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{{short description|Indian writer and activist}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Shri
| name = Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath
| image = Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath royalty.jpg
| birth_date = 21 November 1872
| birth_place = Devpura, Shahpura State
| death_date = 14 August 1941
| occupation = Chief Counselor to Maharana; Superintendent Ethnography
| known_for = Revolutionary activities against British Raj
| notable_works = Chetawani ra Chungatiya
| spouse = Manik Kanwar
| father = Thakur Krishna Singh Barhath
}}
'''Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath''' (21 November 1872 – 14 August 1941) was an [[Revolutionary movement for Indian independence|Indian revolutionary leader]], freedom fighter, and educationist from [[Rajasthan]], India. He was the head/patriarch of the Barhath family, members of which actively participated in [[Anti-British sentiment|anti-British activities]] including Kunwar Pratap Singh Barhath (his son)and Zorawar Singh Barhath (his brother). Kesari Singh was at the top of the list among the revolutionaries to be monitored by the British CID.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2018-11-21|title=केसरी सिंह बारहठ: वह कवि जिसने रोका मेवाड़ के महाराणा को अंग्रेजों के दिल्ली दरबार में जाने से!|url=https://hindi.thebetterindia.com/8912/kesari-singh-barahath-revolutionary-poet/|access-date=2021-08-14|website=The Better India - Hindi|language=en}}</ref> He is also known for dissuading [[Fateh Singh of Udaipur and Mewar|Maharana Fateh Singh]] from attending the 1903 [[Delhi Durbar]] through his [[Dingal]]([[Rajasthani languages|Rajasthani]]) work 'Chetawani ra Chungatiya'. He was the founder of 'Veer Bharat Sabha', a revolutionary organization based in Rajasthan. He also co-founded 'Rajasthan Seva Sangh' and ' Rajputana-Madhya Bharat Sabha'. He wrote extensively on the theme of nationalism and independence, and also composed poems in [[Dingal]](Old Rajasthani).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Mathur|first=Vishnu Dayal|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VxBDAAAAYAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en&redir_esc=y|title=States' People's Conference: Origin and Role in Rajasthan|date=1984|publisher=Publication Scheme|isbn=978-81-85263-30-4|language=en}}</ref>

== Birth & Ancestry ==
Kesari Singh was born on 21 November 1872 in the Devpura jagir of [[Shahpura State]]. His father, Thakur Krishna Singh Barhath, was one of the Chief Counsellors to the [[Maharana]] of Mewar. He belonged to the Sauda-Barhath lineage of [[Charan|Charans]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Yadav|first=Kripal Chandra|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6v5tAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&hl=en&redir_esc=y|title=Arya Samaj and the Freedom Movement|last2=Arya|first2=Krishan Singh|date=1988|publisher=Manohar Publications|isbn=978-81-85054-42-1|language=en}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Kesari Singh spent his early childhood in Shahpura. At the age of 8, he joined his father Krishna Singh at [[Udaipur State|Udaipur]] who was employed as chief counselor to the ruler of Mewar. It is there he completed his education.<ref name=":2" />

== Education ==
In Udaipur, Kesari Singh was educated in [[Dingal]], [[Sanskrit]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]],scriptures, [[astronomy]], history, and ancient [[Indian philosophy]]. He was also taught Indian and [[History of Europe|European history]]. By 1889, at the age of 18, he had completed his education.<ref name=":2" />

== Marriage & Family ==
[[File:Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath in young age.jpg|alt=Picture of young Kesari Singh|thumb|Picture of young Kesari Singh]]
In 1890, Kesari Singh married Manik Kanwar, sister of Kaviraja Devidan of Kotdi thikana in [[Kota, Rajasthan|Kota]]. After 3 years, on 25 May 1893, Kunwar Pratap Singh was born to Kesari Singh, at their residence in [[Kaviraj Shyamaldas|Kaviraja Shyamaldas]] Haveli in [[Udaipur]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Dr. D.l.paliwal|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.551591|title=Krantikari Barhat Kaisrisingh Vyaktitva Avam Kratitva [ Vol.1 ]|date=1956}}</ref>

