Bihar's last lion

There are just two triggers in Jagdishpur (Arrah district, Bihar) to evoke memories of the legendary Kunwar (Kuer) Singh. One is the colossal black equestrian statue of the martyred Raja of Jagdishpur, who, apocryphal reports have it, cut off his hand with his sword when a bullet hit it, and dropped it into the Ganga as an "offering". A few days later, he was dead. That aside, two ageing descendants, six generations removed, live less than 10 miles from the town, in Dalippur village.
In Bihar, the land time forgot, Veer Kunwar Singh is himself the forgotten hero. Few remember him in the place where he was born in 1777, and where he valiantly fought the Company forces for a year, at the age of 80, eventually succumbing on April 26, 1858. He was Bihar's last lion, annihilating the forces of Captain Dunbar and Captain Le Grand to liberate Azamgarh, participating with Tantya Tope in the Battle of Kanpur.
In a country where heritage is just another word, Kunwar Singh is just another name. His fort and palace in Jagdishpur have been almost entirely demolished. Only two pillars remain, freshly coated with pale yellow lime wash.
Scraps of history are scattered here. Two statues of the warrior for freedom, enclosed, inexplicably, behind iron bars; a waterless fountain; a dry well said to be dug by Kunwar Singh; three street dogs sleeping peacefully; dirt strewn everywhere; two large peepal trees under which villagers pass time in the summer heat: this is Jagdishpur's tribute to the man who made it famous. Also present are sweeper Lal Babu, and a company of State Auxiliary Police (SAP) jawans.
"The local police station inspector had an office here in a room where some of Kunwar Singh's personal belongings and weapons were kept," remembers Lal Babu, "but that was looted or burnt in the fire of 2002." The memorial's caretaker, Jay Prakash Narayan Singh, visits only occasionally. He lives in Patna and is also in charge of the Karpoori Thakur Museum there.
In 1972-73, the Bihar Government had taken over the ruins of Kunwar Singh's palace to make it a museum. Over 115 years, it had become a public lavatory, and a grazing ground for cattle. Villagers broke open the gates and built a connecting road by demolishing boundary walls, says Krishna Sahu, resident of Jagdishpur.
More recently, under pressure from the Veer Kunwar Singh Smarak Samiti, the State government decided to repair the structure and upgrade the museum. RJD chief and former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav inaugurated the renovated building in July 2003. In April 2005, Union Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan unveiled the black statue of the martyred Rajput. It joined a white statue that had been installed in 1983. In the time-span between the two statues, Kunwar Singh's home continued to resemble a morgue.
Hope was rekindled on April 23, 2007, when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited and promised to make the Veer Kunwar Singh Museum a showpiece. Since then, electricity supply has become regular and SAP jawans have been stationed.
"We've locked the gates from both sides and closed the public passage," explains an SAP constable, "and swept the compound clean." It took great persuasion to get him to allow The Pioneer team to shoot photographs, including establishing press credentials and producing identity cards. The palace is out of bounds for walk-in visitors. In India heritage means either a free-for-all or government bureaucracy. There are no half-measures.
In Dalippur village, pride for Kunwar Singh is a personal affair. Bharat Bhushan Singh is in his sixties and, with younger brother Pradeep Kumar Singh, is happy to show off the genealogical chart of the family. Sahabzada Singh had four sons - Kunwar Singh, Dayal Singh, Rajpatti Singh and Amar Singh. "We belong to the line of Dayal Singh, who looked after the Jagdishpur estate," says Bharat Bhushan, who retired from Indian Oil Corporation.
In 1857, there were two vast estates in this part of Bihar - Jagdishpur and Dumraon (Buxar district, but like Jagdishpur part of the Bhojpur region). "Jagdishpur estate had 900 villages under its fiefdom whereas Dumraon had 800 or so," says Bharat Bhushan, "Jagdishpur was a bigger estate, but since the Dumraon family was pro-government, it flourished. Kunwar Singh fought the Britishers, and so we are here!" "There's nothing left for us to feel proud of ... except the legend of Kunwar Singh," adds farmer Pradeep Kumar Singh, Bharat Bhushan's cousin.
"A total of 32 individuals can claim descent from Kunwar Singh," says Pradeep, "they're of the sixth and seventh generation." In his time, the stalwart of Bhojpur took on the world's mightiest business corporation in an epic contest. Today, other companies preoccupy his descendants, as they find employment in Reliance Petroleum, HDFC Bank and as stock brokers.
Maybe Kunwar Singh should have backed the British. His descendants could have ended up as MPs and ministers, in high office; look what happened to the scions of Gwalior, Patiala, Kapurthala, Bhopal ...