Bihar during the Revolt of 1857

Bihar emerged as a major storm center during the Revolt of 1857. The rebellion in this region transformed from a military uprising into a widespread civil war. It united dispossessed landholders, sepoys, and local peasants under the leadership of Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur.

Historical Background and Pre-1857 Discontent

British administrative and land revenue policies created deep resentment across Bihar long before 1857.

Economic Alienation and Land Taxes

• High revenue assessments under the Permanent Settlement of 1793 reduced traditional landholders (zamindars) and cultivators to poverty.
• Defaulting landholders lost their ancestral estates to urban moneylenders through public auctions.
• The Patna region witnessed intense Wahabi movement activity from the 1820s onward, creating an anti-colonial political environment.

Prison Reforms and Religious Grievances

• In 1845, the British jail administration introduced a common messing system in Shahabad and Patna prisons.
• High-caste prisoners resisted eating food prepared by individuals from lower castes, causing riots in Patna and Arrah jails.
• The local population viewed this move as a direct attack on their caste system and religious customs.

Outbreak of the Uprising in Bihar

The revolt in Bihar broke out in July 1857, spreading rapidly from urban centers to rural districts.

The Patna Outbreak (July 3, 1857)

• Peer Ali Khan, a local bookbinder, organized an armed uprising in Patna on July 3, 1857.
• Rebels killed Dr. R. Lyell, the Opium Agent of the East India Company.
• William Tayler, the Commissioner of Patna, suppressed the outbreak with severe measures.
• Peer Ali Khan and 33 followers were arrested, tried, and hanged publicly.

The Danapur Mutiny (July 25, 1857)

• Sepoys of the 7th, 8th, and 40th Regiments of the Bengal Native Infantry revolted at the Danapur (Dinapore) cantonment near Patna.
• The mutineers crossed the Sone River and marched toward Jagdishpur in Shahabad district.
• The sepoys invited the 80-year-old local zamindar, Kunwar Singh, to assume command of the rebel forces.

Leadership of Kunwar Singh and Operations at Arrah

Kunwar Singh provided strategic military leadership and organized an effective resistance against the British army.

Siege of Arrah

• Kunwar Singh’s forces captured Arrah, the headquarters of Shahabad district, in late July 1857.
• The rebels besieged 15 British officers and 50 loyal Sikh soldiers trapped inside the Arrah House (a fortified bungalow).
• A British relief detachment of 400 soldiers under Captain Dunbar was ambushed and wiped out near Arrah on July 29, 1857.
• Major Vincent Eyre marched from Buxar and defeated Kunwar Singh’s army at the Battle of Bibiganj on August 3, 1857, relieving the siege of Arrah.

Campaign Outside Bihar

• After Eyre destroyed the fort at Jagdishpur, Kunwar Singh evacuated Bihar to carry out guerrilla warfare across Central India.
• He joined forces with Nana Saheb and Tantia Tope at Kanpur, fought at Rewa, and captured Azamgarh in March 1858.
• British General Lord Mark Kerr attempted to intercept Kunwar Singh at Azamgarh, but Kunwar Singh outmaneuvered British troops and retreated toward his native Jagdishpur.

Battle of Jagdishpur and Death

• While crossing the Ganga River near Shivpur Ghat, a British cannonball shattered Kunwar Singh’s arm. To prevent gangrene, he severed his own arm with his sword and offered it to the river.
• On April 23, 1858, a wounded Kunwar Singh defeated British forces under Captain Le Grand near Jagdishpur.
• Kunwar Singh died from his wounds on April 26, 1858, leaving his younger brother, Amar Singh, to continue the struggle.

Leadership of Amar Singh and the Cachar Guerrillas

Amar Singh assumed leadership of the Shahabad rebels after the death of Kunwar Singh.

• Amar Singh organized a mobile army and established a parallel government in the Kaimur Hills (Kaimur Range).
• He used dense forest cover to launch surprise attacks on British supply columns and communication lines.
• Amar Singh maintained active resistance in Bihar until late 1859, when British counter-insurgency operations under Brigadier Douglas forced him to flee into the Nepal Terai.

Regional Spread Across Bihar

The rebellion affected multiple districts outside the Shahabad-Patna region.

Chota Nagpur Region (Present-day Jharkhand)

• In Chota Nagpur, the 8th Native Infantry mutinied at Hazaribagh in July 1857.
• Jai Mangal Pandey and Nadir Ali Khan led the Ramgarh Battalion in revolt, taking control of Ranchi.
• Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo and Pandey Ganpat Rai established a rebel administration in Ranchi before being captured and hanged in 1858.
• Nilambar and Pitambar led the Chero and Kharwar tribal populations in an uprising across Palamu district.

Gaya and Tirhut

• In Gaya, local rebel bands freed 400 prisoners from the central jail and attacked government offices.
• In Muzaffarpur (Tirhut), irregular cavalry units revolted and drove out local British officers.

Key Leaders in Bihar (1857–1858)

Key Historical Facts

The Arrah House was a small two-story billiard room belonging to Vicars Boyle, a railway engineer, which served as a defensive fort for European personnel during the Siege of Arrah. Kunwar Singh belonged to the Parmar Rajput clan of Jagdishpur. Despite being past 80 years of age and facing heavy personal debts due to litigation with the East India Company, he mobilized thousands of soldiers across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. William Tayler, the Commissioner of Patna, arrested three prominent Wahabi leaders—Moulvi Mohammad Hussain, Moulvi Ahmadullah, and Moulvi Waezul Haq—by inviting them to his house under the guise of a conference, preventing an organized Wahabi uprising in Patna. The victory of Kunwar Singh over Captain Le Grand on April 23, 1858, is celebrated annually in Bihar as Vijay Diwas (Victory Day). The Ramgarh Battalion was an auxiliary unit maintained by the East India Company in Chota Nagpur. Its native soldiers mutinied under Subedar Jai Mangal Pandey and joined the national uprising, fighting British forces at the Battle of Chatra in October 1857.