== Chief Counselor to Maharana Mewar ==
From 1891, Kesari Singh started working in the service of Maharana along with his father Krishna Singh Barhath. Due to increasing political interference of the [[British Raj|British]] in the administration, Kesari Singh left the service in 1893.<ref name=":3" />

== Superintendent Ethnography of Kota State ==
After a few years of leaving the service of Maharana, in 1900, Kesari Singh was invited by the Kota ruler Maharao Ummed Singh to continue service in his court. 2 years later, in 1902, Kesari Singh was appointed as the [[Ethnography]] Superintendent of the [[Kota State]]. He continued at this position till 1907.<ref name=":3" />

== Maharao Bhim Singh Library ==
Kesari Singh, during his service in Kota State, established The Maharao Bhim Singh Public Library in Kota. It is currently run by the Municipal Corporation of Kota.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chaudhary|first=S. K.|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ftDhVSSeWoQC&newbks=0&hl=en&redir_esc=y|title=Modern Library Strategies|date=2002|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=978-81-7648-371-1|language=en}}</ref>

== Chetawani ra Chungatiya ==
[[File:Maharana Fateh Singh and Thakur Kesari Singh.jpg|alt=Maharana Fateh Singh and Thakur Kesari Singh|thumb|283x283px|Maharana Fateh Singh and Thakur Kesari Singh]]
In 1903, British Viceroy [[George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston|Lord Curzon]] held [[Delhi Durbar]] to commemorate the coronation of [[Edward VII]]. All Indian Kings were invited and required to attend the ceremony showing their fealty to the [[British Empire]]. Kesari Singh composed 'Chetawani ra Chungatiya', a collection of 13 couplets, and exhorted [[Fateh Singh of Udaipur and Mewar|Fateh Singh]], Maharana of Mewar, to not attend the Delhi Durbar. Through his composition, he stated the tradition of Maharana's noble ancestors who never became part of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal Court]](Durbar), and the importance and the respect the throne of [[Mewar]] had in the eyes of Indians. The verses influenced Maharana Fateh Singh and he returned from [[Delhi]] without attending the Durbar.<ref name=":2" />

== Revolutionary Activities ==
[[File:Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath with others.jpg|alt=Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath(in the middle) along with others|thumb|392x392px|Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath(in the middle; sitting)]]
During the period of 1900-14, Kesari Singh acquired an increasingly hostile view of [[British Raj|British rule in India]]. Noticing the subservient nature of the native rulers towards the British Raj, Kesari Singh believed that by organizing the common soldiers, [[Rajput|Rajputs]], [[Charan|Charans]], and other martial races of [[Rajputana]] to take up arms, Rajputana would become free of British, and this way the revolution would spread to rest of India. He found like-minded friends in [[Pandit Arjun Lal Sethi|Arjunlal Sethi]] of Jaipur and [[Rao Gopal Singh Kharwa]], and later came in contact with revolutionaries in other parts of India like [[Rash Behari Bose|Ras Bihari Bose]] and [[Sachindra Nath Sanyal]]. He became a part of the Revolutionary Party.<ref name=":3" />

=== Walterkrit Hitkarini Sabha ===
Walterkrit Hitkarini Sabha, through the efforts of [[Kaviraj Shyamaldas|Kaviraja Shyamaldas]], was established in 1880 under the chairmanship of the then Agent to the Governor General Colonel Walter in [[Rajputana]]. Its branches were in almost all the states of Rajputana. Annual conferences of this assembly were held. Proposals etc. were to be passed, but nothing was done beyond that. Kesari Singh actively used the Botta branch of Walterkrit Rajputra Hitkarini Sabha as a medium and through it made constant efforts to make its central organization effective.<ref name=":3" />

