Surju Prasad was the Thakur of Bijairaghogarh from 1845 until his death in 1858.

Biography

He was born to Prag Das and, upon his father's death in 1845, succeeded him as the Thakur of Bijairaghogarh. At the time of his accession, he was only five years old. Due to his minority, Bijairaghogarh was placed under the court of wards. When 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 ...

broke out against the rule of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, he was seventeen, and his state was still under the management of the

Deputy Commissioner A deputy commissioner is a police, income tax or administrative official in many countries. The rank is commonplace in police forces of Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, usually ranking below the Commissioner. Australia In all Aust ...

Jabalpur Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...

. By this time, he had become an expert horse rider and had learned to wield swords and use guns. By late October 1857, as the public remained unsettled by events in

following the execution of Raja Shankar Shah, he rose in revolt. He with the support of his relatives, including those of Kanchanpur and Chaura, raised an army of 3,000 well-trained soldiers. He was later joined by the Rajas of Shahgarh, Bakhtbali, and many other chiefs. He killed Mir Sabit Ali, a tehsildar, and his kinsmen in

Maihar Maihar is a city in the Maihar district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Maihar District. Maihar is known for the Maa Sharda Mandir situated in the city. It is one of the Shakti Peeth. Origin o ...

, then began robbing travelers on the Great Deccan Road. He had the postal horses captured, and a large body of armed men secured strategic points along the

Mirzapur Mirzapur () is a city in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is known for its carpets and brassware industries, and the tradition of kajari and birha music. Straddled by the Kaimur extension of Vindhya mountains, it served as the headquarters of t ...

road so that neither mail nor travelers could pass.{{Cite book , last=Sharma , first=S. L. , url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Indian_Freedom_Struggle_Centenary_1857_1/jpkBAAAAMAAJ , title=Indian Freedom Struggle Centenary, 1857-1957: Souvenir , date=1957 , publisher=S. L. Sharma , pages=324 , language=en He had bamboo barriers set up at village entrances, guarded by sepoys. Officials fluent in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, and English searched travelers for documents. In January 1858, the British, aided by the forces of Raghuraj Singh,

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

of Rewa, marched against him. The British captured the fort of Bijairaghogarh and immediately dismantled it. Bijairaghogarh was placed under the charge of Osborne, the then Political Agent for

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the Post-Vedic Chedi kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Prad ...

. He managed to escape with a group of loyal followers and wandered in disguise as a

fakir Fakir, faqeer, or faqīr (; (noun of faqr)), derived from ''faqr'' (, 'poverty'), is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do ...

. However, in 1864, he was captured by the British and taken to

, where he was confined. He was sentenced to life transportation and all his property was confiscated. While in confinement, he preferred death to dishonor and committed suicide with a dagger in 1865.

References

1865 deaths Indian Hindus Rajput monarchs Year of birth unknown Date of birth unknown Indian independence activists Prisoners and detainees of British India Suicides by sharp instrument in India Heads of state who died by suicide