Veer Surendra Sai (23 January 1809 – 28 February 1884) was a native Indian as well as a regional freedom fighter from the Bengal Presidency, now

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. He fought against

British rule in India The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

after they dethroned the king and queen of

Sambalpur State Sambalpur State, also known as Hirakhand Kingdom was a sovereign state founded in the 1570 CE. It ruled over a vast kingdom spread across Western Odisha and Eastern Chhattisgarh in central-eastern India prior to the Maratha occupation in 1800 AD ...

as he was the legal heir. Veer Surendra Sai and his associates

Madho Singh Madho Singh (1 July 1929 – 2006) was an Indian wrestler. He competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII ...

, Kunjal Singh, Airi Singh, Bairi Singh, Uddant Sai, Ujjal Sai, Khageswar Dao, Karunakar Singh, Salegram Bariha, Govind Singh, Pahar Singh, Rajee Ghasia, Kamal Singh, Hati Singh, Salik Ram Bariha, Loknath Panda/Gadtia, Mrutunjaya Panigrahi, Jagabandu Hota, Padmanabha Guru, Trilochan Panigrahi and many others worked together and separately to counter British colonial expansion in India, preventing the British authorities from assuming control over the majority of Western Odisha region for a significant period of time. Historians have noted that Sai has received more historiographical attention than those of his contemporaries in their struggle against British rule. Many of them were tried and executed by the colonial authorities; Hatte Singh died in the Vapor Island in the

Andamans The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between the ...

. Lion of Sambalpur Veer Surendra Sai died in

Asirgarh Asirgarh Fort is an Indian fortress ''(qila)'' situated in the Satpura Range about north of the city of Burhanpur, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Because the fortress commands a pass through the Satpuras connecting the valleys of the ...

Jail on 28 February 1884.

Early life and background

Sai was born on 23 January 1809 in a village called Khinda about 40 km to the north of

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Samb ...

. He was one of the seven children of Dharma Singh. The family was part of the

ruling clan. He belonged to the branch initiated by Anirudha Sai son of Madhekara Sai, fourth king of Chauhan dynasty.

Revolt for the throne

In 1827 ruler of

, Raja Maharaja Sai died without an heir. The British Government installed his widow Rani Mohan Kumari as the ruler of the state.This was against the established norms where only the male rulers were acceptable to the population.As a result of which disturbance broke out and conflict increased between the recognised ruler and other claimants for the throne of Sambalpur. Surendra Sai being one of the descendants of the ruling clan , had the most prominent claim. In time Rani Mohan Kumari became unpopular. Her land revenue policy did not satisfy the Gond and

Binjhal The Binjhal (also known as Binjhwar) is an ethnic group and an offshoot of the Austroasiatic Baiga tribe, are found mainly in many districts of Odisha, Chhatishgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The 2011 census showed their population to be ...

tribal zamindars and subjects who suspected loss of power to the British. The British authorities removed Rani Mohan Kumari from power and put Narayan Singh, a descendant of royal family but born of a low caste, as the king of Sambalpur. The British Government ignored the claim of Surendra Sai for succession. Rebellion broke out in the regime of Narayan Singh. Surendra Sai and his close associates, the Gond zamindars, created many disturbances. In an encounter with the British troops Surendra Sai, his brother Udyanta Sai and his uncle Balaram Singh were captured and sent to the

Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is considered as a health resort and is also popular for Hazaribagh ...

Jail where Balaram Singh died. King Narayan Singh died in 1849. By virtue of the

Doctrine of Lapse The doctrine of lapse was a policy of annexation initiated by the East India Company in the Indian subcontinent about the princely states, and applied until the year 1858, the year after Company rule was succeeded by the British Raj under the ...

Lord Dalhousie James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), also known as Lord Dalhousie, styled Lord Ramsay until 1838 and known as The Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and co ...

annexed Sambalpur in 1849, as Narayan Singh had no male successor to succeed him. During the uprising of 1857 the sepoys set Surendra Sai and his brother Udyant Sai free. The resistance to British continued in Sambalpur under the leadership of Surendra Sai. He was supported by his brothers, sons, relatives and some

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

Uprising

Sai espoused the cause of the downtrodden tribal people in Sambalpur by promoting their language and culture in response to the higher

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

s and the British colonial authorities trying to exploit them to establish their political power in Sambalpur region. He began protesting against the British at the age of 18 in 1827. First time he was arrested in 1840 and sent to Hazaribagh Jail. He was broken out of Hazaribagh prison by the fighters during 1857 rebellion. He moved his operations to the hilly tracts of Odisha and continued his resistance until his surrender in 1862 . Before his surrender he spent 17 years in prison at Hazaribagh and after his final arrest served a term of 20 years including his detention of 19 years in the remote

hill fort until he died.

