Rao Tula Ram 200th birth anniversary: All about the valiant freedom fighter who led the Battle of Narnaul

Rao Tula Ram Singh's birth anniversary is celebrated every year on 9 December. On the occasion of 200th Jayanti of the valiant freedom fighter who played a key role in the revolt of 1857 — India's first struggle for Independence.

Rao Tula Ram's early life

The King of Rewari, Rao Tula Ram Singh was born on 9 December in 1825 in Haryana's Rampura suburb. A member of Ahir family, he was the son of Puran Singh and Gyan Kaur. He lost his father at a very young age.

Battle of Narnaul

Considered a state hero, he fought against the oppressive British regime in the field of Nasibpur on outskirts of Narnaul, which famously came to be known as Battle of Narnaul. On 16 November 1857, Rao Tula Ram's cousin Rao Kirshan Singh led the armed forces to the battlefield. In this uprising, several British officers were killed or injured.

However, Britisher's counter retaliation after the battle of Narnaul forced Rao Tula Ram to leave Haryana and move to Rajasthan. During this time, he joined the forces of Tantia Tope for a year, but he met defeat again in 1859 in the battle of Sikar in Rajasthan at the hands of British colonial rule.

Determined to overthrow British colonial empire, Rao Tula Ram left India to seek help from the Shah of Iran, Dost Mohammad Khan ruler of Emirate of Afghanistan and Alexander II Emperor of All Russia against British colonial empire, following defeat in battle of Sikar. In the same year, British colonial rulers confiscated Rao Tula Ram's estates although proprietary rights of his two wives were retained.

In 1877, his son Rao Yudhister Singh was made the head of the Ahirwal area, marking a restoration of Rao Tula Ram's title. Rao Tula Ram's died in Kabul in Afghanistan on 23 September 1863, at the age of 38 after suffering from an infection.

On 23 September 2001, the Government of India issued a postage stamp featuring Rao Tula Ram as a tribute to the brave freedom fighter.