Shaikh Bhikhari
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Sheikh Bhikhari | |
|---|---|
| Native name | शेख भिखारी |
| Born | 2 October 1819 Lotwa Khudya Village, Budmu, Ranchi district, Chotanagpur (now Jharkhand), India |
| Died | 8 January 1858 (aged 38) Chutupalu Ghati, Ramgarh district, Bengal Presidency (now Jharkhand), India |
| Allegiance | Chotanagpur Rebel Forces |
| Service/ | Rebel Sepoys |
| Rank | General / Diwan |
| Commands held | Revolutionary Forces of Chotanagpur |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Relations | Sheikh Buland Ansari (Father) |
Sheikh Bhikhari (2 October 1819 – 8 January 1858) was an Indian military leader and diplomat who participated in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 within the Chotanagpur region of present-day Jharkhand.[1] He served as the Diwan (chief administrator) and general alongside the regional chief Tikait Umrao Singh. Bhikhari organized armed resistance against the expansionist policies of the East India Company and opposed the Doctrine of Lapse.[1] He was captured by British troops and executed by hanging alongside Tikait Umrao Singh in January 1858.[2]
Early life and background
Bhikhari was born on 2 October 1819 to Sheikh Buland Ansari in the village of Lotwa-Khudya, located under the Budmu police station block in Ranchi, Chotanagpur.[1] He belonged to an Ansari family engaged in traditional weaving.[1] During his early years, Bhikhari engaged in making hand-loomed garments and sold them in local village markets to sustain his family. At the age of 20, he enlisted as a soldier in the army of the Maharaja of Chotanagpur. He was later appointed as the military commander and chief Diwan by Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo of Barkagarh Jagannathpur and Tikait Umrao Singh of the Khudra Lotwa Estate.[1]
Role in the 1857 Uprising
During the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, Bhikhari engaged in diplomatic efforts, sending messengers to neighboring provinces to coordinate collective resistance among regional chiefs against British territorial annexations.[1] He formed a military alliance involving Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo, Pandey Ganpat Rai, Tikait Umrao Singh, Madho Singh, and rebellious sepoys from the British Ramgarh Battalion and the Doranda Army Camp.[1]
Bhikhari took command of the recruited local forces from Ranchi and Chaibasa. Under his direction, the insurgent forces captured British positions in Hazaribagh and Ranchi, released political detainees from prisons, and damaged administrative record rooms, causing British officers to temporarily evacuate the Chotanagpur, Purulia, and Santhal Pargana districts. Following these events, Bhikhari moved his troops into Santhal Pargana, engaging East India Company forces at the Battle of Bhanuka.[1]
Battle of Chutupalu Ghati
In late 1857, the British military dispatched a regiment under the command of General M.C. Donald to re-establish control over Ranchi. To counter their advance through the narrow valley mountain pass of Chutupalu Ghati, Bhikhari executed a defensive blockade strategy.[1] His forces demolished the transit bridge crossing the valley and felled trees to create roadblocks along the roads, obstructing the British column's advance. When the British infantry arrived, Bhikhari's forces engaged them from the surrounding hills. As ammunition ran low, his troops rolled boulders down the steep hillsides to impede the advancing lines.[1]
Capture and execution
British forces utilized a local pathway to flank and surround the rebel position on the Chutupalu hills. Bhikhari and Tikait Umrao Singh were captured by East India Company troops on 6 January 1858.[2] Following a summary military court-martial on 7 January, both leaders were sentenced to death. On 8 January 1858, Bhikhari and Tikait Umrao Singh were publicly executed by hanging from a banyan tree in Chutupalu Ghati.[1]
Historical documentation
The life and contributions of Bhikhari were researched and documented by his descendant, the educationist Shamima Khatoon Ansari. Utilizing family records and individual journals, she published a biographical study titled Shaheed-e-Shaikh Bhikhari: Hayat-o-Khidmat in 2002 through the Mahila Dastakari Vidyalaya, Ranchi, focusing on the role of the Momin/Ansari weaver community in the 1857 resistance.[3]
Legacy
The execution site in Chutupalu Ghati (Ramgarh district) is maintained as a historical site known locally as Shaheed Sthal.[1] The state government named the Shaheed Sheikh Bhikhari Medical College and Hospital in Hazaribagh in his honor.[4] Additionally, a memorial entrance, the Shaheed Sheikh Bhikhari Gate, is located at the Ormanjhi Chowk intersection along the National Highway in Ranchi.
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 "Sheikh Bhikhari: Indian freedom fighter who raged against 'Doctrine of Lapse'". The Siasat Daily. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Tributes to 1857 martyrs". The Telegraph India. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
- ↑ Ansari, Shamima Khatoon (2002). Shaheed-e-Shaikh Bhikhari: Hayat-o-Khidmat. Mahila Dastakari Vidyalaya, Ranchi. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
- ↑ "Hazaribagh Medical College renamed". The Pioneer. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
External links
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