Prologue: The British Raj

While it has been almost fashionable in literary circles since the Independence of India to criticize the existence of the British Raj, it must not be forgotten that the British Raj existed in India for over 250 years, not on the “strength” of the “gora-log” - the “white people” who “ruled” India, but on the “wafadari” - devotion to duty - of the “ruled” Natives of India. 

It is very easy now to criticize the actions of these “wafadar” (devoted) servants of the British Raj, especially if they were Natives of India. Were these “servants” not really “traitors” to their Motherland? How could they serve these British “rulers” in the “exploitation” of their own land? Were they not really “gaddars” (traitors)? 

But wait! We are judging the actions of individuals in retrospect with TODAY’S VIEWPOINT! 

History is replete with examples of how time and viewpoint changes the same actions of individuals from one extreme to the other! What was once thought of as “wafadari” can suddenly be viewed as “gaddari” (treacherous) and visa-versa.

But my story is not about whether my Bare Chacha was a “gaddar” to his motherland in that he helped the British govern India in the days of the British Raj or was he a true example of a “wafadar” employee of his employers. It is the story of an individual that I greatly admire, who rose to great heights on the strength of his intellect, morals, and devotion to duty.

This story goes back nearly a hundred years. Some names and locations have been changed for obvious reasons, but the story is true to the best of my knowledge. 

Chapter 1: Bade Chacha

I met my Bade Chacha, Rai Bhadhur Hira Lal, for the last time in fall 1948, a few months before he died. He was about 69 years old at that time and I must have been about 10 years old. Bade Chacha was really my father’s Bade Chacha. “Bade” means “older” in Hindi and Chacha is usually the term for father’s younger brother. Since my grandfather had two younger brothers, the older of the two was called Bade Chacha by all his nephews and nieces. Even us kids, his grandnieces and grandnephews, called him Bare Chacha as he disliked being called “Baba” or “Dada” (Hindi terms for grandfather). 

He lived in a grand estate about 50 miles from Delhi, with a huge garden behind his big house attended by at least 3 or 4 gardeners. Most of these gardeners, and many with their families, also lived on the estate, as did a whole horde of attendants that ran the huge estate. There was a uniformed Darbaan – gate watchman - (and there might have been more than one of them) who guarded the open front Iron Gate. The Darbaan was very obviously of Nepalese heritage, with the traditional reverse sword hanging by a huge thick belt around their waist - the Kukri – for which these Nepalese watchmen were famous (or infamous) all over India. It was rumored that they could cut off anybody’s head with one continuous motion of the Kukri in their trained hands!

It was a large estate with a long driveway leading to the main house. Its imposing large Iron Gate was part of a high wall all around the estate, which was at least 10 acres, if not more! Even before you entered the estate, you did not have to be told that it belonged to some rich and powerful person of great wealth and prestige. Any doubts that one might have had about whom the estate belonged to were quickly dispelled by his name that was embedded in golden letters with just three letters, “I. C. S.” behind his name, right on the wall next to the front gate - and that said it all!

Yes indeed! He was the “bright star” and pride of our community - the embodiment of what a “real man” meant! My father was always very impressed by his Bade Chacha’s achievements. He often quoted his famous uncle’s Maha-Mantra – First Deserve and then Desire – to anybody who would listen to him praising his father’s younger brother.

On that day in fall of 1948 when I last saw Bade Chacha, he sat in a reclining easy chair on his huge veranda, clad in a gold-colored silk “kurta” (loose long shirt that goes up to the knees), and a “dhoti” (the male sari-like garment that village Indian men wear as pants). If one was not told who he was or the surroundings were different, one would find it very difficult to imagine that this was the same man who was one of the first officers of the Indian Civil Service who had mingled with Rajas and Nawabs with the greatest of ease at the turn of the century in the service of the British Empire. 

Bade Chacha’s appointment as a “Kannongo” (law clerk) right after he completed his first year of a 2-year Master’s program in English at Agra University in 1900, was one of the great events in the life of his grandfather, Chaudhary Dwarka Das. Unfortunately, he was not alive to see his grandson get the title of Rai Bhadhur.

