South Asia Against Colonialism

By MRS. LAXMI THAPA

End of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century was a critical period in the history of the South Asia when various states within this vast region were drawn into a fierce struggle to uphold their independence from the world’s mightiest colonial power the Great Britain. Powerful countries of that period like Bengal, Oudh, Mysore, Burma, Sri Lanka and others were forcefully captured and according to the renowned historian H.G. Wells were subjected to extortions and cruelties. We Nepalese should be very proud of our ancestors that our country could defend itself against the Britain in the war laden upon us that stretched over a period of three calendar years. As a result, Nepal all the time continued to be an independent country. All other countries of the South Asia and most of the countries of Asia and Africa were forced to surrender their independence and accept the harsh treatments from their colonial masters. In those countries later on countless number of peoples had to sacrifice their life to regain freedom from the colonial powers.

Our ancestors, who fought against the British aggression, were in the forefront among the nations of that period to uphold the sacred principle of freedom which was the key issue beginning to reshape the new history of the world. Unfortunately the new generations thereafter and our generation were not up to the mark. We lagged behind. Now we are among the most backward countries in the world. Nepal could again gain its rightful place among the fast developing nations to be in the forefront in the field of economic growth and development if we draw moral lessons from our ancestors, who had surprised the world by their bravery and great sacrifices.

Nepal’s Unification Campaign

Eighteenth century was a period of great political turmoil in the Indian subcontinent. The powerful Mogul empire had come to an end at the very beginning of this century. To the west of the Sub-continent was the Iran under the rule of Nadir Shah described in the history as the most hated man of his age who massacred people in uncounted thousands and plundered the country and after his death his successor not too different from him The colonial powers like England and France were doing their utmost to increase their presence by exploiting the weaknesses of the rulers of small states recently broken off from the Mogul empire. The whole region was being swiftly converted into the colony of the western powers At that time the peoples living in the Himalayan region must be finding themselves very insecure.

The enlightened peoples living in different parts of the Himalayan region must have sensed the urgency to be united. Because, without being awakened to the realization that the unification of the whole region is a matter of the utmost importance to the peoples across the Himalayan region, it would not have been possible in a very short period to bring together under a common umbrella peoples living in a vast region demarcated on the west by the Sutlej and Bias rivers and on the east by the Teesta The final outcome of such unification was the creation of the Great Nepal.

New Threat to British Empire

Nepal was able to rise from a scratch to be a formidable Himalayan power within a very short time. Our country had gathered enough strength to move forward to protect the peoples dwelling in the northern part of this vast region from anarchy. However, the build up of Nepalese strength brought her on a collision course with the colonial power of that time. Colonial power Britain had good reason to fear that if the Nepalese build up continued for some time, the colonial rule of Britain could soon come to an end in South Asia much the same way as in the North America a short time before.

Expansion of British Rule

The Marquis Wellesley became in 1798 the British Governor-General of India. In 1998 the French fleet was defeated in the Battle of the Nile at Abu Quir Bay in Egypt by the British admiral Horatio Nelson significantly weakening its strength. After the 1998 naval victory British rulers in India must have felt that France would not anymore be able to pose serious threat to further expansion of the British Empire in South Asia. Britain started the task of further expansion of the British Empire.

Governor General Wellesley played decisive role in the expansion of the British Empire in India. Colonel Wellesley, the younger brother of the Marquis Wellesley, had also come to India. Colonel Wellesley afterwards became Sir Arthur Wellesley, and then Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon in Waterloo Battle. Later on he became the Prime Minister of the Great Britain.

Oude Nawab Cedes Do-ab to Britain

Governor General Wellesley used every possible means to expand British Empire in South Asia. Wellesley asked the Nawab of Oude to agree, like the Nizam of Hyderabad , to cede to Britain some of his territories in exchange for British protection. At first the Nawab would not agree, but at last, when he saw there was no use of trying to resist, he gave in. British army was sent to Oude, and to pay for it the Nawab gave up the Do-ab or the country between the Jamuna and the Ganges. Meanwhile Wellesley turned his attention to Delhi. In 1803, General Gerard Lake captured Delhi and Agra.

