Raja Nahar Singh (died 1858) was the

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

of the princely state of

Ballabhgarh Ballabgarh, officially Balramgarh, is a large town, nearby Faridabad, Faridabad city and a tehsil (subdistrict) in Faridabad district of Haryana, India, and is part of the National Capital Region (India), Delhi National Capital Region As was Gu ...

Faridabad District Faridabad district is one of the 22 districts of the Indian state of Haryana with Faridabad city being the district headquarters. The District is a Part of Central National Capital Region of Delhi. The Delhi-Mathura-Agra National Highway 44 ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

, India. He fought against The East India Company in the

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

. The small kingdom of Ballabhgarh is only 20 miles from Delhi.

Nahar Singh Stadium The Nahar Singh Stadium, previously known as Mayur Stadium, is a cricket stadium in the Indian city of Faridabad. The last official match played here was an ODI between India and England on 31 March 2006. In 2017, stadium hosted a match bet ...

in Faridabad is named after him. The

Raja Nahar Singh metro station The Raja Nahar Singh metro station (formerly known as Ballabhgarh metro station) is terminating station on the Violet Line of the Delhi Metro. Finance Minister of Haryana urged to name Ballabhgarh Metro station after martyr Raja Nahar Singh. ...

in Violet line is also named after him .

History and family

was a village headed by Tewatia clan of

Jats The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in ...

. Balram Singh Tewatia was the first ruler of Ballabhgarh State, and Nahar Singh was his descendant. His teachers included Pandit Kulkarni and Maulvi Rahman Khan. His father died in 1830, when he was about 9 years old. Nahar Singh was crowned in 1839.

Liberal ruler

He was an able and secular ruler who promoted communal harmony, his letter (31 July 1857) to

Mughal Emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Bahadur Shah Zafar Bahadur Shah II, (Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad; 24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862), usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' ), was the twentieth and last List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Mughal emp ...

says: He even made a gift of 4 villages to his

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

court musician Umra Khan of

Delhi gharana The Delhi or Dilli Gharana, is a tabla traditional playing style, "regarded by many as the fountainhead of all the tabla gharanas" and known for being the first and oldest gharana playing style of tabla. It also is one of the six most common sty ...

, a gift that included "the village of melody" Samaypur which is currently a locality of Ballabhgarh town (not to be confused with

Samaypur Samaypur is an urban village in North Delhi prominently located with NH-1 ( GT Karnal Road) on one side and Badli Railway Station & Samaypur Badli Metro Station on the other. Gayatri Yadav is the Municipal Councilor of Samaypur. She is the wife ...

in north Delhi).Bonnie C. Wade, 1984
Khyal: Creativity Within North India's Classical Music Tradition
/ref> Raja Nahar Singh's other court-musicians were famous vocalists Mir Allahbux (known as Ela) and Mir Umrabux (known as Omra), who were the descendants of kalawant Mir Bala.Amala Dāśaśarmā, 1993
Musicians of India: Past and Present : Gharanas of Hindustani Music and Genealogies
/ref>

Role in the 1857 rebellion

During the 1857 uprising, under the "Delhi Agency" there were seven princely states,

Jhajjar Jhajjar is a town in Jhajjar district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is a part of Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) and situated on the road connecting Rewari to Rohtak (NH-352), Loharu to Meerut (NH334B), Charkhi Dadri to Delhi and Gu ...

Farrukhnagar Farrukhnagar is a small town and municipality in Farrukhnagar tehsil of Gurugram district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is situated from Gurgaon and shares its border with Jhajjar district. It was established in 1732 by Faujdar Khan, the ...

Loharu Loharu is a city, municipal committee and assembly constituency, near Bhiwani City in the Bhiwani district of the Indian state of Haryana. It is the administrative headquarters of one of the four administrative sub-divisions of the district a ...

Pataudi Pataudi is a town, a tehsil and one of the 4 sub-divisions of Gurugram district, in the Indian state of Haryana, within the boundaries of the National Capital Region of India. It is located southwest of Gurugram city. Gurgaon-Pataudi road, k ...

and

Dujana Dujana is a village, formerly a princely state, in Beri tehsil of Jhajjar district of Haryana State, India. The village is administered by a Sarpanch, an elected representative of the village. History Duna Princely State existed since the ti ...

