Veer Narayan Singh
A commemorative postage stamp on Bir Narayan Singh, 1st Chhattisgarhi freedom fighter:
I
ssued by India
Issued on Dec 10, 1987
Description of Designs : The 60p stamp has been designed by Shri Sankha Samanta. The first day cover design has been prepared by Shri J. Swaminathan and the cancellation by Smt. Alka Sharma.
Type : Stamp, Mint Condition
Colour : Single colour
Denomination : 60 Paise
Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.
Printing size : 3.55 x 2.54 cms.
Perforation : 13 x 13
Paper : Indigenous un W/M P.G. Matt Coated paper
Number printed : 10,00,000
Number per issue sheet : 35
Printing Process : Photogravure
Printed : India Security Press
Name : Veer Narayan Singh Binjhwar
Born on 1795 at Sonakhan, Raipur, Chattisgarh, India
Died on Jan 22, 1858
About :
- A great son of the Mahanadi Valley and the soil of Chhattisgarh, Veer Narayan Singh Binjhwar was born to the Zamindar of Sonakhan in 1795.
- In 1856 when Chhattisgarh was in the grip of severe famine the merchants hoarded grain. Narayan Singh could not tolerate seeing people die of starvation. He sought to borrow grain from merchants as ‘Barhi‘ and ultimately, performing the duties of a ‘Kshetra Pramukh‘, he arranged to take out grain from the warehouse and distributed it amongst the people, under intimation to Charles Elliot, the Deputy Commissioner of Raipur. But on the complaint of Makhan, a merchant, the British Government arrested Narayan Singh on 24th Oct. 1856 at Sambalpur and sent him to jail at Raipur.
- In 1857 when the flame of revolution was ignited in the country, it lit sparks in the forest-region of Chhattisgarh and the people unanimously elected the imprisoned Narayan Singh as their leader. With the help of soldiers and the public, Narayan Singh escaped from the jail in August, 1857 and reached Sonakhan. He organised his trusted followers and had an encounter with the British army near Sonakhan. He was moved by the atrocities and the acts of devastation and destruction of the British. He surrendered himself to the British army to protect the lives of the people. Narayan Singh was charged with treason and sentenced to death. He was publicly executed on 10th December, 1857. He sacrificed his life willingly for the country.
- The army contingent stationed at Raipur and the public revolted at Raipur, on 18th January, 1858 under the leadership of Hanuman Singh. A British Officer was killed. People were inspired by the immortal sacrifice of Veer Narayan Singh and seventeen of them were sentenced to death on 22nd Jan. 1858. Their sacrifice, like Veer Narayan Singh‘s martyrdom, was a memorable event in the history of Chhattisgarh which gave momentum to the freedom movement.