In 1905 annual conference, Kesari Singh proposed that the "Rajputra Hitkarini Sabha" be free from the influence of British, Agent to the Governor General should not be its permanent President but have a [[Rajput|Rajput monarch]] in its place which keep changing every year. He insisted on taking the proceedings of the Sabha in [[Hindi]] and primarily focus on education. During 1905 to 1913, Kesari Singh communicated with high positioned officers in the princely states of Rajputana, [[Kshatriya]] officers, Jagirdars and emphasized on caste reforms and for the end of outdated practices like Tika tradition. He wrote a detailed article in Hindi and English on the reasons for the origin of "Tika-practice" and its ill-effects to AGG and insisted for the end of the same through Hitkarini Sabha.<ref name=":3" />

=== Nationalist Education ===
During the period 1904 to 1913, Kesari Singh made many plans and efforts to promote national education. In his view, English-medium colleges like [[Mayo College]] Ajmer, where the feudal and ruling class of Rajputana sent their children to study, were creating inferiority complex among the students. He wished to promote Nationalist Education in which the students learn about their history, culture of their nation. In 1904, Kesari Singh prepared a plan for the establishment of a Kshatriya college in Rajputana. In January 1904, in the session of the Kshatriya Mahasabha in Ajmer, the proposal for the establishment of Kshatriya College was passed and a committee was formed under it. Kesari Singh made a lot of effort for the implementation of this plan but due to the fear of repressions from the British, he did not get cooperation from the feudal class in Rajputana.<ref name=":3" />

=== Mazzini as Poltical Guru ===
Kesari Singh considered Italy's father of nation [[Giuseppe Mazzini]] as his guru in politics. [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar|Veer Savarkar]] wrote Mazzini's biography in [[Marathi language|Marathi]] while studying in [[London]] and secretly sent it to [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]] because at that time the book on Mazzini's biography was banned by the [[British Empire]]. Kesari Singh did the [[Hindi]] translation of this Marathi book.<ref name=":0" />

=== Veer Bharat Sabha ===
In 1910, Kesari Singh established Veer Bharat Sabha.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Meena|first=R. P.|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RH--DwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&hl=en&redir_esc=y|title=RPSC RAS Prelims: History of Rajasthan Complete Study Notes With MCQ|publisher=New Era Publication|language=en}}</ref>

He got involved in this work at the beginning of the [[World War I|First World War]] (1914) to prepare for the armed revolution. He sent a parcel of cartridges to the revolutionaries of Banaras and contacted the soldiers of the princely states and British army.<ref name=":0" />

=== British Scrutiny ===
[[File:Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath portrait.jpg|alt=Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath|thumb|211x211px|Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath]]
In the intelligence reports of the British government, Kesari Singh Barhat was considered particularly responsible for spreading the revolution in Rajputana. In the year 1912, Kesari Singh's name was at the top of the list of [[National Archives of India]] among the persons to be monitored by the British CID.<ref name=":0" />

=== Pyarelal Murder Case ===
To raise funds for the cause, the revolutionaries headed by Kesari Singh found a rich & corrupt mahant Payrelal from [[Jodhpur]]. He was brought to Kota on the orders of Kesari Singh, and was subsequently killed. Kesari Singh was arrested by the British Government in Shahpura on 21 March 1914 for sedition, conspiracy and murder in the Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy(Mahant Pyarelal) Case.<ref name=":0" />

Even as the trial was going on, the ruler of [[Shahpura State|Shahpura]] confiscated the property of Kesari Singh including his [[jagir]] and [[haveli]] in Shahpura.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Eshwar|first=L. M.|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DawsAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en&redir_esc=y|title=Sunset and Dawn: The Story of Rajasthan|date=1968|publisher=FACT|language=en}}</ref>

In this case, Kesari Singh was sentenced to several years of rigorous imprisonment and sent to [[Hazaribagh]] Central Jail, [[Bihar]], away from [[Rajasthan]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Release from Jail ===
After the end of [[World War I]] in 1919, many political prisoners were released under [[Amnesty|general amnesty]] by the British. Under this, Kesari Singh and other important leaders of Rajasthan like Arjun Lal Sethi, Gopal Singh Kharwa were released.<ref name=":2" />

After his release from [[Hazari Bagh]] prison in April 1920, he resumed his denunciations against the British rulers of India, writing a letter to the Governor General of [[Mount Abu|Abu]] detailing a proposal for responsible government in Rajasthan and India's princely states. His plan called for a Rajasthan General Assembly comprising two chambers, one made up of representatives from the landlord and the klesser nobility, and a second council representing common people and the peasant and merchant classes.

