Sher Ali Afridi | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 1872 |
Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
Occupation(s) | Cavalry trooper and policeman in Peshawar Convicted criminal |
Known for | Assassination of Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, the Viceroy of India (1869–72).[1] |
Sher Ali Afridi (died 11 March 1872) was an Indian soldier of Pashtun background, convicted of murder and imprisoned at the penal colony of Port Blair, Andaman Islands.[2][3] He is known for assassinating Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India,[4] on 8 February 1872. The British sources described him as a "fearless soldier and one who would have been selected for any service of danger".[5]
Sher Ali, who belonged to the Kuki Khel Afridi Pashtun tribe, worked for the colonial government in the Punjab Police in the 1860s.[6] He came from the Tirah valley in the Khyber Agency and worked for the Commissioner of Peshawar.[7] He was in colonial army at Ambala in a cavalry regiment.[7] He served in the Presidency armies in Rohilkhand and Oudh during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[8] He worked under Major Hugh James as a cavalry trooper in Peshawar and as a mounted orderly for Reynell Taylor, who awarded Sher Ali with a horse, pistol and certificate.[9] Due to his good character, Sher Ali was popular among Europeans and was taking care of Taylor's children.[9]
In 1867, he killed Hyder who was one of his enemies at Peshawar (Indian territory where British jurisdiction applied) in broad daylight for alleged molestation of his sister.[10] Although he pleaded innocence, he was sentenced to death on 2 April 1867. On appeal, his sentence was reduced by a judge, Colonel Pollock,[9] to life imprisonment[6] and he was deported to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, to serve his sentence.[7] He was permitted to work as a barber at Port Blair as he was acknowledged to have behaved well since his arrival.[9]
Main article: Assassination of Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo |
Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, Viceroy of India from 1869, was visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in February 1872. The island group was then used as a British penal colony for convicts from India, both criminals and political prisoners.[9] Lord Mayo was involved in drafting the regulations of Port Blair, the principal town of the islands.[6] On 8 February, when the Viceroy had almost completed his inspection and was returning at 7:00 PM to his boat, where Lady Mayo was also waiting, Sher Ali Afridi appeared from the dark and stabbed him.[6] Sher Ali was immediately arrested by twelve security personnel. Lord Mayo soon bled to death.[6] This incident, which attracted much attention to the island group, happened at the foot of Mount Harriet.[11]
The murder of the Viceroy, the supreme official of India appointed by the British Crown, sent shock waves throughout Britain and British India.[9] Sher Ali Afridi wanted to kill two British people, the Superintendent and the Viceroy, as a revenge for his sentence, which he thought was more severe than he deserved.[12][6] He waited for a full day and only in the evening, found an opportunity to kill the Viceroy. He said that he killed on the instructions of God.[9] He readily posed for photographs.[6] Some jihadist-inspired prisoners were jailed at Andaman during the same period but the British found no link to the murder of the Viceroy and the presence of these prisoners.[9] Sher Ali Afridi was condemned to death and was hanged on the gallows of Viper Island prison,[6] on 11 March 1872.[7]