Karnagarh still exists and there are all the trappings of a mystery romance in the abandonded fortress which bears testimony of Shiromoni’s anti-imperialist war. The other frills are also there; the tunnel, the story of deceit, the tale of a valiant woman on horseback and the marching Armies of the palefaces beating a hasty retreat for 30 years in the face of a sustained labour non-cooperation movement which was , without precedent, patronised by the local royalty itself.

In the late 18^th century, Karnagarh was a vast kingdom which took up almost all of modern Midnapore district. The land was inhabited by the ``Choars’’ ( Tribals) and ``Paiks’’ (a section of low-ranking policemen). The queen, on realising that the British were focussing on her state as an empire-building point, rallied these two classes who spontaneously refused the British any help of any kind. Shelter, food and even water were denied to the soldiers despite the threat of atrocities. This was non-cooperation at its best and the royalty, which had for centuries subjugated these very classes, was now actively supporting them in their struggle for survival against the invaders. Reasons, otherwise, for Shiromoni's defence of her fortress and her rallying of her subjects may be routed to the basic question of personal survival. That, however, does not take anything away from her fight against the British and that she, unwittingly though, sowed the first seeds of the labour movement and the non-cooperation model in the country.

For three decades, this continued and the British could not penetrate Karnagarh and it was only after that final denouement in which the queen was captured while she was on her way to the fortress through a tunnel that the usual act of betrayal won the day for the British. It is not incidental perhaps that Shiromoni ascended the throne only a couple of years after the Battle of Plassey which in itself has gone down in the nation’s history as the archetypal story of deceit and treachery.

Documents have now come to light and textbooks are being fished out in Calcutta supporting Shiromoni’s claim to fame. The Bengal information minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharya, sent a team led by the director of the state archaeological department to Karnagarh which has come back with conclusive proof that the exploits of Shiromoni are not the stuff that folklore are usually made of. On Bhattacharya’s initiative, the group is continuing its work and steps are being taken to authenticate Shiromoni’s history so that she finds her rightful place in the history of India. Not to forget the possibility of the tremendous tourism potential that Karnagarh has for the state of Bengal.