Nanaki Kaur Atariwala | |
---|---|
Maharani of Sikh Empire Maharani Sahiba Queen Consort | |
Maharani consort of Sikh Empire | |
Reign | 5 October 1839 – 8 October 1839 |
Predecessor | Chand Kaur |
Successor | Prem Kaur |
Born | 1823 Amritsar, Punjab, Sikh Empire |
Died | November 1856 Lahore, Punjab, British India |
Spouse | Nau Nihal Singh (m. 1837) |
Issue | Bhagwan Singh (adopted) |
House | Sukerchakia (by marriage) |
Father | Sham Singh Atariwala |
Mother | Dasa Kaur |
Nanaki Kaur Atariwala (1823-1856) was the queen consort of Maharaja Nau Nihal Singh, the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. She was the daughter of the legendary general Sham Singh Atariwala. [1]
Nanaki Kaur was born to Atariwala and his wife, Dasa Kaur. At the age of 14 she was married to 16 year-old Nau Nihal Singh who was second in line of succession to the throne of Punjab. He was the grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his queen consort, Maharani Datar Kaur and the son of Yuvraj Kharak Singh and Yuvarani Chand Kaur. [2] The wedding was planned by Nau Nihal Singh's grandmother, Datar Kaur, the occasion was marked by a display of extraordinary splendour and lavishness. [3]
After the accession of Kharak Singh as the Maharaja, Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh became the Tikka Kanwar (Crown prince) making Nanaki the Tikka Rani Sahiba (Crown princess). [4]
The effect of Chet Singh Bajwa on Kharak Singh started to affect his relationship with the Lahore Darbar as well as his own son. It was decided to kill Chet Singh Bajwa and to divest the Maharaja of all powers and to entrust Sri Tikka Kanwar Nau Nihal Singh with the responsibility of running the administration. [5] From October 8, 1839, Kharak Singh was deprived of all his administrative powers, and all authority passed to Nau Nihal Singh. Thus began his reign. [6] Kharak Singh died on November 5, 1940, and Nau Nihal Singh met a fatal accident on the very day of his father's cremation and died.
During the reign of Nau Nihal Singh, the young couple adopted a son, Jaswinder Singh from the Kanhaiya Misl so when Nau Nihal proclaims himself the Maharaja they have someone in the line of succession. [7]
Her official rule as the Maharani of the Sikh Empire lasted only a day.
After the coronation of Sher Singh, as the fourth maharaja his first wife, Prem Kaur became the Maharani consort.
After the death of Kharak Singh and Nau Nihal Singh, Chand Kaur claimed the throne as the second wife of Nau Nihal Singh, Rani Sahib Kaur, was pregnant. On 2 December 1840 Chand Kaur was proclaimed Maharani of the Punjab, with the title Malika Muqaddasa (Empress Immaculate) and became the only female ruler the Sikh Empire. Sher Singh whose claim to the throne was supported by Dhian Singh Dogra left the capital after she gained complete control of the administration together with her supporters. But Sher Singh still had the support of the army and in 1841 he arrived in Lahore and secured a ceasefire. She was persuaded to accept a jagir and relinquish her claim to the throne and retired to her late son's palace in Lahore. [8] Sahib Kaur gave birth to a stillborn son who was named Jawahar Singh and passed away. This ended any justification for a renewed claim to the regency of Chand Kaur and she too was killed.
Sohan Lal Suri notes with great horror about how Sher Singh secretly ordered for ‘hot medicines’ to be administered to Nau Nihal Singh’s widows, to ensure that they miscarried any pregnancies to ensure the throne from himself. [9] [10] Nanaki Kaur was also expecting hence was also given medicines to abort her pregnancy, like Sahib Kaur. [11]
The First Anglo-Sikh War began in late 1845, after a combination of increasing disorder in the Sikh empire following the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839 and the assassinations' of Maharaja Kharak Singh, Maharaja Nau Nihal Singh and Maharaja Sher Singh along with provocations by the British East India Company led to the Sikh Khalsa Army invading British territory. The British had won the first two major battles of the war through a combination of luck, the steadfastness of British and Bengal units and deliberate treachery by Tej Singh and Lal Singh, the commanders of the Sikh Army. Her father lead the Sikh Khalsa during the Battle of Sobraon and martyred.
