High-born Afghan ladies used to visit the sahibs secretly-1850'S
Sita Ram Pande, the author of these memoirs,
Sita Ram Pande, the author of these memoirs,
was one of the many Indian soldiers who helped the British to conquer India, and thereafter to hold it. He enlisted in 1812 as a sepoy into an infantry regiment of the Bengal Native Army, and he remained a soldier until he went on pension in 1860 after forty-eight years service. During the intervening period he had taken part in the campaigns against the Gurkhas, the Pindaris and Mahrattas, and the Sikhs; he had been present at the storming of Bharatpore; and he had taken part in the ill-fated First Afghan War. He remained true to his salt during the Mutiny. He rose from Sepoy to Subedar, but only attained the latter rank when he was too old to be able to perform his duties. He claims that he was wounded seven times, taken prisoner once, and was awarded six medals. At the end of this long and interesting career, and at the behest of his last Commanding Officer, he set down in writing the story of his experiences in the service of the always incomprehensible British.
The expansion of British rule in India during the last century is abundantly documented. In addition to State Papers there are numerous memoirs, letters, and diaries of British officers, military and civilian, who played a part, great or small, in extending the frontiers of British India, and in pacifying the interior. Even more humble individuals, such as John Shipp and Private Waterfield, have committed their experiences to writing; but although it may be a mistake to claim for Sita Ram that his memoirs are unique of their kind, it can be said that they are the only account so far published of an Indian sepoy'sexperiences during the first half of the nineteenth century. Other memoirs may come to light in the future; they may be lying in a cupboard in some feudal mansion in Bundelkhand or the Punjab, or be hidden beneath the debris in a humble village home in Madras or Maharashtra. So far as is known, however, Sita Ram was the only Indian soldier of his time to yield to the persuasion of his British Commanding Officer and write the story of his life in the service of the Sirkar.
KABUL 1841
The army went into quarters at Kabul. Some officers took over Afghan houses, while others occupied buildings in the outskirts of the city. Life was much the same as it was in Hindustan. Soon it became very cold—such cold as can never be experienced in our country. The sepoy suffered terribly; they lost the use of their limbs and their blood froze in their veins. The English soldiers who came from Europe did not suffer so much, but many of them became frost-bitten and affected with sores caused by the cold. Snow fell as deep as a man was high. Provisions were very expensive. We Hindus never dared bathe, since it was almost certain death. We had no comfort nor ease, and we never received any of the lavish presents promised so profusely by Shah Shujah in order to persuade us to come to his accursed country. Before the cold weather set in several regiments of the Bombay army were sent back to Baluchistan. I believe this force went by Jagdalak and the Khyber Passes—much the nearest route and with no deserts to be traversed. However, there was some fear of meeting the Sikh troops, who would have been delighted to attack the foreigners, despite the fact that their government was supposed to be at pee withSirkar. Our army was much reduced in strength, but for some time everything remained peaceful.
Soon, however, the Afghans began to chafe at the occupation of their country by the English. They complained that the English were not adhering to 'Lad Macnaten' sahib's promise that the army would return to Hindustan as soon as Shah Shujah was secured on his throne. They pointed out that the king had been restored, and yet the foreigners still remained. 'Macnaten' sahibexplained that a great part of the army had been sent back to Hindustan, but the chiefs complained that everyone had not departed and that, in reality, the English held possession of their country. The Envoy said that the Sirkar did not consider the Afghans as enemies only those who resisted Shah Shujah, the rightful heir to the throne. But the Afghans replied that they had a right to have whatever king they chose. There were therefore endless disputes between the Sirdars and the English.
Despite all this discontent, many Afghan gentlemen apparently became great friends of the sahibs. High-born Afghan ladies used to visit the sahibs secretly. The women in this country are allowed to walkabout under a thick veil through which they can see without being seen, and the fact that the sahibs were living in houses in the city gave great opportunity for intrigue. The women liked the foreigners because they were fair; they pride themselves in Kabul on being fair, and the whiter a woman is, the more beautiful she is considered to be. These proceedings gave rise to great jealousies, and more than one officer was stabbed or fired at. How true it is that women are the cause of all evil! Several ladies of rank used to visit the political officers. Some said they were sent by their husband for political reasons, while others declared that business of another kind took them there. However, it is certain that their husbands must have known they were in the habit of visiting the officers' houses, since latterly there was very little attempt at concealment. It was a matter of wonder to us how this could go on when the foreigners were regarded by the whole population in the bazaars with great contempt, and were always referred to as ‘cursed kaffirs’. There is no comprehending the fancies of a woman. They may have been sent in the first place to try and gain some knowledge of the designs of the Sirkar, but it was common gossip that they preferred the sahibs to their own husbands. Shri Sukhdeoji says: ‘Women of low degree leave their husbands. This is the custom all over the world, and has been so forever.’ But these were not women of low caste; some were the wives of the Sirdars themselves, and they did not desert their husbands.
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