Who was this Taram Khan?

There is a common proverb that says ‘Bade Taram Khan Bane Phirte Ho or which Taram Khan are you?’

Most of us have heard this famous Urdu idiom, but perhaps we don’t know who Taram Khan was and how his character finally became immortalized in the idiom.

The exploration of this idiom takes us to the War of Independence of 1857 where the Nawab of the Deccan State of Hyderabad, known as the ‘Nizam Deccan’, is an ally of the British and their grip is so strong that no one can think of rebellion.

But when the slogans of the freedom movement against the British reach the streets of India, its echoes also affect the walls of the Nizam Hyderabad. Here Baz Khan, an ordinary soldier of Begum Bazar, not only leads the rebels, but there is a time when he takes six thousand protestors and attacks the British Residency in Hyderabad. First of all, let’s talk about the name.

Torah or Torah means sword in Pashto, thus Torah Baz means sword wielder or swordsman. It was Torebaaz/Torebaaz, who became a trumpeter, then disguised as Taram Khan and became a folk hero. How it all happened and how an anonymous soldier became a legendary figure is a story as strange as it is fascinating.

When the flames of the war of independence reached Hyderabad from Meerut, the walls of mosques, temples, gurdwaras and churches of Hyderabad were decorated with advertisements, which not only read slogans in favor of rebellion against the British but also demanded That the system also participates in this war.

Although Nizam Afzal-ud-Daula along with his comrades, warlords, nobles and chieftains had declared their support for the British, but still the people of the state created a story in this war which destroyed the hearth of the Nizam along with the British. Stir well.

The Nizam of the Deccan had entered into an alliance with the East India Company as early as 1800, which concerned the inhabitants of the state from the very beginning. When the flames of the War of Independence flared up in 1857, resistance also started against the British officers in the Nizam’s army. A regiment of the Nizam’s army was ordered to go from Baldhana to Delhi to crush the rebellion, but Jamadar Chheda Khan refused because Jamadar Chheda Khan did not really want him to support the British against the Mughals in crushing the mutiny. .

Chheeda Khan along with 15 other companions reached Hyderabad to convince the Nizam not to join the war but as soon as he reached Hyderabad he was arrested by the Nizam’s minister Mir Tarab Ali Khan and brought before the British representative who imprisoned him and his companions in his own room.

When this news spread, people hated Tawangreez. On this occasion, Tarebaz Khan, taking the leadership of the rebels, marched with five thousand of his companions in Begum Bazar, where Jamadar Chhida Khan and his companions were imprisoned.

On this occasion, Maulvi Ullahuddin also came to the support of Baz Khan along with his colleagues, but the Nizam’s minister Mir Tarab Ali Khan had already informed the British Major Cuthbert Davidson about the attack of the rebels, due to which the British took countermeasures. Was prepared.

Tarebaz Khan and Maulviullahuddin’s companions pulled down the wall of the British Residency and broke the door and entered. As soon as they entered, a two-sided battle broke out, but Tare Khan’s companions had light weapons that were ineffective against the British-trained Madras Artillery soldiers. Still, all night the shots continued and the contest continued.

Finally, at four o’clock in the morning, the rebels retreated but had to suffer heavy casualties. Tarebaz Khan fled with the intention of attacking again with a larger force.

On July 22, Turab Ali Khan received news that Tarebaz Khan was once again preparing to attack the British Residency. He issued an order to arrest Tarebaz Khan at all costs. Tarebaz Khan had disguised himself and hid himself.

Unfortunately, Tarebaz Khan had a birthmark that was a mole near his eye, which led the Nizam’s scouts to track him down in the forests near Ashwarkhana.

He was tried in Hyderabad court. During this time, he was asked about the whereabouts of Maulvi Allahuddin and other rebels and was given various difficulties for not telling, but Tarebaz Khan did not divulge any secrets. He was punished and ordered to be banished to the Andiman Islands (black water) for life.

But before he was sent to black water, he managed to escape from the jail on 18 January 1857. On hearing this news, the British administration became agitated, they announced a reward of five thousand for arresting Tarebaz Khan alive or dead.

Nizam’s troops spread everywhere. Finally, on January 24, a military force led by Talukdar Mirza Qurban Ali Beg found and killed Tarebaz Khan in the forest of Topran.

His body was brought to the city and stripped and hanged from a tree in front of the British Residency. Thus the story of Tarebaz Khan son of Rustam Khan of Begum Bazar came to an end, but he left behind him an example of courage and bravery that lives on in the pages of history as a proverb even today.

Regarding the suppression of the rebellion in Hyderabad, the British Governor of Bombay wrote to the Governor General that ‘if the Nizam had not helped, the British would have been defeated in the southern states.’

94 soldiers were killed in suppressing Tarebaz Khan’s rebellion in Hyderabad. For killing Tarebaz Khan, Talukdar Mirza Qurban Ali was rewarded with five thousand rupees and his salary increased by two hundred rupees, while he was promoted to Sadar Talukdar.

The Nizam was honored with the ‘Star of India’ while over 50 lakhs dues to the state were waived off. The system was empowered to issue its own coinage. Mir Tarab Ali was awarded the honor of Salar Jang.

Today there is neither the system nor its state, but Tarebaz Khan’s name has been immortalized in Urdu by first becoming Tare Khan and then Taram Khan.

In Hyderabad, where the British had their residence, there is also a memorial to Tarebaz Khan and other freedom martyrs.