Bhopal, March 28: The general who led the sepoys against the British in 1857 will be saluted next month by his descendants from across the world.

But the programme to honour Tantya Tope, coinciding with the 150th year of India’s first war of independence, faces a handicap whose roots lie in the uprising’s divisive history.

From San Diego in California to Delhi, wherever they live, some 150 of Tantya’s relatives will be at Shivpuri, western Madhya Pradesh, on April 18, the 148th anniversary of their ancestor’s execution by the British.

They will assemble at prison barrack No. 4 of what used to be Shivpuri jail, where Tantya was hanged after a brief court martial.

But the clan’s grand plans to invite President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, BJP veteran L.K. Advani and several Congress stalwarts have run into a tricky obstacle.

Both the local MP and MLA belong to the Scindia family, who had assisted the British forces in arresting Tantya. And without the Scindias’ support, the presence of top politicians and dignitaries is not assured.

Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia represents the Guna Lok Sabha in which the Shivpuri Assembly segment falls. The local MLA is Jyotiraditya’s aunt Yashodhara Raje, a minister in the state’s BJP government, who will be contesting the upcoming Gwalior parliamentary bypoll.

Last April, Yashodhara’s sister and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje had faced protests in Indore when she was invited to unveil the bust of another hero of the uprising, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi.

The Indore-based Freedom Fighters’ Federation had courted arrest, demanding an apology from the Scindias for having “connived with the British”. Vasundhara, however, dismissed the charge and claimed that “as a woman”, she had the highest regard for Lakshmi Bai and considered her a “role model”.

Rajesh Tope, a key member of the organising committee, exuded confidence that with or without the Scindias’ support, a fitting tribute would be paid to his ancestor.

He said the family hoped to be joined by the descendants of the other leaders of the 1857 war who had fought alongside Tantya.

“Can you imagine, the families of the heroes, who were persecuted by the British, will meet after so many years,” Rajesh said.

“We understand that some have come up in life and some are still struggling. But it’s a common bond that will bring them together on this day.”

Tantya, whose real name was Ram Chandra Pandurang, was the general of Nana Sahib, the Peshwa’s adopted son. He became a sworn enemy of the British after Lord Dalhousie deprived his master of his father’s pension in 1851.

In May 1857, as the revolt was gathering momentum, Tantya won over the sepoys at Kanpur and became their commander-in-chief. From then on till his capture on April 8, 1859 — which to many historians marks the end of the war — he remained the rebels’ supreme military leader.

Tantya was finally betrayed into the enemy’s hands by his friend, Man Singh of Narwar, while he slept in a forest camp.

His statue at the site of his execution is now part of the premises of the collector’s office.