Dhan Singh Gurjar

Dhan Singh was born in the Panchli or Panchali village in Meerut district.[3] The Gurjars in Meerut were traditionally a powerful community, who controlled land and cattle trade in the area. However, during the Company rule, much of the land they relied upon for grazing their cattle had been auctioned off to other groups such as the Jats. The British officials branded the Gurjars as habitual criminals under the Criminal Tribes Act, and described them as the most cruel tribe in India".[4]

A glimpse of the military rebellion of 1857

On 10 May 1857, a rebellion against the East India Company rule broke out in Meerut during the 1857 uprising. As the kotwal of the city, Dhan Singh's job was to protect the city. However, many of his officers deserted his force on that day, either to join the rebellion or to escape the rebels' fury. The city saw large-scale rioting, looting, plunder and murder. When two of his chowkidars (guards) apprehended two Gurjar men for stealing horses, he asked them not to make arrests, fearing reprisals from the rebels. Around midnight, he was called to the house of a Bengali man, which was being plundered by a huge mob of Gurjars armed with weapons and firearms. Dhan Singh's chowkidars arrested two of the plunderers, but Singh restrained them from using force against the Gurjars. He then released the two men with the loot, after the group agreed to go away.[4]

Dhan Singh and several other policemen later deserted the police force (kotwali).[4] He is believed to have led thousands of villagers from all across the Meerut district to the city's jail. According to the official records, the rebels released 839 prisoners from the jail. These prisoners were among the rebels who participated in the Siege of Delhi.[5]

• Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police O P Singh unveiled the statue of Kotwal Dhan Singh Gurjar on the premises of the Sadar police station in Meerut. He announced that a chapter of Dhan Singh Kotwal would be included in police training, and a documentary would be made to "take his inspiring story of bravery and martyrdom to the public." He also proposed a separate section for Dhan Singh Kotwal in the proposed National Police Museum in Delhi [6][7]

• "Dhan Singh Kotwal Community Centre", the campus community centre of Meerut University, is named after him.[8]
• The Dhan Singh Gurjar Mahavidyalaya in Loni, Ghaziabad is also named after him.