| Battle of Achal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Sukerchakia Misl | Kanhaiya Misl | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Maha Singh Jassa Singh Ramgarhia Sansar Chand | Jai Singh Kanhaiya (WIA) Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya † | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of Achal was fought in Batala in 1785 between the Sukerchakia Misl and Afghans, supported by the Ramgarhia Misl, alongside Sansar Chand.
In 1778, a quarrel arose between Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, Jai Singh Kanhaiya and Haqiqat Singh Kanhaiya. Supported by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Afghans attacked Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and exiled him to the desert of Hansi and Hisar. He set up his headquarters at Tosham. [1] : 119
In January 1784 Haqiqat Singh Kanhaiya and Mahan Singh made a pact to attack and share the wealth, but Maha Singh did it alone. He plundered Jammu for three days and nights, killing thousands of men. The booty was worth than more than one crore. Haqiqat Singh was deeply shocked at this treachery and died soon afterwards. The death of Haqiqat Singh was great loss to Jai Singh. He demanded half of the booty from Maha Singh for Haqiqat Singh's son, Jaimal Singh, which Maha Singh refused. [2] On Diwali in 1784, the Sikh chiefs gathered at Amritsar. Jai Singh Kanhaiya behaved coldly with Maha Singh and refused his attempts to reconcile and called him "dancing boy." Maha Singh took this insult to heart and attacked Kanhaiya's camp outside Amritsar. Jai Singh pursued him. A further engagement took place near Majitha. Jai Singh was forced to seek shelter inside the besieged town. He escaped into Jalandhar and prepared his army for battle against Maha Singh. [1] [3] [2]
Maha Singh knew he could not defeat Jai Singh alone, so he invited Raja Sansar Chand Katoch and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, both enemies of Jai Singh, to join him. Jassa Singh hurried from Tosham at the head of his force, and stopped at Jagraon, where Maha Singh's agents met him to form the plan of action, A Kanhaiya force tried to check Ramgarhias but failed. A battle was fought near Achal, about 4 km from Batala. Jai Singh's heir apparent, Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya, was killed in the engagement. Gurbakhsh Singh's death broke the spirit of his father, who made no further resistance, He burst into tears, emptied his quiver of its arrows and dismounting from his horse exposed himself to enemy fire. Tara Singh and Jaimal Singh took him from the battlefield to a place of safety. Sada Kaur, who was also present, escaped to her fort, Sohian. [1] Jassa Singh Ramgarhia recovered his lost territories and established his headquarters at Batala. [1]
After the Battle of Achal, Jai Singh Kanhaiya retired to Naushera where he reorganized his force for a fresh struggle. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Sansar Chand Katoch occupied their former possessions. Maha Singh remained in the field. Another battle was fought between Maha Singh and Jai Singh Kanhaiya at Naushera. Both sides sustained heavy losses, but Jai Singh Kanhaiya suffered a defeat. He escaped to his fort of Nurpur Maha. Singh pursued him and laid siege to the fort. Maha Singh did not like to stay at a distant place, so he raised the siege and turned homeward. Maha Singh seized Kanhaiya territories worth three lakhs a year. [4] [5]
Sada Kaur, the widow of Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya, found it in the interest of the Kanhaiya Misl to bring about reconciliation with the Sukerchakia Misl. She made up her mind to get her only child, Mehtab Kaur, brothered to Maha Singh's only son, Ranjit Singh. She prevailed upon Jai Singh to approve of her proposal. Then she deputed Amar Singh Kingra to Maha Singh to consider the overture. She learned that Maha Singh's wife Raj Kaur had gone to Jawalamukhi on a pilgrimage to pray for the recovery of Ranjit Singh from smallpox. She immediately went there and persuaded the lady to accept her proposal, In 1786 Mehtab Kaur was married to Ranjit Singh who was only six years old, when the Sukerchakia and Kanhaiya Misls were allied through that matrimony. [1]
Maha Singh, also spelt as Mahan or Mahn Singh, was the second Sardar of the Sukerchakia Misl, which as a Sikh grouping with its guerilla militia was one of twelve Sikh Misls that later became part of the Sikh Empire. He was the eldest son of Sardar Charat Singh and Sardarni Desan Kaur Warraich. He was the father of Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
The Kangra Fort is a historic fort located in the Kangra district of the Himachal Pradesh state in India. The fort is also known as 'Nagarkot' and 'Kot Kangra'. This fort stands on a hillock between two rivers, among the foothills of the Dhauladhar range. The fort is the largest in the Indian Himalayas, and is under the protection of the Archeological Survey of India. The Kangra Fort is also the oldest fort in the Himalayas and, according to Indian mythology, has a legendary history spanning approximately 4,000 years.
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia (1723–1803) was a prominent Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy. He was the founder of the Ramgarhia Misl.
