Episode 168

In August 1855, the newly appointedGovernor-General of India, Lord Canning,made a remark during a speech in Londonwhich was to prove remarkably prophetic.'We must not forget,' he said,that in the sky ofIndia, serene as it is, acloud may arise, at first no bigger than a man'shand, but which growing bigger and bigger, mayat last threaten to overwhelm us with ruin.What has happened once may happen again.The disturbing causes have diminished certainly,but they are not dispelled.Canning could not have known whenhe made this oblique reference that mutinywas not only imminent, but destined toexplode into a full-scale conflict ofexceptional brutality.