Bade Chacha was only 20 years old at the time of his appointment as a Kannongo. He had a very sharp mind and a great aptitude for studies and it is rumored that he never ever stood 2nd in any examination. Most of the faculty teaching at Agra University at the turn of the Century was the “gora-log” (white folks), especially at the Master’s level in English. With most of the top government officers in the British Empire ruling India all being the “gora-log“, it was, but natural, that his talents were quickly “telegraphed” to the top “gora“ - the Collector (District Magistrate) of Agra - and he “harnessed” this young “native” Indian into government service. Bare Chacha quickly rose through the ranks and within a short span of just 10 years was one of the highest-ranking “native” officer's of the Indian British Empire. He was perhaps one of the handful of “natives” to be “hand-picked” into the Indian Civil Service (I. C. S.) and made a member of this elite group, from where he retired in 1938 as Director of Land Records for the whole British Empire in India!

The story that stands out far above all the others and which exemplifies the reasons for my father’s great admiration for him so much, was the time he was given the title of Rai Bhadhur in front of his name by the Viceroy of India, Lord Gilbert Elliot, fourth earl of Minto, in 1911, when the King-Emperor George V and Queen-Empress Mary attended the 1911 Durbar in person, an unprecedented event in both Indian and Imperial history.

Chapter 2: Appointment as British Agent 

The whole episode started with his appointment as the British Agent or “ambassador” to the Raja of Rampur*, a small “native” state in the United Provinces (which later became Uttar Pradesh in Independent India) in 1910, the year he turned 30. The capital of Rampur was Ramnagar*, a small town about 100 miles Southwest of Delhi. He was perhaps the youngest native British Agent to date and this was all because of his superior intelligence, unflinching courage, and utter devotion to his job. 

As some of you may know (but many may not know), the Indian British Empire was mostly made up of many Provinces, which were “ruled” directly by the British Civil servants (the top echelon of these civil servants being the ICS officers), but also many “native” States which were “protectorate” states that were internally administered by their respective “Princes“, “Rajas” or “Nawabs” or chieftains with various titles – but they could only “govern” within their own States – all dealings outside their estate had to be administered by the “British Agent” who was usually a “white” man, but once in a while a very trusted “native” ICS officer, like my Bade Chacha. 

The British found it very difficult to administer these so-called “independent states” as many (but certainly not all) of the Rajas and Nawabs were despots with little or no education (and with tons of money) and they looked after themselves rather than their subjects. Since these despots claimed their “right to govern” by their heredity, there was no question of ever replacing them with anybody outside the royal linage, and due to the presence of the British Agent in each one of these states, there was very little chance of these despots being “overthrown” by their own subjects or any neighboring despot, especially since the British kept at least a battalion of soldiers in each of the States under the control of the British Agent to show “who was the boss”. Now don’t get me wrong, there were intrigues and “plots” and “fights” and “murders” a-plenty to intrigue anybody’s fancy, but even if they were successful, they did little to please the British Government, as usually, one despot replaced another, and the British Government was no better off than before!

After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the first thing the British government had done was to get rid of the East India Company, which had “ruled” India all the preceding years and made India part of the British Empire. Still, the British were very eager to get rid of these petty Rajas and Nawabs and after annexing many of the native states of those who had sided against the British during the Mutiny, they had the policy of annexation pursued since the times of Governor-General Lord Dalhousie (1847-1856), based mainly on his "Doctrine of Lapse", which held that princely states would be merged into British-ruled territory in case a ruler died without direct heir. The states annexed under this doctrine included such major ones as Satara, Thanjavur, Sambhal, Jhansi, Jetpur, Udaipur, and Baghat, and many minor states. About 40 percent of Indian Territory and 20-25 percent of the population still remained under the control of 562 princes notable for their religious (Islamic, Hindu, Sikh and other) and ethnic diversity. And while their propensity for pomp and ceremony became proverbial, their domains, varying in size and wealth, usually lagged behind sociopolitical transformations that took place elsewhere in British-controlled India. 

Although in 1858 the British Government had renounced the "doctrine of lapse", these Princes, Rajas and Nawabs were very skeptical of British policies, and still dreaded the infamous “Doctrine” and though not a “technical” requirement, made sure that they had at least one male heir to their “gaddi” (throne). Now, though many of these princes had multiple wives, licentious living had made many of them incapable of even having children, leave aside specifically having a male heir. And there was no guaranteed method that one could have a male offspring, even if one had 100s of offspring's (and many of these despots did!). So, all these Rajas and Nawabs made certain by any means (and many of them illegal) that they had a male heir to succeed them!

