Free Sample Essays > Asian History
Pakistan: war of independance
Topic: Discuss what Pakistan’s gaining it’s independence form the British in 1947 would be like.
It was the year 1857. I was about 15 years old when the war took place, the war of independence. The sights and sounds of the war are still fresh in my mind. It was the first step towards the freedom of Pakistan. It was a war that taught me a lot of things, especially the importance of fighting for a separate country for Muslims. My father was a martyr of this war, and today I am glad to know that his efforts to oust the British from his motherland did not go fruitless.
My father, Ghulam Muhammad Khan, was a soldier in the 3rd light Cavalry in Meerut, India, which is where the mutiny started. One day ‘baba’ came back from work, and I overheard him talk in high tones with my mom in the other room. Since I was always curious, I decided to eavesdrop on their conversation. He was telling my mother about the new rifles that the British were supplying to his cavalry. Rumor had it that the cartridges had pig and cow fat rubbed onto them. Cows were holy to his Hindu friends, and pigs are forbidden animals for the Muslims. He went on about how the British were using these animal products only to tease and torment the people of India. Even without experience of the hardships and rigors of being a soldier, it was not hidden from even me that the British had many a time tried to taunt the Indians’ ego; however, their attitude was increasingly menacing towards the Muslims. They looked at Muslims as a threat to their rule, because the Muslims had ruled over India for more than a century. Thus, it could be just a matter of time before they turn the tables once again. The rumors about the tampering of cartridges were later confirmed by reliable sources. Other soldiers in my dad’s cavalry seemed agitated enough to rebel.
The sepoys (name given to Indian soldiers) of the 3rd light cavalry alongside the 11th and 20th native infantry, refused to use the cartridges. Whenever they would be given the order to ‘load’ their rifles, they would ignore the command. Therefore, the British would remove one unit after the other from the Bengal Army. Consequently, the soldiers had to return home without pay, without pension, and without even a bit of pride that they had once felt in their uniforms. This disgrace left the Indian soldiers with a lot of hatred for the British officers, who they once respected. My dad and the soldiers in his cavalry decided to decline the use of the cartridges as well. The refusals bothered the British so much that they resorted to inhumane acts. On Saturday, the 9th of May 1857, the entire Indian infantry was paraded naked before the divisional commander, Major-General William H. Hewitt, known as ‘Bloody Bill’. This mortifying act was [next page]