Gulab Singh Saini was an Indian freedom fighter and commander-in-chief of the army of princely state of

Ballabhgarh Ballabgarh, is a large town, nearby Faridabad city and a tehsil (subdistrict) in Faridabad district of Haryana, India, and is part of the National Capital Region.Indian Rebellion of 1857 and was hanged on 9 January 1858 in Delhi's Chandni Chowk along with two other leaders of the mutiny.

Early life

He was the son of Jodh Singh Saini. His ancestors were close associates of Raja Nahar Singh's family for many generations and Gulab Singh's forefathers traditionally held the ranks of army chief successively in this predominantly Jat principality. Gulab Singh Saini's father, Jodh Singh, was also the 'senapati', or commander-in-chief, of Ballabhgarh's army during the time of Raja Ram Singh, who was Nahar Singh's father. Raja Nahar Singh is said to have received all of his military training from Jodh Singh, and later Jodh Singh's son, Gulab Singh, was appointed as the 'senapati' or the army chief upon the coronation of Nahar Singh as the Raja of Ballabhgarh.Raja Nahar Singh Ka Balidan, Dr. Ranjit Singh Saini (MA, LLB, Ph.D),pp 10, New Bhartiya Book Corporation, 2000 Edition, Printers- Amar Jain Printing Press, New Delhi.

Role in 1857 mutiny

According to B.P. Dheeraj, a correspondent of Punjab Kesari, Gulab Singh Saini took a stand against the English army in the village of Sihi. He led a composite army which consisted of Muslims, Jats, Sainis, Meos and a lot of other soldiers of Rajput extractions. On 10 May 1857 Gulab Singh and his native army inflicted a crushing defeat on the army of East India Company and forced them to retreat. This campaign was undertaken to prevent the English army's entry into Delhi to dethrone

Bahadur Shah Zafar Bahadur Shah II, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' Victory) was born Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862) and was the twentieth and last Mughal Emperor as well a ...

, the last nominal

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

emperor of India. Due to Gulab Singh's efforts there English temporarily failed in accomplishing this and this allowed

to be crowned again as the emperor of India 1857 The First Challenge, Thursday, 10 May 2007, Prof V.N. Datta, The Tribune, Chandigarh, India
/ref> and the nominal leader of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 by a congress of Indian rulers.Shaheed Gulab Singh Saini, by B.P. Dheeraj (Correspondent), Punjab Kesari, 12 March 1997 Edition

Capture and execution

Gulab Singh Saini was hanged, along with Nahar Singh and Madho Singh, in the Chandni Chowk of New Delhi on 9 January 1858 after they had been allegedly captured by deception by English forces. Thereupon, all of his property and land was confiscated by the British colonialists and all public records pertaining to him and his companions were burnt down to erase the influence of their martyrdom on the natives.Post-Pāinian Systems of Sanskrit Grammar,Dedication page, Ranjit Singh Saini , Published by Parimal Publications, 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saini, Gulab Singh 1858 deaths Indian revolutionaries Punjabi people Executed Indian people People executed by British India by hanging Indian independence activists from Haryana People from Faridabad district Year of birth unknown