Chapter 3: Rupa and Maya

When Bade Chacha was first appointed at Rampur, The Raja of Rampur was Raja Jai Singh. The Raja was in his early 60’s, a much-married man, who was at that time married to his 4th wife, Rani Maya, as he had no male children from his previous wives. He did have a young daughter, Rupa, who was 18 years old in 1910 and lived at Ramnagar in the “old palace“. Rupa’s mother, Rani Saraswati, had died during childbirth when Rupa was born and had been brought up by a distant widowed elderly cousin of the Raja who ran the household of the Raja and was more or less the “estate manager” for the Raja’s household. She was called Bui Ma (Bui is Hindi term for father’s sister) by Rupa and everybody else too. Rupa was only 3 years old when Raja Jai Singh had married the latest Rani (Raja’s wife), Rani Maya. It was well known that Maya had been a commoner and did not belong to any royal family. She had been married to the Raja primarily for breeding purposes about 15 years earlier, and had been selected by the Raja for her unsurpassed beauty. Due to conflicts between Bui Ma and Rani Maya, the Raja had built for the new Rani the “new palace” adjacent to the “old palace”, and the Raja primarily lived at the new palace with Rani Maya. Over the years, Rani Maya had very shrewdly managed to entice the Raja completely with her charms and liquor and the old Raja had essentially become a mere puppet in Rani Maya’s hands. Though the Rani tried very hard to “get rid” of old Bui Ma and Rupa and take over the “old palace“ too, that was one area that old Raja Jai Singh was very possessive about and still showered much love and affection for both his old cousin and young daughter. After a few years, Rani Maya had just “given up” on the old palace (and Rupa and Bui Ma) and concentrated on “bigger game”. 

Old Raja Jai Singh was very keen on getting a male heir for his Gaddi and that was the primary reason for his marrying Rani Maya! Unfortunately for him, Rani Maya was rumored to be “barren” and could not have any children. She would say every year or every other year that she was pregnant, but within a few months she would say that she had a miscarriage (either real or pretended). This might have been the truth the first few years after the marriage but later it was generally known that she embellished the truth and that she would pretend to be pregnant (even if she were not), just to keep up the hopes of the old Raja and retain her position as Rani! When the old Raja started to get chronically sick about 5 years earlier (it was rumored that he had some sex-related disease), Maya carefully planned to “have a baby” and after pretending to be pregnant, she went to her parents house for “delivery” and came back home with a new-born male child! Again, rumor mills were full of whispers that the child that she had brought back was not the Raja’s own but in reality Rani Maya’s sister’s son (as she too had been pregnant at the same time as Maya pretended to be), and that she had just stolen the male child of her sister and got her sister and her husband murdered to get the child! After Rani Maya came back from her parents’ place with the child about 4 years back, Raja Jai Singh’s love for his wife had turned to hate for her and he knew of all of Rani Maya’s shenanigans and just “hated” her and this “male child”, but due to his deteriorated health, he could do nothing but just pretend to go along with Rani Maya’s charade. 

Anyway, the Rani made it a point to publicize the birth of her “son”, but it was practically known by all the people in the “know of things” that this was all a sham to “hoodwink” the British Government and the Rani was well aware that she would lose it all if the Raja died without a male heir to succeed him! And of course, the old “white” British Agent was kept from knowing the truth. Being a “white” man, the old British Agent did not mingle with the “natives” and was therefore deprived of all the “news” of the state. The British Government had also heard these rumors and was really very keen to verify them. But the British Government could not act on rumors alone and HAD to know the truth and if those rumors were true, they had much to gain! In fact, these “rumors” were the cause that the British Government had chosen to send a “non-white” British Agent who could really mingle with the local population to “investigate” this matter in a clandestine manner and find out the TRUTH.

Within a few days of his appointment, Bade Chacha made some discrete investigations and was able to find the Dai – midwife- who had delivered the “Raja’s son” about 4 years back and had been able to “extract” the truth from her that the “son” was indeed the son of Rani Maya’s sister, but this was not “proof positive” as witnesses have been known to lie for personal gain or tell whatever you wanted to hear under duress.

