Veer Surendra Sai
Veer Surendra Sai (23 January 1809 – 28 February 1884) was an Indian revolutionary who spent his life fighting against British rule in India. Veer Surendra Sai and his associates Madho Singh, Kunjal Singh, Airi Singh, Bairi Singh, Uddant Sai, Ujjal Sai, Khageswar Dao, Karunakar Singh, 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 worked together and separately to counter British colonial expansion in India, preventing the British authorities from assuming control over the majority of Western  Odisha region for a significant period of time. Historians have noted that Sai has received more historiographical attention than those of his contemporaries in their struggle against British rule. Many of them were tried and executed by the colonial authorities; Hatte Singh died in the Vapor Island in the Andamans. Lion of Sambalpur Veer Surendra Sai died in Asirgarh Jail on 28 February 1884. Early life and background. Sai was born on 23 January 1809 in a village called Khinda about 40 km to the north of Sambalpur, Odisha. He was one of the seven children of Dharma Singh. The  family was part of the Sambalpur state ruling clan.He belonged to the branch initiated by Anirudha Sai son of Madhekara Sai, ruler of Sambalpur. Revolt for the throne. In 1827 ruler of Sambalpur , Raja Maharaja Sai died without an heir. The British Government installed his widow Rani Mohan Kumari as the ruler of the state.This was against the established norms where only the male rulers were acceptable to the population.As a result of which disturbance broke out and conflict increased between the recognised ruler and other claimants for the throne of Sambalpur. Surendra Sai being one of  the descendants of the ruling clan , had the most prominent claim. In time Rani Mohan Kumari became unpopular. Her land revenue policy did not satisfy the Gond and Binjhal tribal zamindars and subjects who suspected loss of power to the British. The British authorities removed Rani Mohan Kumari from power and put Narayan Singh, a descendant of royal family but born of a low caste, as the king of Sambalpur. The British Government ignored the claim of Surendra Sai for succession. Rebellion broke out in the regime of Narayan Singh. Surendra Sai and his close associates, the Gond zamindars, created  many disturbances. In an encounter with the British troops Surendra Sai, his brother Udyanta Sai and his uncle Balaram Singh were captured and sent to the Hazaribagh Jail where Balaram Singh died. King Narayan Singh died in 1849. By virtue of the Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie annexed Sambalpur in 1849, as Narayan Singh had no male successor to succeed him. During the uprising of 1857 the sepoys set Surendra Sai and his brother Udyant Sai free. The resistance to British continued in Sambalpur under the leadership of Surendra Sai. He was supported by his brothers, sons, relatives and some  Zamindars. Uprising. Sai espoused the cause of the downtrodden tribal people in Sambalpur by promoting their language and culture in response to the higher castes and the British colonial authorities trying to exploit them to establish their political power in Sambalpur region. He began protesting against the British at the age of 18 in 1827. First time he was arrested in 1840 and sent to Hazaribagh Jail. He was broken out of Hazaribagh prison by the fighters during 1857 rebellion. He moved his operations to the hilly tracts of Odisha and continued his resistance until his surrender in 1862 . Before  his surrender he spent 17 years in prison at Hazaribagh and after his final arrest served a term of 20 years including his detention of 19 years in the remote Asirgarh hill fort until he died. Attempts made to suppress him. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 collapsed by the end of 1858 and law and order was restored by the British throughout India, but he continued his revolution. The military resources of the British were pulled up against him and the brilliant Generals like Major Forster, Capt. L. Smith and others earned credit in suppressing the rebellion elsewhere in India  were brought to Sambalpur to stamp out his revolution. But all attempts failed and Surendra Sai succeeded in foiling strategy of the British for a long time. Major Forster, the reputed general who was vested with full military and civil power and the authorities of a Commissioner to suppress Surendra Sai and his followers, was removed by the British authority in 1861 after three years in Sambalpur. His successor Major Impey could not defeat Sai. The British seized the entire food-stock of the rebels, stopped all resources of the supply of food and other necessaries of life for them . Major Impey abandoned the idea of violent war and cautiously followed the policy of peace and good-will with the approval of the Government of India. Surendra Sai, one of the greatest revolutionaries in history, and a warrior who knew no defeat in his life surrendered with full faith in the honesty and integrity of the British Government. However, after the death of Impey, situations took a sudden change and the British administrators revived their hostility towards the great hero. Last days. Sambalpur was brought under the jurisdiction of the newly created Central Provinces on 30 April 1862; Veer Surendra  Sai decided to surrender soon after that. However, he was said to have been disillusioned and the new setup indulged in reversal of the old liberal policy. The administrators found that the surrender of Veer Surendra Sai did not bring the revolution to an end. They stepped down to organise a conspiracy and made sudden arrest of Veer Surendra Sai and all his relations, friends and followers. Sai and six of his followers were subsequently detained in the Asirgarh hill fort. Sai spent the last part of his life in captivity. In 1884 on 23 May, Surendra Sai died in  the Asirgarh fort, away from his native land. Sambalpur was one of the last patch of land to be occupied by the British Empire in India, not counting the Princely States. This was largely due to the efforts of veer Surendra Sai. He was a very good swordsman. People of the region affectionately called him as "Bira" (or "Veer" meaning courageous) Surendra Sai. Recognition. Citizens of Western region of Odisha feels veer Surendra Sai, should have been recorded with greater importance in the history of India's struggle for independence. According to them, he is yet to get the right  place because of the state administration's ignorance and carelessness. Even historians and research scholars also have been blamed. Many important documents and papers relating to Sundar Sai are said to be still existing at different archives in Bhopal, Nagpur and Raipur. The Government of Odisha is said to have done nothing in this regard.