The Mysterious Chapati Movement of 1857
An intriguing event took place in India in 1857 that went unheralded, and uninvestigated, till recently. It involved the distribution of thousands of chapatis that were meant to spread the message of a native emperor who was seeking the services of his subjects.
The Chapati Movement saw India's farmers used food as a novel form of protest that overcame British Raj surveillance. During the early months of 1857, widespread discontentment among Indians gathered momentum, leading to a secret plan for a revolt.
Also Read: Tracing The Journey Of Our Beloved Chapati
The Chapati Movement began in Mathura, near Agra, during this time as protestors began making and distributing Chapatis in the evenings and early mornings. This distribution was conducted by village chowkidars and also included local policemen. The movement continued to grow, and it is estimated that approximately ninety thousand police constables joined the movement. The chapatis were delivered by night to homes across India. Reports from villages across North India told of thousands of chapatis being passed around the countryside. The villagers were unsure of where the chapatis came from, or what they were trying to convey. But it was becoming clearer that something was afoot. Thousands of chapatis, two inches each in diameter, were distributed to homes and police outposts across India by runners at night, and the people who accepted these chapatis would make more such batches and pass them on to neighboring villages.
As more reports emerged, the administration was spooked. Mark Thornhill, a magistrate in Mathura, walked into work one morning to find four “dirty little cakes of the coarsest flour, about the size and thickness of a biscuit” on his office desk. An Indian police officer had received them from another puzzled chowkidar. He explained that “A man had come out of the jungle with them and given them to the chowkidar (watchman) with instructions to make four like them and to take these to the watchman in the next village, who was to be told to do the same.”
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Roti, or Chapati
Yes you read right, the thousands of Chapatis were distributed to homes and police stations and the same was repeated. The Chapatis even travelled from Narmada to the borders of Nepal. This was intercepted by the British, who were clueless about it, as the runner was most often a police constable, who was himself clueless about why he was doing it. This was more so as nothing was written on them.
The British officers were quite furious and scared as they knew something was happening but were clueless about it. This according to J W Sherer was meant for a psychological warfare against the British.
But it could also be a secret way to share the date, time and place of the revolt. Who knows what they were meant for.
Chapati Movement: How the Ubiquitous and Harmless Chapati Had Terrified the British in 1857
By using Chapatis and Lotus Flowers!
Yes,this answer may sound weird for some!
SO..I’ll begin first by sharing a page from BIPIN CHANDRA’S India’s Struggle For Independence.
Chapter-1: Page-37(read the underlined portion-can read full page also)
by the way answer is over! You were reading Abhay [ https://www.quora.com/profile/Abhay-Chaurasia-2 ]!
(Read further if interested in when,where how,who!)
