Sardar Gujjar Singh Bhangi (died early 1790; alternatively spelt as Gurja or Gujar) [1] was a Sikh warrior of the Bhangi Misl, [2] and one of the triumvirates who ruled over Lahore prior to the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. [3]
Sardar Gujjar Singh Bhangi (died early 1790; alternatively spelt as Gurja or Gujar) [1] was a Sikh warrior of the Bhangi Misl, [2] and one of the triumvirates who ruled over Lahore prior to the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. [3]
Bhangi hailed from a village near Khemkaran, India. His father Natha Singh Sandhu was a Jatt Sikh farmer. He, along with his three brothers, was baptised to Sikhism in his teenage by his maternal grandfather Gurbakhsh Singh. [4] He established a fortress, Qila Gujar Singh, just east of present-day Lahore, and also completed the construction of a mosque. [3]
Gujjar Singh's maternal grandfather was Sardar Gurbaksh Singh of village Roranwala in Amritsar (near the Wagah border) and his mother daughter of Gurbaksh, one of the known Sikh warriors under the Bhangi Misl then led by Sardar Hari Singh Bhangi.
Sardar Gurbaksh Singh had adopted as his son a young runaway, Sardar Lehna Singh Kahlon [5] [note 1] of village Mustfapur, near Kartarpur, Jalandhar (Sir Leppel Griffin, the Panjab Chiefs). The young man grew up to be a great fighter and military commander of the Bhangi Misl.
Gujjar and his adopted uncle split Gurbaksh Singh's inheritance of 40 villages taking half each, with Lehna keeping Roranwala and Gujjar founding a new village Rangarh in Amritsar where his descendants may be found.
The two sardars took Lahore on April 16, 1765, with Lehna taking Lahore Fort and Gujjar building his own fort Qila Gujjar Singh in his part of the city – a third share was given to Sardar Soba Singh Sandhu of village Kanha, known as Kanhaiya (same village as Jai Singh Kanhaiya of the Kanhaiya Misl). [5]
Gujjar made Gujrat his capital in 1765 and in 1766 marched and conquered Jammu. [5]
Lehna Singh Kahlon was to take Multan in 1772, but Gujjar being much more restless and a great warrior embarked on conquest of north west Punjab taking towns such as Gujrat (his main residence) as well as Rawalpindi and many towns to Attock, some places he conquered with help of his best friend Sardar Charat Singh Sukarchakia, grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, with whom he contracted a marriage alliance with his second son Sahib marrying Charat's daughter, Raj Kaur.
The Sukerchakia Misl was one of twelve Sikh misls in Punjab during the 18th century, concentrated in Gujranwala and Hafizabad districts in western Punjab and ruled from (1752–1801). The misl, or grouping with its own guerilla militia, was founded by Charat Singh of Sandhawalia, grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The last Sukerchakia Misldar was Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh united all the misls and established an independent Sikh Empire.
Maha Singh, also spelt as Mahan or Mahn Singh, was the second chief 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.
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.
Sardar Hari Singh Dhillon was an 18th century Sikh warrior and the chief of Bhangi Misl. During the formation of the Dal Khalsa he was acknowledged as leader of Tarna Dal, and he was made chief of Bhangi Misl following the death of Bhuma Singh Dhillion, who he was an adopted son of, in 1748. Hari Singh made the Bhangi Misl the most powerful of all the Misls. He was described as brave, fearless and a great warrior. Under Hari Singh the Bhang Misl expanded to Jammu, Lahore, Chiniot, Buria, Jagadhari, Firozpur, Kushab, Majha, Malwa, Sandal Bar and Jhang.
SardarChhajja Singh was a Jat Sikh warrior and leader of Jathâ succeeding Banda Singh Bahadur of the early 18th century Punjab region. He was also the founder of the Bhangi Misl He was the first companion of Banda Singh Bahadur to receive Sikh baptism of Amrit. According to Kanaihya Lal, he had taken Amrit at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh.
