By Far the Best Soldier among the Rebels

 Saiyid Ahmad Ali Khan, better known in mutiny history as the Moulvi /Maulvi of Fyzabad, and by his Sufi title, Ahmadullah Shah, had been stirring up sentiments in India well before the start of the mutiny. As far back as November 1856, following the annexation of Oudh, his visit was even noted by the local newspaper on the 21st,
“These days, a person called Ahmadullah Shah in disguise of a faqir but having all the paraphernalia of royalty, has arrived in the town… People … visit him in a large number on Mondays and Thursdays to take part in mystic gatherings (majlis-i hal-o-qal). A number of feats are performed at these gatherings…Such display takes place every morning and evening for the masses.”
As the author of a pamphlet, entitled “Fateh Islam,” there was no doubting that his goals were quite in keeping with his religion – Jihad against the British and how to achieve it. Before the mutiny began, his presence was noted in Gwalior and Agra (the authorities were having none of his antics and tried to arrest him, but he promptly decamped and moved to Patna). In February 1857, he was in Fyzabad, where he had once had a substantial estate; however, the annexation of Oudh had deprived him of it. The mutiny at Fyzabad coincided with the Moulvi’s release from prison, and from here, it can be said that his rise as one of the best leaders of the Indian Mutiny began. Amassing an army of mutinous sepoys, local levies given to the cause by supportive estate owners, and anyone who would follow him, he later added to his ranks fanatical Ghazis and a variety of mercenaries. He stirred up trouble in Patna in June, and having escaped the clutches of William Tytler, he sped off back to Oudh, to take part in the Battle of Chinhat, which precipitated the Siege of Lucknow. Over the next months, the Moulvi would continue putting in appearances, gaining followers and gathering momentum for his cause; by April 1858, the British were so fed up with the man that they put a price on his head:

“It is hereby notified that a reward of Rs. 50,000 will be paid to any person who shall deliver alive, at any British Military post or camp, the rebel Moulvee Ahmed Molah Shah, commonly called “the Moulvee”. It is further notified that, in addition to this reward, a free pardon will be given to any mutineer or deserter, or to any rebel, other than those named in the Government Proclamation No. 476 of the 1st instant, who may so deliver up the said Moulvee”.

However, as popular as the Moulvi was in certain camps, he was also falling out with others, namely Hazrat Mahal and her court in Lucknow. He had made some outrageous claims to the very throne of Lucknow, and from being a well-respected leader of men, he was rapidly becoming the most distrusted and despised man at court. Begum Hazrat Mahal and the Moulvi would part ways after Lucknow was retaken by the British in March 1858 – she to continue her struggle in her way, and the Maulvi in his, and his aim was Rohilkhand.

In Rohilkhand, he still had favours and followers; his prowess in battle was well noted by the British, who could not help but have a sneaking admiration for the man. Colonel Thomas Seaton would describe him as, “A man of great abilities, of undaunted courage, of stern determination, and by far, the best soldier among the rebels.” As the only man to thwart Sir Colin Campbell, he was certainly considered a worthy enemy. His army, though scattered, was scattered deliberately – he could thus cause consternation on multiple fields, keeping the British marching under the blazing sun for hundreds of miles, engage in short, sharp fights and then disappear. While his men may not have killed the British in vast numbers on the battlefield, he ensured their prolonged exposure to the sun would make up for it.

