A hand-coloured lithograph from 1860 depicts a jumble of men, animals and supplies rambling across a dusty Indian landscape raising a cloud of dust at the tail end. There is also the figure of a child running amidst the confusion and the scene brings to mind professor Kalikaranjan Qanungo’s description of the chaos that prevailed when a medieval Gurkani (Mughal) army marched for war. Except, this is no Gurkani (Mughal) army.
What the scene depicts becomes much clearer to understand when we glance the accompanying title that says, ‘Troops of Native Allies’ and realize that this illustration that is so beautifully animated by the use of watercolours reveal the forces of the native chieftains and princes who had historically sided with the British during the violent insurrection of 1857 – for reasons that had ranged from unflinching loyalty to an utter dislike for those who they had eventually helped the British subdue.
Simpson who by now had earned the reputation of a successful war artist having documented the Crimean war of 1853-56, had created this rambling mass originally for a comprehensive book on India that London based publishers, Day and Sons, had intended to release in the Victorian market to cash in on the phenomenal interest the mutiny of 1857 had generated among the European public.
Inspired by the work of artist Daniel Roberts who had produced a four-volume folio showcasing the wonders of Jerusalem and Egypt, this book on India had been planned by Simpson and William Day (Senior partner of Day and Sons) to contain 250 richly coloured original illustrations, and all of which Simpson had later created by hand. First by making quick sketches and later spending four years to flesh out and finalise his drawings.
Financial troubles and liquidation of William Day’s publishing company between 1867-68, however, had turned the grand project into a shoddy affair and far from endowing Simpson with the honour and recognition he had laboured so hard to achieve, left him searching for new employment – which he had eventually found as a ‘Special Artist’ with the Illustrated London Times in 1868.
Though Simpson’s illustrations had not appeared in the manner he had envisioned in 1867, the work he produced on British India and the autobiography he had unveiled years later holds immense historical value. As through his artworks and words, we not only get to explore the life of British India right after the mutiny, but also the customs and the politics of the day.
As a guest of Lord Canning, Simpson had the honour of seeing the old country in the company of the Governor-General in the immediate years that had followed the suppression of the rebellion, and it was during this time he had produced this illustration titled the ‘Troops of the Native Allies’.
While touring with Canning, Simpson had observed up close the native style Durbars the British had held in Peshawar, Lahore, Ambala and other places to not only reinstate their position as the dominant and triumphant power in the region but to also accept the homage of local kings. Importantly, and as a mark of respect and appreciation, reward their allies for their support in suppressing the mutiny, particularly with gun salutes.
He had witnessed the offering of tributes, political negotiations and the royal retinues pouring in from all directions.
At the Ambala Darbar, Simpson had been fascinated by an army of 300 Sikhs, resplendent in clothing of yellow and blue. The Sikhs had been one of the closest and most willing allies of the British during the mutiny of 1857 – on account of their long time hatred for the later Gurkanis emperors and their protectorates the Marathas.
The Sikhs had also harboured an intense dislike for the Sepoys of the Bengal army, loosely known as the Purbiyas.
This hatred had resurfaced, the day the Meerut mutineers after having rebelled on 10th of May in 1857 had journeyed the odd 400 miles to the city of old Delhi to proclaim Bahadur Shah Zaffar as the emperor of Hindustan.
The Sikhs had not only fought alongside the British in almost all major encounters during the insurrection but also massacred the rebels and plundered their strongholds along with the Gurkhas, the Nepalis and other allies. Their role in the looting of Delhi after the city was recaptured is a well-known reality of the Mutiny of 1857.
In fact, during the Mutiny of 1857, the British had more Indian and Asian allies than the rebels. The Bengali elites of Calcutta too had refrained from assisting the rebellion as they had considered the British to be the harbingers of change and modernity in stark contrast to the return of the Gurkani (Mughal)rule, which they had deemed as an outdated way of life.
The book on India that Day and Sons had proposed to publish in 1857 had received much support and encouragement, primarily for its subject matter. Even before a single illustration was produced, the Queen of England had also permitted the work to be dedicated to her name.
In present times Simpson’s illustrations including the ‘Troops of the Native Allies’ are all collector items.
I F I This is an Independent Story highlighting the history behind the coloured lithograph, ‘Troops of the Native Allies’, produced by artist William Simpson, and a bit of what the artist experienced in India. It has been created out of facts curated from literary and historical sources. I
