New Delhi: One of the most outstanding leaders of India’s First War of Independence, Tatya Tope, was hanged to death on April 18, 1859 at Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh.


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The patriot of the highest order was captured by the British Forces on April 07, 1859 and after a hurried trial for waging war against the East India Company, he was hanged on April 18.


On the occasion of his Martyrdom Day today, here are some of the facts about the patriot:


  • Ramachandra Pandurang Tope was born in Nashik, Maharashtra, in 1814. He was the only son of Pandurang Rao Tope and his wife Rukhmabai.
  • He is better known by his nickname Tatya Tope, which is also transliterated as Tantya Tope or Tantia Topi.
  • He was one of the notable generals of the 1857 revolt.
  • In May 1857, Tantia Tope won the battle over the Indian troops of the East India Company at Kanpur.
  • A personal adherent of Nana Sahib of Bithur, he progressed with the Gwalior contingent after the British reoccupied Cawnpore and forced General Windham to retreat from the city. Known for his guerilla tactics, he came to the relief of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and with her, seized the city of Gwalior.
  • He was defeated by General Napier's British Indian troops at Ranod and after a further defeat at Sikar abandoned the campaign.
  • He was executed by the British Government at Shivpuri on April 18, 1859.
  • Last year, Dr Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State for Culture and Tourism and Civil Aviation, had released a Commemorative Coin of Rs 200 and a Circulation Coin of Rs 10 on Tatya Tope. 
  • Tantya Tope had the ideology one-nation ‘Bhartavarsha’ which include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, says historian Makkhan Lal.
  • Dr Rajesh Tope, one of the fourth generation descendants of Tantya Tope, explored Tope’s Operation Red Lotus in 1857 as a Maratha-Mughal alliance against the British and highlighted that 1857 was a battle that was “lost, but the war was won”.