Sardar Mangal Singh: Difference between revisions

Sardar Mangal Singh (d.1864), was the son of Sardar Lal Singh, a Sandhu Jatt of Siranwali village in tehsil Pasrur, Sialkot District of Punjab. Sardar Mangal Singh, was the third Sikh Generation in his family, and was a well known Sikh Sardar during the Sikh times, who managed the estates of Prince Kharak Singh (1801-1840), the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Sher-e-Panjab (1780-1839). Sardar Mangal Singh's grandfather Sardar Dargah Singh, was a Sandhu Jatt, later he had converted to Sikhism, He left his native ancestral village of Siranwali, because of serious circumstances that had taken place in his native village, migrating to Gurdaspur district, where he served under the Kanhaiya Misl Chieftain Sardar Jaimal Singh (d.1812), as a horseman. And later his son Sardar Lal Singh was promoted to command 100 horsemen.

Sardar Lal Singh Sandhu, died between 1815-1820, after the marriage of his eldest daughter Rani Ishar Kaur, married into the Royal Sandhawalia Family of Lahore.

The eldest sister of Sardar Mangal Singh, Rani Ishar Kaur (d.1840), was married to Prince Kharak Singh, in 1815, according to Chaddar Doli rites, at the Holy city of Amritsar. This brought the brother favours from the court. A jagir of the value of Rs 5,000 was conferred upon Sardar Mangal Singh and he was given charge of the Chunian tract in present day Kasur district of Punjab. Kharak Singh was so pleased with his management that he entrusted him in 1820 with the charge of all his affairs, civil and military, and gave him an enhanced Jagir of Rs 19,000 with the title of Sardar.

Sardar Mangal Singh also secured the possession of his old family village of Siranwali, which was then held by Sardar Sham Singh Attarivala (d.1846). He retained the favour of his master, though the management of princely estates was in 1834 transferred to Sardar Chet Singh Bajwa (d.1839), being related to him, as he was married to Sardar Mangal Singh's niece Bibi Chand kaur. Maharaja Sher Singh (1807-1843) resumed most of Mangal Singh`s original estates but granted him new ones of the value of over a lakh of rupees which he retained until 1846, when Raja Lal Singh seized them leaving him a much reduced jagir.

After the annexation of the Punjab Sikh Kingdom in 1849, He was allotted a cash pension of Rs. 1,000 a month. The British East India Company, appointed Sardar Mangal Singh as Adalati or judicial officer of the Rachna Doab region of Punjab which lay between Ravi and Chenab by the British Resident, Major Lawrence (1811-1879). Sardar Mangal Singh died in June 1864.