It was very clear that British rulers in India did not want Nepal to become a strong power. They must have realized that sooner or later they would have to wage a war against Nepal. British and Nepalese forces were virtually standing eyeball to eyeball in the west after the Wellesley’s conquest of the North India. However, British rulers must not have liked to risk getting caught in battles against Nepal in unknown high mountain terrains without penetrating into Nepal’s defense system in advance.

Worst Days in Nepal’s History

It was early 1810s. Great Britain was the most powerful country in the whole world. Its vast empire had stretched across all five continents. At that time it was ruthlessly expanding its empire in the South Asian Sub-continent. Britain was tempted to make Nepal also its colony. Nepal was attacked without formally declaring war. Britain hoped that Nepal could be quickly subdued in a blitzkrieg invasion. The battle fronts stretched over a distance of about 1500 km. between the Teesta River and the Sutlez River.

Needless to say that those were the worst days in the history of our country. The war stretched over a period of three calendar years in sharp contrast to the expectation of the British Government. Nepal bravely defended its independence. Britain was forced to abandon its grand design to enslave Nepal though we lost some of our territories.

Anglo-Nepal War

British had expected a blitz-krieg victory. It is said that the Governor General Hastings had planned to win the war in one mighty sweep in one to two months in end 1814 but certainly before the Christmas. He was badly mistaken in his assessment. We Nepalese fought very bravely. In early months of the war the initial British invasion was completely beaten off. British offensive ended in complete failure. Nepalese force stationed within the shelter of the fortress were not only able to defend their position against an invading enemy many times superior in strength but they even shocked them by their dreadful counteroffensive that used to be accompanied by big losses on British side. The British rule in India was at a risk of falling apart. Unfortunately at that time the Sikhs and Marathas did not join Nepal in liberating the whole of the South Asian Continent from the grip of the European domination.

After the initial defeats the British changed their strategy to avoid their casualties. They started to deploy long range guns to level the fortification and to force us to retreat. This strategy paid off. The British were able to advance quickly into the territory under our control. They even used elephants to carry heavy guns across the mountains.

Historic Deothal Battle

British had at their disposal virtually unlimited resources from the Nepalese perspective. They continued to press Nepal all across the frontier that stretched over a distance of more than 1500 km. Nepalese resources were being sharply depleted. There was not any chance that they would be replenished. So the ability of the Nepalese force to defend the territory under their control was steadily declining. But they continued to fight despite heavy losses. Towards the middle of the 1815 Amar Singh Thapa, chief of the Nepalese force fighting in the western front was confined within a small area of the Malaun fort. The fate of Nepal was going to be in the hand of the Governor General Lord Hastings, unashamedly imperialistic and who became famous for having established the British Empire in India more firmly than before. At that time there could not be any room for doubt in his intention either to eliminate Nepal completely and bring it under the British rule or to turn it into a vassal state like so many other states under that category in British India. He could be forced not to take any such decision detrimental to the honor of Nepal only if he perceived that such action could pose serious threat to the continuance of British rule in India. The historic Deothal Battle could not be anything else but a clear message to the British warning them not to take lightly the determination of all Nepalese people to lay down their life, irrespective of whether they are young or old, to protect the honor of their country.

Our Forefathers’ Great Sacrifice

Finally, Britain must have realized that it was futile to continue to fight against Nepal. They were forced to abandon the idea of making Nepal one of their colonies. A treaty was signed to end the Anglo-Nepal War.

Thus, our ancestors were able to protect the honor of our country while almost all other countries in Asia and Africa failed. Nepal was able to defend its independence because of our forefathers’ great sacrifice.

(Thapa writes on history)