Rao Gopal Singh was born into the ruling family of Kharwa near present day Ajmer in Rajasthan. He was educated at Mayo College, Ajmer. Later he came in contact with Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj.

During the famine of 1899 he generously distributed food and clothes required by the needy. He had an abiding interest in the eradication of social evils & malpractices.

Rao Gopal Singh was deeply committed to India’s struggle for freedom. Kharwa became a centre for many of the revolutionaries of this period. This brought him into conflict with the then British Government of India. The Government sent its forces to surround Kharwa town, its fort and palaces, forcing Rao Gopal Singh to move to Todgarh where he was disarmed and many of his companions arrested. Rao Gopal Singh escaped to Salemabad in the erstwhile Kishangarh State. Here, after negotiations with the then Inspector General of Police, Rao Gopal Singh finally agreed to face trial in what came to be known as the Todgarh fugitive case. He was sentenced to live for two years under armed guard at Tilhar, Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh from where he was released in 1920. He returned home to a hero’s welcome.

He died in 1939, leaving behind him the memory of a man who combined in his personality traditional Rajput chivalry with the spirit of freedom.

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