Family Chronicles

A few months before the first war of Indian Independence or what the British call the Sepoy Mutiny broke out in 1857,red lotus flowers began to appear at garrisons where soldiers were stationed.

The Tope family retells history with a book on Maratha warrior Tatya Tope and the events of 1857

A few months before the first war of Indian Independence or what the British call the Sepoy Mutiny broke out in 1857,red lotus flowers began to appear at garrisons where soldiers were stationed. A stunning flower,it was not entirely innocent: within its folds it carried a secret message,one that mobilised scattered soldiers to come together and fight a single common enemy,the British. Simlutaneously,in villages,chapatis were being delivered and passed on,with a similar message. The man behind the flowers,chapatis and their message was none other than Tatya Tope,Maratha warrior and one of the finest strategists of the first significant uprising against the British. A few weeks before his 151st death anniversary on April 18,his descendants have collectively brought out a book,Tatya Tope’s Operation Red Lotus (Rupa,Rs 595) that explores the events leading upto the war of 1857 and the outcome of it.

A special gathering in April 2007,in Shivpuri,Madhya Pradesh to observe the 150th anniversary of 1857 uprising brought together the members of the extended Tope family,from places as far flung as San Diego,California. “My sister Rupa read about India’s plans to observe the 1857 sesquicentenary. There were many books being planned for the occasion,and she wondered if it was going to be be a rehash of the same old story. She called me and told me to put my pen where my mind and passions are and that the family will help with the research,” says Parag Tope,the author of the book and the great grand nephew of the warrior.

The family felt that it was time to assert their right to retell history and delve into the actual events in 1857,and not simply accept a prejudiced account of history handed down by British historians. 43-year-old Parag was helped by brother and medical practitioner Dr Rajesh Tope,sister Rupa,who has a degree in Psychology,sister-in-law Nandita who is a software engineer,Rupa’s husband Dhananjay who is a teacher at the Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai and the family patriarch Prabhakar Tope,who at 85 years,spent hours in the library poring over maps.

It was no mean task,but their non-historian backgrounds strangely helped. “We were free from the pressures academicians sometimes feel for the “need to conform,” says Parag.

Their efforts for the past three years has finally paid off the book is an exhaustive look at the planning of the war,including logistical details and contains hundreds of unpublished letters written in Urdu to Tatya Tope during the war,with maps that provide a ‘ring-side’ view to battles that took place so long ago. It could also have been made into a movie,Parag jests. “I still think there are sections of the book that could be adapted into a great screenplay,” he says. Is Bollywood listening?

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