He just needed better proof that this was indeed the truth!

Chapter 4: Raja’s Last Wish

Now life is full of twists and turns and so it was that within a matter of just a few days further, the Raja, who had been in ill health for some time now, took a turn for the worse and rumor had it that he was very close to death. Bade Chacha went to visit the dying Raja and found him lying in his royal chamber, pale as death itself, and just barely able to keep his eyes open. He summoned Bade Chacha to move closer to his face and asked him in a whisper to send away the nurse who was at the Raja’s bedside. After the nurse had been sent away, the old Raja seemed to have found new strength as he started whispering into Bade Chacha’s ears. He said in a soft voice that he had a very short time to live and that he wanted to clear his conscience of a very great secret that he did not want to die with. He told Bade Chacha that he was dying due to syphilis and that he had had no sexual relations with his Rani for the past 6 years and that the “son” was not really his son. He said that he wanted to see that his daughter, Rupa, got his assets and would rather see his state go to the British Government than be given to the evil Rani Maya and her “son” and that Bade Chacha had to make that happen! 

Bade Chacha quickly returned to his residence with intentions of preparing papers that he could get the Raja to sign, but he had hardy retuned when he heard the bells tolling the death of the Raja! And Bade Chacha knew that a successor to the Raja’s Gaddi would be named the next Raja after the mandatory 13 days of mourning period. 

So no sooner had the Raja died; my Bade Chacha quickly made plans to go to Delhi to inform the British Government about this “fraud” that was being perpetuated by the scheming Rani! As this very important matter could not be handled any other way but by personally going to Delhi, Bade Chacha made known his plans to leave for Delhi the day after the old Raja’s funeral on some flimsy excuse! 

Now the Rani was no fool, and quickly guessed that Bade Chacha had discovered her secret! She knew that the funeral would be a huge public spectacle and that too within 12 hours after the old Raja’s death (per Hindu traditions) and she could not openly meet the British Agent during the mourning period! 

What could she do????

Chapter 5: The Offer 

She made a great show of lamenting and weeping at the old Raja’s funeral and made it a point to pretend to faint right as she was passing the place where my Bade Chacha was sitting to watch the Raja’s funeral. She knew that it would be natural for Bade Chacha to rush to save the Rani from falling on the ground as she was fainting, and it would be at that moment that the Rani could slip a message into Bade Chacha’s hand! And this is exactly what she did. The paper simply said, “Midnight at stable - alone”. 

Bade Chacha immediately realized that the Rani was wise to his discovery and his life was in danger whether he met her or not and that the Rani would do all in her power to stop him from going to Delhi the next day! He could not even send word to the British Garrison to get their protection as they were stationed some distance from his residence and his residence was in the palace grounds and the palace grounds were “protected” by the Raja’s (or should we say the Rani’s) guards!

Boy, was he in trouble!!!

But Bade Chacha had risen in the ICS services on his guts and wits and was especially known for his “cool” and logical thinking under pressure. He knew that the Rani dared not play foul openly against him, for should he be harmed in any way, the full force of the British Government would come down on her hard and with inquiries into any injuries or death to the British Agent, the highest ranking officer of the British Government in a “native” state, there would be thorough investigations which could lead to revelations of the Rani’s “fraud”. He logically concluded that the Rani wanted to meet him to “bribe” him in some way or the other so that he would not report her “scheme” to the British Government. He quickly made up his mind to meet the Rani where she had invited him for their clandestine meeting at midnight, and somehow or other make his way out of the State! 

Now the Rani had chosen a most appropriate place for their meeting. The stable was behind the two large residences of the Raja and the British Agent and about equidistant from those residences. It was a low shed-type, single story, rectangular structure, about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. It had 2 high windows (more like skylights) on the side away from the residences and a swinging gate on each of the shorter sides. The windows were on the side parallel to the residences and the swinging doors, which were usually never locked and always half open, could not readily be seen from the residences. There were about 8 stalls with dividers about 4 feet high along each side of the long sides so that an alleyway formed from the one gate to the other. There was open space before and after the stalls and usually bales of hay were stored in these open spaces along with cleaning brooms, rakes, etc. There were at least 6 or 7 horses in the stables at any one time and 2 of the horses belonged to Bade Chacha himself. 