Attempts made to suppress him

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 ...

collapsed by the end of 1858 and law and order was restored by the British throughout

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 ...

, but he continued his revolution. The military resources of the British were pulled up against him and the brilliant Generals like Major Forster, Capt. L. Smith and others earned credit in suppressing the rebellion elsewhere in India were brought to Sambalpur to stamp out his revolution. But all attempts failed and Surendra Sai succeeded in foiling strategy of the British for a long time. Major Forster, the reputed general who was vested with full military and civil power and the authorities of a Commissioner to suppress Surendra Sai and his followers, was removed by the British authority in 1861 after three years in Sambalpur. His successor Major Impey could not defeat Sai. The British seized the entire food-stock of the rebels, stopped all resources of the supply of food and other necessaries of life for them. Major Impey abandoned the idea of violent war and cautiously followed the policy of peace and good-will with the approval of the Government of India. Surendra Sai, one of the greatest revolutionaries in history, and a warrior who knew no defeat in his life surrendered with full faith in the honesty and integrity of the British Government. However, after the death of Impey, situations took a sudden change and the British administrators revived their hostility towards the great hero.

Last days

Sambalpur was brought under the jurisdiction of the newly created Central Provinces on 30 April 1862; Veer Surendra Sai decided to surrender soon after that. However, he was said to have been disillusioned and the new setup indulged in reversal of the old liberal policy. The administrators found that the surrender of Veer Surendra Sai did not bring the revolution to an end. They stepped down to organise a conspiracy and made sudden arrest of Veer Surendra Sai and all his relations, friends and followers. Sai and six of his followers were subsequently detained in the

hill fort. Sai spent the last part of his life in captivity. In 1884 on 23 May, Surendra Sai died in the

fort, away from his native land. Sambalpur was one of the last patch of land to be occupied by the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

in India, not counting the

Princely States A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

. This was largely due to the efforts of veer Surendra Sai. He was a very good swordsman. People of the region affectionately called him as ''Bira'' (or "Veer" meaning courageous) Surendra Sai.

Recognition

Citizens of Western region of Odisha feel Veer Surendra Sai should have been recorded with greater importance in the history of India's struggle for independence. Many important documents and papers relating to Veer Surendra Sai are said to be still existing at different archives in

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

and

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

; and the Government of Odisha recognises him a Hero. *In 2009, The Government of Odisha changed the name of University College of Engineering (the oldest engineering college of the state) to

Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, formerly known as the University College of Engineering, Burla, is a state university located in Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha, India. Established in 1956, it is the oldest engineering college in Odisha. U ...

, Burla in honour of this great leader. * In 2005, Government of India installed a statue of Veer Surendra Sai at the premises of

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

. * The

Veer Surendra Sai Medical College Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VSSIMSAR), formerly Burla Medical College (BMC) and Veer Surendra Sai Medical College and Hospital (VSSMCH), popularly known as VIMSAR, is a government-run Medical Institute and h ...

, ESTD- 1959, located in Burla, Sambalpur, has been named after him. * Government of India has released a postal stamp in his honour. * On 23 January 2009 people of Odisha as well as

celebrated the 2nd Birth Centenary of Veer Surendra Sai. On the occasion, 'Paschim Odisha Agrani Sangathan' of

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

brought out a book titled ''Veer Surendra Sai'' edited by Dr. Chitrasen Pasayat and Dr. Prabhas Kumar Singh. Also, another book titled ''Veer Surendra Sai: The Great Revolutionary'' edited by Dr. Chitrasen Pasayat and Sri Sashanka Shekhar Panda has been published by Anusheelan, Sambalpur. *

Veer Surendra Sai Stadium Veer Surendra Sai Stadium is a cricket stadium in Sambalpur, Orissa. The ground is named after Surendra Sai, an Indian freedom fighter who died fighting the British. The ground hosted cricket matches from 1973. Till date ground has hosted 15 fir ...

is named after him. * In September 2018

Jharsuguda Jharsuguda is a city and district headquarters of Jharsuguda district of Odisha, India. It is an industrial hub, consisting mainly of metallurgical industries. It is well connected to major cities of India through the rail network, and a rece ...

became the second city in Odisha to have an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

, which was named in honour of Sai. * VSS (Veer Surendra Sai) Market Complex has been made in his honour at Chhend Colony of

Rourkela Rourkela is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about west of state capital Bhubaneswar and is surro ...