. The Chiefs of the last two estates remained loyal to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and others rebelled.[Madan Gopal, 1977
Sir Chhotu Ram: a political biography
Page 9. The Rajput rulers of Rajasthan also kept out of the rebellion except few like Kushal Singh of Auwa, Thakur Kushal Singh of Pali, Rajasthan, Pali. British forces were stopped outside Delhi by the forces of Nahar Singh.1985
Organiser
Volume 37. Nahar refused to extend any help to District Collector William Ford, who was collecting forces to curb the uprising. Nahar actively recruited sepoys of the native infantry or cavalry, who revolted against the British, in services of his Ballbhgarh forces with enhanced pay and promotional ranks. Munshi Jeevan Lal writes, ''"by 17 July 1857 the Raja had taken into his service 200 troopers who had lately been in the employ of the English."'' The number continued to swell in the subsequent period. Incidentally, one such sepoy who was granted rank of Naik, appeared as a witness to testify the fact before the British Military Commission, which was established to prosecute Raja Nahar Singh. To further fortify his armed strength, the Raja not only raised new levies but also collected as much as possible latest weaponry and other war material as was revealed from the recovery of large number of horses, bullocks, carts, English rifles and dresses from his fort after the British assaulted it. Revolt of 1857 in Punjab and role of the Sikhs
Page 48. He revolted against the British rule, and joined the forces led by Emperor Bahadur Shah. In letters to

dated 22 May and 25 May 1857, Raja Nahar wrote that he had secured the road from

Delhi Gate (Delhi) to Badarpur, Delhi">Badarpur Badarpur may refer to: * Badarpur, Assam, a town in Assam, India ** Badarpur, Assam Assembly constituency ** Badarpur railway station * Badarpur, Bangladesh, Barisal Division, Bangladesh * Badarpur, Budaun, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Bad ...

, as well as drove the British away from the parganas of Pali village, Pali,

Palwal Palwal is a city and a municipal council. It is the headquarters of Palwal district, the 21st district of Haryana state in northern India. It is a centre of the cotton trade in the area. It is part of Braj region. It is also a part of Na ...

and Fatehpur.1859
Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons
Great Britain Parliament House of Commons, Page 32.Fatehpur in Haryana between Jhajjar and Gurugram on Haryana-Delhi
/ref> Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabhgarh supported the Revolutionary Government and faithfully obeyed the instructions issued to him in connection with the maintenance of peace and order, recruitment of forces and collection of funds for the War.Syed Moinul Haq, 1968
The Great Revolution of 1857
Page 238.

Death

Nahar Singh, the Raja of Ballabgarh was 32 years old when he threw his small army into the fray against the British during the 1857 uprising. Refusing an offer to save himself by acknowledging British supremacy, he was hanged in

Chandni Chowk The Chandni Chowk (meaning Moonlight Square) is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. There is another location in Pune with the name Chandani Chowk. Located close to the Old Delhi railway station, the Mughal-era Red Fort ...

on 9 January 1858 and his estate was forfeited.L. C. Gupta and M. C. Gupta, 2000
Haryana on Road to Modernisation
/ref> He was charged by the colonial rulers for assisting rebellion with money, provisions and arms and by sending troops to

, for taking it from the British Government in India. British sentenced him to ''"be hanged by neck until he be dead and further to forfeit all his property and effects of every description."''Kripal Chandra Yadav,1977
The Revolt of 1857 in Haryana
Page 98. His state was taken over by the British and thus sun set on the state of Ballabhgarh.Vīrasiṃha
their role & contribution to the socio-economic life and polity of north & north-west India, Volume 3
Suraj Mal Memorial Education Society. Centre for Research and Publication. Gulab Singh Saini, Bhura Singh Valmiki the commanders of Raja Nahar's forces led the Ballabhgarh army against British. Gulab was hanged in Chandni Chowk on 9 January 1858 along with Raja Nahar Singh.Ranjit Singh Saini, 1999
Post-Pāṇinian systems of Sanskrit grammar
Parimal Publications.

Aftermath

After Nahar's property was ceased by British and his estate was abolished. A political pension of Rs. 6,000 a year was settled upon Nahar's heir-apparent and adopted son who was his nephew, Kushal Singh. Kushal left Ballabhgarh for good and sought shelter with his wife's people at

Kuchesar Kuchesar was a Zamindari estate of Dalal Jats during the British Raj. It is situated off the NH 24 in what is now of Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, India, from Delhi. Part of the Kuchesar Fort, built 1734, became a heritage hotel in 199 ...

.Kailash Nath Katju, Valmiki Katju, Markanday Katju, 2006
Life and Times of Doctor Kailas Nath Katju
Page 222. Kushal Singh and his descendants continued to rule the Kuchesar Estate till 1948 when they were abolished.Sir Roper Lethbridge, 1893
The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary
p559. Kushal's son Giriraj Singh, and his descendants, continued to rule the Kuchesar State with the title of "Rao". Former Indian Prime Minister

Chaudhary Charan Singh Chaudhary Charan Singh (23 December 1902 – 29 May 1987) was an Indian politician, peasant leader, author and an independence activist who briefly served as the prime minister of India from July 1979 to January 1980. Singh was principally kn ...

's ancestors were the kinsmen of Raja Nahar Singh. In order to escape the oppression which the British Government let loose on the Raja's followers, Charan Singh's grandfather "Chaudhry Badam Singh" moved eastward along with his family to a village called Bhatona far beyond the

Yamuna The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...

Bulandshahr Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr district and part of Delhi NCR region. According to the Governme ...

