1857–1866) was an Indian convict (number 276) from the Sepoy mutiny who was sent to the penal settlement in the Andamans and became famous for escaping and living with the Andamanese tribes for about a year.
All earlier prisoners who had attempted an escape had either returned to the penal settlement after being lost in the jungle for days without food or had been killed by the tribals.
Tiwari was the sole survivor of this escape attempt and he submitted a report of his travels to Dr J.P. Walker, the superintendent.
He claimed that the escape party had met up with another bunch of escapees from Phoenix Bay and Chatham Island and together, nearly 130 convicts, walked through the jungle for eight days without food.
Tiwari escaped with arrow wounds on the eyebrow, elbow, and shoulder along with Shoo Dull and another convict (identified only as belonging to the Kurmi caste) and reached a tidal creek and spent the night there.
The next day they were detected by another party of tribals who shot at them, killing the two and leaving Tiwari wounded and feigning dead.
The Government order read:[1] In consideration of the behaviour of Life Convict Dudhnath Tewari, who, after being with the aborigines of the Andaman Islands for upwards of a year, returned to give warning of an attack which they had planned to make upon the station at Aberdeen, at Atalanta Point, the Governor General in Council is pleased to comply with your recommendation in his favour, and to grant him a free pardon.
He should be released and sent up to Calcutta by the first opportunity.In 1866, Tiwari was taken to Port Blair by Jeremiah Homfray who headed the Andaman Home which had been founded by Rev.