A great son of the Mahanadi Valley and the soil of Chattisgarh, Veer Narayan Singh Binjhwar was born to the Zamindar of Sonakhan in 1795.

In 1856 when Ghattisgarh was in the grip of severe famine the merchants hoarded grain. Narayan Singh could not tolerate seeing people die of starvation. He sought to borrow grain from merchants as 'Barhi' and ultimately, per­ forming the duties of a 'Kshetra Pramukh', he arranged to take out grain from the warehouse and distributed it amongst the people, under intimation to Charles Elliot, the Deputy Com­ missioner of Raipur. But on the complaint of Makhan, a merchant, the British Government arrested Narayan Singh on 24th Oct. 1856 at Sambalpur and sent him to jail at Raipur.

In 1857 when the flame of revolution was ignited  in  the  country,  it  lit  sparks  in  the forest-region of Chattisgarh and the people unanimously elected the imprisoned Narayan Singh as their leader. With the help of soldiers and the public, Narayan Singh  escaped  from the jail in August, 1857 and reached Sonakhan.

He organised his trusted followers and had an encounter with the British  army  near Sonakhan. He was moved by the atrocities and the acts of devastation and destruction of the British. He surrendered himself to the British army to protect the lives of the people. Narayan Singh was charged with treason and sentenced to death. He was publicly executed on 10th December, 1857. He sacrificed his life willingly for  the  country.

The army contingent stationed at Raipur and the public revolted at Raipur, on 18th January, 1858 under the leadership of Hanuman Singh. A British officer was killed. People were inspired by the immortal sacrifice of Veer Narayan Singh and seventeen of them were sentenced to death on 22nd Jan. 1858. Their sacrifice, like Veer Narayan Singh's martyrdom, was a memorable event in the history of Chattisgarh which gave momentum  to  the  freedom  movement.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India