Twenty days later, the Governor General convened a meeting of all the princes and grandees in the land. Scindias, Holkars, Gaikwars, Prince of Datia, etc were invited. But Nana-Saheb Peshwa, the Queen of Jhansi and Phirozshah of Delhi weren't among them.
So all these men landed in Calcutta, which is a very big city. The Governor General received them duly at the assembly. Then he read out an 84-articled bill of new laws, and said, you would have to accept these. It's a fiat from England. One of the new rules was that Hindus and Mussalmans should be free to convert. For instance: suppose there is a family of four brothers, who have inherited ancestral house. If one of them becomes a Mussalman, he should still get his share of the property, he may very well continue to live under the same roof.
This stunned those present. Hindus thought: several eons must pass before the era of Kali ends, but (by virtue of this new law) religion would be certainly lost. There would be no distinction between a caste and a caste.
The Sahib who had come from England said: You must accept the new cartridges. If not, dissenting soldiers would be transferred to Kabul or Karachi. There would be a punishment for insubordination.
The prince of Ban-pur, who was present, said: Hindustan is the holy land of Hindus. If the God of Hindus has decided to forsake them, then they must follow Sahib's order. But otherwise, the consequence is anybody's guess. If the Sovereign issues anti-religion diktat, people won't obey.
Then a Mussalman Nabob spoke. He spoke well, saying: This is a holy land where both Hindus and Mussalmans live. If the Emperor undermines the religion, he won't last. When the Muslim Emperor of Delhi tried to wreck Hinduism, he lost his throne. We have seen that.
Then the Sahib from England said: Let's put the new law aside, but cartridges must be accepted.
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