Bade Chacha was an avid horseman and rode about 10 miles every morning. He had 2 of the finest horses in the stable. Both were Akhal-Teke horses, a rare breed from Turkmenistan, known for their excellent endurance and stamina. Bare Chacha was very fond of his horses and took great care of them.

It was a cold winter night and just before midnight, Bade Chacha dressed in his riding britches and boots and, more for self-confidence than anything else, packed a revolver into his overcoat pocket and left for the stables. He was careful to see that that none of the guards or servants saw him as he carefully made his way to the stables. He kept to the shadows cast by the big Peepal (large-leaf shade) trees that were spread throughout the rear of the residences. He was thankful that it was a moonless dark night and he was so familiar with the way to the stable. Almost daily he would ride one of his two horses in the early mornings as that was part of his daily regimes to keeping healthy. Just a short distance from the stable, Bade Chacha picked up a burning wooden stake – a Mashaal – from the many that were burning at irregular intervals throughout the gardens behind the three adjoining residences. He looked around to see if there anybody was watching him, but either by accident or by design, there was nobody around. 

It was a moonless dark night and the Mashaal that he was carrying in his left hand (to keep his right hand free, for the revolver was in his right overcoat pocket) cast strange dark shadows into the corners of the stables where the light could not reach. He went towards his two horses that were tied towards the end of a row of about six stalls with horses. He was just in front of the third stall when he heard a hoarse whisper say, “Idhar” (here - in Hindi). He turned the Mashaal towards the stall and instead of a horse he saw Rani Maya all the way inside the stall. She was dressed in a western riding outfit with a long black coat that went all the way to the tip of her riding boots. It had a hood or cover at the top that she covered half her head. Gone was the white sari he had seen her wrapped up in at the funeral in the morning, as were the fake crocodile tears that she had so convincingly shed in front of all the people gathered at the old Raja’s funeral that morning. It was as though by some magic an ugly duckling had been turned into a beautiful swan. She had on a thin layer of soft makeup that just seemed to enhance her beauty. 

She just looked stunning! 

Rani Maya was alone. And she was actually smiling! For at least a moment Bade Chacha felt sorry for this charming woman, but that quickly passed when he recollected that this was the most dangerous woman for him in the world and would just as easily kill or get him killed as she could smile at him, if given half a chance! 

Bade Chacha quickly extinguished his Mashaal and went into the stall which was dry and looked like it had been cleaned just a few hours back. There was, of course, no horse in that stall and there were a few bales of hay stacked in the corner. Bade Chacha went and sat on one of the haystacks and Maya also came and sat next to him. She was so close that he could actually smell her mild perfume. She did not beat around the bush and came straight to the point. She frankly admitted that she must get her “son” recognized by the British Government as the heir to the dead Raja and that she would pay Bade Chacha 1 Lakh (hundred thousand) rupees to certify that he was indeed the dead Raja’s son. Now a hundred thousand rupees in the late 1900’s were a great deal of money. But Bade Chacha could not just agree to accept that money without raising doubts in the Rani’s mind of the authenticity of his acceptance. So, at first he started to haggle with her, and this gave Maya the assurance that Bade Chacha had really fallen for her bribe. She could now afford to be firm in her offer, and she was. Next, Bade Chacha started to plan with her how he would take delivery of the money and insisted that it be given to him in Delhi and not in the Rani’s state. He was so convincing in his planning that the Rani really thought that she had made a firm deal with Bade Chacha. They kept chatting well into the night and it was nearly 4 o’clock when with a firm handshake they parted. She had agreed to give him the one Lakh rupees in Delhi AS LONG AS HE DID NOT GO TO DELHI BEFORE HER “SON“ WAS CROWNED THE NEW RAJA!!!

Chapter 6: The Scheme

Now Bade Chacha was in a big catch-22 situation! He had successfully solved his dilemma for the moment, but if he did not go to Delhi he could not meet with his superiors and warn them that the rumors about the “fraud” were indeed true and the Rani’s “son” would be announced as the heir to the dead Raja and inherit the state. Once this happened, it would be very difficult for the British Government to remove the young “son” and denounce him a “fake”. 

