Comments on: Pass it on: The Secret that Preceded the Indian Rebellion of 1857 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2012/05/pass-it-on-the-secret-that-preceded-the-indian-rebellion-of-1857/ History with all the interesting bits left in Tue, 21 May 2013 22:46:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 By: John Clarkson http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2012/05/pass-it-on-the-secret-that-preceded-the-indian-rebellion-of-1857/#comment-4107 John Clarkson Fri, 10 May 2013 22:30:44 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=6682#comment-4107 On the 10 and 11 May 1857 my great grandfather was nearly killed by sepoy mutineers. He was a customs officer and was tasked with finding what the unrest was all about. He rode to Dehli to tell Fraser, but he could not be woken from his sleep, so only got the news in the morning. My great grandfather rode eventually to Cawnpore but not before a Dhobin had hid him under her dirty pile of clothes to avoid detection by Sepoy Ranger, who were Brahmins. They prodded the clothes but did not touch them as they would be unclean. Due to that Dhobin I and my whole family exist now! What a mystery life is! How close we are to non-existence. My great grandfather went on to become wealthy as the Asst to Major Durand. He eventually ended his days in a 68 room mansion house perched in the foothills of Mussooree. My grandfather (his son) went to Tsingtao and even served with Imperial German Navy during the Boxer Rebellion. He perhaps also may have done a bit of spying for them against the Japanese Navy in 1901-2. On the 10 and 11 May 1857 my great grandfather was nearly killed by sepoy mutineers. He was a customs officer and was tasked with finding what the unrest was all about. He rode to Dehli to tell Fraser, but he could not be woken from his sleep, so only got the news in the morning. My great grandfather rode eventually to Cawnpore but not before a Dhobin had hid him under her dirty pile of clothes to avoid detection by Sepoy Ranger, who were Brahmins. They prodded the clothes but did not touch them as they would be unclean. Due to that Dhobin I and my whole family exist now! What a mystery life is! How close we are to non-existence. My great grandfather went on to become wealthy as the Asst to Major Durand. He eventually ended his days in a 68 room mansion house perched in the foothills of Mussooree. My grandfather (his son) went to Tsingtao and even served with Imperial German Navy during the Boxer Rebellion. He perhaps also may have done a bit of spying for them against the Japanese Navy in 1901-2.

]]> By: AllanWhite http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2012/05/pass-it-on-the-secret-that-preceded-the-indian-rebellion-of-1857/#comment-1760 AllanWhite Wed, 30 May 2012 02:28:40 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=6682#comment-1760 There is a paralell system prevallent in the inner city gangs of America. It is called tagging. Any Unadorned flat space is ripe for the practise. Intra city messages can often be seen on the sides of railroad box cars. I have been told that the tags are used by the drug cartels to avoid electronics that can be traced and bugged. There is a paralell system prevallent in the inner city gangs of America. It is called tagging. Any Unadorned flat space is ripe for the practise. Intra city messages can often be seen on the sides of railroad box cars. I have been told that the tags are used by the drug cartels to avoid electronics that can be traced and bugged.

]]> By: Saag Paneer http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2012/05/pass-it-on-the-secret-that-preceded-the-indian-rebellion-of-1857/#comment-1756 Saag Paneer Mon, 28 May 2012 03:16:14 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=6682#comment-1756 I enjoyed this article very much, but I'm afraid I still don't understand the connection between the chapatis and efforts to prevent the spread of cholera. Was there a tradition in Indore that the arrival of a "chapati chain-letter" meant that there was a cholera outbreak? Was this "Emergency Breadcast System" limited to cholera warnings? And why not, after all, just pass along an oral or written message? The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the content of the message was meant to be concealed from the village watchmen who were carrying it. I am hungry to learn more! I enjoyed this article very much, but I’m afraid I still don’t understand the connection between the chapatis and efforts to prevent the spread of cholera.

Was there a tradition in Indore that the arrival of a “chapati chain-letter” meant that there was a cholera outbreak? Was this “Emergency Breadcast System” limited to cholera warnings?

And why not, after all, just pass along an oral or written message? The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the content of the message was meant to be concealed from the village watchmen who were carrying it.

I am hungry to learn more!

]]> By: paul gower http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2012/05/pass-it-on-the-secret-that-preceded-the-indian-rebellion-of-1857/#comment-1749 paul gower Fri, 25 May 2012 16:49:47 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/?p=6682#comment-1749 Anyone who has read their 'Flashman' knnws about this and the Mutiny.. Anyone who has read their ‘Flashman’ knnws about this and the Mutiny..

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