The Siege Of Bhopal, 1812-13

The Marhattas were furious at Wazir’s presumptuous counter-attack. Accordingly Gwalior and Nagpur jointly resolved to defeat Wazir and carve up the state of Bhopal among themselves. Wazir sought Bhopal’s salvation in British support, sent numerous messages to the Governer-General and to British army commanders soliciting a treaty of friendship. The British were initially inclined to respond to Wazir’s entreaties but drew back from committing their support, partly because they did not entirely trust Wazir and partly because they hoped to neutralize the Marhattas by compromise. When Gwalior and Nagpur armies, numbering 82,000, converged on Bhopal on 15 October 1812, Wazir stood virtually alone. He could muster up only 11,000 able bodied fighters made up of Bhopal’s Pathan army, Rajput allies, Sikh mercenaries and Pindari fighters from neighboring Tonk. Wazir ordered the closure of the gates to the Fatahgarh fort with the entire population of Bhopal sheltered within. The siege endured for nine months (six months according to some chroniclers), with life inside the fort becoming desperate. Almost everyday the Marhattas would attempt entry by storming the gates or stealthily throwing rope ladders over the walls at night to scale the walls of the fortress. Day and night, the men and women of Bhopal resisted these efforts by pouring boiling water on the attackers and meeting them with a barrage of rocks and stones. Women, often dressed up as men, would appear on the ramparts to mislead the besieging force into believing that more men than was actually the case defended the fort.

A few weeks into the siege, Wazir’s allies, the Rajput, sikh and some Pindari forces decided to quit and withdraw from the fort. The Bhopal forces were now reduced to 6000. Later still, hunger, deprivation and hardship led to Ghou’s resistance giving in. Wazir negotiated a safe passage for this idle and worthless ruler to occupy a house outside Bhopal where he resided accompanied by his retinue of eunuchs and courtesans. Surprisingly, Ghous’s first wife Zeenat and her eldest daughter Gohar Ara (later day -Qudsia) did not accompany him and bravely decided to stay on in the fort to rally their people in resisting the siege.