Her jagirs along with those of Bibi Khem Kaur Dhillon, second wife of Kharak Singh were reduced due to their roles in the war being perceived anti-British. Nanaki Kaur was given a pension of Rs. 4,600. [12] Nanaki Kaur oversaw the building of the samadhis of her mother-in-law, Maharani Chand Kaur and Rani Sahib Kaur in The Royal Lahore Garden alongside the samadhi of Maharani Datar Kaur, her grandmother-in-law who was lovingly called Mai Nakkain by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Ranjit Singh was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. He ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10.
Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh was the third maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from 1839 until his death in 1840. He was the only son of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his consort, Maharani Chand Kaur. He was known as Yuvraj Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh. He was also known as Kunwar Sa. His reign began with the dethronement of his father Maharaja Kharak Singh and ended with his death at the age of 19 on the day of his father's funeral.
Sher Singh was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his assault on Lahore which ended the brief regency of Maharani Chand Kaur. He was assassinated on 15 September 1843 by Ajit Singh Sandhawalia.
Chand Kaur was the regent of the Sikh Empire, proclaimed as Malika Muqaddisa on 2 December 1840. She was born to Sardar Jaimal Singh of the Kanhaiya Misl. In 1812, she was married to Crown Prince Kharak Singh, son and heir apparent of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Maharani Datar Kaur. In 1821 she gave birth to their only son Nau Nihal Singh, who became second in line of succession to the throne of Punjab.
Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the founder of Dogra dynasty and the first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which was a part of Sikh Empire became the largest princely state under the British Raj, which was created after the defeat of the Sikh Empire in the First Anglo-Sikh War. During the war, Gulab Singh would later side with the British and end up becoming the Prime Minister of Sikh Empire. The Treaty of Amritsar (1846) formalised the transfer of all the lands in Kashmir that were ceded to them by the Sikhs by the Treaty of Lahore.
Sandhawalia is a Jat clan of present-day India and Pakistan.
Khem Kaur Dhillon was a Sikh queen and the second wife of Maharaja Kharak Singh, the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.
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 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.
Kharak Singh was the second maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from June 1839 until his dethronement and imprisonment in October 1839. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and his consort, Maharani Datar Kaur. Kharak was succeeded by his only son Nau Nihal Singh.
Sham Singh Attariwala was a general of the Sikh Empire.
Kunwar Multana Singh Bahadur, sometimes styled as Shahzada was the son of Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of Sikh Empire and Rani Ratan Kaur.
Kunwar Kashmira Singh, sometimes styled as Shahzada was the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire and Rani Daya Kaur.
Maharani Mehtab Kaur was the first wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was the mother of Maharaja Sher Singh, who briefly became the ruler of the Sikh Empire from 1841 until his death in 1843.
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.
The Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh, officially known as Government Victoria Girls' High School, is a haveli that houses a government school located in Lahore, Pakistan. Dating from the Sikh era of the mid-19th century, the haveli is considered to be one of the finest examples of Sikh architecture in Lahore, and is the only Sikh-era haveli that preserves its original ornamentation and architecture.
Raja Dhian Singh was the longest serving wazir of the Sikh Empire, during the reign of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, and four of his successors. He held the office for twenty five years, from 1818 till his assassination. Dhian Singh was a brother of Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu, who later founded the Dogra dynasty when he became Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir under the British Raj. Another brother Suchet Singh also served the empire. The three brothers were collectively known as the "Dogra brothers" in the Sikh empire, based on their ethnicity.
Kunwar Rattan Singh (1805–1845) was the second son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire and his queen consort, Maharani Datar Kaur His elder, Maharaja Kharak Singh was the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire and nephew, Maharaja Nau Nihal Singh was the third Maharaja. The former reigned for less than four months, and the latter barely four weeks.
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.
Sahib Kaur (d.1841) was the second wife of Nau Nihal Singh, the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, and the mother of his son, Jawahar Singh.
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