The Zamzama Gun also known as Kim’s Gun or Bhangianwali Toap is a large-bore cannon. It was cast in about 1757 in Lahore during the Durrani Empire. It is currently on display in front of the Lahore Museum in Lahore, Pakistan.
The KanhaiyaMisl was one of the twelve misls of the Sikh Confederacy. It had been founded by Sandhu Jats.
The Bhangi Misl was a large and powerful Sikh Misl headquartered in Amritsar. It was founded in the early 18th century by Sardar Chhajja Singh Dhillon, who was baptised by Banda Singh Bahadur. The misl received its name "Bhangi" because Chhajja Singh and his soldiers frequently used the herbal intoxicant bhang. It was a first misl to established a Khalsa Raj and publish Khalsa currency coins. The Bhangi Kingdom/Misl was founded by Dhillon Jats.
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.
The Sikh Rule in Lahore initiated from the conquest and rule of the Sikh Misls and extended till the Sikh Empire of Ranjit Singh which ended in 1849. The Sikhs began gaining power following the decline of the Mughal Empire in Punjab and consisted of a collection of autonomous Punjabi Misls, which were governed by Misldars, mainly in the Punjab region.
Sobha Singh Kanhaiya of Niazbeg, his first name is alternatively spelt as Suba or Soba, was one of the triumvirates who ruled over Lahore, alongside sardars Lehna Singh Kahlon and Gujjar Singh of the Bhangi Misl, prior to the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Manawala is a city in Sheikhupura District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is situated on the Lahore-Sheikhupura-Faisalabad road.
Kahlwan is a village in Jalandhar district of Punjab State, India. It is located 22 kilometres (14 mi) from Jalandhar, which is both district and sub-district headquarters of Kahlwan. The village is administrated by a Sarpanch who is an elected representative of village as per the constitution of India and Panchayati raj (India). Khalwan is famous for being the birthplace and area of activity of notorious gangster Sukha Khalwan.This village is also linked with Sardar Lehna Singh Kahlon of the Bhangi Misl, who ruled Lahore between 1765 and 1797 and his son Chet who ruled for 2 years before losing Lahore to Maharaja Ranjit Singh - the Kahlons in this village are from his Tubbar (clan) as the Jathera of people in Kahlwan is Village Saidowal near Gurdaspur which is where Lehna's grandfather came from with the mother village in Kartarpur being Mustfapur which is where the grandfather settled - see Sir Leppel Griffin's Panjab Chiefs under Bhangi Sardars.
Sardar Gulab Singh was the founder of Dallewalia Misl, one of the sovereign states of the Sikh confederacy that rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region. The Dallewalia and Nishanwalia Misl were stationed as a reserve force at Amritsar to protect the holy city and tackle any emergency. The Amritsar and the Punjab region was subject to raids by the Afghans led by Ahmad Shah Abdali therefore the Sikhs had created misls to defend the Punjab region and push back the invaders.
Sardar Ran Singh Nakai was the third chief of the Nakai Misl. 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.
Sardarni Karam Kaur popularly known as Karmo Kaur was the wife of Ran Singh Nakai, the third ruler of the Nakai Misl. She 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.
Lehna Singh Bhangi was one of the triumvirate rulers of Lahore during the late 18th century.
Mughalchak is a town in Gujranwala District, Punjab, Pakistan.
Gujar Singh of Lahore was the son of Natha Singh, a poor cultivator Sandhu Jat of village Bhuri Asal also called Borahsal situated near Khem Karan on the western border of district Firozpur. Natha Singh had four sons, Gujar Singh, Garja Singh, Nusbaba Singh, and Chait Singh. As young men still in their teens they were tempted to become Sikhs. They went to their maternal grandfather Gurbakhsh Singh Bhangi of village Roranwala, 2 kms from Atari, took pahul from him and became Singhs.