Chaudhary Mohar Singh

Chaudhary Mohar Singh (died 1857) was an Indian revolutionary and zamindar from Shamli, Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, who played a key role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against British rule. He led villagers and allied with Thana Bhawan’s Saiyed Pathans to capture the Shamli tehsil, disrupting British control for six months.^[2][3]

Singh was born in Shamli, present day Uttar Pradesh into a Hindu Jat^[4] family of Chaudhary Ghasi Ram, a zamindar executed for resisting the British, Singh inherited martial and leadership traditions amid economic hardship caused by heavy British taxation. He belonged to the Maulaheri Jats.^[2]

In 1857, the Maulaheris rallied the locals and attempted to sabotage the logistic lines of the British. They tried coordinating with other Indians, like the Marathas, to better take advantage of the chaos. An extract explains:

Receiving practically no support from the local inhabitants, the British force was exposed to Maratha onslaughts. Ghasi Ram, the Jat zamindar of Shamli, played an important role as an ally of the Marathas, impeding supplies to the British force.^[5]

However, the British ultimately stabilized the situation. The Maulaheris had proven to be effective rebels, but they and their accomplices were caught and punished.

Ghasi Ram, the leading Jat zamindar of the place, was chiefly instrumental in stopping Colonel Burn's supplies and otherwise annoying his forces. His son, Mohar Singh, following in the paternal footsteps, was consequently hanged on account of similar achievements during the year 1857. The British commander permitted his troops to burn the town as a punitive measure.^[6][7]

In June 1857, as the Indian Rebellion erupted in Meerut over greased Enfield rifle cartridge rumors, Singh planned the uprising at Guru Virjanand’s ashram in Mathura. allied with Niyamat Ali Khan and Mahbub Ali Khan from Thana Bhawan, he led villagers, sepoys, and militia to capture Shamli’s tehsil, setting fire to the building and residency. His forces held Shamli tehsil for six months, using guerrilla tactics to disrupt British supply lines between Meerut and Delhi. A major clash in Fatehpur’s forests resulted in 225 men and 27 women rebels killed.^[8][9]

In late 1857, British forces retook Shamli with artillery. Singh was captured and hanged, his body displayed on a tree along the Jhinjhana-Karnal road for three days.^[10]