ʿIbrat-namah 6: Death of Ghulam Kadir.

6

[It is said that on the 18th Rabi'u-l awwal, Ghulam Kadir (after being defeated by the forces of Sindhia), started off for Ghaus-kada, his home, with only a few trusted followers mounted on swift horses. In the darkness of the night his companions lost him ; he went one way, and they went another. He endeavoured to find them, but did not succeed. The road was full of water and mud, and the horse putting his foot into a hole, rolled Ghulam Kadir to the ground. The night was dark, and the way bristled with thorny acacias, so that he knew not which way to turn. When the morning came, he looked around, and seeing some inhabited place, he proceeded thither. On reaching the habitation, he put his head into the house of a brahman. The master of the house, seeing a stranger in such a state, asked him what was the matter. Ghulam Kadir answered that * *. But his own action betrayed him. He took off a diamond ring from his finger, and gave it to the housekeeper as an inducement to guard him all day, and to guide him at night towards Ghaus-kada. The brahman knew of his infamous character and evil deeds. The brahman himself, in days gone by, had suffered at the hands of the ruffian, and his village had been ravaged. His oppressor was now in his power, and he made the door fast. * *
The brahman went in search of some chief who would appreciate the information he had to give, and was led by fortune to the tents of 'Ali Bahadur, to whom he communicated his intelligence. 'Ali Bahadur showed him great attention, and sent a large party of horse forward with him, while he himself followed. * * The horsemen entered the brahman's house, seized their prisoner, and bound him. With various indignities they brought him to 'Ali Bahadur, * * who sent him to the fort of the Mahrattas, * * under charge of Rana Khan, who put a chain upon his legs, a collar on his neck, and conveyed him in a bullock-carriage to Sindhia, guarded by two regiments of sepoys and a thousand horse. * * On the 4th Jumada-s sani, under the orders of Sindhia, the ears of Ghulam Kadir were cut off and hung round his neck, his face was blackened, and he was carried round the camp and city. Next day his nose and upper lip were cut off, and he was again paraded. On the third day he was thrown upon the ground, his eyes were torn out, and he was once more carried round. After that his hands were cut off, then his feet, and last of all his head. The corpse was then hung neck downwards from a tree. A trustworthy person relates that a black dog, white round the eyes, came and sat under the tree and licked up the blood as it dripped. The spectators threw stones and clods at it, but still it kept there. On the third day, the corpse disappeared and the dog also vanished. Maharaja Sindhia sent the ears and eye-balls to the Emperor Shah 'Alam.