I looked all around us, right in front was a big office spanning about five floors. It had a nameplate that read British East India Company, Bengal Province 1857. Wow, Pudumai had worked!

The First War of Indian Independence, also known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857, or Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, was a violent uprising against British rule in India. The mutiny was marked by brutal violence on both sides. British troops and loyal Indian soldiers carried out reprisals against rebel forces, and rebel forces in turn, attacked European civilians and Indian Christians.

In the rearview, there was a person running in the direction of the office, which meant right towards us. I started screaming in distress, but he passed right through me. Aunty calmed me down saying, “Pudumai is intangible, you can only watch the history as a 3^rd person and you can’t participate directly. Otherwise, the course of history would be changed.”

That gave me a sigh of relief.

The man who was running was a messenger. We followed him into the office building. He bowed his head and said, “Durai Pranams, I have big news. My message is that various sepoys (Indian soldiers employed by the British) had taken up arms. They are rebelling. They have shot the fellow English members”.

There was commotion in the room. One senior officer asked, “Are you sure? And where are these Indian sepoys going?”

The messenger stammered, “Delhi durai, Delhi.”

The cars, trams and jeeps started off for Delhi immediately. I was stupefied with the commotion all around.

Then Pudumai suddenly blurred. The people of India made a concerted effort to liberate their country from foreign occupation. The uprising sprung from Meerut where sepoys revolted and marched towards Delhi. They declared Bahadur Shah Zafar as the emperor of India who also accepted their allegiance. The emperor nominated his son Mirza Mughal as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. When my vision cleared, we were in a large court that had golden pillars, ten small thrones each with a minister sitting on it, and an outsized throne on which an old man had ascended.

After he sat down, the court started cheering, “Bahadur Shah Zafar, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Bahadur Shah Zafar”.... I noticed the old man was none other than King Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last ruler among the Mughals. From the other side of the hall, six heavily armed soldiers emerged. “Sepoys”, I thought to myself. They knelt down before the King and said, “We are forming a rebellion against the British after we sweep them far away from our motherland. We wish to proclaim you as the new King of Bharat (India).”

King Bahadur Shah Zafar nodded his head.

Bahadur Shah Zafar’s father, Akbar II, had been imprisoned by the British and he was not his father’s preferred choice as his successor. One of Akbar Shah’s queens had pressured him to declare her son, Mirza Jahangir, as his successor. However, the East India Company had exiled Jahangir after he had attacked their residence in the Red Fort, paving the way for Bahadur Shah to assume the throne.

In the subsequent days, more than 5000 sepoys had joined under Bahadur Shah Zafar from various parts of the Bengal Presidency, thanks to the events sparked by the use of the Enfield rifle and the controversy surrounding it. The mutiny was sparked by a number of factors, including the introduction of new rifle cartridges that were greased with animal fat, which was considered offensive to both Hindu and Muslim soldiers. Sepoys had to bite off the ends of the cartridge before loading the weapons, and these cartridges were rumoured to be greased with beef or pig fat. Hindus and Muslims alike rebelled against this since Hindus weren’t allowed to eat cow meat and Muslims could not ingest pork as per the respective religions. Hindu sepoys lost their welcome into other houses, including their own, since it had been thought that they had eaten the forbidden meat and lost the purity of their caste.

Other kings and queens like Nana Sahib, Rani of Jhansi, and Marathas joined the rebellion due to the proclamation of the Doctrine of Lapse issued by the Governor General, Lord Dalhousie. The Doctrine of Lapse stated that if the biological heir to the ruler died, then an adopted son wouldn’t be considered the ruler and the respective kingdom would go to the British.

The Taluqdars rebelled because half their lands, estates, and wealth was being handed off to the peasants due to the laws made by the British. The peasants joined because the British were making them overwork, as well sucking a major amount of their hard-earned money, while the leftover pennies would go to the money lenders.

Aunty explained, “The cruelty of the British knew no bounds. They tortured us Indians, for their own gains.” I concurred with her.

Pudumai blurred again, this time, the scene that emerged was of a parade ground. I saw an Indian sepoy, who shot at the British soldiers, “Mangal Pandey”, I recalled. The man next to him seemed like a commander with several medals pinned to his shirt. I heard the soldiers saying, “Lt. please ride to your right sir, the sepoy will fire at you”! The officer was fired at by sepoy Mangal Pandey!

The sepoy’s name badge said Shaikh Paltu, and he tried to catch hold of Mangal Pandey. Mangal Pandey literally tried to kill himself with a musket gun. Thankfully he only wounded himself. Others sepoys present refused to take action against their comrade and remained ‘idle spectators’. There was a summon for Mangal Pandey. Everyone in the courtroom alleged that Mangal Pandey had consumed opium. He was eventually hanged to death. I sensed tears rolling down my eyes. Aarthi aunty, squeezed my hands gently. We were watching the cruelty, helplessly.

Shaikh Paltu was promoted to Havaldar (Bengal army, but the momentary joy ended with his murder). An investigation by the government found that the 34^th B.N.I. Regiment failed to restrain mutinous soldiers and their officers, so they were disbanded ‘with disgrace’ on 6 May.

The scene shifted again. This time it showed a battlefield where rulers like Nanasahib, Rani of Jhansi and Tantia Tope were vigorously fighting against the British. There was plenty of bloodshed and many soldiers on both sides took the toll up. Indians were losing because there was no proper organization, and their weapons were old-fashioned and ineffective against the modern British rifles and handguns. On the other hand, the British were slow to attack, since they had to rally and assemble troops to fight after a few defeats. Also, they had to come all the way to India from Britain via long sea travel. Many Britishers were also inflicted with diseases.

After the victory of the British, many forts were reclaimed and the soldiers were either dispersed, exiled or killed. Various kings and queens were killed during the war. Kings including Bahadur Shah Zafar were sent into exile to countries like Burma. Bahadur Shah Zafar’s sons were hanged.

This was a turning point in India’s quest for Independence. Queen Victoria granted a pardon to all the princely states and royalty. However, those who had British blood on their hands would be executed. Queen Victoria had also vested control of the British East India Company into her own hands. I feel that India was fighting against the British without a proper plan and in a disorganized manner. At this rate, Independence will be coming in about a century.

Aunty then clicked a yellow button that said, “KM”. Aunty said, “KM stands for Khilafat Movement”. Then the scene blurred. Khilafat movement coming on!!