The war hero who gallantly fought at 80
Azamgarh branch of State Bank of India is a tourist attraction particularly for those who are interested in freedom movement of India. It has a memorial named after Kunwar Singh, the legendary warrior who fought against the then British rulers in mid 19th century. Traditionally belonging to a local rulers family he was the one who organised a strong morcha against foreign rule in the country and was able to capture several districts around Varanasi from their clutches. The mutiny march led by him to places like Rewa, Banda, Ballia, Ghazipur and Gorakhpur besides several other centers where Mangal Pandey was already recognized as a big terror became his concentration point in organising more and more of strength to foster the cause of freedom movement. On many an occasions he fought even single handedly and was able to overpower the enemies. Mangal Pandey and Kunwar Singh are the two names which are the subject matter of folklore forming part of stories in the families nearby Varanasi and Azamgarh even today. Kunwar Singh was in advancing age but even at the age of 80 he was a terror for the British army. British historian Holmes described him (the old Rajput, as he called him) as an extraordinarily sstrong fighter. He continues to be an inspiration whenever there is a talk on freedom movement of the country. Freedom was hardly possible if men like Kunwar Singh were not there.
