26. Massacre of Jhansi

The English entered the city, and started shooting all the men at sight. Halwai Pura was set on fire; the killings began. The men between the ages of five and eighty began to be smoked out and killed. Some warriors of the Queen army returned downtown, found barber and shaved off beards, whiskers, etc, to take on non-soldier like guise. Those who could not find a barber, shaved themselves. Some disguised themselves as monks. Thousands of Englishmen entered the city from all directions and killed left, right and centre. The chaos could not be imagined. Bhide family kept a small park in central Jhansi. Around 20,000 men and women gathered there. When the English soldiers arrived to kill, those inside lay prostrate before them, and pleaded: we are subjects/civilians. There is no warrior among us, spare our lives. The English took pity on them, and left after putting guard at the entrance to the compound.

The invaders went from house to house. Men in the house would be beaten up, tortured, until they revealed the hidden money. If anything was found, the men would be spared. But then another gang of Englishmen would land, and killed the men of the house upon not finding anything to loot.

But the English didn't kill the women. Yet, some ladies from good families thought the enemy would convert/rape them: they jumped into backyard wells and killed themselves. In some houses women stood between their husbands and the barrel of enemy's gun; and were shot. The men, nevertheless, would be shot after the wife fell dead.

However, the English didn't kill women intentionally. Keeping a distance, they would ask the ladies to remove jewellery, and would ransack the house.  Walls would be tapped with sticks; sometimes a part would be broken, to find a hidden pitcher of money. Floors too were dug up.

Thirsty animals -- horses, elephants, camels, dogs -- roamed the streets, crying out.