Doctrine of Lapse

Sheikh Bhikhari Saheb raged against General Dalhousie’s ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ whose sole objective was to expand the British empire. He stood in support of the freedom-loving native rulers and fought against the foreign rulers. He was born in 1819 in a village called Hupte which was in the jurisdiction of Budmu police station in the Ranchi district of Bihar. His father’s name was Shaik Buland. After completing school education in his native village, Bhikhari joined the army as a soldier. Later he went to Oudaghar province on the invitation of its ruler Thakur Viswanadha Sahadev and soon he became the Diwan of the province. He sensed the imminent danger of the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ by the British and that it would be inevitable. He sent special emissaries like Amanath Ali Ansari, Karamath Ali Ansari and Shaik Hore Ansari to various provinces to unite the rulers who were impatient with the expansionist activities of the British. In a strategic move and with the cooperation of Ram Vijay Singh and Nadir Ali Khan of the East India Company, he initially attacked the army headquarters of the British at Ramghad of Hazaribagh district in 1857 and won the battle. Buoyed by this victory, he entered Santhal pargana with his forces and defeated the British forces at Bhanuka. Some British officers were killed in the battle. Thakur Viswanadh celebrated the victories. Having been informed of a heavy deployment of company forces at Danapur, Bhikhari and Tikontha Umrao Singh reached Ramghad along with their forces. A terrible battle ensued. Though the native soldiers ran short of arms and ammunition to face the heavily armed British forces, they used arrows and stones in the battle. Eventually, the British officers cast their glance on Bhikhari, the strategist who created sleepless nights for the British rulers. They lured some of the greedy persons from the native forces and found the secret place of Bhikhari. Commander MC Donald went there in person with a huge contingent and captured Bhikhari and Umrao Singh on 6 Jan, 1858. Later they hanged both of them, to a tree without any trial. In that context, MC Donald said:‘Among the rebels, Bhikhari is the most hazardous and notorious mutineer.’ This shows the extent to which Sheikh Bhikhari Saheb terrified the British officers.

Doctrine of Lapse

Sheikh Bhikhari: Indian freedom fighter who raged against ‘Doctrine of Lapse’

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