VEER NARAYAN SINGH.. A MARTYR OF 1857 FROM ODISHA( ORISSA)

VEER NARAYAN SINGH.. A MARTYR OF 1857 FROM ODISHA( ORISSA)

Dr K Prabhakar Rao



Many stalwarts and patriots laid down their lives during the 1857 war with the East India Company. Many of them vanished un noticed and history has forgotten about them. Veer Narayan Singh is one among them. His contribution in the struggle was no less.Veer Narayan singh Binjhwar was a great son of the Mahanadi ( In Orissa) Valley and the soil of Chhattisgarh, He was born to the Zamindar ( Land lord) of Sonakhan in Chattisgarh state in 1795. In 1856 when Chhattisgarh was in the grip of severe famine, the merchants hoarded grain, Narayan Singh could not tolerate seeing people die of starvation. Veer Narayan Singh, was also deeply influenced by the teachings of Guru Ghasidas who founded the satnam panth.The Guruji was from Raipur district. He sought to borrow grain from merchants and ultimately, performing the duties of a 'Kshetra Pramukh', he arranged to take out grain from the warehouse and distributed it amongst the people, under intimation to Charles Elliot, the Deputy Commissioner of Raipur. But on the complaint of Makhan, a merchant, the British Governmnet arrested Narayan Singh at Sambalpur on 24th Oct 1856 on the charge of looting the grain and distributing among people and sent him to jail at Raipur.

In 1857 when the flame of revolution was ignited in the country, it lit sparks in the forest-region of Chhattisgarh and the people unanimously elected the imprisoned Narayan Singh as their leader. With the help of soldiers and the public, Narayan Singh escaped from the jail in August, 1857 and reached Sonakhan. He organised his trusted followers and had an encounter with the British army near Sonakhan. He was moved by the atrocities and the acts of devastation and destruction of the British. He surrendered himself to the British army to protect the lives of the people. Narayan Singh was charged with treason and sentenced to death. He was publicly executed on 10th December, 1857 by hanging. He sacrificed his life willingly for the country. The army contingent stationed at Raipur and the public revolted at Raipur, on 18th January, 1858 under the leadership of Hanuman Singh. A British Officer was killed. People were inspired by the immortal sacrifice of Veer Narayan Singh and seventeen of them were sentenced to death on 22nd Jan. 1858. Their sacrifice, like Veer Narayan Singh's martyrdom, was a memorable event in the history of Chhattisgarh which gave momentum to the freedom movement. Unfortunately very few people outside the state of Chattisgarh know about Veer narayan Singh and it is the sad story in India.