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| Visakhapatnam mutiny of 18yovizag.com |
It is very unfortunate that a little is known about the the first-ever sepoy mutiny in British India that took place in an unknown fishing village along the Coromandel Coast that was then called Vizagapatam, now a big city in Andhra Pradesh.
When you talk about the great rebellion, the Sepoy mutiny or the first war of independence of 1857, the one that began in Meerut Cantonment (10 May 1857) over the greasing of cartridges of new model Enfield rifles by the Hindu and Muslim soldiers of the EIC comes to our mind. This is because the revolt lasted for more than a year covered a vast and the casualty on the Indian side was way high. On account of its time factor and its repercussions and political impact on the unjust British company, the other small rebellions that predated the Sepoy revolt of 1857 were eclipsed by it.
Much ahead of the Vellore mutiny of 1806 and the Barrackpore (WB) of 1824, first ever revolt by the sepoys against the British took place on 3 October 1780 in the harbor city of Visakhapatam, AP. Though it happened to be the first major protest in India, as coined and recorded in the Gazetteer in the London Archives, no proper recognition is not yet given by the central and state governments. As to the other revolts like the Vellore mutiny of Tamil Nadu, etc., they are also little known across India, particularly, in the northern states; this being due to poor media report and poor coverage in the Indian history books. That the very first protest against the greedy and corrupt English company took place in the port city of Vizag is not known to scores of fellow Indians is a sad story.
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| vizag. 3 British officers buried here. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ |
Above image: Visakhapatnam revolt, 1780 CE. All three British officers killed in the revolt might have been buried at the Old European Cemetery in the city. But there are no signs of their mortal remains in the grave. But today only the grave of a young officer by the name Kingsford Venner is left undisturbed .and from the inscription below the tomb we infer that the first protest against the English co did take place in Vizag. ............
In the 1780s, in the two regiments of the Grenadiers (Circars battalions of the Coast Infantry) stationed at Vizagapatam and Masulipatam (now Machilipatnam a preponderance of them were Muslims. Ever on the expansion mode, the British wanted to establish their hegemony in the southern parts of India. But the ruler of Mysore Hyder Ali was a stumbling block to their expansionism and his led to Anglo-Mysore wars between Hyder Ali and East India Company
In order to reinforce the strength of the army the then Governor of Madras, John Whitehall on September 14, 1780 got in touch with the then chief of Vizagapatam and Masulipatam settlements, James Henry Casamajor, to send troops for reinforcement to confront Hyder Ali.
The Indian soldiers in the troops there were quite disappointed with the British over non- payment of additional salary for the extra duty done by them - collecting taxes, etc. They were entitled to additional pay which the English never paid. Besides, Muslims in the troops were reluctant and averse to the idea of fighting a fellow Muslim ruler along with the arrogant English troops.
Under the command of Capt. Lysaught on October 3, 1780., the Sepoys at Vizag were to board the Sartine frigate (apparently heading Madras) after the inspection of guards around 3 pm. Quite hesitating to be part of the troop to fight against the Mysore ruler, several soldiers refused to board the ship. As they were quite adamant, the British used force to cow them down. When the army kept intimidating the sepoys by using physical force a few of the sepoys led by one Subedar Sheikh Mohammed Khan resorted to violence. Using their muskets they fired at the troop, causing death to three English officers namely Lt. Crisps, Cadets Kingsford Venner and Robert Rutherford, the paymaster. and injuring Capt. Maxtone and Capt. Lane.
As there was no resistance from the English army, the rebels, having taken several civil servants into captivity including Cap. Casamajor, finally took control over the town. In the process, they freed a French spy who had been jailed for sometime. Undaunted and unstoppable, the rebel soldiers began looting the Company’s coffers - cash to the tune of Rs.21,999 plus company's property.
On the morning of October 4, 1780 the rampaging sepoys, with a view to joining the troops of Hyder Ali were trying to march out of the town with the chief Henry Casamajor and the other officials as captives. But, finally they gave it up upon the interference of the local Zamindars, in particular, Gajapathi Narain Deo. It turned out to be a grave mistake because English Casamajor returned to the army camp and briefed the seniors about the rebel soldiers.
The English forces with weapons and additional soldiers loyal to them, chased the rebels and finally apprehended them near a gorge in Gudderallywanka at Payakraopeta, now a border town in Visakhapatnam district. There is no clear historical records as to what had happened later. But it is believed that some of them were killed in the ambush and the others, including Shaikh Mohammed, were ''executed mercilessly by the Company’s men,” according to Historian Prof. Suryanarayana. (of History and Archaeology of Andhra University),
But for the grave of Kingsford Venner in the now dilapidated Old Town cemetery, and the tombstone states that he was killed in the Sepoy Mutiny of October 3, 1780, there are no proper remnants or records of this mutiny that short lived. The mutiny was reported in Hickey's Gazette, the first English newspaper in India, a couple of days later. As to the British casualty, there are no records of the graves or tombs. Either, they would have been destroyed due to time factor or it is likely they might have been tampered with by the trespassers. Today, only the grave of a young officer Kingsford Venner is left intact. The inscription on this grave, confirms this historic event.
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| Grave of cadet Kingsford, Vizag cemetery thehindu.com |
Above image: The grave of Cadet Kingsford Venner who was killed in the first sepoy mutiny, in Visakhapatnam.— Photo: K.R. Deepak
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| inscription in the grave. Visakhapatnam mutiny, 1780yovizag.com |
This brief mutiny is just like the First Sepoy Mutiny of Vellore. In 2006 the Indian govt. issued a portal stamp to commemorate the 200 years of Vellore mutiny - 10 July 1806 in which about 130 British soldiers were killed inside the Vellore fort.. Several rebels were caught, hanged to death and executed by the British; some were blown before the cannons.
The Vizag mutiny may be a brief one and the British casualty is not very much. However, it took place for the first time even prior to the Vellore mutiny. So, it is time for the A.P. government to recognise the First Sepoy Mutiny of Visakhapatnam against the oppressive early English rule. Already 236 years have gone by since the first upraising. British records mention that three British officers were killed in the mutiny. “The chief of the settlement was imprisoned, the treasury and armoury were looted, and the cantonment was plundered by the rebels. The rebel soldiers were tried for the mutiny and looting.''
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| Vizag revolt, 1780 against the British company. chaibisket.com |
This first revolt against the British in Vizag created ripples in London and as of today nothing is done about this brief revolt by the governments both at the state and central levels. Heritage conservationists in the city have put forwarded the state government to develop a memorial in ''One Town'' in the city where the first Indian uprising against the British took place.
Edward Paul, Historian and heritage specialist is of the opinion based on the gazette report “The uprising was because of maltreatment meted out to the sepoys by Englishmen and also the patriotic fervour. The native sepoys, who were engaged only to do local service, were also dispersed all over the district for revenue collection. But whenever such campaigns were undertaken, they were not paid any extra allow-ance by English office. Thus the simmering anger and frustration drove a section of the Indian soldiers to protest against the British for their arrogance and greed for capturing more Indian lands.
https://www.yovizag.com/1780-sepoy-mutiny-in-visakhapatnam/
