Lakhpat Rai | |
|---|---|
| Diwan of Lahore | |
| In office 1726–1747 | |
| Preceded by | unknown |
| Succeeded by | Kaura Mal |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 1746 Punjab,Mughal Empire |
| Relatives | Jaspat Rai (brother),Dalpat Rai (son) |
| Known for | Involvement in the Chhota Ghallughara |
Lakhpat Rai was the Diwan (chief minister) of Lahore for Yahya Khan Bahadur,the Subahdar of Subahs of Lahore and Multan,from 1726 until his death on March 21,1747. [1] He is best known for his role in a large scale massacre of Sikhs in 1746 called the Chhota Ghallughara,in which an estimated 7,000 Sikhs were killed. [2] [3] However,Purnima Dhavan gives a smaller figure of 400 Sikhs being killed in the massacre. [4]
Lakhpat Rai and his brother Jaspat Rai belonged to a Khatri family from Kalanaur. [1] [5] Jaspat Rai was killed by the Sikhs in a raid. In order to take revenge of his brother's death,Lakhpat Rai convinced Yahya Khan,the Mughal governor,to take action against Sikhs. [5] As per Rattan Singh Bhangu's Panth Prakash ,Lakhpat Rai personally supervised the operation and specifically sought out copies of the Guru Granth Sahib in-order to destroy them. [6] He was later killed by the Sikhs. [1] His son,Dalpat Rai,sought asylum in Jammu and settled there. [7]
... and Bhangu mentions Lakhpat Rai, a Hindu Rajput working for the Afghan administration, making efforts to destroy the manuscripts of the Guru Granth.