File:Appeal to the Brahmins and Rajputs of Aauadh (Urdu text poster) Art.IWMPST12575.jpg

whole: the title is positioned across the top in black, with a large body of text covering the remainder, also in black.

All are set against a plain white background. image: text only. text: [all text in Urdu.] [An extract from the Bhagwat Gita (Hindu Scriptures) Lord Krishna in the war field of Maha Bharata (Famous Sanskrit Epic) said to Arjun, who was hesitant to take part in the war fearing bloodshed of his dear ones, “In view of your duty you should not lose courage to fight because there is no better a thing for a Chattri (Warrior) to fight for truth (a just cause). Lucky are those Chattris (Warriors) who get a chance to fight for such a cause naturally, which opens the door of paradise for them. But if you refrain from participating in such a war for the cause of truth you will be failing to do your duty and earn a good name for yourself. Thus you will be committing a sin. Apart from that, the entire mankind will not remember you in good words and it is worse than death for such a person who had commanded respect. Brave people will think that the fear of death has stopped you from going to the war and because they considered it a very honourable thing you will be looked down upon by them. Your enemies will laugh at your strength and say many insulting things which should not be said about you. What could be a more regrettable thing than this. You will go to heaven if you die and if you succeed then all pleasures of the earth are there for you”. O Pundit Ji! O Maharaj Ji! Do you know why we call you Maharaj? Maha means big, that is the one who is superior to the Rajah (a ruler). Why are you considered to be superior to the ruler (the Rajah)? Because you were the source of knowledge and civilization, God’s greatest blessings. In olden times the ancient sages entrusted the job of ruling the country and upholding the cause of justice and truth with their swordsmanship to the Rajputs because they knew that without the power of sword it was impossible to govern the people. Brahmins: duty as fountainhead of knowledge and civilization was to advise and guide them; because the power of God’s commandments and its knowledge was and would always be stronger than the power of sword. Nothing could happen without your will. At rituals of pleasure your word was equal to law. The armies could not move towards battlefield without your orders, so much so that brave and grand kings could not have been crowned without your approval. And O Rajputs, descendents of the great kings and chiefs of India whose deeds of bravery and courage are recorded on the pages of history for ever, which will remain a great source of pride for us Indians. Not only Indians, but also the entire humanity will learn from your courage and bravery. Do you realize the great legacy of traditions of your past? So, O Pundits and Thakkurs (village chiefs) do you have any knowledge of what is happening around you? I will remind you of these things briefly. Four years ago a self-proclaimed European nation called the Germans declared war against your very kind government, ignoring all moral and divine laws. You are all well aware of all those royal favours which your caring government has extended to you. At a time when we were fighting among ourselves it brought peace and security, and when it was impossible to trade peacefully and businesses were being destroyed and their survival was dependent one the mercy of dishonest and corrupt officials, your government opened the doors of peace and affluence on us. In short as in an old proverb, the tiger and the goat drank side by side. Four years of ferocious wars have rocked the world. All civilized states of the world are with your government, because your government is fighting for a just cause.. Now Listen! What do you know about who Germans are? You will understand better if I explain to you the truth by calling them similar to the historic devilish people (Rakshash) of Sangledip. You all know very well the reality about the barbarians of Sri Lanka, who under Ravan the great devil (Rakshash) invaded India and who, having created a river of blood and fire streaming from the South, marched direct into Auadh. Similarly, the Germans attacked peaceful countries. They carry fire and sword, murder children and women wherever they go, loot houses, desecrate Houses of God and burn them to the ground. In the beginning they attacked Belgium violating an agreement which their own government had signed and stamped taking responsibility of security of that country; because this agreement bore the signature of your government as well, it raised an objection to it. This was the reason why the war was declared against your government too, and the agreement was dismissed as a piece of rubbish. An agreement is an agreement and from times immemorial it has always been honoured. There is a Persian proverb that the words of men have a soul. Breaking an agreement is always considered as a disgraceful act. Tulsi Das in Ramayan (Hindu Epic) narrates: ”This is a tradition from eternity that life may go but not the given words.” A House of Worship belonging to any religion is considered sacred by everyone. Women, new