As Barhath saw it, the proposed assembly should attempt to promote all-round development through "State religious, social, moral, economic, mental, physical and public benevolent powers." In his letter, he declared that the then prevailing system viewed the people as only “a sweet machine to make money,” and governance as a tool to take that money: "The style of governance is neither old nor new, nor a monopoly power or the entire bureaucracy.... It is an illusion to cover the fire with a sheet, it is a game or a trick. This is my witness."

Even after his release from the jail, Kesari Singh was back in revolutionary plots and conspiracies against the British. In connection to Nimej and Kota Murder Case, Director of Criminal Intelligence reported as follows:-<ref name=":5" /> <blockquote>“Gopal Singh and '''Kesari Singh''' were mixed up with the seditionists in British India and were furthering plots and conspiracies directly affecting British India. When the '''Thakur'''('''Kesari Singh''') was called upon to explain he spun out an evasive statement mouth after mouth, and meanwhile con- tinued his plotting, and remained in possession of an ex- tra-ordinary arsenal of fire arms and ammunitions.”<ref name=":5" /></blockquote>

=== Rajasthan Kesari ===
[[File:Rajasthan Kesari Newspaper.jpg|alt=Front page of Rajasthan Kesari Newspaper|thumb|248x248px|Rajasthan Kesari Newspaper]]
He was released from prison in the year 1919. After which Kesari Singh family went to [[Wardha]] on invitation by [[Jamnalal Bajaj|Seth Jamnalal Bajaj]]. A weekly newspaper named 'Rajasthan Kesari' was started in his name in Wardha, whose editor was [[Vijay Singh Pathik]]. Kesari Singh had contact with [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in Wardha itself.<ref name=":0" />

Rajasthan Kesari, a weekly newspaper, named in honor of Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath, edited by Vijay Singh Pathik, another revolutionary and associate of Kesari Singh. It was published in Wardha, Maharashtra.<ref>{{Cite book|last=TEAM|first=YCT EXPERT|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=USHTDwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA194&dq=%22kesri+singh%22+%22charan%22&hl=en&redir_esc=y|title=HISTORY OF MODERN INDIA AND NATIONAL MOVEMENT (2020-21 ALL IAS/PCS)|publisher=Youth Competition Times|language=hi}}</ref>

Thakur Kesari Singh and Arjun Lal Sethi were active contributers.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Saxena|first=K. S.|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wUoMAAAAIAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en&redir_esc=y|title=The Political Movements and Awakening in Rajasthan, 1857 to 1947|date=1971|publisher=S. Chand|language=en}}</ref>

Later, it became a mouthpiece for the 'Rajasthan Seva Sangh' and its sister organization 'Rajputana Madhya Bharat Sabha'.<ref name=":1" />

=== Rajasthan Seva Sangh ===
In 1919, Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath met [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and on his advice established 'Rajasthan Seva Sangh' at [[Wardha]], along with Arjunlal Sethi and Vijay Singh Pathik. Next year, they shifted the Sabha to [[Ajmer]], which was a British province in Rajputana States. They also had their branches in Kota, Jaipur, and Jodhpur. The main objectives of this organization were:-<ref name=":1" />

# to obtain redress of the grievances of the public;
# to support the rightful claims of the rulers and Jagirdars; and
# to create friendly relations between people and the Jagirdars.

