Maan Singh (1890—1955), better known as Daaku Maan Singh, was a notorious Indian
dacoit
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...
.
Biography
Born in 1890 in the village of
Khera Rathor near
Bah in
Agra district, North-Western Provinces.
Singh belonged to the
Rathore
The Rathore is a Rajput clan found in Northern India.
Subclans
Jodhana, Vadhel, Jaitawat, Kumpawat, Champawat, Meratiya, Udawat, Karamsot etc. are the branches or subclans of Rathore Rajputs. Coverage
This article discusses the "Kanauji ...
clan of
Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
s and was the younger brother of Durjan Singh. Khera Rathore was in the
Chambal region of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, where a maze of deep ravines and scrub forests had hidden generations of outlaws since the 13th century.
Between 1939 and 1955, Singh is credited with 1,112 robberies and 185 murders, including the killing of 32 police officers. Singh headed a crew of 17, most of them his sons, brother Nabab Singh, and nephews, who were unchallenged in the Chambal Valley. The police registered over a hundred cases against him, ranging from kidnapping to murder, until he and his son, Subedar Singh, were shot dead by
Gurkha
The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India.
The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...
troops in 1955 while sitting under a
Banyan
A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...
tree in Kakekapura,
Bhind
Bhind is a city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the Bhind district.
Demographics
As of 2011 Indian Census, Bhind had a total population of 197,585, of which 105,352 were males and 92,233 were females. Populati ...
,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
.
This operation was headed by Inspector Vinod Chand Chaturvedi.
S. N. Subba Rao heard Singh speak on stage in 1953 at a public function in Chambal: "I was surprised to hear him speak. He was totally unlike what I had read about him in the papers. Though at the peak of his popularity or notoriety, he was respectful and humble. I was impressed with the contradiction he presented. The government wanted him dead with a big ''inaam'' (reward) on his head and here he was, standing before the adoring public." A
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...
figure who once performed essential social services in hard times and adjudicated local issues, today Singh has a pagoda dedicated to him Khera Rathore. According to Dipankar, a Chambal resident who said that he regularly came to worship at the Maan Singh Mandir, "they were men who fought for the family ''
izzat'' (honour). They are ''baaghiyaan'' (rebels). There is no difference between a baaghi and a
sadhu
''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. ...
".
Actor
Amitabh Bachchan also quotes "In my younger days, we were in awe of Daaku Maan Singh, whose escapades and adventures were common conversation in and around every possible gathering".
Successors
Successors of Singh are living at Khera Rathore near the river Chambal. His son Tehsildar Singh, who used to be a famous dacoit of Chambal along with contemporaries such as Daaku Madho Singh, Mohar Singh, Chhidda Makhan, is living with his family at Sheopur, near the
Morena Commissionary.
Lion of the Chambal
There are many
Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
folk songs and
Noutanki plays based on the stories of his life. Songs about Singh include "Rasta Chalta Koi Nahin Loota, Na Bahino Se Chheene Haar" "Jo Bhi Mila So Baant Diya, Bahino Ko Pahinaye Bhaat"
n English: "(He) did not rob anyone who was walking on the road neither snatched the necklace of a girl; whatever we got distributed it to the poor."
Portrayals in media
''Daku Man Singh'' movie was made in 1971, directed by
Babubhai Mistry
Babubhai Mistry (5 September 1918 – 20 December 2010) was an Indian film director and special effects pioneer who is best known for his films based on Hindu mythology, such as ''Sampoorna Ramayana'' (1961), ''Mahabharat'' (1965), and ''Parasm ...
. The cast included
Dara Singh, Nishi, Shaikh Mukhtar,
Jeevan, Shyam Kumar, and Guddi Maruti; the music was by Sardul Kwatra. It was produced by
Time Life Films. However, the film, which showed the rural dacoits defying established power and serving the poor, was not strictly factual. Maan Singh also featured in the 2019 film, ''
Sonchiriya
''Sonchiriya'' (; ; ISO: '' Sōnaciṛiyā '') is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action film co-written and directed by Abhishek Chaubey and starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana. The ...
'', where he was played by
Manoj Bajpayee
Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema and has also done Telugu and Tamil language films. Regarded as one of the finest actors of Hindi cinema, he i ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Man
People from Madhya Pradesh
Indian robbers
1955 deaths
Deaths by firearm in India
People from Uttar Pradesh
Criminals from Uttar Pradesh
People from Agra district
1890 births