Dear reader, have you ever heard of Sardhana? It is a dusty small north Indian town, about 80-and-odd kilometres from Delhi in the Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh. But if you are ever in that part of the country, you will find a church there, incidentally the largest in entire northern India.
Formally titled as The Basilica of Our Lady of Graces, the monument is a beautiful structure. But the story it tells is one even more wondrous – almost out of the pages of a romantic thriller.
Front facade of the Basilica of Our Lady of Graces Wikimedia Commons
It was the middle of the 18th century. The Mughal empire was on its last legs. Lawlessness prevailed all over the land. It also invited fortune hunters from Europe who were ever eager to offer their services to Indian warlords. One such was Walter Reinhardt Sombre from Austria who arrived in India and joined the French forces. Sometime later, in 1760, Sombre offered his services to Mir Qasim, the ruler of Bengal. Mir Qasim, frustrated at being a puppet in the hands of his British overlords, took this chance to break his shackles. Sombre and his band led the brutal massacre of 150 Englishmen as Qasim reoccupied Patna.
With the British now baying for his blood, Sombre fled to Oudh to continue his quest for riches.
1765: Sombre walked into a kotha (brothel) in Delhi’s Chauri Bazaar area to get some pleasure. It was here he met a 15-year-old Kashmiri girl. No one today knows what she was born as – in the establishment she was known as Farzana. Sombre who was then close to 50 was completely bowled over and soon Farzana was part of the Austrian’s zenana. Although having no formal education, Farzana was extremely sharp and had a great gift of the gab. This combined with her very obvious sexual appeal turned her into a wonderful accomplice for the fortune-seeking Austrian.
Walter Sombre was about to get a major boost in his career. In the coming days, he allied with the Jat rulers of Deeg who were then in possession of Agra. In 1773, the Jats lost to the Mughal forces led by Najaf Khan. However, the bravery of Sombre and his men in the battlefield impressed the Mughal commander who recruited the Austrian and his merry band into his own army.
This was just the opportunity Farzana Begum needed. Using her aforementioned skills, she quickly ensured her husband became influential in the Mughal court proceedings. It was solely because of his wife that Sombre escaped being handed over to the British who had still not forgiven him for the Patna butchery. In fact, the couple were soon rewarded with the jagir (over-lordship) of Sardhana with a royal decree from the emperor Shah Alam in 1776. Just two years later though, Sombre breathed his last.
Begum Samru’s household Wikimedia Commons
Over years, Sombre’s surname got Indianised into ‘Samru’. Thus it was that his widow got the title of Begum Samru. As per customs of the time, Sombre’s first born Zafaryab – from his first marriage was to take over as the ruler of Sardhana. But Begum Samru would have none of it. She had the loyalty of Sombre’s army. And using her influence in the Mughal court to great effect, she ascended the throne herself.
The next few years were fascinating to say the least. Begum Samru was the commander of an army of 4000 – which included 100-odd Europeans as well. She held regular court, wore attire like Mughal royal men and smoked a hookah. For reasons best known to her, she converted to Catholicism in 1781 assuming the name Joanna, although she maintained her attires as per Mughal styles. And she was not an ornamental ruler either. She led her men into battles, winning most of them, several times protecting Shah Alam from defeat and humiliation. The most telling occasion was the siege of Red Fort by the Rohilla chief Abdul Qadir.
The ruthless Rohilla tortured the royal family and blinded the emperor with red hot iron rods. Begum Samru’s arrived with her artillery to the rescue and Qadir had no choice but to concede defeat. A grateful Mughal emperor bestowed upon her the title ‘Zebunnisa’ (ornament among women). At another time, she displayed her great tactical acumen in reaching peaceful solution. In 1783, when Baghel Singh occupied Delhi and camped with 30,000 Sikh soldiers (lending the area its name – Tees Hazari), Begum started negotiations on behalf of Shah Alam and convinced Baghel Singh to leave in return of the right to build 8 gurudwaras in Delhi and a part of taxes for the year.
Section of an illustration of Begum Samru and her army (painted 1805–26) Wikimedia Commons
Through all these affairs, Begum Samru showed tremendous tactical nous. Yet, it is said that love is one emotion which makes even the best to forget all rationality. Soon, Cupid’s arrows were to strike the Begum. George Thomas, an Irish dock-worker turned mercenary joined Begum’s forces in 1787. Soon Thomas, renowned for his ferocious fighting skill, became the force commander. It was not long before he started enjoying the affection of his monarch.
Together, Begum and the Irishman, known as Jahazi Sahab due to his shipping antecedents, formed a supremely successful partnership. Sardhana prospered as income from the estate grew by leaps and bounds. The Begum commandeered absolute loyalty from her army as well as her subjects. In the early years of 19th century she started construction of the church which was completed in 1820 and was opened for the public in 1822.
However, there was soon to be trouble in paradise. It started with the arrival on the stage of Armand Levassoult, a charismatic Frenchman who soon had the Begum, by then 40 years of age, madly in love with him. Very shortly, the couple secretly married. This infuriated George Thomas who left Sardhana and joined a group of Maratha brigands. But Thomas was not done. Using his connect with the Sardhana army, the vengeful Irishman instigated a mutiny as the previously loyal forces now wanted to place Sombre’s dispossessed son Zafaryab on the throne of Sardhana.
Inscription on the grave of Begum Samru inside the Basilica of Our Lady of Graces Wikimedia Commons
Begum Samru and Levassoult narrowly escaped from Sardhana chased by the soldiers. While on the run, the lovers made a pact to live and die together. As the chasing soldiers caught up with them, the Begum stabbed herself. A grief-stricken Levassault followed suit with his gun. The Begum though wasn’t dead. The soldiers dragged her bloodied form out of her palanquin and tied her to a cannon, to be blown away.
However, this amazing woman’s story was set for yet another twist. George Thomas marched in and saved the woman he had served for many years. Like the proverbial phoenix, Samru rose again, taking back her throne after putting her step-son under house arrest. George Thomas married a young Indian girl and was made the Raja of Hansi, near Hissar. After Thomas’ death, Begum Samru looked after his family.
By now British supremacy over India was nearing absolute point. The Wellesley brothers, after defeating Tipu Sultan, took on the Marathas in the battle of Assaye. As part of her deal with the Mughals, Begum sent a force to help the Marathas. However, the British would secure a famous victory and were soon baying for Sardhana. They hadn’t forgotten the massacre in Patna and wanted to get level with Sombre’s widow.
However, once again the Begum’s personal charm won the day for her. She negotiated the release of a British held hostage by the Sikhs, thus leading the Englishmen to admit grudgingly that she could a hugely useful ally. Half of her army was lent out to the British thus ending her mercenary status. For the next three decades, she turned her attention to her jagir, ensuring well-being of its citizens. This remarkable woman breathed her last in 1836, at the age of 90 and was buried at the church she built.
If you ever get the chance, do visit this wonderful monument. On the left of the altar, you will see an 18-foot marble structure of this remarkable woman. One, who rose to immense highs from the depths of penury, by her sheer will and force of character.
