Dhan Singh
Dhan Singh Gurjar | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Dhan Singh Gurjar inMeerut | |
| Born | 1820 |
| Died | 4 July 1857(aged 36–37) |
| Movement | Revolt of 1857 |
Dhan Singh Gurjar,also known asDhunna Singh,was the IndianKotwal(police chief) ofMeerut,who participated in the1857 rebellionand led initial actions against theBritish East India Companyin that city.[1][2]
Early life[edit]
Dhan Singh was born in the Panchli or Panchali village inMeerut district.[3]Singh was a [CHAPRANA]Gurjar,many of whom joined the rebellion againstBritish rulein 1857.[4][5]
Role in the 1857 rebellion[edit]
On 10 May 1857, a rebellion against theEast India Companyrule broke out inMeerutduring the1857 uprising.As theKotwalof the city, Dhan Singh's job was to protect the city. However, many of his officers deserted his force on that day, either to join the rebellion or to escape the rebels' fury. The city saw large-scale rioting, plunder and murder. When two of his chowkidars (guards) apprehended two men for stealing horses, he asked them not to make arrests, fearing reprisals from the rebels. Around midnight, he was called to the house of aBengaliman, which was being plundered by a huge group of armed Gurjars. Dhan Singh's chowkidars arrested two of the plunderers, but Singh restrained them from using force against theGurjars.He then released the two men with the loot, after the group agreed to go away.[5]
Dhan Singh and several other policemen later deserted the police force (kotwali).[5]He is believed to have led thousands of villagers from all across the Meerut district to the city's jail. According to the official records, the rebels released 839 prisoners from the jail. These prisoners were among the rebels who participated in thesiege of Delhi.[6]
After the rebellion was suppressed, Singh was hanged by the British for his role in the revolt at Meerut.[7]
Commemoration[edit]
- Uttar PradeshDirector General of Police O P Singh unveiled the statue ofKotwal Dhan Singh Gurjaron the premises of the Sadar police station inMeerut.He announced that a chapter of Dhan Singh Kotwal would be included in police training, and a documentary would be made to "take his inspiring story of bravery and martyrdom to the public." He also proposed a separate section for Dhan Singh Kotwal in the proposed National Police Museum inDelhi[7][8]
- "Dhan Singh Kotwal Community Centre", the campus community centre ofMeerut University,is named after him.[9]
- The Dhan Singh Gurjar Mahavidyalaya inLoni,Ghaziabadis also named after him.[10]
- Samajwadi Party's (SP) National President and the former Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadavaddressed a gathering and unveiled the statue of Kotwal Dhan Singh Gujjar, at Mawana, 20 kilometres from district headquarter Meerut.[11]
- An arterial road running through the Sarita Vihar area of New Delhi is named after Kotwal Dhan Singh Gurjar.[12]
References[edit]
- ^Crispin Bates (26 March 2013).Mutiny at the Margins: New Perspectives on the Indian Uprising of 1857: Volume I: Anticipations and Experiences in the Locality.SAGE Publications. pp. 236–.ISBN978-81-321-1336-2.
- ^Uday Rana (9 May 2015)."Farmers, cops and sadhus who aided sepoys in 1857".The Times of India.
- ^Henderson, Carol E. (2013)."Spatial Memorialising of War in 1857: Memories, Traces and Silences in Ethnography".In Bates, Crispin (ed.).Mutiny at the Margins: New Perspectives on the Indian Uprising of 1857.Vol. I. SAGE Publications India. p. 236.ISBN9788132113362.
- ^Agha Humayun Amin (January 2000)."The Delhi Campaign".Defence Journal. Archived fromthe originalon 9 October 2012.Retrieved31 May2007.
- ^abcWagner, Kim A. (2010).The great fear of 1857: rumours, conspiracies and the making of the Indian Mutiny.Peter Lang. pp. 162–165.ISBN9781906165277.
- ^Uday Rana (9 May 2015)."Farmers, cops and sadhus who aided sepoys in 1857".The Times of India.
- ^ab"UP Police will read history of Shaheed Dhan Singh Kotwal".Hindustan team, Meerut.
- ^"Police Museum Delhi".The Statesman.3 July 2018.
- ^"Meerut University".Archived fromthe originalon 11 September 2014.Retrieved11 December2010.
- ^"Welcome to dsgcollege, Loni, Ghaziabad".dsgcollege.Retrieved10 August2023.
- ^"Meerut".Retrieved19 March2021.
- ^"Kotwal Dhan Singh Gurjar Marg".Retrieved1 August2021.