Kotwal Dhan Singh Gurjar was one of the rebels of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
He was born in village Panchali in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
The freedom movement, which started in 1822 from Kunja Bahadurpur, came to shape in 1857. In the Indian mutiny of 1857, the mutineers had the support of most of the Bengal army. Dhan Singh Gurjar, at this time the Kotwal of Meerut, was the leader of this initial battle.
On 10 May 1857 Dhan Singh Gurjar opened the gate of the prison in Meerut; this act launched the rebellion. People took up weapons and marched to kill the British. Important places in Meerut were captured. After completing the task at Meerut, the revolutionaries marched towards Delhi, with the slogan "Dilli Chalo".[1][2]
In memory of this martyr of the 1857 rebellion, the newly-built campus community centre of Meerut University is named after him.[3]