The Fauj-i-Khas was a brigade of the Fauj-i-Ain section of the Sikh Khalsa Army of Punjab. It consisted of very experienced elites and had separate flag and emblem. It was strictly disciplined on French pattern. All the equipment and weapons were of the best type. It grew to be the best organised section of the regular army (Fauj-i-Ain)
The Sikh Empire, officially known as Sarkār-i-Khālsa and Khālasa Rāj, was a regional power based in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the British East India Company in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. It was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous misls. At its peak in the 19th century, the empire extended from Gilgit and Tibet in the north to the deserts of Sindh in the south and from the Khyber Pass in the west to the Sutlej in the east as far as Oudh. It was divided into four provinces: Lahore, which became the Sikh capital; Multan; Peshawar; and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 4.5 million in 1831, it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire.
Rupnagar is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. Rupnagar is a newly created fifth Divisional Headquarters of Punjab comprising Rupnagar, Mohali, and its adjoining districts. It is also one of the bigger sites belonging to the Indus Valley civilization. Rupnagar is nearly 43 km (27 mi) to the northwest of Chandigarh. It is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the north and Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar district to its west.
Nalwa is a village, as well as an Assembly Constituency in Haryana Legislative Assembly, located in Hisar district in the state of Haryana in India.
Hari Singh Nalwa was the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshawar and Jamrud. Hari Singh Nalwa was responsible for expanding the frontier of Sikh Empire to beyond the Indus River right up to the mouth of the Khyber Pass. At the time of his death, Jamrud constituted the western boundary of the Empire.
Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the first Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir and the founder of the Dogra dynasty. Originally a commander of the Sikh Empire, he sided with the British in the First Anglo-Sikh War and briefly became prime minister of the Sikh Empire in 1846.. In the same year he signed the Treaty of Amritsar with the British, establishing the state of Jammu and Kashmir under the suzerainty of the British Raj; this treaty formalized the transfer of all lands that were ceded by the Sikhs to the British in the Treaty of Lahore.
Zorawar Singh was a military general of the Dogra Rajput ruler, Gulab Singh, who served as the Raja of Jammu under the Sikh Empire. He served as the governor (wazir-e-wazarat) of Kishtwar and extended the territories of the kingdom by conquering Ladakh and Baltistan. He also boldly attempted the conquest of Western Tibet but was killed in battle of To-yo during the Dogra-Tibetan war. In reference to his legacy of conquests in the Himalaya Mountains including Ladakh, Tibet, Baltistan and Skardu as General and Wazir, Zorowar Singh has been referred to as the "Napoleon of India", and "Conqueror of Ladakh".
The Sikh Khalsa Army, also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was divided in three wings: the Fauj-i-Khas (elites), Fauj-i-Ain and Fauj-i-Be Qawaid (irregulars). Due to the lifelong efforts of the Maharaja and his European officers, it gradually became a prominent fighting force of Asia. Ranjit Singh changed and improved the training and organisation of his army. He reorganized responsibility and set performance standards in logistical efficiency in troop deployment, manoeuvre, and marksmanship. He reformed the staffing to emphasize steady fire over cavalry and guerrilla warfare, improved the equipment and methods of war. The military system of Ranjit Singh combined the best of both old and new ideas. He strengthened the infantry and the artillery. He paid the members of the standing army from treasury, instead of the Mughal method of paying an army with local feudal levies.
The Jamrud Fort is located beside Bab-e-Khyber at the entrance to the Khyber Pass from the Peshawar side in the district of Khyber in KPK, Pakistan. After the death of Sardar General Hari Singh Nalwa, Khalsa Sarkar Wazir Jawahar Singh nominated General Gurmukh Singh Lamba as chief administrative and military commander to restore and consolidate the Khalsa army gains.
The Battle of Nowshera was fought in Nowshera in March 1823 collectively by the Yusufzai Afghans, supported by the Peshawar sardars, alongside Azim Khan Barakzai, the Afghan governor of Peshawar, where they would face the Sikh armies led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Azim Khan was a half-brother of Dost Mohammad Khan, the future ruler of Kabul, and later Afghanistan. The battle was a victory for the Sikhs over Azim Khan's armies, a result which allowed the Sikhs to begin their occupation of the Peshawar Valley.
Sham Singh Attariwala was a general of the Sikh Empire.
Tej Singh was a Sikh commander in the Sikh Empire. He was appointed as commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army during the First Anglo-Sikh War betraying the army he was supposed to lead.
The Nepal–Sikh war was a small conflict in 1809 between the forces of the Western Province of Kingdom of Nepal under General Amar Singh Thapa and the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Ilahi Bakhsh was a Muslim Punjabi general who served in the Sikh Khalsa Fauj for over forty years and was regarded as one of the best artillery officers.
Fateh Singh Ahluvalia was the ruler of the Kapurthala State between 10 July 1801 – 20 October 1837.
In 1822, after Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave employment to the European mercenaries, the Fauj-i-Ain divided unequally into the Kampu-i-mu'alla and the Fauj-i-Khas. Of the two, the Kampu-i-mu'alla was the larger trained division of the Sikh Khalsa Army comprising infantry, cavalry and artillery, but principally the infantry and artillery. The men enrolled in the Kampu-i-mu'alla wore uniforms and received a salary from the royal treasury.
Sohan Lal Suri was a Punjabi historiographer, who specialized in the period of the Sikh Empire. Sohan was the son of Lala Ganpat Rai, the waqai navis or court chronicler of the Sukerchakia Misl and later Sikh Empire. Sohan Lal inherited the position from his father in 1811 and served at the court of Lahore till after the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839. The period covered by him as a court chronicler begins in 1812 and includes the Anglo-Sikh War. His magnum opus was the Umdat-ut-Tawarikh.
Diwan Moti Ram (1770–1837), son of Dewan Mokham Chand, was one of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's most trusted and faithful officers.
Diwan Kirpa Ram, the youngest son of Diwan Moti Ram, was a civil administrator and soldier in the Sikh Empire.
