A History of Assam c23.3

c23.3

THE great Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 left Assam almost untouched. The situation was at times by no means free from danger; and the comparative immunity which this part of India enjoyed was due very largely to the watchfulness and resource displayed by the civil and military officers on the spot. Shortly before the first outbreak Mr. Allen, of the Board of Revenue, had been deputed to visit the Khāsi and Jaintia hills; and the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Frederick Halliday, took advantage of his presence at Cherrapunji, then the capital of that district, to place him temporarily in charge of the Eastern Frontier, including Sylhet and Cachar. Exaggerated stories of the fall of the British power caused some excitement amongst the Khāsi chiefs, and the ex-Raja of Jaintia began to intrigue with some of them with a view to the recovery of his lost possessions. Mr. Allen thought that to cause his arrest would invest the matter with undue importance; he therefore contented himself with ordering him to reside in Sylhet town, where he would be under the eye of the British authorities. In November 1857, the three companies of the 34th Native Infantry stationed at Chittagong mutinied and, after burning their lines, breaking open the jail and plundering the treasury, marched in the direction of Comilla; they then turned off into the jungles of Hill Tippera, whence they subsequently emerged in the south-east of the Sylhet district. Their intention was to push on, through the south of Cachar, into Manipur. As soon as Mr. Allen heard of their movements, he determined to intercept them. Under his orders Major Byng, the Commandant of the Sylhet Light Infantry (now the 8th Gurkha Rifles), set out with about 160 men and reached Pertābgarh, some eighty miles distant, in the short space of thirty-six hours. Then, hearing that the rebels were expected shortly to pass through Latu, twenty-eight miles away, he made a night march and arrived there early next morning. The rebels, numbering about two hundred, came up soon afterwards. They tried by taunts and solicitations to pervert the Hindustanis, who formed half the detachment, but the only answer they received was a steady fire, which put them to flight with a loss of twenty-six killed. Major Byng was also killed. His successor in the command did not think it advisable to follow them into the jungle, but a few days later, after entering the Cachar district, they were attacked by another detachment of the Sylhet Light Infantry under Lieutenant Ross, and were again put to flight. They still headed for Manipur, and were joined by some Manipuri princes, pretenders to the Rāj, with a few followers. They were repeatedly attacked, both by the regular troops and by Kuki scouts, who received a reward for each mutineer whom they killed; and at last, of the whole number that left Chittagong, only three or four escaped death or capture.