Sumer Singh Gardi was a Gardi guard of the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

s. He is mainly known for his involvement in the assassination of Peshwa Narayanrao in 1773, where he led several Gardis and brutally killed Narayanrao. The assassination was performed on the orders of

Raghunathrao Raghunathrao Bhat (a.k.a. Ragho Ballal or Ragho Bharari) (18 August 1734 – 11 December 1783) was the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire for a brief period from 1773 to 1774. He was known among the Hindus for his extremely successful North-west ...

, whose message was intercepted by his wife

Anandibai Anandibai was a Peshwa Queen and the wife of Raghunathrao, the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. In August 1773, she successfully plotted the death of her nephew, the 17-year-old Peshwa Narayanrao. Her husband was acting regent at the time and n ...

Assassination of Narayanrao

According to popular legend, Raghunathrao had sent a message to Sumer Singh Gardi to fetch Narayanrao using the Marathi word dharaa (धरा) or 'hold' (actual phrase in Marathi - " नारायणरावांना धरा"/"Narayanrao-ana dhara"). This message was intercepted by his wife Anandibai who changed a single letter to make it read as maaraa (मारा) or 'kill' . The miscommunication led the Gardis to chase Narayanrao, who, upon hearing them coming, started running towards his uncles' residence screaming, "Kaka! Mala Vachva!!" ("Uncle! Save me!"). But nobody came to help him and he was killed in the presence of his uncle.

Death

Sumer Singh Gardi died mysteriously at Patna in 1775.

References

{{reflist # Shripad Rama Sharma (1951). ''The Making of Modern India: From A. D. 1526 to the Present Day''. Orient Longmans. p. 302 # S.Venugopala Rao (1977). ''power and criminality''. Allied Publishers Pvt Limited. pp. 111–121. # Govind Sakharam Sardesai (1968). ''New History of the Marathas: Sunset over Maharashtra (1772-1848)''. Phoenix Publications. p. 27. Thus within the short space of about half an hour eleven persons came to be murdered in cold blood in that famous palace, seven being Brahmans, two Maratha servants, two maids. 1775 deaths Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Assassins of heads of government Indian assassins People from the Maratha Confederacy 18th-century Indian people