Maharani Datar Kaur (born Bibi Raj Kaur Nakai; was the queen consort of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire and the mother of his successor, Maharaja Kharak Singh. She was the daughter of Sardar Ran Singh Nakai, third ruler of the Nakai Misl and Sardarni Karmo Kaur.
The KanhaiyaMisl was one of the twelve misls of the Sikh Confederacy. It had been founded by Sandhu Jats.
The Nakai Misl, founded by Sandhu Jats, was one of the twelve Sikh Misls that later became part of the Sikh Empire. It held territory between the Ravi and Sutlej rivers southwest of Lahore in what became Pakistan. The misl fought against the Sials, the Pathans and the Kharals before it was incorporated into the Sikh Empire of the Sukerchakia Misl by Ranjit Singh.
Sardar Charat Singh, also romanised as Charhat Singh, was the founder of Sukerchakia Misl, father of Mahan Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh, the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against Ahmad Shah Abdali and along with 150 horsemen split from the Singhpuria Misl to establish the Sukerchakia Misl, a separate grouping with its distinct guerilla militia.
Rani Sada Kaur was a Sikh leader. She served as the Chief of the Kanhaiya Misl from 1789 to 1821, following the death of her husband Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya, the heir to Jai Singh Kanhaiya, the leader of the Kanhaiya Misl, and she is sometimes referred to as Sardarni Sada Kaur.
Jai Singh Kanhaiya (1712–1793) was the founder and, until his death, leader of the Kanhaiya Misl in Punjab. His daughter-in-law, Sada Kaur succeeded him as the misl leader.
Ramgarhia Misl was a sovereign state (misl) in the Sikh Confederacy of Punjab region in present-day India and Pakistan. The misl's name is derived from Qila Ramgarh, a place located in Ramsar, near Amritsar, which was fortified and redesigned by Ramgarhia Misl chief Jassa Singh Ramgarhia. The Ramgarhia Misl was one of the twelve major Sikh misls, and held land near Amritsar.
Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya was the eldest son and heir of Jai Singh Kanhaiya, the chief of the Kanhaiya Misl. He was the father of Maharani Mehtab Kaur and thus, the father-in-law of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire.
Rani Raj Kaur was the wife of Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl and the mother of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was affectionately known as Mai Malwain after her marriage. She is also referred to as Sardarni Raj Kaur and Rajkumari Bibiji Raj Kaur Sahiba before marriage. She was the daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind.
Sardarni Desan Kaur Waraich, also known as Mai Desan was the regent of the Sukerchakia Misl during the minority of her son from 1770. She was the wife of Sardar Charat Singh and the mother of Sardar Maha Singh. Her grandson, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was the founder of the Sikh Empire.
Sardar Ran Singh Nakai was the third chief of the Nakai Misl, which was one of the Sikh groupings and guerilla militia that later became part of the Sikh Empire. He was born to the Sandhu family of Jat Sikhs. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns with his father, Natha Singh Sandhu and uncle, the legendary Heera Singh Sandhu who was the founder of the Misl. Ran Singh was a fierce warrior and a powerful misldar; under his leadership the misl was at its highest. He was the father of Maharani Datar Kaur and the father-in-law of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. He was the grandfather of Maharaja Kharak Singh, the second king of the Sikh Empire and Sardar Kahan Singh Nakai, the last chief of the Nakai Misl.
Sardar Kahan Singh Nakai was the sixth and last chief of the Nakai Misl. He was the grandson of the famous Sikh chief, Ran Singh Nakai and Sardarni Karmo Kaur. His aunt, Maharani Datar Kaur was one of the wives of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire. From an early age he assisted his father in campaigns and even commanded campaigns assigned to him by his uncle, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. His cousin, Kharak Singh went on to become the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, though he ruled for barely four months. He was the uncle of the third Maharaja, Nau Nihal Singh.
Sardarni Karam Kaur popularly known as Karmo Kaur was the wife of Ran Singh Nakai, the third ruler of the Nakai Misl, one of the groupings with its distinct guerilla militia that later became part of the Sikh Empire. Karmo Kaur served as the regent of the Nakai Misl during the reign of her sons, Bhagwan Singh and Gyan Singh. She was the mother of Maharani Datar Kaur, one of the wives of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was the grandmother of Maharaja Kharak Singh, the second king of the Sikh Empire and Sardar Kahan Singh Nakai, the last chief of the Nakai Misl.
Haqiqar Singh Kanhaiya was the cousin of Jai Singh Kanhaiya, founder and leader of the Kanhaiya Misl, a grouping of Sikhs with a distinct guerilla militia. He founded a village named Sangatpur.
The Hill States–Sikh wars, also known as the Sikh–Pahari Raja wars, was a set of battles and conflicts fought by the Sikhs and the rajas (kings) of the Hill States located in the Sivalik Hills.
a history of the sikhs cunningham.