born babies and very young children have always been considered by entire mankind as worthy of respect and mercy. What do you make of those people who intentionally destroyed Houses of Worship, raped women and stabbed suckling babes? Certainly you will say that these cannot be the acts of human beings that such acts could only be committed by devils, and in fact it is so. These devils (the Germans ) are spreading misery everywhere in the world relying on their devilish swords, ignoring all the divine laws and voice of human conscience. They want to conquer the whole world as Ravan wanted to conquer the whole of India. And indeed the truth is that he managed to abduct Maha Rani Sita, the symbol of purity for a few days. The moon was temporarily surrounded by thick black clouds. Goodness for a short while was imprisoned but at last truth, justice and goodness prevailed and always will. The darkness was shattered, the devils were killed and goodness shone as before. Similarly the German devils who initially did not let anybody stand in their way have now been stopped. They are in the grip of the iron hands of our government and the time is getting nearer when they will meet complete destruction as Ravan did. We Indians are proud that our government sent the Indian Army to France where they stopped these devil forces with their bravery and avenged the innocent victims of their barbarity. Whenever the history of this war is written, the deeds of the sons of India will become a memorable chapter. These barbarians have tested the taste of our steel for the first time but they will never forget it. Although they have been stopped and they are in a very bad condition, they have not accepted their defeat so far, and they will not accept it unless they are destroyed entirely. Our government has told them that it is a matter of days when their heads are totally crushed, and only then the world will be free of the miseries of war. They have also been told that if they abandon their devilish habits and start living like normal human beings they will be spared and allowed to live and continue; but as in the proverb, the rope is burnt but the knot on it remains; which means that while their advance in France is stopped and they are receiving defeat upon defeat, they think that our armies are scattered and our country is not in a position to defend itself, and they want to attack our countries like the robbers and thieves of Sri Lanka. Our government has warned us of this danger and has advised us that we should be prepared to stop them. Now the danger of the Ravans attacking us is not from the South but from the North. It is true that we 300 Million Indians under the orders of our government will make it impossible for them to destroy our houses. But we could be better prepared on advance warning. We should strengthen our defences against any possible surprise attack from these barbarians. Normally a group of rogues can gather a large number of associates for the purpose of robbing and looting, it is therefore our duty to get armed and protect our borders so that no robber or looter can enter our country. Without arming ourselves we cannot defend our land. Nobody dares facing an attacker unarmed. If there is somebody foolish enough to do that he will soon return with a smashed head. If armed, only five robbers can make 500 unarmed villagers run for their lives. Don’t you have this experience? Whenever a village is raided by robbers a few of them start shooting with their guns to threaten the people. Our villagers, however, eager to help their neighbours do not dare to come out of their houses. If they were as armed as the robbers or better than them they would face the robbers and kill them. The truth is that no robber would dare go near such a place (where people are armed) because they know they will be confronted with weapons. You may apply the same principle for your country. Once the Germans know that we are equally trained and armed they will not dare to attack our country. It is because you also know very well that a trained skilled clubber can defeat many untrained or unskilled clubbers. In addition, they won’t do so once they are convinced that our system is working well. Our forces conquered East Africa which was ruled by Germans. You ask them what they saw there. Germans treated the native coloured people like animals. If a coolie failed to do his job satisfactorily, his hands would be cut off even though it could be due to his illness. Imprisonment and caning for petty errors in daily routine work was very frequent. If any native ever displeases any official, and especially an army official, he will face capital punishment for it. Women were kept as mistresses without marriage and shunted out on the will of the master. There was no moral code whatsoever. On top of that women were publicly beaten. The sole objective of the Germans was to collect money for the German government without any consideration of public interest or benefit of the country. Fortunately due to the courage of your soldiers and good fortunes of your government, the East African country got rid of the German barbarians. They will not be ruling that country any more. The natives are very happy and