So what was he to do???????????????

Now Bade Chacha had to do something within the next 12 days or all his efforts would be in vain. But if he started to even leave for Delhi the next day, as planned, or even any day after within the next 12 days, the Rani would know that he was just “playing for time” by agreeing to go along with accepting her bribe and would go to any lengths to stop him from reaching Delhi in one piece.

He just kept sitting in the stable thinking about his next move for nearly an hour after Maya had left his side. The sky towards the East was just beginning to lighten up when he reached a monumental decision. He HAD to leave for Delhi and he had to do it NOW. He could not give Maya a chance to reflect on her talks with him and alert the palace guards to try and stop him (perhaps even by force) and then conveniently “fake” some accident to keep him from going to Delhi! Maya Rani was capable of anything!!!

Bade Chacha temperament was such that he took his own time in analyzing all situations, but once he had made a decision; he carried it out immediately. HE DECIDED TO LEAVE FOR DELHI RIGHT FROM THE STABLE!!!! 

Beyond the stables the forests started towards the East and the British garrison was towards the West. He could go to the garrison and “hole up” there, but even though his life would be safe there, the Rani would not allow him to travel to Delhi even under the protection of the garrison. There would have to be a “fight” between the soldiers, numbering about a hundred, and the Rani’s “guards”, whom he estimated to be around 500. And he wanted to avoid bloodshed, if at all possible. 

He found his way in the dark to where his horses were in their stalls at the far end of the stable. He quickly put a saddle on one of his stallion’s backs and slowly led both the horses towards the rear door of the stable. He would ride them in turns and ride the 150 miles post haste to Delhi. He mounted one horse and holding the other’s reigns firmly, started on his mammoth journey towards Delhi. 

Meanwhile, Rani Maya, smug in her “conquest” of the “Desi” British Agent, went to her palace quite pleased. “All these people can be bought off”, she said to herself. But still she wanted to take all precautions that she could and as soon as it was dawn, she immediately issued orders that the palace guards be doubled and under no circumstances was Bade Chacha to be allowed to leave the palace compound, with orders that he was to be “shot dead” if he tried. Unluckily for her, the “chicken had already flown the coop“! Bade Chacha had a good 4 hour head-start and being the good rider that he was, there was no way that Rani Maya’s men could ever catch him! Rani Maya got the information about Bade Chacha’s “escape” at about 8 o-clock or so when her stable boys found both horses of Bare Chacha gone. She knew that Bade Chacha had not gone to the garrison as her spies always kept an eye on the garrison. She quickly summarized that he was on his way to Delhi! Oh, she was lost! He must not reach Delhi at any cost!!!

Rani Maya dispatched her best team of horsemen to the “chase”, but all her efforts were in vain. Bade Chacha was able to reach Delhi just ahead of the Rani’s assassins, and meet the Viceroy almost immediately. The Viceroy too acted quickly and within a matter of days the whole small State of Rampur was completely surrounded by the British troops in the thousands. 

Knowing that her plans had completely failed, Rani Maya quietly disappeared “into the night” with her “son” (and a great deal of cash and jewels from the State treasury) and was never heard from again. 

Bade Chacha took the whole State of Rampur under his control and arranged a royal wedding of Rupa with the handsome son of a neighboring Raja. He saw to it that both Rupa and Bui Ma were provided a good pension from the British government and that the transition of the State of Rampur to the United Provinces was as smooth as possible. 

And in 1911, the year of the Royal Coronation of George V, Bare Chacha was awarded the title of Rai Bhadhur with full pomp and ceremony at the Royal Durbar in New Delhi. Though my father was hardly 7 years old at that time, the fact that he attended the Royal Durbar at Delhi with my grandfather and all his 6 brothers was etched permanently in his mind till he passed away in 2003 at the age of 99. 

After things settled at Rampur, Bare Chacha was posted at the newly shifted Capital of the British Raj to New Delhi. His honesty, dedication and hard work was aptly rewarded when he was the appointed as the first Native Director of Land Records of all of British India in 1930 from where he retired in 1938. 

And as I mentioned earlier, Bare Chacha passed away in December 1948. They don’t make them that-a-way anymore!

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