On the night of 22 May 1943 A.D, under the cover of darkness, a seed of revolution was sown in Hanumannagar, the then-headquarters of Saptari district in the Sagarmatha region. This event would go on to influence the political trajectories of both Nepal and India. At the time, Nepal was under the autocratic rule of the Rana regime, while India was still under British colonial rule. Despite their differences, both regimes shared a common interest: suppressing revolutionary voices.
In India, under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, the socialist movement for independence had grown increasingly militant. Meanwhile, in Nepal, a wave of resistance against the Ranas was also gaining momentum. The Ranas had already demonstrated their brutality by executing national heroes like Dharma Bhakta, Shukra Raj, Ganga Lal, and Dashrath Chand.
Jayaprakash Narayan had been arrested by the British and imprisoned in Hazaribagh Jail. Using a staged drama within the prison as a ruse, revolutionaries successfully helped him escape—an event that dealt a significant blow to British prestige.
After the escape, Narayan, along with other leaders, traveled from Mumbai to Bihar, where they met with Dr. Lohia and formed an armed revolutionary group known as the Azad Dasta . Due to increasing difficulty in operating within India, they began using border regions in Nepal as strategic bases.
With assistance from Surjanarayan Singh, a prominent Bihari leader, they arrived in Koiladi Barsain of Saptari district, Nepal, where they met local anti-Rana leaders such as Rameshwar Prasad Singh, Chaturanand Singh, and Jaymangal Prasad Singh.
The Nepali leaders pledged full support to the Indian revolutionaries. Based on this support, a training camp was established near Haldibari in Sunsari, and armed drills began in the Chure hills. Financial support was provided by Dal Bahadur Prajapati, a landlord from Bhaktapur, who donated his personal income for the upkeep of the revolutionaries.
However, under pressure from the British, the Rana regime intensified its crackdown on the Indian activists. Jayaprakash Narayan, Dr. Lohia, Kartik Prasad Singh, Dr. Baijnath Jha, Brajkishore Shastri, and Baba Shyamanandan were arrested from the Haldibari camp and detained in the Hanumannagar Jail. The Ranas had planned to hand them over to the British, who, in turn, intended to execute them.
The news sparked alarm among both Indian and Nepali revolutionaries. To save the movement’s leaders, a daring jailbreak plan was set in motion. Prominent Nepali figures such as Rameshwar Prasad Singh, Jaymangal Prasad Singh, Chaturanand Singh, and Meen Bahadur Singh took the lead.
The Hanumannagar Jail Break
The jailbreak was scheduled for midnight on Jestha 9. Coincidentally, that same day was the wedding of Rameshwar Prasad Singh’s daughter in Barsain, drawing a large crowd to the household—perfectly masking the revolutionary activity and evading suspicion from Rana spies.
The food prepared for the wedding was served to the fighters of the Azad Dasta before they moved to attack the jail.
As part of the plan, the revolutionaries set fire to a haystack near the prison, creating a diversion. While the guards were distracted by the flames, the fighters launched their assault, capturing the jail’s security personnel and opening fire. Jayaprakash Narayan, Dr. Rammanohar Lohiya, and five others were successfully freed from the prison.
The sound of gunfire drove the Bada Hakim (chief administrator) into hiding. The escaped revolutionaries were swiftly escorted to the Nepal-India border near Neur, just across from Saptari.
This event transformed Nepalese soil into a stronghold of anti-colonial resistance, strengthening cross-border solidarity. It marked a pivotal moment in the revolutionary cooperation between Nepal and India and deepened the foundation of their shared democratic aspirations.
A Historic Struggle that Planted the Seeds of Republicanism
In the early morning of 23 May 1954, Saptari’s chief administrator Tulavikram Rana launched a massive wave of arrests. Approximately 1,050 individuals were detained across the district. In response, a team of Rana military officers arrived in Hanumannagar from Kathmandu to conduct judicial proceedings. Charges were filed against 48 individuals, and on Bhadra 2, many detainees were transferred from Rajbiraj Jail to the central prison in Kathmandu. Among them were key local leaders such as Rameshwar Prasad Singh, Jaymangal Prasad Singh, and Chaturanand Singh, part of a group of around 200 activists. In this same prison, Abdul Miya and Krishnabir Kameek from Saptari died as a result of severe torture inflicted by the Rana regime.
The Hanumannagar Jail Break, which occurred on the night of May 22, quickly began to show its ripple effects. Although India gained independence from British rule on August 15, 1947, Nepal’s Rana regime only became more repressive. After Indian leaders were helped to escape from the jail in Hanumannagar, the Ranas intensified their crackdown on Nepalese pro-democracy advocates.
This incident marked a pivotal moment: it was the first time the Rana regime faced armed resistance outside of Kathmandu. The events in Saptari sparked a wave of popular movements in other parts of the country. The jailbreak instilled a renewed spirit and courage among the people of Saptari, giving fresh momentum to the growing anti-Rana movement.
One of the individuals who bore the brunt of this revolutionary struggle was Jaymangal Prasad Singh, also known by his nickname “Jangali Babu.” He was transferred to Kathmandu prison, and during a visit, his nine-year-old son, Ram Raja Prasad Singh, came to see him. A Rana official, upon seeing the child, reportedly said, “Oh, is this his son? Take him too!” and the boy was thrown into jail alongside his father.
This unjust and traumatic experience left a deep impression on young Ram Raja Prasad Singh. It planted the seeds of fierce resentment toward the Rana regime and monarchy, and solidified his lifelong commitment to republican ideals. Though it may have seemed a small injustice at the time, it ultimately shaped the mind of the boy who would grow up to become one of the chief architects of Republican Nepal.
The fire sparked by the Hanumannagar Jail Break, which at first seemed like a limited act of resistance, eventually reached the gates of Narayanhiti Palace, playing a major role in transforming the monarchy into a museum relic. The event’s influence on the life and ideology of Ram Raja Prasad Singh was profound and lasting.
Although this historic event remains largely overlooked in mainstream Nepali historiography, the Hanumannagar Jail Break stands as a critical episode in the united revolutionary struggle of Nepalese and Indian activists. It was a direct challenge to the Rana-British alliance and has secured its rightful place as a memorable link in the long journey toward Nepal’s republican transformation.
— Gajendra Gajur
References:
- Yadav, Dr. Pitambar Lal. Democratic Movements and Saptari. Published: 2070 B.S.
- Jha, Awadhesh Kumar. “75 Years of the Hanumannagar Jail Break.” Kantipur. Published: Jestha 10, 2075 B.S.
- Jha, Ajay Kumar. “Republican Nepal and the Hanumannagar Jail Break.” Online Khabar. Published: Falgun 24, 2077 B.S.
