The Hindūstānī Mujāhidīn and the British from the Annexation of Punjab to the Frontier Uprising of 1897

Hindustani Mujahidin came to the Indian North-West Frontier with Sayyid Ahmad from Rayi Baraili. They, after the demise of their leader, were not powerful enough and hence became highly dependent on the local tribes. The local chiefs not only used them against each other but also made them party to their conflict with the colonial British. After the Ambilah (Ambelah/Ambela) expedition of 1863, the Hindustani Mujahidin faced the worst time of their stay in the Indian North-West frontier due to first, their enmity with the Akhūnd of Swat, and second, the strong colonial check on their supporters in India. This paper argues that on every occasion when Hindustani Mujahidin faced the colonial troops, they not only suffered heavily but were compelled to wander from place to place. The 1890s were particularly a decade in which the Hindustani Mujahidin tried their utmost to avoid confrontation with the colonial troops. This was the reason that the Mujahidin as a group or party remained neutral in the Frontier Uprising of 1897.