Chapati Movement

The chapati movement involved the unusual distribution of thousands of chapatis, a type of unleavened flatbread, across several Indian villages during 1857 carrying message of their native emperor seeking their services. The ultimate origin of the movement is unknown; though British agents suggested the chapatis might contain secret notes, inspections revealed no such messages.[1]

The movement[2] first came into attention in February 1857. Reports began pouring from villages of North India that thousands of chapatis[3] were passing from one hand to another. The usual distribution procedure involved a person who would come from the jungle, give the village watchman several chapatis and tell him to make more chapatis, and distribute those to watchmen in the nearby villages. The watchman would then travel with chapatis in his turban,[4] often with little to no knowledge of the chapatis' original source.

Indians generally believed this was the work of the British, who themselves were clueless. The Friend of India, an English newspaper published in Srirampur, reported in its 5 March 1857 edition that British officers were left confused and equally scared when chapatis arrived in every police station in the area. The chapatis had travelled far; from Farrukhabad to Gurgaon, from Avadh via Rohilkhand to Delhi. The speed of distribution was particularly disconcerting to the British because it was much swifter than British mail, and several inquiries were made as to the source and meaning of the movement. They yielded the information that the breads were being distributed far more widely than anyone in Agra had yet realized, and that the Indians who received them generally took them as some sort of a sign. Beyond that, however, opinions remained divided. There were reports that lotus flowers and goat flesh were also occasionally distributed with the chapatis.[1]

References
  1. Dash, Mike (24 May 2012). "Pass it on: The Secret that Preceded the Indian Rebellion of 1857". Smithsonian. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  2. Rubi (8 July 2016). "Chapati Movement, the mysterious chain that psyched up British officials during 1857 Mutiny Rising". The Voice of Nation. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  3. Pal, Sanchari (23 June 2016). "Chapati Movement: How the Ubiquitous and Harmless Chapati Had Terrified the British in 1857". The Better India. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  4. "Food items that played a pivotal role in historical events". The Economic Times. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
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