Rao Tularam Singh (''circa'' 9 December 1825 – 23 September 1863) was a Yaduvanshi Ahir King or chieftain of

Rewari Rewari is a city and a Municipal Council in Rewari district in the Indian state of Haryana. King of Rewari is Rao Onkar Singh.It is located in south-west Haryana around 82 km from Delhi

. He was one of the leaders of the

Indian rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

, where he is considered a state hero.

Personal life

He was born on 9 December 1825 in Rampura suburb of Rewari in an Ahir family to Puran Singh and Gyan Kaur. He was young when his father died.महान योद्धा थे राव तुलाराम, अंग्रेजों से आखिरी सांस तक लड़े : अजीत सिंह
Dainik Bhskar, 10 Dec 2018.

Reign

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Initial success

On 17 May 1857 he along with his cousin, Rao Gopal Dev, and four to five hundred followers, deposed the local tehsildar and occupied Rewari. He raised a force of about 5000 soldiers and set up a workshop for manufacturing the guns and other ammunition. Rao Tula Ram helped Emperor Bahadur Shah and other rebel forces who were waging war against British in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. He sent Rs 45000/- through General Bakht Khan, ten days before the fall of Delhi and supplied large quantities of necessary commodities and supplied two thousand sacks of wheat.

The battle

Rao's forces, which were led by his cousin Rao Kirshan Singh, fought against the British on 16 November 1857 in the field of Nasibpur on outskirts of

Narnaul Narnaul is a city, a Municipal Council, and location of headquarters of the Mahendragarh district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is located in the National Capital Region of India. History Narnaul is built on a prominent tell, but th ...

. The first charge of Rao Tularam's forces was irresistible and the British forces scattered before them; several British officers were killed or wounded. The British successfully retaliated and after the battle of Narnaul Rao Tularam moved in to Rajasthan and joined the force of

Tantia Tope Tantia Tope (also spelled Tatya Tope, : ̪aːt̪ʲa ʈoːpe 6 January 1814 – 18 April 1859) was a general in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and one of its notable leaders. Despite lacking formal military training, Tantia Tope is widely consi ...

for one year but the forces of the Tantia Tope were defeated by British forces in the battle of

Sikar Sikar is a city and municipal council in the Sikar district of the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Sikar district. It is part of the Shekhawati region, which consists of Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu.Si ...

in Rajasthan. After which Rao Tularam left India to seek help from the Shah of Iran (also see

Anglo-Persian War The Anglo-Persian War or the Anglo-Iranian War () lasted between 1 November 1856 and 4 April 1857, and was fought between the United Kingdom and Iran, which was ruled by the Qajar dynasty. The war had the British oppose an attempt by Iran to ...

from November 1856 to April 1857),

Dost Mohammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/ Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-ye ...

ruler of

Emirate of Afghanistan The Emirate of Afghanistan also referred to as the Emirate of Kabul (until 1855) ) was an emirate between Central Asia and South Asia that is now today's Afghanistan and some parts of today's Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from t ...

(also see

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession di ...

from 1838 to 42) and Alexander II

Emperor of All Russia The emperor or empress of all the Russias or All Russia, ''Imperator Vserossiyskiy'', ''Imperatritsa Vserossiyskaya'' (often titled Tsar or Tsarina/Tsaritsa) was the monarch of the Russian Empire. The title originated in connection with Russi ...

against British colonial empire. Rao Tularam's estates were confiscated by the British in 1859, though proprietary rights of his two wives were retained. In 1877, his title was restored to his son Rao Yudhister Singh, who was made head of the Ahirwal area.

Death

On 23 September 1863, he died in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

in Afghanistan at the age of 38 due to an infection that spread throughout his body.

Legacy

The Government of India issued a postage stamp on 23 September 2001 featuring Rao Tularam.

Martyr's fair

A two-day ''Shahidi mela'' (martyr's fair) is held annually in September at Rampura suburb of Rewari city to commemorate the death anniversary of Rao Tularam.

References

Citations

* Dr. Ravindra Singh Yadav & Vijay pal, 1857 Ki kranti k purodha: Rao Raja Tularam,2013 Punit Publication, Jaipur {{DEFAULTSORT:Ram, Rao Tula Revolutionaries of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Indian independence activists from Punjab (British India) People from Rewari Infectious disease deaths in Afghanistan 1825 births 1863 deaths