Turrebaz Khan

Turrebaz Khan was a Rohilla jamadar (captain of a band of armed retainers) in Hyderabad.¹ On 17 July 1857 he and Maulvi Allauddin led an armed crowd against the British Residency.² The attack failed within a night.³ He was later caught, sentenced, and killed after escaping from jail in 1859.⁴

Almost all that is known of him comes from one book, The Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad.⁵ A committee of the Hyderabad State government compiled it in 1956.⁵ It prints the Resident’s letters, the Nizam’s government’s papers and the statements taken from the prisoners.¹⁶

The attack on the Residency, 17 July 1857

In 1857 Indian soldiers at Aurangabad mutinied.⁵ Thirteen of them, under Jamadar Cheeda Khan, fled to Hyderabad.⁵ The Nizam’s minister, Salar Jung, had them arrested and handed to the British Resident.⁵ This caused a stir in the city.⁵

On 17 July a large crowd met at the Mecca Masjid.⁵ After angry speeches, it decided to send four maulvis (Muslim religious teachers) to the Nizam to ask for the prisoners’ release.⁵ Failing that, it would attack the Residency.⁵

That evening Salar Jung warned the Resident that about 500 Rohillas had broken out of the city.² They were led by Maulvi Allauddin and Turrebaz Khan.² The attackers battered the Residency gates and occupied two bankers’ houses facing its western wall.²³ The guns of the Madras Horse Artillery opened fire, and the firing went on through the night.³¹

Before dawn the attackers slipped away from the houses, back into the city.³ The Resident believed that the Nizam’s Arab guards had let them escape.⁷ He reported to Calcutta that Turrebaz Khan had led the attack.¹⁸

Capture and trial

The Nizam’s government confiscated the property of Turrebaz Khan and Allauddin.⁹ It offered a reward of Rs. 4,000 for their arrest.¹⁰ Turrebaz Khan fled the city on horseback and reached Mogulgidda.¹¹

In his statement he said that a landholder’s men fired on him in the jungle.¹¹ He was hit in the thigh and above the knee, and his horse was killed.¹¹ The Resident wrote on 23 July 1857 that he was in the minister’s custody.⁸ He thought the wounds might prove fatal.⁸

Turrebaz Khan was the son of Rustum Khan.⁶ Questioned by the Nizam’s officers, he said he had joined the crowd on his own.⁶ He said he had followed a religious flag carried past his door.⁶ He also said he did not know the name of the maulvi who was with them.⁶

The Hyderabad court sentenced him to transportation for life (exile to a penal settlement).¹² The Resident told the Government of India that the sentence was too light.¹² The Governor-General did not change it.¹²

Escape and death, 1859

On 18 January 1859 Turrebaz Khan escaped from jail while waiting to be sent away.¹²⁴ Two sentries helped him and fled with him.⁴ A proclamation of 19 January offered Rs. 5,000 for his capture.⁴

Within a week a party led by Kurban Ali found his hiding place.⁴ According to Kurban Ali’s report of 24 January, Turrebaz Khan and his companions drew their swords.⁴ The party fired, and Turrebaz Khan and one companion were killed.⁴ His body was brought to Hyderabad and hung in chains in a public place.⁴

Where the sources disagree

The documents printed in the book do not agree on several points:

• The hour of the attack. The Resident’s report of 18 July says the attack began at 4 o’clock.¹ Salar Jung’s warning reached him at a quarter to six, and a newspaper letter puts the breaking of the gates at about half past six.²¹³
• Who led. The Resident called Turrebaz Khan the leader of the attack.⁸ Allauddin said in court that Turrebaz Khan joined the crowd on the way, at Begum Bazar.¹² Turrebaz Khan said he simply followed the crowd.⁶
• The size of the crowd. Salar Jung’s message spoke of about 500 Rohillas.² Turrebaz Khan told his questioners that there were two or three thousand people.¹⁴ A. Claude Campbell (1898) writes of about 500 Afghans joined by a crowd of several thousands.¹⁵

Footnotes

1. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 53, the Resident’s report of 18 July 1857 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 51 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 52 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 83 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

5. The Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 50 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

6. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 76, statement of Turrebaz Khan (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

7. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), pp. 57–58 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

8. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 56, the Resident’s report of 23 July 1857 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

9. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 63 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

10. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 69 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

11. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 77 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

12. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), pp. 81–82 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

13. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), pp. 60–61, a letter printed in the Englishman of 1 August 1857 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

14. Freedom Struggle in Hyderabad, Vol. II (1956), p. 78 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

15. A. Claude Campbell, Glimpses of the Nizam’s Dominions (1898), pp. 38–39 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