Nana Sahib - Disappearance

Disappearance

Sahib disappeared after the Company recapture of Cawnpore. His general, Tantya Tope, tried to recapture Cawnpore in November 1857, after gathering a large army, mainly consisting of the rebel soldiers from the Gwalior contingent. He managed to take control of all the routes west and north-west of Cawnpore, but was later defeated in the Second Battle of Cawnpore.

In September 1857, Sahib was reported to have fallen to malarious fever; however, this is doubtful. Rani Laxmibai, Tatya Tope and Rao Saheb (Nana Sahib's close confidante) proclaimed Sahib as their Peshwa in June 1858 at Gwalior. By 1859, Sahib was reported to have fled to Nepal. In February 1860, the British were informed that Sahib's wives had taken refuge in Nepal, where they resided in a house close to Thapathali. Sahib himself was reported to be living in the interior of Nepal.

Sahib's ultimate fate was never known. Up until 1888 there were rumours and reports that he had been captured and a number of individuals turned themselves in to the British claiming to be the aged Sahib. As these reports turned out to be untrue further attempts at apprehending him were abandoned. There were also reports of him being spotted in Constantinople.

Jules Verne's novel The End of Nana Sahib (also published under the name "The Steam House"), taking place in India ten years after the 1857 events, is based on these rumors. In The Devil's Wind, Manohar Malgonkar gives a sympathetic reconstruction of Nana Saheb's life before, during and after the mutiny as told in his own words. Another novel Recalcitrance published in 2008 the 150th anniversary year of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and written by Anurag Kumar shows a character similar to ahab receiving blessings from an Indian sage who also gives him a special boon connected to his life and the battle of 1857.

After the independence of India, Sahib was hailed as a freedom fighter, and the Nana Rao Park in Kanpur was constructed in honour of Sahib and his brother, Bala Rao.