Rana Beni Madho

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 (in the present-day state of Uttar Pradesh).[1][2][3][4][5] 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.[6][7][8][9] He led a rebellion against the British forces in 1857.[10] His son was married to the grand daughter of another prominent revolutionary leader Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur.[11][12]

Beni Madho Baksh Singh
Rana of Shankarpur estate
Sirmaur Rana Bahadur Diler Jung
PredecessorRana Shiv Prasad Singh
SuccessorRaghuraj Singh
Died1859
Dang Valley, Nepal
SpouseRani Chandralekha
HouseBais Rajput
FatherRam Narayan Singh of Jagatpur
ReligionHinduism

Early life

Rana Beni Madho became Rana of Shankarpur estate after the death of Rana Shiv Prasad Singh who had adopted him. He was married to Princess Chandralekha of Kamiar estate and had a brother named Jugraj Singh who also participated in the revolt. He was one of the leaders of the Bais clan of Rajputs in the Baiswara region of South Oudh. He controlled four forts at Shankarpur, Pukbiyan, Bhikha and Jagatpur. The Shankarpur Fort owned by him was one of the strongest in Oudh.[13][14] He was a religious man and an ardent devotee of Goddess Durga. He was given the title of Nasim by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, fighting for the Nawab on many occasions and enjoyed the title of "Sirmaur Rana Bahadur Diler Jung".[15]

Role in the 1857 rebellion

During the revolt of 1857, he was one of the most powerful revolutionary leaders and was appointed as the administrator of the Jaunpur and Azamgarh regions by the newly proclaimed Nawab of Awadh, Birjis Qadar. This has been established from the proclamation of Birjis Qadar on 17 August 1857 which explains:

" As I am fully bent upon populating the land, securing off conveniences for its people and betterment of its inhabitants. I now therefore, decided to exterminate the cruel, ill behaved kaffir ( the unbelieving) Firangis from my hereditary dominion both old and new. Consequently, I have nominated the brave Raja Beni Madho Singh for the administration of the ilagas of Jaunpur and Azamgarh and order that in the obedience to the instructions of the said Raja, you should capture, put to the sword and annihilate the entire group of these perverted unbelievers and make every effort to extirpate them from this country. Considering the said Raja a permanent Amil of this part of the country, you should do your very best for the collection of revenue and betterment of the ryot. You will, consequently, be rewarded with the favours." [16][17]

He led one of the largest armies in 1857 numbering around 25,000 troops and 28 guns against the British forces.[18] He had a good rapport with his tenants as well as village zamindars who remained loyal to him during the rebellion.[19] In one of the sharp encounters that took place at Rae Bareli (then Salon district), the revolutionaries under Beni Madho killed a British officer named Major Gall.

Rana Beni Madho was then pursued by four senior commanders of the British columns — Lord Clyde, Hope Grant, Brigadier Evelegh (commanding the 20th Regiment of Foot) and Alfred Horsford (commanding the Rifle Brigade).[20] They cornered him at Dundi Khera (Unnao district) where his forces fled, reducing his numbers to 12,000[21]. However he managed to successfully escape to the north of the Ghaghara river. The great revolt in South Oudh formally ended only after he moved out of the Oudh region.[22][23]

Death

He was killed in the fighting against Gurkhas of Nepal in late 1859.[24][25]

References
  1. Singh, MK; Singh, Ravi Ranjan (2021). Revolt of 1857. pp. 207–210.
  2. Pati, Biswamoy (2007). The 1857 rebellion. Oxford University Press. pp. 68–69.
  3. Wolpert, Stanley A (2004). A New History of India. Oxford University Press. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-19-516677-4.
  4. Mukherjee, Rudrangshu (2002). Awadh in Revolt, 1857-1858: A Study of Popular Resistance. Permanent Black. p. 130. ISBN 9788178240275.
  5. Metcalf, Thomas R (2015). Aftermath of Revolt: India 1857-1970. Princeton University Press. p. 70. ISBN 9781400876648.
  6. Chakraborty, Kaushik (2007). Decolonising the revolt of 1857: : Colonial Order, Rebel Order, Rebel Vision, and the Shakespearean Weltanschauung of the Bengali Babus. p. 178. ISBN 9788187891703.
  7. Stokes, Eric (1978). The Peasant and the Raj: Studies in Agrarian Society and Peasant Rebellion. Cambridge University Press. p. 133.
  8. Chanana, Priyanka (2012). "Colonial Remodeling of Land Rights After the Uprising of 1857: Conferment and Resumptions in Baiswara Region". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Indian History Congress. 73: 737–746. JSTOR 44156269 – via JSTOR.
  9. Sharma, SL (1957). The Indian Freedom Struggle Centenary, 1857-1957: Souvenir. p. 152.
  10. Jafri, Saiyid Zafar Husain; Asthana, Pratima (2009). Transformation in Indian History. pp. 388–390. ISBN 9788179752616.
  11. Gandhi, Rajmohan (1999). Revenge and Reconciliation understanding south indian history. Penguin books. p. 133.
  12. Gandhi, Rajmohan (2009). A tale of two Revolts- India 1857 and the American Civil War. Penguin India. ISBN 9788184758252.
  13. Nevill, H.R. (1905). Rae Bareli - District Gazetteer United Provinces Agra and Oudh Volume XXXIX. p. 151.
  14. Metcalf, Thomas R (1979). Land, landlords and the British Raj: northern India in the nineteenth century. University of California Press. pp. 178–182.
  15. Asthana, Pratima; Jafri, Saiyid Zaheer Hussain (2009). Transformation in Indian History. p. 386. ISBN 9788179752616.
  16. Asthana, Pratima; Jafri, Saiyid Zaheer Hussain (2009). Transformation in Indian History. p. 388. ISBN 9788179752616.
  17. Taylor, P.J.O (1996). A Companion to the "Indian Mutiny" of 1857. Oxford University Press. pp. 43, 45, 267. ISBN 978-0-19-563863-9.
  18. Chanana, Priyanka (2012). "Colonial Remodeling of Land Rights After the Uprising of 1857: Conferment and Resumptions in Baiswara Region". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Indian History Congress. 73: 740. JSTOR 44156269 – via JSTOR. Forsyth wrote to Edmonstone that, "Benee Madho is having large force estimated at 25000 men and 28 guns, scattered all over Salone district and he is constantly moving about"
  19. Metcalf, Thomas R (1979). Land, landlords and the British Raj: northern India in the nineteenth century. University of California Press. pp. 183–184. On Beni Madho's estate, Charles Wingfield noticed, the village Zamindar "warmly sympathized" with the rebel Taluqdar and "paid him not from fear but from attachment"
  20. Lord Clyde (12 April 1859). "INDIA". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 3. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  21. Kavanagh, T. Henry Esq. (1860). "How I Won the Victoria Cross: Chapter 23". www.ibiblio.org. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  22. Mukherjee, Rudrangshu (2007). Awadh in Revolt, 1857-1858: A Study of Popular Resistance. Permanent Black. pp. 136–139, 158.
  23. Asthana, Pratima; Jafri, Saiyid Zaheer Hussain (2009). Transformation in Indian History. pp. 386–400.
  24. Mukherjee, Rudrangshu (2007). Awadh in Revolt, 1857-1858: A Study of Popular Resistance. Permanent Black. pp. 128–131.
  25. Asthana, Pratima; Jafri, Saiyid Zaheer Hussain (2009). Transformation in Indian History. pp. 386–400.
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