Tirot Sing, also known as U Tirot Sing Syiem born in the year 1802 and died in the year 1835, was one of the chiefs of the

Khasi people The Khasi people are an 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 majority of the population of the eastern part ...

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

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

. 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 British 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 (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and Jai ...

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 Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. I ...

valley after concluding the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826. Between their possessions in

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climat ...

and the newly acquired possessions in Lower Assam intervened the

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

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest 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 ...

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 ( as, দুৱাৰ, duar, rkt, দুৱাৰ, duar, bn, দুয়ার, duyar) () are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the ...

'' (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'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

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 Anglo-Khasi War was part of the independence struggle between the Khasi people and the British Empire between the years 1829-1833. The war started with Tirot Sing's attack on a British garrison that disobeyed orders of this Khasi king to stop a ...

, 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 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 ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

. 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 1802 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