(This blog is the result of my recent visit to the Memorial built for King Veer Kunwar Singh in Jagdispur. View the video to see the bad state of this memorial.)
Babu Veer Kunwar Singh (1777–1858), one of the leaders of the Indian rising of 1857 belonged to a royal PARMAR Kshatriya (Rajput) house of Jagdispur, currently a part of Bhojpur district, Bihar state, India. At the age of 80 years, during India’s First War of Independence (1857), he actively led a select band of armed soldiers against the troops under the command of the East India Company, and also recorded victories in many battles.
Early life
Kunwar Singh, king of Jagdispur,was born in 1777, Jagdispur, near Arrah in the state of Bihar. He belongs to Panwar/Parmar(Ujjain Rajputs as they are locally known in Bihar or in and around his birth place). His ancestors belong to great Raja Vikramadity,Raja Bhoj of malwa
Indian rebellion of 1857
Babu Kunwar Singh was nearly eighty and in failing health when he was called upon to take up arms. The great warrior that he was, he gave a good fight and harried British forces for nearly a year and remained invincible till the end. Kunwar Singh assumed command of the soldiers who had revolted at Danapur on July 5, . Two days later he occupied Arrah, the district headquarter. Major Vincent Eyre relieved the town on August 3, defeated Kunwar Singh's force and destroyed Jagdispur. Kunwar Singh left his ancestral village and reached Lucknow in December 1857. In March 1858 he occupied Azamgarh. However, he had to leave the place soon. Pursued by Brigadier Douglas, he retreated towards his home in Bihar. On April 23, Kunwar Singh had a victory near Jagdispur over the force led by Captain Le Grand, 26 April 1858 he died in his village. The mantle of the old chief now fell on his brother Amar Singh who, despite heavy odds, continued the struggle and for a considerable time ran a parallel government in the district of Shahabad. In October 1859, Amar Singh joined the rebel leaders in the NepalTerai.
Death
In his last battle, fought on April 23, 1858, near Jagdispur, the troops under the control of the East India Company were completely routed. While crossing the Ganges on way to his ancestral seat at Jagadispur, Babu Kunwar Singh was wounded in the arm. Undaunted, Babu Kunwar Singh severed the injured limb and flung it into the river Ganges as is was his last offering to the Ganges. Soon after, he completely routed the British forces in the battle on 23 April 1858 and died the next day (24 April 1858) he was a good and brave warrior.
Legacy
To honour his memory and his contribution to India’s freedom movement, the Republic of India issued a commemorative stamp[ on 23 April 1966. Veer Kunwar Singh University named after him, was established by Government of Bihar near his [[Jagdis pur|birth place]].
The ICSE board has in its Hindi text-book (Ekanki Suman) a play (by the name of Vijay Ki Vela, literally: Moment of Victory) on the later part of Kunwar Singh's life, starting from the time he was crossing the river Ganga and finishing with his death, because of his injury.
dhanya dhar ujjainyee,dhanya vansh parmar
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