THE IMMORTAL LION OF ODISHA : Veer Surendra Sai
Born on 23 January 1809 in a Village called Bargaon (on the Dhama Road) some scholars says that he was born in Khinda about 30 km to the north of Sambalpur town in kosal region , Surendra Sai was one of the seven children of Dharma Singh. Surendra Sai was a direct descendant from Madhukar Sai,the fourth chouhan king of Sambalpur and therefore was legally entitled to be crowned as king of Sambalpur after demise of King Maharaja Sai in 1827.
Sundar Sai alias Surendra Sai is one of the most valiant sons of the soil who sacrificed his life fighting against the British and died in obscurity. Surendra Sai has a demi-god status in Western Orissa alias Kosal region. Sundar Sai and his associates Madho Singh, Kunjal Singh, Airi Singh, Bairi Sing, Uddant Sai, Ujjal Sai, Khageswar Dao, Salegram Bariha, Govind Singh, Pahar Singh, Rajee Ghasia, Kamal Singh, Hati Singh, Salik Ram Bariha, Loknath Panda/Gadtia, Mrutunjaya Panigrahi, Jagabandu Hota, Padmanave Guru, Trilochan Panigrahi and many others fought with the Britishers selflessly and successfully protected most part of Kosal region for some time from British succession[1]. Most of them died unnoticed fighting for freedom of their motherland from the Britishers. Many of them were hanged by the Britishers; a few died in the Cellular Jail in the Andamans. Sundar Sai himself died in Asirgarh Jail on 28 February 1884.
Many historians put Veer Sundar Sai parallel with Napoleon of the French Revolution of 1789. The heroic achievement of Sundar Sai and his uncommon sacrifice for the cause of his people have few parallels in history. His role in shaping the cause of the Revolution of 1857 and 1858 in the hilly tracts of Western Orissa was highly inspiring. The British became a formidable power in the World after the victory of the Crimean War (1856) and their success in crushing the Revolution in India in 1858. Veer Sundar Sai carried on an uncompromising war against the forces of imperialism till 1862. These four years were the momentous period for the last phase of the Indian Revolution and Sundar Sai was the torch bearer. Sundar Sai was a born rebel and an uncompromising enemy of the British Raj from his young age. His revolution against the British commenced from 1827 when he was only eighteen years of age and continued till 1862 when he surrendered and even after that, until he was finally arrested in 1864 - a total period of 37 years. He suffered imprisonment in Hazaribagh Jail for 17 years in course of his revolutionary career and after his final arrest for another term of 20 years including his detention of 19 years in the remote Asirgarh hill fort till he breathed his last there.
The great Indian Revolt of 1857 is one of the greatest events of modern Indian History. The revolution which broke out against the British rule, for some time it gave a feeling that once for all the British Empire would vanish from India. The English scholars like John Lawrence and Williamkey called this event as Sepoy Mutiny. However, some Indian historians preferred calling it the first war of Independence, in the light that this great event was not simply a sepoy mutiny. The uprising leaders during this period were Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah of Delhi, Maratha leader Nana Saheb, Tantya Tope, Kunwar Singh of Bihar and Surendra Sai of Sambalpur, none of them were sepoys. It was the sepoys as well as the common people both heroically fought against the empire.
JANMA DINARA ANEK SUVECHHA
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