How ironic that the SPELLING of the starting point of Revolt of 1857 remains unchanged! ITAWA (the way it is spelled in HINDI) was misspelled by the British as Etawah as was its peculiar spelling of Munghyr (Munger in Bihar) and Cawnpore (today’s Kanpur). Unfortunately no one cared about this small town from where the Sepoy Mutiny started and turned into India’s first war of independence. To show my respect for the place and as a humble tribute to it, I will spell it ‘correctly’ throughout my article and write ITAWA and not the silly ETAWAH.
In this historically challenged country, one doubts anyone has ever heard of this rather backward town in UP. Ask a young man who lives in the metro or even his dad/mom, anything about ITAWA and they will give you a blank stare as if ‘Ye aap kya poochh rahe hain’. (What the hell are you asking?). Such is the ignorance because the author of this article recently asked a 23-year-old girl in Delhi if she heard the name of Mangal Pandey (the first hero of the 1857 Revolt who was hanged by the British on April 8, 1857). ? Her nonchalant response made me shudder: Mangal Panday, kaun? (Who was Mangal Pandey?)
ITAWA is in the vicinity of Eta (again misspelled by the English as Etah). Eta (the correct spelling), Mainpuri and ITAWA are quasi-cluster cities and are known to modern India as the Dacoit-Belt. Again a degenerate irony.
The ITAWA fundraiser during the Revolt of 1857 was AO Hume, who later became the founder and director of the Congress in 1885. Hume loved India and its people. As a collector of ITAWA, Hume wrote to the head of the East India Company, Sir Christopher Collins, in Calcutta (not ‘Kolkata’ to me; we can change the names of the big cities because those names were given by the British, but we can’t change them). spelling and name from ETWAH to ITAWA) than the oppressive rule of the East India Company and due to its corrupt officers, a revolt by the Indians was on the anvil. And that happened. Hume was a humanitarian British officer who was sympathetic to the poor Indians and called for Mangal Pandey’s life to be spared. However, he was hanged (publicly) to deter other Indians.
ITAWA is famous for its Lion Safari. It is the home of the Asiatic lions (originating from Gir, Gujarat). The lions roam while the visitors move freely in caged pathways. The National Chambal Sanctuary is also here. The Agra-ITAWA Cycle Highway (207 km long) is the first cycle highway in Asia. It is a unique project of its kind.
ITAWA has moderately good schools and colleges, but nothing extraordinary. There are not very good hotels and restaurants here. But there are reasonably good hostels in ITAWA and roadside restaurants offer tolerably good meals. The city needs a huge renovation to become a renowned city.
Years ago, Indian President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad suggested that ITAWA should have a museum dedicated to the 1857 revolt. The remains of that important event have not been properly preserved.
I have been to ITAWA (PIN Code 206001) and felt nostalgic. In a way, I could relate to the place since I’ve always been a big student of history, esp. modern history of India from 1857 to the date of shady politics.
Visit this place and don’t forget to pay homage to those anonymous revolutionaries who gave their lives for us:
when you go home
tell them with pity
that we have given our today
For your tomorrow.
Always remember this if you ever go to ITAWA.