.Charan Singh, 1986
Land Reforms in the U.P. and the Kulaks
Page 1. For their participation in 1857 rebellion, three main chiefs of Haryana were tried and hanged at

Kotwali Dhaka Kotwali () is the ''sadar'' (principal) thana of Dhaka District in the Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Geography Dhaka Kotwali is bounded by Bangshal Thana to the north, Keraniganj Upazila to the south, Sutrapur Thana to the east, and Chow ...

Chandani Chowk The Chandni Chowk (meaning Moonlight Square) is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. There is another location in Pune with the name Chandani Chowk. Located close to the Old Delhi railway station, the Mughal-era Red Fort is ...

Old Delhi Shahjahanabad colloquially known as Old Delhi( Hindustani: ''Purāni Dillī'') is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan decided to shi ...

. Nahar Singh, the Raja of Ballabhgarh, was hanged on 9 January 1858. Abdur Rehman, Nawab of

, was hanged on 23 January 1858. Ahmad Ali, Nawab of

, was hanged on 23 January 1858. The

Chaudhary Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminen ...

s and

Lambardar Numbardar or Lambardar (, , , ) was the village headman responsible for tax collection in the village during the British Raj. They were appointed under the Mahalwari system. Etymology The compound word ''numberdar'' is composed of the English wo ...

s of villages who participated in rebellion were also deprived of their land and property, including 368 people of

Hisar Hissar () means fort or castle in Arabic, with variants adopted into Persian (hesar, hessar) and Turkish (hisar). Hissar, Hisar and Hesar may refer to: Places Asia (South and Central) India *Hisar (city), a city in Haryana **Hisar Airport in Hi ...

and

Gurugram Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest o ...

were hanged or transported for life, and fine was imposed on the people of

Thanesar Thanesar (IAST: Sthāṇvīśvara) is a historic city and Hindu pilgrimage sites, Hindu pilgrimage centre in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana, India. It is located approximately 160 km northwest of Delhi. The city Kurukshetra's area merge ...

(Rs 2,35,000),

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

(Rs. 2,53,541) and

Rohtak Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9 (old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the Nationa ...

(Rs. 63,000 mostly on

Ranghar Ranghar are a community of Muslim Rajputs in the Indian states of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh; and in Sindh ( Muhajirs) and Punjab in Pakistan. History and origin The Ranghar were classified as an "agricultura ...

Shaikh Shaikh usually refers to: * Sheikh, as an alternate Romanization; a term for elders, tribal leaders, and royalty in Arabic-influenced cultures It may also refer to: Communities * Shaikhs in South Asia, a social and ethnic grouping in South Asia ...

s and Muslim Kasai).

Satish Chandra Mittal Satish Chandra Mittal (born 1938), is a retired professor of modern Indian history, Kurukshetra University, Haryana, India, and national president of the All India Itihas Sankalan Yojana, a subsidiary of RSS, a Hindu-nationalist organisation. He ...

, 1986
Haryana, a Historical Perspective
p58. When the mutiny was suppressed, the Mughal Emperor and other Nawabs were all awarded different types of punishments and ousted from their kingdoms. Before the mutiny, the Indian Army mostly consisted of men from East and South India. After the Mutiny the British began to recruit soldiers from North India.M.K. Singh, 2009
Encyclopaedia Of Indian War Of Independence (1857–1947) (Set Of 19 Vols.)
/ref>

Legacy

Raja Nahar Singh was a hero of

India's First War of Independence The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

in 1857. 9 January, the day in 1858 that he was hanged by the British, is observed in

as Balidan Diwas (The Day of Sacrifice).Vinod Mehta, 2006
Delhi and NCR city guide
Outlook Publishing, p443. ‘Shaheed Maharaja Nahar Singh Marg’ near Wazirpur Depot in Delhi is a road named after him.1989
Data India
Page 674.

India Post The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications (India), Minist ...

issued a postal stamp in his honor.Nahar Singh legacy
Haryana HSSC GK. The Raja Nahar Singh Kartik cultural festival is held annually at his 18th century

Nahar Singh Mahal Nahar Singh Mahal is located at Ballabhgarh in Faridabad district of Haryana. This fort was built by the forefathers of Raja Nahar Singh around 1739 AD, and after whom Ballabgarh was named, the construction however continued in parts till about ...

palace, since 1996 by the

Haryana Tourism Haryana Tourism Corporation (HTC) is an agency of the Government of Haryana, India established in 1974. The organisation operates 44 tourist facilities spread across the state of Haryana. These facilities offer visitors lodging, dining, and r ...

, around November during the bright and auspicious autumn month of Kartik as per

Vikram Samvat Vikram Samvat (ISO: ''Vikrama Saṁvata''; abbreviated VS), also known as the Vikrami calendar is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent and still also used in several Indian states and Nepal. It is a lunisolar calendar ...

calendar.1998
Rashtriya Sahara
Volume 6, Issues 7–12, Page 126.

References

External links

Raja Nahar Singh's letters to Bahadur Shah Zaffar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Nahar 1858 deaths Faridabad district Indian independence activists from Punjab Province (British India) People executed by British India by hanging Revolutionaries of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year of birth unknown Jat rulers