The Warrior Priest Behind the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857

Without the push to rebel against the British colonisers, would India be as free as it is today? One voice of dissent set in motion India’s Independence struggle. Chakhi Khuntia, a warrior priest, aided Rani of Jhansi in mobilising the citizens to stand up against the oppressors in the First War of Independence.

Chakhi Khuntia is represented in contemporary times as a priest wielding a sword | Source: Argus News

The Indian independence movement saw thousands of people struggle for freedom from the British colonisers. Some were vocal in their fight, some were silent, and some were enablers, spreading the word and gathering the support of people. Unfortunately, the world is familiar only with those who were vocal. The silent rebels have not been able to acquire a significant place in the pages of history.

Chakhi Khuntia played a crucial role in instigating India’s first fight for freedom. Chakhi, born Chandan Hajuri, belonged to a highly religious family. He followed his father’s footsteps and became a priest later in life. He was sharp-minded, multi-lingual and a voracious reader. He developed a keen interest in reading about Indian heroes who made a difference. He even taught military exercises and wrestling to the youth in Puri, in an attempt to emphasize the importance of physical well-being.

Eventually, he became the family priest, or Panda, to Rani Laxmibai’s father. Even after Laxmibai married the King of Jhansi, he visited the royal family on occasion during his religious trips. It was around the same time that the British were taking over every corner of India.

Laxmibai lost her only son and her husband over the span of a short time. She was left powerless when the British refused her appeal to recognise her adopted son as the heir. Queen of Jhansi’s valour was celebrated across the country. Sir Hugh Rose even called her “the bravest and the best military leader of the rebels.”

She recruited Chakhi’s help to stand up to the British and that’s when he began gathering people to revolt. Chakhi garnered a sense of resentment among the Indian soldiers, or sepoys and organised an uprising against the colonisers. This became one of the most violent events in Indian history, the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. He contributed by giving the soldiers religious and strategic guidance and spying to collect information about the British.

His name, however, did not reach the levels of fame like the others. After the revolt, he was considered a 'suspected rebel’, arrested multiple times and finally let out of jail due to a lack of evidence. He was under scrutiny for a long time, and his behaviour and actions were watched carefully. Chakhi earned the moniker, ‘warrior priest’.

He spent the remaining part of his life in Puri, deeply involved in literary and religious pursuits. He composed several poems, most of them devotional, some of them expressing his bitterness towards the British. The entirety of his work is not known to the public, possibly having been damaged over time.

Chakhi Khuntia may not have been at the forefront, fighting with the soldiers, but without his passion for the nation’s freedom, India may not have taken the first step to rebel against the oppressors. He got the ball rolling and gave the soldiers the courage to take a step back and reflect upon certain thoughts. Did they want to sit back and watch the British tyrannise the country or did they want to take matters into their own hands? India truly owes a part of its Independence to Chakhi’s vision. Who knows where the nation would have been today?