SHILLONG, July 17: Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) general secretary, Donald V Thabah, expressed deep disappointment regarding attempts to undermine the legacy of the Khasi freedom fighter U Tirot Sing Syiem by a government delegation that recently visited Bangladesh.
Speaking during the 189th death anniversary commemoration of U Tirot Sing Syiem on Wednesday, Thabah criticised the delegation for its actions. Earlier this year, the delegation had unveiled a life-size bust of the Khasi freedom fighter at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in Dhaka.
“It should have been a momentous occasion. But sadly, the expert who was part of the delegation claimed that the Khasi freedom fighter had surrendered before the British empire and had not died inside the prison in Bangladesh,” Thabah stated.
Thabah asserted the truth that U Tirot Sing Syiem had rebelled against British colonialism and had died in prison. Despite the disappointment expressed by the KSU leader, the exact circumstances surrounding U Tirot Sing Syiem’s death remain disputed, with two conflicting accounts.
Noted historian David Syiemlieh, who has conducted extensive research on U Tirot Sing Syiem’s life, reaffirmed that the freedom fighter did not die in jail in Dhaka but passed away as a state prisoner. According to Syiemlieh, the British recognised U Tirot Sing Syiem as a state prisoner and provided him with a comfortable living arrangement. Syiemlieh referenced a letter to the editor dated May 14, 1835, in the Friends of India, read at the National Library in Kolkata, which informed that Tirot Sing was afforded comfortable living conditions as a state prisoner in Dhaka.
The commemoration event saw leaders of the KSU, FKJGP, HNYF, RBYF, JSU, and HITO paying rich tributes to U Tirot Sing Syiem. Floral wreaths were laid, and a minute of silence was observed in front of the freedom fighter’s statue at Madan Iewrynghep in Shillong.
