"Masti ki thi chidi raagini aazadi ka gaana tha,
bharat ke kone kone mein hota yahi tarana tha ,
udhar khadi thi Laxmi Bai aur peshwa Nana tha,
idhar Bihari veer bankura khada hua mastana tha,
assi varsho ki haddi mein jaaga josh purana tha ,
sab kehte hain Veer Kunwar Singh bada veer mardana tha"
Veer Kunwar Singh was born in 1777 in the house of Shahabzada Singh. His mother's name was Rani Panchratan Kunwari Devi Singh. He received a great upbringing as a child and had a younger sibling named Babu Amar Singh. After his fathers demise he assumed the reins of zamindari of Jagdishpur in 1826. He belonged to the Ujjainiya Rajput clan and was a descendant of Maharana Pratap of Mewar.
It is said that Veer Kunwar Singh was a very noble hearted man, he used to whole heartedly help poor farmers and peasants who were unable to pay Lagaan (land tax) on time as well as who were in acute distress or financial difficulty. This was the reason he was often unable to deposit the Lagaan to the British on time.
Slowly with time, the amount due to the company kept on accumulating. As much as the English were angry and disgruntled with him the common people were all the more happy under his kind regime. Veer Kunwar Singh was ripped off , of his Zamindari Rights and vast estates of his land was annexed by the company using exploitative land revenue policies and unfair treatment was meted out to him.
With the advent of ignition of the first spark to the great rebellion of 1857 he was the chief organiser and commander of the fight against the British in Bihar.
The time when he took charge of the Indian rebellion in Bihar he was nearly in his 80's and with a failing health. But the warrior spirit and valour was higher than ever before , he was adamant to bring down the ruthless and exploitative company rule in India.
Veer Kunwar Singh was an expert in the art of Guerilla Warfare his tactics and military planning always puzzled the British.
He was a great fighter and harried the Britiish forces for nearly a year and remained invincible nearly till the end.
He was a fearless warrior who could withstand any exigency of the battle. At the age of 80 riding on a horse holding his sword in his hand with the fierceness of a lion in his eyes he could instill fear in the marching enemies.
His decision to participate in the freedom struggle was not taken all of a sudden. W.Trailer had received several reports regarding exchange of information between revolutionary soldiers and Veer Kunwar Singh.
On 29th July, Samuels wrote a letter to the secretary of Bengal that Veer Kunwar Singh in association with revolutionaries was making plan to revolt against British adding much force to the revolution.
In spite of the information given by the Government spies, the platoon of Danapur revolted on 25th July and came under the leadership of Veer Kunwar Singh on 26th July
Two days later he was able to occupy Arrah which was the district headquarters.
On the 3rd of August Major Vincent Eyre relieved the town of Arrah after a ferocious battle in which Veer Kunwar Singh's forces were defeated and Jagdishpur was destroyed.
Despite the loss he did not loose courage and kept on with his fights and raids on the British Garrisons and cantonments.
He reached Sasaram in Rohtas passing through Nokha where the revolutionaries were waiting for him as a part of their pre-meditated plan. Thus, he came outside the boundary of Bihar and passing through Mirzapur Vijaygarh he reached Reewa, Robertsganj, Faizabad, and Azamgarh.
In the mean time he met revolutionary leaders and prepared many revolutionary plans with their support. He gave a tough fight to British Army in Kanpur. He lit the light of revolt at Banda, Gonda, Sultanpur and Banaras and defeated Douglas. On 20th April, 1858, he reached Gajipur along with his soldiers.
In the mean time, Lugard kept on chasing him. On 21st April, while he was passing through Shivpur Ghat (At Balia), the Platoon of Brigadier Douglas opened fire at him with cannon which caused injury to his hand .
With the fear of excessive blood loss and infection due to bullet injury Veer Kunwar Singh drew his sword and cut off his left hand near the elbow and offered it to Ganges river as a mark of sacrifice and tribute, and reached Jagdishpur.
It was on 23rd April that he fought his last battle, despite being injured he fought bravely with British Army ,armed with his Sword he Single handedly drove away the British Army and brought down the Union Jack from Jagdishpur Fort and hoisted his flag.
This joyful day was celebrated by organizing victory ceremony on 23rd April, 1858 but Veer Kunwar Singh died on 26th April, 1858 in his village due to the infection in his left hand that rendered his body contaminated.
The sacrifice of this great son of mother India can never be forgotten and his role in the fight for freedom against the British rule will always be remembered and will continue to work as an inspiration for youngsters throughout India where a eighty year old man had a courage of a lion to fight against the British for the cause of his people and his motherland.
In the honour of his memory and his contribution to India's freedom movement the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp on 23 April 1966. Named after him the Government of Bihar established Veer Kunwar Singh University in Arrah in 1993.
Despite being a great commander he was also a saviour for the downtrodden and the deprived . He led for the cause for social equanimity and promoted communal harmony. His rule can be best described from..
Raja Kunwar Singh Ka Raaj ki jisme sirje sabke kaaj,
ki jisme deen bane sartaj aur dharti ke bhule laal,
ki jinke chune mein thi laaj, taaj par ithlate hain aaj,
raja kunwar singh ka raaj...........
(excerpts from a play by Jagdish Chandra Mathur title "Vijay ki Vela" (Moment of Victory))
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