Amar Singh Majithia
AMAR SINGH MAJITHIA (d. 1848). known as Amar Singh Khurd (junior) to distinguish him from his namesake Amar Singh Kalan (senior) who was also from the village of Majitha, son of Mahna Singh (d. 1802), was aJagmfar and military commander under Maharaja RANJIT Singh. He was placed in the Dera Khas. a regiment of irregular cavalry composed of the sons of the SIKH nobility. The young Amar Singh distinguished himself in the siege of Multan in 1818 and in the Kashmir campaign the following year. In 1834, he accompanied the army under Prince Nau Nihal Singh and General Hari Singh Nalva to Peshawar when the province was formally annexed to the Sikh kingdom. He was employed on outpost duty in this campaign and he had many a fierce encounter with the Afghans. At Shabqadar, he was wounded by a musketball in a night attack made by the Afghans in force, but he rallied his men and drove them back. He fought with distinction in the battle ofJamrud (30 April 1837). Being a celebrated marksman, he was chosen in 1846 to instruct the young Maharaja Duleep Singh in shooting. In the year following, he left the Punjab on a pilgrimage to Haridvar, and died there in 1848.
References
1. Suri, Sohan Lal, `l/mdat-ut-rwarikh. LAHORE, 1885-89
2. Griffin, Lepel, and C.F. Massy, Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore, 1909
3. Bhagat Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and His Times. Delhi, 1990
AMAR SINGH MAJITHIA, soldier and administrator in SIKH times, called Amar Singh Kalan (senior) to distinguish him from his namesake Amar Singh Khurd (junior) who was also from the village of Majitha, was the son ofDargaha Singh Majithia. He took part in many an early campaign under Maharaja RANJIT Singh. When Diwan Ram Dial was killed in Hazara in 1820, Amar Singh was appointed governor of that country. While engaged in curbing the activities of the turbulent and unruly Afghan tribes, he was killed treacherously in an ambush. Amar Singh was a fine bowman and the local tribesmen still point to a large tree pierced through and through by an arrow which, they say, came from the bow of Amar Singh.
References
1. Suri, Sohan Lal, `l/mdat-ut-rwankh. LAHORE, 1885-89
2. Griffin Lepel, and C.F. Massy, Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore, 1909
