Rana Beni Madho or Beni Madho Baksh Singh Bais was one of the most important leaders 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 ...

from the

Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

region (in the present-day state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

). He belonged to the Bais 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 ruler of the Shankarpur estate in modern-day

Rae Bareli Raebareli is a city in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Raebareli district and a part of Lucknow Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Sai river, southeast of Lucknow. It possesses many a ...

, part of the old

Baiswara Baiswara is a subregion of Awadh in Uttar Pradesh, India, which includes parts of Unnao and Raebareli districts. Unnao and Raebareli districts are part of Baiswara state. Baiswara is established by Bais Rajput king Abhaichand Bais. He was the 2 ...

region in Oudh. He led a rebellion against the British forces in 1857. His son was married to the grand daughter of another prominent revolutionary leader

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 ...

of Jagdishpur.

Early life

Rana Beni Madho became Rana of Shankarpur estate after the death of Rana Shiv Prasad Singh who had adopted him. He was married to Princess Chandralekha of Kamiar estate and had a brother named Jugraj Singh who also participated in the revolt. He was one of the leaders of the Bais clan of

Rajputs 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 ...

in the

region of South Oudh. He controlled four forts at Shankarpur, Pukbiyan, Bhikha and Jagatpur. The Shankarpur Fort owned by him was one of the strongest in Oudh. He was religious man and an ardent devotee of Goddess

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...

. He was given the title of Nasim by Nawab

Wajid Ali Shah Mirza Wajid Ali Shah ( ur, ) (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856. Wajid Ali Shah's first wife was Alam Ara who was better k ...

. He fought for the Nawab on many occasions and enjoyed the title of "''Sirmaur Rana Bahadur Diler jung".''

Role in the 1857 rebellion

During the revolt of 1857, he was one of the powerful revolutionary leaders and was appointed as the administrator of Jaunpur and Azamgarh region by the newly proclaimed

Nawab of Awadh The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in north India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishap ...

Birjis Qadar. This has been established from the proclamation of Birjis Qadar on 17 August 1857 which explains:

''" As I am fully bent upon populating the land, securing off conveniences for its people and betterment of its inhabitants. I now therefore, decided to exterminate the cruel, ill behaved kaffir ( the unbelieving) Firangis from my hereditary dominion both old and new. Consequently, I have nominated the brave Raja Beni Madho Singh for the administration of the ilagas of Jaunpur and Azamgarh and order that in the obedience to the instructions of the said Raja, you should capture, put to the sword and annihilate the entire group of these perverted unbelievers and make every effort to extirpate them from this country. Considering the said Raja a permanent Amil of this part of the country, you should do your very best for the collection of revenue and betterment of the ryot. You will, consequently, be rewarded with the favours."''

He led one of the largest armies in 1857 consisting of around 25,000 troops and 28 guns against the British forces. He had a good rapport with his tenants as well as village zamindars who remained loyal to him during the rebellion. In one of the sharp encounters that took place at Rae Bareli (then Salon district), the revolutionaries under Beni Madho killed a British Officer named Major Gall. Rana Beni Madho was pursued by four senior commanders of the British columns — Lord Clyde, Hope Grant, Evelegh and

Alfred Horsford General Sir Alfred Hastings Horsford (1818 – 13 September 1885) was a senior British Army officer who went on to be Military Secretary. Military career Born in Bath and educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Horsford was comm ...

but he had successfully escaped. The great revolt in South Oudh formally ended only after he moved out of the Oudh region.

Death

He was killed in the fighting against

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 ...

s of Nepal in late 1859.

References

{{Reflist 19th-century Indian people People from Uttar Pradesh Indian revolutionaries Revolutionaries of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Rajput rulers