Sher Ali Afridi | |
|---|---|
 Sher Ali Afridi, photograph taken after he killed Lord Mayo | |
| Born | |
| Died | 11 March 1872 |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Occupations | Cavalry trooper and policeman in Peshawar Convicted criminal |
| Known for | Assassination of Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, the Viceroy of India (1869–72).[1] |
Sher Ali Afridi (died 11 March 1872) was the assassin of the Viceroy of British India, Lord Mayo whom he killed on 8 February 1872.
An Indian soldier of Pashtun background, he was convicted of murder and imprisoned at the penal colony of Port Blair, Andaman Islands.[2][3] He is known for assassinating the Viceroy of India[4] in 1872. The British sources described him as a "fearless soldier and one who would have been selected for any service of danger".[5]
Early life
[edit]Sher Ali was born in the Tirah Valley in the Khyber Agency of the North-West Frontier Province of British India into the Kuki Khēl Afridi tribe of Pashtuns.[6] He worked for the colonial government in the Punjab Police in the 1860s.[7] Afridi worked for the Commissioner of Peshawar.[8] He was in colonial army at Ambala in a cavalry regiment.[8] He served in the Presidency armies in Rohilkhand and Oudh during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[9] He worked under Major Hugh James as a cavalry trooper in Peshawar and as a mounted orderly for Reynell Taylor, who awarded Sher Ali with a horse, pistol and certificate.[10] Due to his good character, Sher Ali was popular among Europeans and was taking care of Taylor's children.[10]
Afridi had murdered a robber who attempted to steal his cattle and his wife. Afridi was pardoned for this murder.[3]
Transportation to Andaman
[edit]In 1867, he killed Hyder who was one of his enemies at Peshawar (Indian territory where British jurisdiction applied) in broad daylight.[11] Although he pleaded innocence, he was sentenced to death on 2 April 1867. On appeal, his sentence was reduced by a judge, Colonel Pollock,[10] to life imprisonment[7] and he was deported to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, to serve his sentence.[8] He was permitted to work as a barber at Port Blair as he was acknowledged to have behaved well since his arrival.[10]
Murder of Lord Mayo
[edit]Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, Viceroy of India from 1869, was visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in February 1872. The island group was then used as a British penal colony for convicts from India, both criminals and political prisoners.[10] Lord Mayo was involved in drafting the regulations of Port Blair, the principal town of the islands.[7] On 8 February, when the Viceroy had almost completed his inspection and was returning at 7:00 PM to his boat, where Lady Mayo was also waiting, Sher Ali Afridi appeared from the dark and stabbed him.[7] Sher Ali was immediately arrested by twelve security personnel. Lord Mayo soon bled to death.[7] This incident, which attracted much attention to the island group, happened at the foot of Mount Harriet (now Mount Manipur).[12]
Aftermath
[edit]The murder of the Viceroy, the supreme official of India appointed by the British Crown, sent shockwaves throughout Britain and British India.[10] Sher Ali Afridi wanted to kill two British people, the Superintendent and the Viceroy, as a revenge for his sentence, which he thought was more severe than he deserved.[13][7] He waited for a full day and only in the evening, found an opportunity to kill the Viceroy. He said that he killed on the instructions of God.[10] He readily posed for photographs.[7] Some jihadist-inspired prisoners were jailed at Andaman during the same period but the British found no link to the murder of the Viceroy and the presence of these prisoners.[10] Sher Ali Afridi was condemned to death and was hanged on the gallows of Viper Island prison,[7] on 11 March 1872.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ W. W. Hunter (1 February 2006). The Life of the Earl of Mayo – Fourth Viceroy of India. Read Books. ISBN 978-1-84664-774-1.
- ^ Burke, Jim (2005). A History Of Burke in Ireland. Jim Burke. p. 27. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ^ a b Journal. 1899. p. 301. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ^ "সম্পাদক সমীপেষু". www.anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ Chick, N.A. (1872). In Memoriam : a Complete Record ... of All the Mournful Circumstances ... in Connection with the Assassination of the Late Earl of Mayo ... T. S. Smith. p. 42. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ^ Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Unsung heroes - Sher Ali Afridi Government of India "a Khyberee of the Kookee Kheyl clan, came from Tirah"
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Murder of Lord Mayo 1872". andaman.org. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Sher Ali Afridi". Khyber.org. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Hussain, Hamid. "Tribes and Turbulance". defencejournal.org. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h James, Halen. "The Assassination of Lord Mayo : The "First" Jihad?" (PDF). IJAPS, Vol 5, No.2 (July 2009). Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ Francis, Neelam. "Independence Day 2023: 'There is no link between Lord Mayo's assassination and the Criminal Tribes Act'".
- ^ Kapse, Ram (21 December 2005). "Hundred years of the Andamans Cellular Jail". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 December 2006. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ Doyle, A.C.; Towheed, S. (2010). The Sign of Four. Broadview Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-4604-0172-9. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
Bibliography
[edit]- F. A. M. Dass (1937): The Andaman Islands.
- Prof. Sen : Disciplining Punishment: Colonialism and Convict Society in the Andaman Islands. Oxford University Press.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Sher Ali Afridi at Wikimedia Commons