From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Khasi chief
Tirot Singh
|
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Born
| c. 1802
|
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Died
| 17 July 1835
(1835-07-17)
(aged 32?33)
|
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Known for
| Freedom struggle against the British
|
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Office
| Chief of Khadsawphra Syiemship, Khasi Hills, Meghalaya
|
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Tirot Sing
, also known as
U Tirot Sing Syiem
, was one of the chiefs of the
Khasi people
in the early 19th century. He drew his lineage from the Syiemlieh clan. He was Syiem (chief) of
Nongkhlaw
, part of the
Khasi Hills
. 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
for attempts to take over control of the
Khasi Hills
.
[1]
He died on 17 July 1835.
[2]
His death is commemorated in
Meghalaya
as U Tirot Sing Day.
[3]
Anglo-Khasi War and martyrdom
[
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]
The British had gained control over the
Brahmaputra
valley after concluding the
Treaty of Yandabo
in 1826.
[2]
Between their possessions in
Sylhet
and the newly acquired possessions in
Lower Assam
intervened the
Khasi Hills
. They wanted to construct a road through this area to connect
Guwahati
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
(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
sepoys
who blocked his passage.
[1]
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,
[4]
and the Khasis attacked the British garrison in Nongkhlaw on 4 April 1829.
[2]
His men killed at his orders two British officers, Richard Gurdon Bedingfield and Philip Bowles Burlton.
[5]
[6]
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
activity, which dragged on for about four years.
[1]
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
. 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
Meghalaya
.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- May, Andrew J. (January 2014). "Homo in Nubibus: Altitude, Colonisation and Political Order in the Khasi Hills of Northeast India".
The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
.
42
(1): 41?60.
doi
:
10.1080/03086534.2013.826458
.
S2CID
153675514
.
- David R Syiemlieh, "New Light on Tirot Singh: His Last Days and Demise", The NEHU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. V, No. 4, October?December 1987.
External links
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