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of his was the taming of the unruly Arabs and
Rohillas, who had become a menace, and winning
over their powerful chiefs to be his adherents and
friends. This masterly expedient proved to be
of incalculable value to the State when the Mutiny
broke out in India in 1857. He was about 29 years
old at that time, but in intellect and spirit he was
already a mature statesman. The hold of the
British on India had nearly gone when Delhi fell
into the hands of the rebels and the Governor of
Bombay telegraphed to the British Resident at
Hyderabad, "If. Hyderabad goes all is lost."
When the Resident informed the Minister of the
fate of Delhi, the reply was that he had known of
it two or three days ago. Marvellous vigilance !
What must have been his sources of information ?
He knew that traitors from British India would
certainly find their way into Hyderabad to incite
the people against the British and indeed, some
were already active at Aurangabad, and informa-
tion reached him that some of them were on their
way to Hyderabad. Prompt and firm action was
needed and he ordered the^Arab Chiefs on whom
he could rely to guard the gates, to stop all suspi-
cious strangers from entering the city and to
^ shoot without hesitation all who disobeyed. Here
j we see the full stature of the military commander
I that occasion had made him.
He must have established reliable means for
obtaining accurate ^.intelligence ; .but imagination,
foresight.. in devising . plans, .calm and quick
judgment, cool nerve and steady hand —these were