In 1920s, this Sabha became the leading organization behind the [[Bijolia movement|Bijolia peasant]] movement in Rajasthan. The atrocities committed by the police in Bundi, Sirohi, and Udaipur were highlighted and the 'Rajasthan Kesari' weekly was used for this purpose.<ref name=":1" />

Later, 'Navin Rajasthan', and subsequently 'Tarun Rajasthan', were started as a weekly to work as mouthpiece. Thakur Kesari Singh wrote regular articles to familiarize the people with issues.<ref name=":1" />

=== Rajputana-Madhya Bharat Sabha ===
In 1920, Rajputana Madhya Bharat Sabha was established by Thakur Kesari Singh along with Gopal Singh Kharwa and Arjunlal Sethi. The objective of this Sabha was to propagate the ideas of political liberty & freedom in Rajasthan.<ref name=":5" />

=== Assigned for killing Gibson ===
Kesari Singh Barhat and Jwala Prasad were assigned the task of killing Gibson. Kesari Singh was provided a revolver by Vijay Singh Pathik.<ref name=":4" />

== Death ==
Acc to his granddaughter, Vijayalakshmi, during the last seven days of illness, Kesari Singh used to recite the verses of the Gita and Upanishads continuously. In his last moments he was only looking at the picture of his son. When the picture was given in his hand, he spoke a couplet:

“कहाँ जाये कहाँ ऊपने, कहाँ लड़ाये लाड। का जाने केहि खाड में, जाय पड़ेंगे हाड॥”

Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath, a revolutionary and a poet, who had given his life for the freedom of the nation, breathed his last on August 14, 1941 with the utterance of 'Hariom Tat Sat'.<ref name=":0" />

== Legacy ==
[[File:Shahpura Haveli of Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath.jpg|alt=Shahpura Haveli of Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath|thumb|Shahpura Haveli of Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath]]
[[File:Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath State Museum Shahpura.jpg|alt=Kesari Singh Barhath State Museum Shahpura|thumb|453x453px|Kesari Singh Barhath State Museum Shahpura]]
In January 2019, portraits of revolutionaries of Barhath Family including Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath, Zorawar Singh Barhath, and Kunwar Pratap Singh Barhath were placed in the gallary of Delhi Assembly( Vidhan Sabha).<ref>{{Cite web|title=शहीद केसरीसिंह बारहठ का चित्र दिल्ली विधानसभा में लगेगा|url=https://www.patrika.com/jodhpur-news/picture-of-shahid-kesri-singh-barhath-will-be-seen-in-delhi-assembly-3991756/|access-date=2021-08-23|website=Patrika News|language=hindi}}</ref>

Kesari Singh along with other members of Barhath family of Shahpura are taught as part of secondary syllabus in RBSC board in Rajasthan.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017|title=कोटा के क्रांतिकारी केसरीसिंह की जीवनी पढ़ेंगे छात्र|work=Dainik Bhaskar|url=https://www.bhaskar.com/news/RAJ-KOT-OMC-students-will-read-a-biography-of-revolutionary-kesari-singh-news-hindi-5375071-PHO.html|access-date=August 8, 2021}}</ref>

At the 100th death anniversary of Pratap Singh Barhath, the Barhath Haveli of Shahpura has been converted to Shri Kesari Singh Barhath Government Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|title=बारहठ व सरस्वती का साहित्य अमूल्य निधी है: डा. धर्मवीर - Ajmernama|url=https://ajmernama.com/rajasthan/172572/|access-date=2021-08-23|language=en-US}}</ref>

There is a Kesari Singh Barhath Colony on Shahpura-Bhilwara road in Bhilwara, Rajasthan.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rajasthan (India)|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C7QbAAAAIAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en&redir_esc=y|title=Rajasthan [district Gazetteers].: Bhilwara|date=1975|publisher=Printed at Government Central Press|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.gyandarpan.com/2009/06/blog-post_05.html Krantikari kavi Kesari Singh Barahath]
* {{cite book|title=A History of Indian Literature|author=Sisir Kumar Das|publisher=Sahitya Akademi}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barahath, Kesari Singh}}
[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:Rajasthani-language writers]]
[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Rajasthan]]
[[Category:People from Bhilwara district]]
[[Category:Poets from Rajasthan]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Charan]]

Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath - Revision history

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