It
is perhaps one of the most intriguing questions of 1857. Nana Saheb,
regarded as one of the main leaders of the 1857 war of independence
disappeared soon after his defeat at the hands of the British. Ever
since, his fate has been a mystery. Was he found and killed by the
British, or did he manage to escape? Also, what happened to his fabled
treasure which, today, would be worth billions?
Historians are still unclear about most of these questions. As Professor N Q Pankaj, head of the department of History at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), points out, "There are many loose threads in Nana Saheb's story, to which no concrete answers are still available."
Historians are still unclear about most of these questions. As Professor N Q Pankaj, head of the department of History at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), points out, "There are many loose threads in Nana Saheb's story, to which no concrete answers are still available."
But
first, a little background on what happened in 1857. When the revolt
broke out, Nana Saheb initially sided with the British — offering
assistance to General Wheeler, the commanding officer of the Kanpur
garrison. However, when General Wheeler, along with his soldiers and
their families, was escaping by boat from the Sati Chaura ghat in Kanpur
for Allahabad, Nana Saheb's men attacked them, killing almost all the
British men, women and children. This incident has gone down in history
as the Sati Chaura massacre.
The British retaliated soon by attacking Nana's stronghold, Bithoor, a small principality near Kanpur, which they captured and razed to the ground. Nana Saheb, however, managed to escape. What happened to him thereafter remains a subject of conjecture and much speculation.
While some believe that he was captured by the British and later hanged, the general consensus among historians now, says Professor Pankaj, is that he was never captured. In fact, most historians believe that he made good his escape and went across to Nepal, although no concrete historical evidence of that exists. Over the years, there have been many sightings of Nana Saheb, with numerous people claiming that they saw him alive, till as late as the early 20th century.
Another mystery has been regarding Nana Saheb's treasure. Amongst the British forces that attacked Nana Saheb's palace, there were three companies of the Connaught Rangers, a company of the Royal Engineers and half a battery of artillery. One of their objectives was to search for treasure in the ruined palace of Nana Saheb. With the help of an Indian spy, the British soldiers managed to locate the hiding place of the treasure — which was hidden inside one of the seven deep wells within the palace.
According to British accounts of the time, the British soldiers led by Lt Malcolm of the Royal Engineers drained out the well and began the process of extracting the treasure. One of the first items to be brought out was a gold plate, that was later described as being "made of pure, solid gold, although not having any artistic importance."
The other items in the treasure were a lot of silverware, including Nana Saheb's silver howdah, a number of silver plates as well as gold and silver coins, which were tightly packed in ammunition boxes. The total worth of the coins alone was estimated to be over Rs 2 lakh. Although the British found a great deal of the treasure, it is believed that Nana Saheb also managed to take a significant part of his treasure with him when he escaped. Conjecture has surrounded the location of this missing treasure ever since.
Kanpur resident K K Dwivedi, who has extensively researched the events of the time, says that much of the speculation has revolved around the treasure being somewhere in Nepal, since that was where Nana Saheb is believed to have fled.
The British retaliated soon by attacking Nana's stronghold, Bithoor, a small principality near Kanpur, which they captured and razed to the ground. Nana Saheb, however, managed to escape. What happened to him thereafter remains a subject of conjecture and much speculation.
While some believe that he was captured by the British and later hanged, the general consensus among historians now, says Professor Pankaj, is that he was never captured. In fact, most historians believe that he made good his escape and went across to Nepal, although no concrete historical evidence of that exists. Over the years, there have been many sightings of Nana Saheb, with numerous people claiming that they saw him alive, till as late as the early 20th century.
Another mystery has been regarding Nana Saheb's treasure. Amongst the British forces that attacked Nana Saheb's palace, there were three companies of the Connaught Rangers, a company of the Royal Engineers and half a battery of artillery. One of their objectives was to search for treasure in the ruined palace of Nana Saheb. With the help of an Indian spy, the British soldiers managed to locate the hiding place of the treasure — which was hidden inside one of the seven deep wells within the palace.
According to British accounts of the time, the British soldiers led by Lt Malcolm of the Royal Engineers drained out the well and began the process of extracting the treasure. One of the first items to be brought out was a gold plate, that was later described as being "made of pure, solid gold, although not having any artistic importance."
The other items in the treasure were a lot of silverware, including Nana Saheb's silver howdah, a number of silver plates as well as gold and silver coins, which were tightly packed in ammunition boxes. The total worth of the coins alone was estimated to be over Rs 2 lakh. Although the British found a great deal of the treasure, it is believed that Nana Saheb also managed to take a significant part of his treasure with him when he escaped. Conjecture has surrounded the location of this missing treasure ever since.
Kanpur resident K K Dwivedi, who has extensively researched the events of the time, says that much of the speculation has revolved around the treasure being somewhere in Nepal, since that was where Nana Saheb is believed to have fled.
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This
theory got a boost, when, in 1957, exactly 100 years after the Mutiny,
the Nepal government launched a treasure hunt in the thickly wooded
Nagarjuna hill area, some distance away from Kathmandu.
A newspaper report dated March 27, 1957 mentions that "the Nepal government has engaged five diggers for turning over the earth in the area in the hope of recovering large hoards of wealth in gold, silver and valuable jewellery, commonly believed to have been buried in this area by the widow of Nana Saheb and Nana Saheb's followers when they took refuge here in 1857." Whether anything was found in this dig was never ascertained.
However, according to Dwivedi, there is ample evidence that Nana Saheb took the prime pieces of his treasure along with him. For instance, he says that while crossing the Ganga, Nana Saheb had to immerse in the river a few select pieces, which were too heavy for him to carry. Among these was a gold idol of Ganesha that weighed 20 kg. Almost 60 years later, this idol was recovered by a fisherman, who sold it to a copper merchant of Kanpur, whose family, says Dwivedi, still has the idol and worships it at home as their family deity.
Historians, however, are not convinced that Nana Saheb would have taken much of his treasure along with him. According to Shireen Moosvi, professor of history at Aligarh Muslim University, "The urgency of the situation combined with the circumstances in which Nana Saheb had to flee Bithoor would suggest that he took just whatever he could lay his hands on, at the moment."
While that might be true, the question of Nana Saheb's treasure and its whereabouts is one that continues to fascinate people and even after 150 years, it remains one of the most enduring mysteries of the 1857 era.
A newspaper report dated March 27, 1957 mentions that "the Nepal government has engaged five diggers for turning over the earth in the area in the hope of recovering large hoards of wealth in gold, silver and valuable jewellery, commonly believed to have been buried in this area by the widow of Nana Saheb and Nana Saheb's followers when they took refuge here in 1857." Whether anything was found in this dig was never ascertained.
However, according to Dwivedi, there is ample evidence that Nana Saheb took the prime pieces of his treasure along with him. For instance, he says that while crossing the Ganga, Nana Saheb had to immerse in the river a few select pieces, which were too heavy for him to carry. Among these was a gold idol of Ganesha that weighed 20 kg. Almost 60 years later, this idol was recovered by a fisherman, who sold it to a copper merchant of Kanpur, whose family, says Dwivedi, still has the idol and worships it at home as their family deity.
Historians, however, are not convinced that Nana Saheb would have taken much of his treasure along with him. According to Shireen Moosvi, professor of history at Aligarh Muslim University, "The urgency of the situation combined with the circumstances in which Nana Saheb had to flee Bithoor would suggest that he took just whatever he could lay his hands on, at the moment."
While that might be true, the question of Nana Saheb's treasure and its whereabouts is one that continues to fascinate people and even after 150 years, it remains one of the most enduring mysteries of the 1857 era.
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