Ahmadullah Shah: The Fearless Maulvi of Faizabad and Leader of the 1857 Rebellion

 

Ahmadullah Shah, also known as the Maulvi of Faizabad, was one of the most influential and courageous freedom fighters of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was born in 1787 in a noble warrior family of Awadh, and received his traditional Islamic education as well as training in welfare and weaponry.

He travelled to many countries, including England, Russia, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, where he performed Hajj. He was a practicing Muslim, but also a champion of religious harmony and the Ganga-Jamuna culture of Faizabad. He joined forces with other rebel leaders, such as Nana Sahib and Khan Bahadur Khan, to resist the British rule in India. British officers like George Bruce Malleson and Thomas Seaton have made mentions about courage, valour, personal and organisational capabilities of Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah. Malleson has repeatedly mentioned Ahmadullah in the History of Indian Mutiny, a book written in six volumes covering the revolt of 1857.

 G. B. Malleson describes the personality of the Maulvi as follows:

The Moulvi was a remarkable person. His name was Ahmad-ullah and his native place was Faizabad in Oudh. In person, he was tall, lean and muscular, with large deep eyes, beetle brows, a high aquiline nose, and lantern jaws.

Ahmadullah Shah was a visionary and a strategist, who planned and executed several campaigns against the British forces. He declared jihad against the colonisers, and wrote a pamphlet called Fateh Islam, outlining the need and the method of armed rebellion. He also initiated the Chapati Movement, a secret communication network among the rebels, by distributing bread among the villages. He was arrested by the British in Patna in January 1857, but escaped from prison with the help of other rebels in June. He then proceeded to Awadh, where he became the lighthouse of the rebellion in the region.

According to G. B. Malleson, "It is beyond doubt that behind the conspiracy of the 1857 revolt, the Moulavi's brain and efforts were significant. Distribution of bread during the campaigns, Chapati Movement, was actually his brainchild."

 He  fought bravely in many battles, such as the Battle of Chinhat, the Siege of Lucknow, and the Battle of Shahjahanpur. He was admired and praised by both his allies and his enemies for his abilities, courage, determination, and leadership. He was described by Thomas Seaton, a British officer, as "a man of great abilities, of undaunted courage, of stern determination, and by far the best soldier among the rebels. After the eruption of the revolt on 10 May 1857, rebel sepoys from Azamgarh, Banaras and Jaunpur arrived in Patna on 7 June. They attacked the bungalows of the English officers who were already on the run. Once the city was captured by the rebels, they captured the government treasury. They proceeded towards the jail and got the Maulvi and the other prisoners freed. After declaring Mansingh as the Raja of Patna, Maulvi Ahmadullah proceeded to Awadh.

Reinforcements from Bareilly. George Bruce Malleson writes that:

Maulavi was the only one who could have dared to defeat Sir Colin Campbell twice.The fierce battle took place on 15 May 1858 between a platoon of the rebels and the regiment of General Brigadier Jones. Both sides had to bear heavy losses but the rebels still managed to capture Shahjahanpur. Colin reached Shahjahanpur on 20 May, and attacked it from all sides. This battle continued all night long. Maulavi and Nana Sahib left Shahjahanpur. It is said that Colin himself followed Maulvi but couldn't capture him. After the fall of Shahjahanpur, the Maulvi left for Powayan which was 18 miles to the north of Shahjahanpur. The Maulvi was always escaping arrest by the British. A reward of fifty thousand pieces of silver was given for capturing the Maulvi. Raja Jagannath Singh, the ruler of Powayan, was resisted by the British, despite Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah's attempts to encourage an uprising. The monarch attacked the Maulvi with a cannon shot as soon as he arrived at the royal gates on his war elephant. The Maulvi, who had fallen from his elephant, died by this.

Kunwar Baldeo Singh, the brother of Powayan king Raja Jagannath Singh, is reported to have assassinated Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah, detached his head, and brought the body to the magistrate. In addition to receiving the declared award, he won the British government's favor.The following day at Kotwali, the Maulvi's head was executed by hanging. In 1857, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, another revolutionary, witnessed the Maulvi killed.

G. B. Malleson describes his death as:

Thus died the Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah of Faizabad. If a patriot is a man who plots and fights for independence, wrongfully destroyed, for his native country, then most certainly, the Moulvee was a true patriot.