satisfied, and have restarted their peaceful professions of farming and commerce. Now I ask you whether you have armed yourselves or whether you are prepared to arm yourselves according to the wishes of our Government to defend the country. Last year the government made a requisition of 20,000 people from Auadh. Only one third of this number was made available. In the days of Nababs and the Company Bahadhur Auadh was one of the best sources of excellent soldiers consisting of Rajputs and Brahmins. The Viceroy praised highly the province of Agra while comparing the numbers of recruits and said that our province had not done well. The Viceroy is right to say that we should be ashamed of it. This year 35000 recruits are needed from Auadh. Are the Rajputs and Brahmins joining the forces as is expected of them? No. Do you know that on request of the Landlords the government has very kindly ordered to form separate regiments from Auadh which will consists of Brahmins, Rajputs and Muslims? Two companies of Rajputs, one of Brahmins and one company of Muslims are currently being formed. The Rajput Depot is situated in Lucknow, and that of Brahmins in Sitapur, opposite the sacred temple of Nimisar and Misrakh. The central offices of these regiments would remain in Auadh so that the soldiers can be near their families and homes. Why this indifference? Have you lost your pride? Are you blinded to your own interests? Do you think that the Germans will treat you and your loved ones nicely and respectfully? Or you want to meet the fate of the East Africans? If they do not find you fully prepared they will mow you down. They will destroy your homes like they destroyed the homes of the Belgians. Do you think they would respect your womenfolk? Would their intoxicated armies not ruin your sacred temples? Have you shut your eyes on all these matters? Do you not care about the honour of your wives, sisters and daughters more than about your own lives? Would you not get armed and ready for the honour of your women and Teerath (the holy place of Hindu pilgrimage) in Ajodhia, if not for anything else? What happened to your glorious past? Is your bravery dead? Of course it is if you ignore your responsibility. It is your duty and a sacred one that you defend your country. This is the command of your religion and if you do not you will be considered worse than women. O Rajputs! Your women have done great deeds. Have you forgotten the times when Rajputs went to wars and their ladies bade them farewell with the advice not to show their backs to their enemies? If a husband died his wife would happily die with him on the pyre. In the case of husbands deserting, their wives would not let them come near. Do you remember that highly respected Devi Rani (Princess) of Chittorh would not allow her husband enter the palace because he had absconded from the battlefield? Certainly you are not that low so as to forget the great traditions. Do you realize who are joining the armies? They are the Passies and Gujjars (low castes). The world does not have mercy for anyone. The rule of Nature is that the fittest will survive. If these low castes got armed and became powerful, and indeed the people who work hard become powerful, imagine how you would feel like in your own village, if you have to salute a Passi Subedar Major, even though you are a Maharaj or a Thakkur (higher castes)? How would you like that? Ninety nine per cent cases of fighting in the courts are those where most of the parties consist of Brahmins and Thakkurs. They may be ring leaders or ordinary participants but generally remain involved in fighting and litigation on petty matters. They are wasting their ancestral land very fast. There is a fighting spirit in them which needs to be channelled properly. Army life will revive your old traditions of gallantry and greatness. You will also get material benefits from it. Litigation and baseless feuds will decrease and money will come from the Government. If 35000 people get recruited, which I hope will be the case, their added income would be more than Rs.700,000 per month which would amount to Rs.10 Million (i.e. one crore). Your will not only secure your inherited property but will also be able to buy back the property you have already lost. With your added income you will no longer be in the grip of Mahajins (Hindu Money Lenders). Now please say good bye to your lethargy and proceed to get your name registered in the Auadh regiment. O Maha Raj and O Thakkur! Now is the time to regain the greatness of your ancestors. Repeat your history now by keeping in view the image of the sacred land of Ajodhia and memories of Grand Master Lord Sri Rama Chandra. Get armed and stop the atrocities of the Germans. It is possible that the God Almighty has reserved this honour for the sons of Auadh that German atrocities would be stopped by them like Rama Chandra stopped the atrocities of the Sri Lankan Chief Ravan. Get Recruited! Get Recruited! Get Recruited! Today! Hurry up and get recruited so that throughout India we could hold our heads high, so that Lord Sri Rama Chandra could be proud of the people of Auadh. Signed (Sheikh) Shahid Hussain, Special Officer of War Work. Association of Public Relations, Auadh. Courtesy