Paying tributes to Amar Shaheed Tatya Tope here on Friday, Governor Ram Naresh Yadav said that this great revolutionary was hanged on the soil of Madhya Pradesh on April 18, 1859 which will always be remembered as Black Day.
The Governor appealed to the youth, politicians and social workers to contribute to the development of the state and the country drawing inspiration from Amar Shaheed Tatya Tope’s sacrifice, courage and love for the nation.
The Governor appealed to the students to ignore the lesson in the syllabus which says that Tatya Tope was not hanged but someone else in his place was hanged. It was Tatya Tope who was hanged, he told them.
Remembering Amar Shaheed Tatya Tope, Governor Yadav said that due to treachery of Raja Man Singh, Tatya Tope was arrested while asleep in the night. He was court-martialed on April 15, 1859 and given death sentence by hanging.
Accordingly, he was taken to the gallows for hanging on April 18. His handcuffs and fetters were opened on reaching the platform meant for hanging. On this, Tatya Tope himself climbed up the board for hanging, put the noose around his neck and hanged himself to death.
The Governor said that it was extraordinary that Englishman Malson had described Tatya Tope as a great revolutionary. There may be hardly anyone in the history of warfare like Tatya Tope who continued to dodge world famous English forces and generals for months despite having ordinary troops and being besieged from all sides.
The Governor said that British historian Persy Cross Standing had described him as one of the best gorilla warfare generals in the world. Tatya Tope was the best in all respects among Indian revolutionaries of his time. Had there been two or more like him then India would have gone out of hands of Britishers, he added.