at him and shot. In order to save himself, Rudra used one of the soldiers as a shield and attacked the other directly at his vocal cord with his cane. Rudra turned and one of the soldiers hit him with his stick. Rudra's' head started to bleed, but he continued and one by one he took care of all six soldiers on ground. As for the two at watch towers ... well he threw their own grenade at them blasting them off.
All of the villagers came out to look at the blast, and as soon as the smoke cleared, they saw Rudra return to claim his possession.
They were all overcome with joy, sparking a small revolt in the village against the army. The blast also served as a signal for Rudras' men who had come along with him at the village heads request. Upon receiving the signal, they commenced their attack, distributing their troops.
They all hide away and hurled stones and fire at the army. The army being unable to stand up to them for long, William gave them the order to fire anyone they thought was helping Rudra. Answering stones with bullet was the British way of doing things.
Rudra marched towards his home and the white commander William, who had temporarily taken his place until they found a suitable zamindar who would dance on company's fingertips.
As Rudra approached the now commander's home, guards with guns were waiting for him. The moment he entered their visual range, they began firing at him. I would not call it exaggeration to say that bullet shells were raining down in the same way as water rains down in mid-monsoon without any signs of stopping or pausing.
Two small animals who gang up on their predator will give it a hard time, but there were twenty soldiers raining down bullets on a person who had cane for weapon. In a fairytale, He would have destroyed their front line of defense by slicing every bullet in two. But It's not. They got him.
One of the Soldiers was called Shashitej Singh. He celebrated their victory with all his comrades and even received an award of three gold coin each from the commander himself. Silliot Manihari was now under complete control of the company. Without any efforts they were able to silence the revolt in other parts of Bihar as well. Shashitej was granted leave, and so he went home to see his family.
They all welcomed him with warm smiles and hugs. Later that night his wife survived him dinner and said "wouldn't it be nice if we had a country of our own" which Shashi found strange since they already had a country. It was, wasn't it? The next morning, when he woke up and went outside, he saw British officers brutally beating people for not obeying their orders.
Shashi felt as if something from his chest went missing. His daughter who was playing outside saw him and dashed towards him. Unfortunately, she bumped into an officer who twisted her ears and picked her up by it. She screamed in pain calling for Shashi. But he didn't move.... he had froze
Shashi's father, an old man tried to save his granddaughter by kneeling in front of that officer begging for her safety. That officer kept his leg in front of him and said "You brown monkeys should know your place". Seeing his father being treated like this, seeing his daughter cry and his father beg for her safety Shashi broke.
"Wouldn't it be nice to have a country of our own" his wife said to him as she served him food. Shashi couldn't understand what had happened. He was somewhere else, and now he was again at the table the night before?
He stood up to leave for bed but found himself in uniform holding gun. "Fire" the commander commanded as they all rained down bullets on people nowhere to hide. Shashi stood there like stone.
"It is a nice job. I will get paid well, and the company will give me uniform as well. We won't have any problems from now on" he said to his wife in their bedroom as he hugged her.
"What have I become" Shashi said.
"What are you doing!! Shoot at him!!" screamed William. But all twenty of them stood there in silence. Some even sad tears rolling down their faces while others had a breakdown of anger on it.
"What was it?" Shashi looked towards Rudra who was walking towards them. All of them were still in the Silliot Manihari village. Standing there with guns aimed at Rudra ready to fire.
"I merely showed a fraction of your fault. I showed every one of you the sin you all have committed. Thinking about one's family and self is not a sin but thinking about one's own growth over one's country's growth is. You all chose to fight for those who see our people as nothing but slaves and our country as a goldmine. To repent for the lives you have taken, kids you have orphaned, women you widowed, dreams you crushed you all must free this land."
And then he raised his came horizontally and drew a sword out of it walking straight towards the commander.
Rudra had one of the ten mahavidyas. Which was to show people illusions he wanted. Within those illusions he had absolute control of space and time. He could make a second last for decades worth their lives or a decade for a second.
He used this power to trap all twenty of the solders and showed them different illusions depending on their breaking point making them realize what they did wrong.
However, he couldn't use his powers on people at different locations at ones nor could he use it again and again, and so he refrained from using it wherever he found a way to go without using it.
The left-over villagers and soldiers gathered around Rudra's house. Everyone had done fighting. The only two holding weapons were Rudra and William. Looking straight into commanders' eyes it was as if Rudra's could see his heart and mind. Rudra swung his sword at him even before he could aim his gun.
Everything went Black. When William opened his eyes what he saw was pitch darkness. "What is this place?"William Asked himself. "It is the depths of your heart. Welcome to your mind" answered a voice from behind him. He turned to see what it was and to his surprise he saw Thakur Rudra resigning on a stone throne. "Then why are you over there, and I am here" he asked with ignorance and arrogance in his voice. "Because I meted mine with it. In Vedic culture there are four type of communication with vocal being lowest and most misleading and what we have here a link between two thoughts as second highest" answered Rudra in voice that of a God.
Rudra snapped his fingers and out of the darkness Williams precious memories started to flow. He made William see what he held dear in life. It wasn't money or his position but his daughter of eight and wife. He wasn't a bad person at heart however he wasn't good either for he had memories of taking more lives than Rudra had seen.
And then Rudra showed him something he wasn't prepared for. He showed him Separation of William from his wife due to an Indian. He showed him her daughter's death. His wife's body. "Stop this!! This never happened!! She is still alive !!" William screamed at Rudra who stood there in silence. But he kept on seeing his daughter's death, his wife's body and them being treated like dirt and animals until he absolutely broke down. Rudra had Merged his memories and switched his own self for william and every woman he saw die for his wife and child for daughter.
"This is what you did to us. I didn't want to drag your innocent child in this, but I wanted you to know the pain you caused. We both fight for our own nations we are same in that aspect. But I fight to save and you to destroy."
william came back to his senses and saw Rudra's sword a millimeter away from splitting his throat.
"Forgive me" For the first time there was sincerity in commanders voice. "I have understood my fault. Let me repent for my sins and serve your people." He continued.
That day Rudra not only won that battle, but he also won over an enemy. He refused to send tax collection to the company and won every battle he fought protecting his village. Ganga and Other women too participated in these all battles. Every Indian citizen left army and joined the rebellions that occurred later in history. However, the rebellion was in reality crushed even before it gained proper momentum due to its poor conduct. Small voices from different parts kept rising from time to time, but we're silenced until the revolt of 1847 when it all began. And when it did Men and Women fought alongside each other to give us the freedom we have.
But was it worth it? When they will look upon us from heavens above will see us the way we are make them happy? If Rudra had such powers why didn't he free all of Bihar? If the company was outsider then why were our own people helping them control us at different levels? Will the India of today make its ancestors happy? These are some Questions which must be answered by you for I have answered them through Rudra.