District Etah is situated between 27°18' to 27°48' north latitude and 78°11' degree 79°18' east longitude in the Ganga-Yamuna doab in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Mathura and Hathras districts of Brijbhoomi are situated in the west of Etah district, Aligarh and Kasganj districts are situated in the north. Farrukhabad district is situated in the east, and Mainpuri, Firozabad, and Agra districts are situated in the south.
Amar Shaheed Mahavir Singh Ji was born on 16 September 1904 in Shahpur Tahla, a small village located in the Rampur area of Etah district of present-day Uttar Pradesh, to Rajvaidya Kunwar Devi Singh. The spirit of rebellion against British rule was present since childhood. After the First World War, there was severe political chaos in the world. At that time, the bureaucracy was supporting the unstable governance with the help of peace meetings. One such peace meeting was organized in Kasganj tehsil, Etah district, in which a crowd of school students was gathered as an audience. When the speakers gave a speech in support of the British rule in that meeting, the young Mahavir Singh shouted loudly, "Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai". The students in the audience also repeated "Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai". The hall was filled with the echo of the slogan. Mahavir Singh was punished for this incident, but he took the punishment with grace. As if unknowingly the child was preparing himself for the glory of future martyrdom. This was the beginning of his revolutionary life.
Amar Krantikari Shri Mahavir Singh ji passed his matriculation examination from Government High School (currently Government Inter-College Etah). Thereafter, for higher education, he took admission in DAV College, Kanpur district, in the year 1925. While living in the hostel here, Shri Mahavir Singh came in contact with the revolutionaries. He continued his political activities under the patronage of Professor Munshilal Sharma, a native of Etah.
Shri Mahavir Singh Ji took the membership of India's main revolutionary party 'Hindustan Samajwadi Prajatantra Sena' (Hindustan Socialist Republican Association [HSRA]), with founding members such as Sardar Bhagat Singh, Shri Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Shri Chandrashekhar Azad, Shri Ramprasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ulla Khan, etc. and carried out various plans of freedom struggle with these immortal revolutionaries. Despite pressure from his family for marriage during his studies in DAV College, Shri Mahavir Singh Ji dedicated his life in the service of the country and thus, decided to remain unmarried for life.
Lahore Conspiracy Case
In the year 1927, there were nationwide protests against the Simon Commission. In one such protest, Lala Lajpat Rai Ji was martyred during the lathi charge at Lahore. The revolutionaries of the country planned to kill the British officer who had ordered for lath-charge. Along with Sardar Bhagat Singh, Shivram Hari Rajguru, and Chandrashekhar Azad, Shri Mahavir Singh ji carried out the plan of killing Saunders. The robbery of Punjab National Bank in Lahore in the year 1929 was another major plan of the revolutionaries. While carrying out this incident, Shri Mahavir Singh ji took an active part.
Shaheed Mahavir Singh Ji, along with his companions Sardar Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Shri Ram Prasad Bismil, had come for incognito living in village Dholeshwar of Nidhauli Kala (Etah's development block). At this time, arrangements were made for his secret residence by his sister Mrs. Kanchan Kumari and brother-in-law Thakur Lakhan Singh Chauhan. These heroes used to hide during the day in the temple of Mahadev Ji located on GT Road (NH 91) Nidhauli Kalan Marg. The food was delivered during the night, the premises was locked in the morning and their footprints were erased by adding sand.
In the year 1929, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Shri Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb in the assembly building of Delhi. Shri Mahavir Singh Ji also joined them. In this crime, he was arrested along with other accomplices and put in Lahore jail. Mahavir was severely tortured in jail.
Mahavir Singh ji was tried in the Lahore Conspiracy Case. Mahavir Singh refused to recognize the court of the colonialists. In order to end the Lahore Conspiracy Case as soon as possible, the Government of India issued the Lahore Conspiracy Case Ordinance in the early 1930s. Mahavir Singh and other accomplices (Shri Batukeshwar Dutt, Gaya Prasad, and Jitendra Nath Sanyal) while explaining their purpose against the government atrocities, said that they do not expect any justice from this court. Saying this, he refused to participate in its proceedings. At the end of the statement, he said, "We have been accused of waging war against the British Government. We do not expect justice from any court set up by the British Government and therefore we will not participate in this drama of justice".
Source: Office of the District Magistrate, Etah