Babu Amar Singh

Last updated

Amar Singh
Raja of Jagdishpur
Predecessor Kunwar Singh
SuccessorRaja Shriniwas Prasad Singh
Born Jagdispur, Bihar
Died1859
House Ujjainiya
FatherRaja Sahebzada Singh
MotherRani Panchratan Kunwari Devi Singh

Babu Amar Singh was a revolutionary in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the brother of Babu Kunwar Singh, the zamindar of Jagdishpur. [1]

Contents

Early life

Amar Singh was the second son of Sahebzada Singh born much after his older brother. He was described as being tall, of fair complexion and having a mole on the right side of his nose. [2] He was a fond huntsman and enjoyed hunting big game including elephants, bears and wolves. He was also a deeply religious person and had the Mahabharata recited to him every night. [2] He was initially reluctant to join the rebellion but agreed to do so on the insistence of his brother and the commander-in-chief, Hare Krishna Singh.

Role in the 1857 rebellion

Picture of the Siege of Arrah in which Babu Amar Singh was part of the attacking forces Defence-of-Arrah-House.png
Picture of the Siege of Arrah in which Babu Amar Singh was part of the attacking forces

Babu Amar Singh originally assisted in his brothers campaign including the infamous Siege of Arrah. [2]

After the death of Babu Kunwar Singh on 26 April 1858, Babu Amar Singh became the chief of the army and despite heavy odds, continued the struggle and for a considerable time ran a parallel government in the district of Shahabad. Four days after the death of his brother, he heard reports about British tax collectors in Arrah. He subsequently led an attack on them and defeated them. [3] He was assisted by his commander-in-chief, Hare Krishna Singh. [4]

A soldier who served Amar Singh and was captured in 1858 gave some details about his forces. [5] He stated that after Amar Singh retreated into the hills, he had around 400 cavalry-men and six guns. The guns were obtained from a mechanic in Calcutta who served Amar Singh directly. The force also had cannon balls that were manufactured in Jagdispur with lead they obtained from raids on British boats. Amar Singh was also planning to join his force with fellow rebel leader Nana Sahib. [5]

One 6 June 1858, Amar Singh and his force of 2000 sepoys and 500 sawars arrived in the village of Gahmar in Ghazipur near the border with Bihar. [6] The Sakarwar Rajput rebels from this region, under the leadership of Meghar Singh, were keen for Amar Singh's support and a letter was composed in a village requesting his help. Amar Singh accepted their request. [6] Meghar Singh personally presented Amar Singh with a nazrana or gift worth Rs 20,000. They exchanged supplies and Amar Singh left Gahmar on 10 June. [6] Among the motivations for this alliance were the marital ties shared between the Sakarwars and the Ujjainiyas.

In October 1859, after subsequent guerilla skirmishes with the British, Amar Singh fled with other rebel leaders to the Nepal Terai. He presumably went into hiding after this and disappeared before being captured later that same year and dying in prison. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Rebellion of 1857</span> Uprising against British Company rule

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the company's army in the garrison town of Meerut, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a military threat to British power in that region, and was contained only with the rebels' defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities to have formally ended until 8 July 1859.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrah</span> City in Bihar, India

Arrah is a city and a municipal corporation in Bhojpur district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the headquarters of Bhojpur district, located near the confluence of the Ganges and Sone rivers, some 24 mi (39 km) from Danapur and 36 mi (58 km) from Patna.

Danapur Cantonment or Danapur Cantt is a cantonment town in Danapur, Patna District in the state of Bihar, India. Danapur is a category II cantonment, established in 1765. The board consists of 14 members including 7 elected members. Danapur Cantonment, located on the outskirts of Patna, is the second oldest cantonment in India, after Barrackpur Cantonment, West Bengal. Danapur is the regimental centre of the Bihar Regiment (BRC). It was earlier called Bankipore Cantonment. Initially, it was set up at Bankipore but later set up in the Danapur area in 1766–67.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhojpur district, India</span> District of Bihar in India

Bhojpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. Arrah city is the administrative headquarters of this district. Bhojpur district came into existence in 1972. Earlier it was the part of Shahabad district. This district is named "Bhojpur" after great Parmara King Bhoja as most early settlers were Rajput rulers of Parmara dynasty then called as Ujjainiya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunwar</span> Surname list

Kunwar is an Indian title denoting a prince. It is derived from the Sanskrit word Kumar. It was traditionally associated with the feudal Rajputs such as the son of a Rana, Babu and Thakur

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunwar Singh</span> Leader of the Indian rebellion of 1857

Kunwar Singh, also known as Babu Kunwar Singh, was a leader and military commander during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He led a selected band of armed soldiers against the troops under the command of the British East India Company. He was the chief organiser of the fight against the British in Bihar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Arrah</span> Battle of the Indian Rebellion of 1857

The siege of Arrah took place during the Indian Mutiny. It was the eight-day defence of a fortified outbuilding, occupied by a combination of 18 civilians and 50 members of the Bengal Military Police Battalion, against 2,500 to 3,000 mutinying Bengal Native Infantry sepoys from three regiments and an estimated 8,000 men from irregular forces commanded by Kunwar Singh, the local zamindar or chieftain who controlled the Jagdishpur estate.

