Divine Approval of Murder?

Sher Ali Afridi, a cavalry-trooper-turned-murder-convict, murdered Viceroy Lord Mayo on February 8, 1872, to take revenge for what he considered was an unfair prison sentence. The gruesome assassination took place at Mount Harriet in the Andamans.

A Portrait of the Assassin, Sher Ali Afridi; Source: Wikipedia; Public Domain

Sher Ali Afridi has a dark, sombre story, yet, learning about his life often leaves one with mixed feelings and conflicted moral takes. Born in the Tirah Valley of the Khyber Agency in present-day Pakistan, Sher Ali Afridi belonged to the Afridi tribe of Pathans. He was a loyal servant to the British administration and worked diligently as a cavalry trooper.

During the initial rebellion of 1857, he served in Rohilkhand and Awadh regions of modern-day Uttar Pradesh, on behalf of the East India Company. Later, he took up the position of a mounted orderly for Major-General Reynell Taylor. Taylor was highly pleased with Afridi’s good-nature and diligence, thus, he rewarded Afridi with a horse of his own, a pistol and a certificate of appreciation.

Unfortunately, these rewards were useless when it came to redemption. Afridi was caught up in a heated family feud, and he killed one of his relatives. He was sentenced to death despite pleading innocence.

On appeal, his sentence was reduced to that of life imprisonment and he was shipped off to the infamous Kala Pani jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Arguably, this was not much better than his initial sentence of death, for the Kala Pani jail administrated by the British was known for its inhuman torture techniques and dismal living conditions for its prisoners.

In Port Blair, where Kala Pani jail was located, Sher Ali Afridi was allowed to work as a barber as he showed signs of good behaviour since his arrival. Little did the jailers know that he would soon assassinate Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India.

On the morning of February 8, 1872, Lord Mayo arrived in the Andamans, where he was graciously received with a 21-gun salute. He proceeded to greet the troops and inspect their overall functioning, but completed his responsibilities for the day a little sooner than he had expected. The unsuspecting Earl of Mayo decided to visit Mount Harriet on the same day. By the time Lord Mayo and his company for the day had descended the mountain, dusk had passed and it had become quite dark.

Accompanied by his secretary and a few other British officials, he was on his way back to the boat when the Afridi's brooding figure emerged out of the shadows and stabbed him in the back, twice. Though Afridi was caught immediately by the British men, Lord Mayo lost a huge amount of blood. He was carried back to his ship, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Sher Ali Afridi wanted revenge for a prison sentence he thought was unfair – he wanted to kill the Viceroy and the Superintendent.

Sher Ali claimed that ‘Khuda’ himself had ordered him to murder the Viceroy, in fact, he claimed that the divine was his accomplice in crime. The assassination has also been the centre of a hot debate between many scholars as possibly one of the first acts of Jihad.

For the assassination of Lord Mayo, Sher Ali Afridi was hanged to death in the prison of Viper Island in the Andamans on March 11, 1872.