# How a poem led to the execution of Gond king Shankar Shah 2026-08-15T06:52:12+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet British authorities arrested Gond king Shankar Shah and his son, Raghunath Shah, in Jabalpur on September 14, 1857, after seizing anti-British poems, letters and other documents from their residence. Four days later, a military court sentenced them to death. They were tied to cannon mouths and executed before a crowd. The Economic Times, citing a Madhya Pradesh government account, reports that British informers investigated suspected links between the royal family and soldiers of the 52nd Bengal Native Infantry. One poem invoked the goddess Chandi against the British. Shankar Shah belonged to the Garha-Mandla royal line, associated with Rani Durgavati, though the dynasty had lost its sovereign power by 1857. His case shows how the uprising travelled through writings, religious appeals and local networks, not just battlefields. ## Coverage - economictimes.indiatimes.com Tags: Jabalpur, Raghunath Shah, Shankar Shah Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/how-a-poem-led-to-the-execution-of-gond-king-shankar-shah/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/how-a-poem-led-to-the-execution-of-gond-king-shankar-shah/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.