Hare Krishna Singh (1826-1858) was the commander-in-chief of Kunwar Singh's forces in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and also served under his brother Babu Amar Singh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vishwanath Shahdeo</span> King of Barkagarh and Freedom fighter

Vishwanath Shahdeo was the king of the Barkagarh estate and a rebel in the Indian rebellion of 1857. In 1855, he declared himself independent and defeated British forces in Hatia. He led rebels of Ramgarh Battalion in 1857. But defeated by Company forces with the help of king of Pithoria Jagatpal Singh. He was eventually caught and was hung from a tree along with his accomplices in 1858.

Pandey Ganpat Rai was a revolutionary and rebel leader in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and a chieftain in Lohardaga district of Bihar.

The Battle of Chatra was a conflict that took place during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 between the East India Company and the mutinying sepoys who were allied certain local zamindars. The rebels had amassed a force of 3000 men and had taken the town of Chatra which is located in the Chhota Nagpur region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagdishpur estate</span> Zamindari estate

The Jagdishpur estate was a zamindari estate situated in modern-day Bihar, India, in erstwhile Shahabad district. The centre of the estate was the town of Jagdishpur, however the estate also included neighbouring towns and villages. The estate was also protected by a fort.

Nilamber and Pitamber, freedom fighters from Jharkhand in eastern India, were brothers who led a revolt against the East India Company in 1857. They were born in a Chemo-Senya village to a family of a Bhogta clan of the Kharwar tribe in Latehar district. Their father, Chemu Singh, was Jagirdar. They decided to declare themselves independent of company rule, inspired by the Doronda Revolt in Ranchi led by Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo and Pandey Ganpat Rai. Chero Jagirdar Devi Baksh Rai joined them.

Veer Kunwar Singh Museum is museum in Jagdishpur near Arrah in Bhojpur district of Bihar. It is named after freedom fighter Kunwar Singh who played an important role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. It has a good collection of artifacts related to India's struggle for independence.

Shankar Shah was the titular king of Garha Kingdom, which was situated in the Indian region of Gondwana. He led an uprising against the British in Jubbulpore, and was put to death along with his son. His son's name was Kunwar Raghunath Shah.

Rana Beni Madho or Beni Madho Baksh Singh Bais was one of the most important leaders in the Indian rebellion of 1857 from the Oudh region. He belonged to the Bais clan of Rajputs and was the ruler of the Shankarpur estate in modern-day Rae Bareli, part of the old Baiswara region in Oudh. He led a rebellion against the British forces in 1857. His son was married to the grand daughter of another prominent revolutionary leader Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur estate.

Thakur Zorawar Singh Barhath was an Indian revolutionary and independence activist. He is known for the assassination attempt on the Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge, by throwing a bomb at him during a procession in New Delhi.

Meghar Singh Sakarwar or Meghar Singh (1820-1860) was a Zamindar from Gahmar Village in Ghazipur district of present day Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to the Sakarwar clan of Rajputs. Meghar Singh participated in the rebellion of 1857 against East India Company supporting the rebel soldiers under Babu Amar Singh.

References

  1. ↑ S. Purushottam Kumar (1983). "Kunwar Singh's failure in 1857". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 44: 360–369. JSTOR   44139859.
  2. 1 2 3 Kalikinkar Datta (1957). Biography of Kunwar Singh and Amar Singh. K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute. pp.  25–45.
  3. ↑ Srikrishan 'Sarala' (1999). Indian Revolutionaries 1757-1961 (Vol-1): A Comprehensive Study, 1757-1961, Volume 1. Prabhat Prakashan. pp. 80–83. ISBN   9788187100164 . Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  4. ↑ P. Kumar (1982). "Hare Krishna Singh-The Prime-Mover of 1857 in Bihar". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 43: 610–617. JSTOR   44141296.
  5. 1 2 R.C. Majumdar (1963). The Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of 1857. Firma K.L. Mukhopadhay. pp.  84.
  6. 1 2 3 Troy Downs (2002). "Rural Insurgency During the Indian Revolt of 1857-59: Meghar Singh and the Uprising of the Sakarwars". South Asia Research. 22 (2): 123–143. doi:10.1177/026272800202200202. S2CID   145242596.
  7. ↑ "D History". Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012. History of Bhojpur
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.