Tirot Sing, also known as U Tirot
Sing, was a king of the Khasi people in
the early 19th century, who ruled in
Nongkhlaw, part of the Khasi Hills. His
title was Syiem — a constitutional
head sharing corporate authority with
his Council, generally representatives
of leading clans within his territory.
Tirot Sing fought against British
attempts to take over control of the
Khasi Hills. [1][2]
He died on 17 July 1835. [3]
Anglo-Khasi War and Martyrdom
The British already had gained control
over the Brahmaputra valley after
concluding the Treaty of Yandabu in
1826. [3] Between their possessions in
Sylhet and the newly acquired
possessions in Lower Assam
intervened the Khasi Hills. They
wanted to construct a road through
this area to connect Guwahati with
Sylhet to save weeks of travel and
malarious country. David Scott, the
agent to the British Governor-General
for the Northern Territory, found out
that U Tirot Sing was interested in
regaining possessions in the duars in
return for the permission for the road
project. After a two day session of the
durbar (court) the assembly agreed to
the proposal of the British. Work on
the road was started. When Balaram
Singh, Raja of Ranee, disputed U Tirot
Sing's claims to the duars, he went
with a party of armed men in
December 1828 to establish his claim.
He was confident that the British
would support him, but instead was
confronted by a party of sepoys who
blocked his passage. [1] When news
came that the British were reinforcing
forces in Assam, U Tirot Sing
convened a Durbar again and passed
orders for the British to evacuate
Nongkhlaw. The British paid no heed
[4] , and the Khasis attacked the British
garnison in Guwahati on 2 April, 1829.
[3] His men killed two British officers,
and thus unleashed the fury of British
retaliation. Military operations against
U Tirot Sing and other Khasi chiefs
were started immediately. In the
Anglo-Khasi War, the Khasis lacked
firearms and had only swords,
shields, bows and arrows. They were
untrained in the British type of warfare
and soon found that it was impossible
to engage in open battle against an
enemy who could kill from a distance.
Instead, they resorted to guerrilla
activity, which dragged on for about
four years. [1] Tirot Sing was captured
by the British and deported to Dhaka ,
where he died on 17 July 1835. His
death anniversary is commemorated
every year in Meghalaya .
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