When The Indian Flatbread Spreads Fear

Did you know that the innocent, round chapatis you have every day at dinner once played a huge role in pushing the much-detested Britishers out of our country? Yes, you heard it right. The famous Indian flatbread that goes perfectly with all your favourite curries once terrified the firangis and put them in their proper place.

Tale Of A Chapati; Image Source: Prabhasakhi

It was the year of rebellion. It was the year of an uprising. It was the year of uproar. It was the year 1857. Indians were frustrated with whatever was happening in their country- rising taxes, harsh laws, and increasing violence. It was as if India was under the black clouds of evil British powers. Out of all the sections of the society, the Indian soldiers were in the worst condition. Not only were they not given the rank that they deserved, but their religious sentiments were also played with. Even though they dedicatedly took part in British expansionist policies abroad, they were deliberately given lower ranks than their British counterparts.

Amid this chaos, a mysterious movement took momentum in various parts of India. This movement not only puzzled the Indians but baffled the firangis as well. Some reports from the North Indian villages said that the Indian flatbreads or chapatis were circulated among different groups.

No one knew where these flatbreads exactly came from or who brewed this fantastic idea. All they knew was that these chapatis could crush the Britishers and their evil rule across India.

Dr. Gilbert Hadow, an army surgeon of the East India Company, wrote a letter to his sister in which he mentioned the following-

Currently, a highly fascinating affair is taking place throughout India. Nobody seems to understand what it means. It is unknown where it started, by whom or for what purpose, and whether it is associated with any religious ritual or secret group. The Indian press is full of speculation about what it implies. The chapati movement is what it's called.

The situation was indeed quite serious. Britishers were worried about what awaited them in the Indian villages, where thousands of unmarked chapatis were making their rounds in the homes and police outposts. People who received these chapatis made sure to make more of them and pass them on to the next village.

Chapati runners made sure that the chapatis had the opportunity to go on tour all around North India. From the principality of Indore to the city of Gwalior, from Rohilkhand to the ancient kingdom of Awadh and Prayagraj, these chapatis travelled up to 200 miles a night, a speed which is much more than the British mail service.

When Mark Thornhill, magistrate of the town of Mathura, investigated the entire scene, he found some bizarre theories. The humble-looking chapatis had a lot of secrets within their folds. When some chapati runners were asked why they were distributing the chapatis, they were clueless about their actions. It was as if they had no purpose, but they unknowingly contributed to a secret movement taking momentum in the Indian subcontinent against the Britishers.

These chapatis had no marks or secret messages embedded in them. The village chowkidars were simply baking the flatbreads and passing them on. Genuine concern took over the Britishers when they found that more than 90,000 policemen were involved in making and distributing these chapatis. The rate at which the chapatis were being circulated was much more than the fastest British mail, horrifying the Britishers.

Though there was no evidence as to why chapatis were being distributed, numerous theories emerged. Let's explore these theories, one at a time.

The very theory was, no doubt, the initiation of a rebellion. The Britishers suspected that chapatis were some kind of a code that was used to motivate the Indian people to join the uprising against the British. The Britishers were shaken and horrified to the core because they knew they were just a handful of 1,00,00 people controlling a crowd of 250 million. Once a rebellion would surface, the British would be reduced to nothing but ants whom the Indians would crush with their hands and feet. When the 1857 rebellion broke out, everyone assumed that the chapatis were a signal for an underground movement that was planned against the Britishers.

The second theory came with J W Sherar's book, Life During the Indian Mutiny. In this book, Sherar claimed that if the objective of the chapati movement was to create an environment of mysteriousness and restlessness, then it was indeed a very successful experiment.

The third theory is entirely unconvincing. It was said that chapatis were often distributed with goat flesh. Some recent studies that have surfaced tell us that distributing chapatis may have been an attempt to feed those who suffered from cholera.

At the same time, we can't deny the first theory that makes the most sense. J.G. Farrell wrote the following in his book, The Siege of Krishnapur-

"The first sign of trouble at Krishnapur came with a mysterious distribution of chapatis, made of coarse flour and about the size and thickness of a biscuit; towards the end of February 1857, they swept the countryside like an epidemic."

Chapati was that one staple food that connected everyone in a chain. From the rich zamindars to the poor peasants, roti was something everyone had on their plates during lunch or dinner. If we go by the first theory, we could say that the masterminds behind this plan knew that chapati would bring everyone closer. The 1857 rebellion would indeed be a massive success if people accepted flatbreads and further distributed them to other people.

In Nightrunners of Bengal, John Master has beautifully described the Chapati Movement in his own words-

Pashupati baked the first pair - away in the east - and Yama is in one and Varuna in the other.... When I get to each village, I am to call the watchman and, when he comes, say, 'Out of the east - to the north, to the west, to the south!" And then I give him two chapattis, first breaking one into five equal parts and the other into 10 equal parts."

Since ancient times, chapati has been an essential food item in every household. Though people did not know why they were passing on chapatis, they still came together to take part in this activity. Some people thought that they were brewing a conspiracy against the Britishers, and distributing chapati was an important part of it. An anti-British mentality was taking shape in people’s minds, and chapati further fueled this mentality through its simplicity and humbleness.

This was the beauty and uniqueness of this movement. A few humble chapatis could shake the entire British Empire. Nobody knows the real reason as to why these chapatis were distributed, but we know one thing for sure- these indigenous flatbreads were not just food items but a tool for our independence!