User talk:Shriram Basidoni

Mundargi Bhima Rao Dharwad, Karnataka

November 03, 2022 to November 03, 2023

Mundargi Bhima Rao was a hero of the 1858 uprisings in the Dharwad district of Karnataka. Rao, a commoner, fought side by side with the landlords and shook the British army to its very core.

Rao served the British at Mundargi as a land revenue officer. In 1854, he was finally dismissed from his position as a result of his protests against the British exploitation of the peasantry. He led the anti-tax propaganda in Dharwad and urged people to join the anti-British movement. In 1857 itself, he gathered 300-400 people and planned a revolt at Hammigi. However, he had to hold the plan as the information leaked and the District Collector got to know about their plan. He was a friend of Nana Saheb and the latter urged him to revolt in his letters.

Rao and his comrade Soratur Desai gathered supporters and marched on Hemmigi when the British 1858 seized the weapons of Kenchan Gowda, a local leader of Hammigi. By May 30, they and Kenchan Gowda had fled to Koppal fort after killing the security guards, looting the weapons, and attacking the treasuries at Dambal and Gadag. Mayor Hughes' British troops advanced toward the Koppal fort. Soon after, the army took control of the fort and imprisoned 150 soldiers.

Rao and Gowda heroically fought against the British till the very end, and took their own lives rather than surrender to the British.

Source: Indian Culture Portal