Tirot Sing, also known as U Tirot Sing Syiem, was one of the chiefs of the

Khasi people The Khasi people are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic Ethnicity, ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the ...

in the early 19th century. He drew his lineage from the Syiemlieh clan. He was Syiem (king) of ''Nongkhlaw'', part of the

Khasi Hills The Khasi Hills () are a low mountain formation on the Shillong Plateau in the Meghalaya state of India. The Khasi Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi-Jaintia range and connect with the Purvanchal Range and the larger Patkai Range further east. The ...

. His surname was ''Syiemlieh''. He was a constitutional head sharing corporate authority with his Council, general representatives of the leading clans within his territory. Tirot Sing declared war and fought against 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 ...

for attempts to take over control of the

.Simon, I. M. (ed.) (1991
''Chapter II History''
Meghalaya District Gazetteers, Shillong He died on 17 July 1835.Eastern Panoram
U Tirot Sing
/ref> His death is commemorated in

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

as U Tirot Sing Day.

Anglo-Khasi War and martyrdom

The British had gained control over the

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, and ...

valley after concluding the

Treaty of Yandabo The Treaty of Yandabo ( ) was the peace treaty that ended the First Anglo-Burmese War. The treaty was signed on 24February 1826, nearly two years after the war formally broke out on 5March 1824, by General Sir Archibald Campbell on the British ...

in 1826. Between their possessions in

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

and the newly acquired possessions in

Lower Assam Lower Assam division is one of the 5 administrative divisions of Assam in India. It was formed in 1874, consisting of the undivided Kamrup district of Western Assam, undivided Darrang and Nagaon districts of Central Assam and Khasi & Jainti ...

intervened the

. They wanted to construct a road through this area to connect

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

with Sylhet to save weeks of travel and malarious country. David Scott, the agent to the British Governor-General for the Northern Territory, found out that U Tirot Sing was interested in regaining possessions in the ''

duars The Dooars or Duars () are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India and southern Bhutan that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the Brahmaputra River basin. This region is about wide and stretches ove ...

'' (passes into Assam) in return for the permission for the road project. After a two-day session of the ''durbar'' (court), the assembly agreed to the proposal of the British. Work on the road started. When Balaram Singh, Raja of Ranee, disputed U Tirot Sing's claims to the duars, he went with a party of armed men in December 1828 to establish his claim. He was confident that the British would support him; instead, he was confronted by a party of

sepoy ''Sepoy'' () is a term related to ''sipahi'', denoting professional Indian infantrymen, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire and the Maratha. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its Euro ...

s who blocked his passage. When news came that the British were reinforcing forces in Assam, U Tirot Sing convened a Durbar again and passed orders for the British to evacuate Nongkhlaw. The British did not pay any heed, and the Khasis attacked the British garrison in Nongkhlaw on 4 April 1829. His men killed at his orders two British officers, Richard Gurdon Bedingfield and Philip Bowles Burlton. In retaliation, British military operations began against U Tirot Sing and other Khasi chiefs. In the Anglo-Khasi War, the Khasis lacked firearms and had only swords, shields, bows and arrows. They were untrained in the British type of warfare and soon found that it was impossible to engage in open battle against an enemy who could kill from a distance. Therefore, they resorted to

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

activity, which dragged on for about four years. Tirot Sing fought with native weapons such as a sword and shield. He was shot at by the British and had to hide in a cave and tend for his wound. He was eventually captured by the British in January 1833 and deported to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. The location of his hiding place was given by a chief of his who was bribed with gold coins by the British. He died on 17 July 1835. His death anniversary is commemorated every year as a state holiday in

References

External links

Birth of the State, Government of Meghalaya Official State Portal

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tirot Sing 1800s births 1835 deaths Khasi people People from Meghalaya History of Meghalaya Asian resistance to colonialism

Anglo-Khasi War and martyrdom

See also

References

Further reading

External links