Hare Krishna Singh was the commander-in-chief of

Kunwar Singh Kunwar Singh (born: 13 November 1777 – died: 26 April 1858), also known as Babu Kunwar Singh, was a leader and military commander during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He led a selected band of armed soldiers against the troops under the comm ...

's forces in the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

and also served under his brother

Babu Amar Singh Babu Amar Singh was a revolutionary in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the brother of Babu Kunwar Singh, the zamindar of Jagdishpur. Early life Amar Singh was the second son of Sahebzada Singh born much after his older brother. He was describe ...

Early life

Hare Krishna Singh was born in 1827 in the village of Barubhee in

Shahabad district Shahabad district or Arrah district, headquartered at Arrah (now part of Bhojpur District, Bihar) was a Bhojpuri speaking district in western Bihar, India, making the western border of Bihar with Uttar Pradesh. In 1972, the district was split in ...

of Bihar to Shri Aidal Singh who was a landlord. His original occupation was as a

tehsildar In India and Pakistan, a Tehsildar or Mamlatdar is a tax officer accompanied by revenue inspectors. They are in charge of obtaining taxes from a tehsil with regard to land revenue. A tehsildar is also known as an executive magistrate of the relev ...

for the

Jagdishpur estate The Jagdishpur estate was a zamindari estate situated in modern-day Bihar, India, in erstwhile Shahabad district (now in Arrah). The centre of the estate was the town of Jagdishpur, however the estate also included neighbouring towns and villages. ...

and was in charge of Piro pargana. British sources describe him as a middle sized man who was 30 years old at the time of the rebellion. He brushed his moustache upwards in the style of an up-country

sowar Sowar ( ur, سوار, also ''siwar'' meaning "the one who rides" or "rider", from Persian ) was originally a rank during the Mughal Empire and Maratha Empire. Later during the British Raj it was the name in Anglo-Indian usage for a horse-soldi ...

Role in the 1857 rebellion

He played an important role in convincing Kunwar Singh to take up arms against the British and was given the duty to command his forces. He was aged 30 at the time of the rebellion and participated in many battles against the British forces. He is considered by some to have been the "prime mover" of the rebellion against the British in Bihar as he was instrumental in recruiting the mutinous sepoys stationed at

Danapur Danapur is a Indian satellite town and one of the 6 sub-divisions (Tehsil) in Patna district of Bihar state.Jagdispur Jagdishpur is a nagar panchayat town of the district Bhojpur of the state of Bihar in eastern India. It was the capital of the eponymous Jagdishpur estate, ruled by Rajputs of the Ujjainiya clan. One of its rulers, Kunwar Singh, was a major f ...

. He marched with the force westwards towards

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

and achieved a major victory in a battle against Major Douglas in Lohara, west of

Azamgarh Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the st ...

. After Kunwar Singh's death he continued to serve under his brother

. During the period after Kunwar Singh's death, a bounty of Rs 1000 was placed on his head by the British. He was also made the head of the government under the authority of Amar Singh and was considered to have run an efficient military system with different ranks being awarded to soldiers. He was captured in 1858 and executed by hanging.

Assessment

Ranjit Ram, a former commander under Kunwar Singh, later recalled that, on the death of his superior, Hare Krishna had become "the leading man … and had charge of all the treasure, etc."

References

{{reflist Revolutionaries of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 People from Bhojpur district, India History of Bihar Indian independence activists from Bihar 1827 births 1858 deaths