Indeed, this star of the Indian rebellion, a man whose name was enough to have the British jump to attention and scramble for their guns, should have gone on to the end of the struggle, paving the way for further rebellions, a prolonged war and perhaps even some success. The British would never manage to catch the Moulvi of Fyzabad, but their proclamation for his head worked nevertheless. As Taylor was busy writing his report about the mediocre affair at Shahabad, the Moulvi was rampaging in Pali, a town which he not only sacked but burned to the ground. While this might have been a great show of force, it did not garner much loyalty to his cause, and by June 1858, following Canning’s Oudh Proclamation, any raja, zamindar, talukdar or landowner who was still harbouring ideas of rebellion but had done nothing yet, was reassessing his motivations. One of these was Raja Jagannath Singh of Powayan. In the early days of the mutiny, following the uprising at Shajahanpore, the Raja had acted questionably – while he did not molest the fugitives escaping from that station, he also did not offer them shelter or openly support their flight. Granted, he could have murdered them all; instead, he simply let them go to meet their fates elsewhere. While later, it would be noted he did provide succour to some who managed to find their way into his territories, the Raja was very careful to not fall foul of either the British nor the rebels.
The Oudh Proclamation, however, seems to have changed his mind about many things. His refusal back in June 1857 to shelter the Shajahanpore fugitives could be misconstrued as a blatant affirmation of the rebel cause. Although he had never taken up arms against the British and had done his best to mind his own business, it would certainly not do, now that he had weathered an entire year of storms, to throw in his lot with the Maulvi of Fyzabad. The Moulvi was indeed looking for more supporters, and he set his sights on the Raja of Powayan. On 5 June 1858, he was standing at the Raja’s gates.
It is not exactly clear how the Moulvi met his fate: some say the Raja invited him to the fort; others say he arrived unannounced, but quite regardless of the case, the Moulvi was there, at his gate, mounted on an elephant when the Raja ordered a cannon to open fire. The Maulvi was toppled from his mount, and his body was dragged into the courtyard. It is believed he was still alive, although the fall must have taken its toll. The Raja’s brother took it on himself to behead the Moulvi – “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.” (Malleson) To prove he had indeed captured the Maulvi, the Raja ordered the head wrapped in a cloth and stuffed in a basket – he then made arrangements to travel to Shajahanpore to present it to the magistrate himself and claim the reward.
For Mr Gilbert Pocklington Money, it must have been something of a shock. Seated at luncheon with several friends, he was surprised to behold the Raja of Powayan, stately and composed, dismounting from an elephant, surrounded as was the custom by numerous retainers and a considerable levy of matchlock men. Before Money could react, the Raja came up to the luncheon table; he removed the head from the basket, and, still wrapped in a blood-soaked cloth, placed it squarely on the table, in front of Mr Money. Needless to say, the grisly remains were positively identified as the head of the Moulvi of Fyzabad, and the Raja received his reward. To serve as a warning, the bloodied relic was hanged at the kotwal in the middle of Shahjahanpore to serve as a gruesome warning to anyone who was still toying with the idea of rebellion. So ended the life and times of the Moulvi of Fyzabad.

The Rohilkhand Campaign ended on 5 June 1858. The Shajahanpore Field Force was broken up, and Sir Colin Campbell now settled himself for further war. With the fall of Kalpi, he transferred command of the Central India Force to Robert Napier, but before Napier could take up the reins officially, Sir Hugh Rose was marching to Gwalior. While the rains would now bring a lull in operations, there was still much to do, and Sir Colin Campbell still had many plans to make.


^{Sources:
Behan, T.L. — Bulletins and Other State Intelligence for the Year 1858, Part III (Harrison & Sons, London Gazette Office, 1860)
Forrest, G. W. — A History of the Indian Mutiny, Vol III (London: William Blackwood & Sons, 1912)
Gordon-Alexander, Lieut. Col. W. — Recollections of a Highland Subaltern (London: Edward Arnold, 1898)
Jocelyn, Col. Julian R.J.— The History of the Royal and Indian Artillery in the Mutiny of 1857 (London: John Murray, 1915)
Malleson, Col. G.B. — History of the Indian Mutiny, Vol. II (London: William H. Allen & Co., 1879)
Russell, William Howard — My Diary in India, Vol. II (London: Routledge, Warne & Routledge, 1860)}

^{https://web.archive.org/web/20180131045147/http://indianmuslimlegends.blogspot.in/2011/03/75-maulvi-ahmad-ullah-shah.html
https://www.milligazette.com/news/Family-Kids/14955-maulvi-ahmadullah-shah-faizabadi-the-unsung-hero-of-the-revolt-of-1857/}