The Raja, the Rebel and the Monk by J N Sinha

Description

In late eighteenth century India, an obscure king who ruled over Huseypur in northwest Bihar, challenged the might of the British. When overpowered by the East India Company forces, he escaped into the jungles of Gorakhpur, raised a people’s army and fought a guerilla war against them for nearly thirty years. Beaten many times, he always bounced back and did not surrender ever.

He was Maharaja Fateh Bahadur Sahi.A warrior, patriot and innovator, Sahi visualised the dangers of impending imperialism and rose to meet the challenge. He devised new war logistics and resorted to guerilla warfare, including ascetics, destitute and bandits in his unique army. This happened years before the Indian Revolt of 1857 and the revolutions in America and France.

Mainstream history is yet to look at him, but in the middle-Ganga valley, Sahi is remembered as a folk hero and a people’s king.