Hari Singh Nalwa

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A Painting of the Sikh Lion Hari Singh Nalwa

Hari Singh Nalwa (1791-1837), celebrated General of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was born in April 1791, at Gujranwala, now in Pakistan, to Gurdial Singh, an Uppal Sikh of the Sukerchakia Misl. The family originally came from Majitha, near Amritsar. His grandfather, Hardas Singh, had been killed fighting against Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1762. His father, Gurdial Singh, had taken part in many of the campaigns of the Sukkarchakkias Charhat Singh Sukkarchakkia and Mahari Singh.

Early Life

Hari Singh was hardly 7 years of age when his father died. His mother, Dharam Kaur, had to move to her parental home to live under the care of her brothers. There Hari Singh learned Punjabi and Persian and trained in the manly arts of riding, musketry and swordsmanship. Dharam Kaur returned to Gujranwala when her son was about 13 years old.

Joining Sikh Army

In 1805, Hari Singh participated in a recruitment test for service in the Sikh army and so impressed Maharaja Ranjit Singh with his skill at various drills that he was given appointment as a personal attendant. Not long after, he received the commission with a command of 800 horse and foot. This rapid promotion was owed to an incident in which he had cloven with sword the head of a tiger which had seized him. From that day he came to be known as "Baaghmaar" (meaning - the tiger killer), and earned the title of "Nalwa" (one with claws, like that of a tiger).

Activism

Hari Singh was commander of a regiment at the time of the Maharaja's final attack on Kasur in 1807 and gave evidence of his prowess on the field of battle. He was rewarded with a handsome "jagir". During the later years, he participated in the Sialkot, Sahival and Khushab expeditions and in four of Ranjit Singh's seven campaigns against Multan during 1810, 1816, 1817 and then in 1818. He fought in the battle of Attock in 1813 as second-in-command to Diwan Mohkam Chand, and in Kashmir in 1814 and 1819. Kashmir was occupied and, in 1820, Hari Singh was appointed its governor in succession to Diwan Moti Ram. He restored order in the turbulent areas, and reorganized civil administration. The territory was divided into parganahs, each under a collector. The habitual criminals were bound down and robbers infesting the forests were suppressed. Construction of forts at Uri and Muzaffarabad and gurudwaras at Matan and Baramula was undertaken and work was started on laying out a spacious garden on the bank of the River Jhelum. To alleviate the misery of the people in the wake of the unprecedented floods of 1821, he took measures to provide prompt relief. From Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Hari Singh received a special favor when he was allowed to strike a coin in his own name. This coin, known as the Hari Singhi rupee, remained in circulation in the valley till the closing years of the nineteenth century. In 1822, he was assigned to the Pathan territory of Hazara on the northwest of the Sikh kingdom, where he remained for fifteen years and settled the disturbed area. He built a strong fort near Salik Serai, on the left bank of the Dor river, and on the road from Hasan Abdal to Abbotabad and named it Harikishangarh, in honour of the Eighth Guru. He also raised a town in the vicinity of the fort, Haripur, which later grew into a busy commercial and trade centre. From 1827 to 1831, he was engaged in repelling Sayyid Ahmad Barelavi's fierce campaign against the Sikhs. In 1834, Hari Singh finally took Peshawar and annexed it to the Sikh dominions. Two years later, he built a fort at Jamrud at the mouth of the Khyber Pass and scaled it once for all for invaders from the northwest. On 30 April 1837, as he was locked in a grave battle against the Afghans under Akbar Khan, Hari Singh received four gun wounds, and two sabre cuts across his breast. He continued to issue orders as before, until he received a gunshot wound in the side. He mustered his failing strength for the last time and managed to ride up to his field tent, from where he was taken to the fort. Here the same evening the great general passed away. His last instructions were that his death should not be made public until the arrival of the Maharaja's relief column.

Governer

Administrator

Kashmir (1820-21) Greater Hazara (1822-37) Chhachch Hazara, Pothohar plateau, (Rawalpindi), Salt Range (Katas) Trans-Indus' Viceroy on the Western Frontier' (1822-31) & Governor of Peshawar (1834-37)

Governor of Kashmir(1820-21)

Hari Singh Nalwa was appointed the first Khalsa Governor of Kashmir in 1820. He governed the province for a little over a year when the pull of the Sikh Forward Policy compelled his recall from the province.

Hari Singh Nalwa was remembered in Kashmir for something he least expected. The currency minted while he was the governor had been the subject matter of much speculation (Surinder Singh 2001: 81-8). Following his departure from this subah, all the coins minted under the Sikhs in this province were called the 'Hari Singhee'. Thereafter, no matter who was the governor all coins minted in Kashmir continued to be called the 'Hari Singhee' even following Hari Singh's death

Muslim and British historians criticised Hari Singh's tenure as the Governor of Kashmir. Archival records, however, show that their assessment was based on an incomplete understanding of the situation.

Jagirdar-Governor Greater Hazara (1822-37)

The possibility of consolidating the North West Frontier of the Indian sub-continent into a province was presented by the relentless efforts of Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa. What he achieved in this region in a span of 15 years with limited resources and in the midst of a turbulent population, was nothing short of a miracle. Hazara, the crown of the Sindh Sagar Doab, was the most significant of all the territories under his governance. His proceedings in this area present the finest example of his skill as a military commander and as an administrator. The compiler of the Hazara Gazetteer acknowledged that Hari Singh Nalwa left his mark upon this district, which at that time only a strong hand like his could effectively control. "Of unbounded energy and courage, he was ruthless towards those who opposed his path. The town of Haripur fittingly perpetuates his name and the fort of Harkishangarh forms an enduring monument of his power." (Hazara 1907: 130)


'Viceroy on the Western Frontier' (1822-31) & Governor of Peshawar (1834-37)

In the early years, Ranjit Singh requisitioned all his fighting men when he proposed a conquest. In the later years, apart from the garrison manning the forts, the Kampu-i-mu'alla or the State troops continued to be stationed in Lahore under the Maharaja's command. The Kampu-i-mu'alla was dispatched as reinforcement when requested for by Hari Singh Nalwa. More often than not, however, the fate of the battle had been decided before these could arrive. Hari Singh Nalwa and his Jagirdari Fauj, together with the two battalions of the Fauj-i-Khas raised by him, were largely responsible for guarding the western frontier of the kingdom. In case of an invasion from the west, the British saw the Sikhs as their Forward Post. The Sikhs, in turn, saw territory under Hari Singh Nalwa's jurisdiction and command as the farthest extent of the Sikh Kingdom.

Military Commander

  • Early participation in the conquest of cis-Satluj territories, e.g. Bhadowal; trans-Satluj regions in the Rachna and Bari Doabs
  • Kasur (1807)
  • Khushab (Sindh Sagar Doab) & Sahiwal (Chaj Doab) (1810)
  • Gandhgarh (Hazara) (1815)
  • Mahmudkot (Sindh Sagar Doab) (1816)
  • Multan (Bari Doab) (1818)
  • Peshawar becomes tributary (trans-Indus) (1818)
  • Kashmir (1819)
  • Pakhli & Damtaur (Hazara) (1821-2)
  • Naushehra (trans-Indus) (1823)
  • Sirikot (Hazara) (1824)
  • Wahhabi (trans-Indus) (1826-31)
  • Occupies Peshawar (1834)
  • Jamrud (Khyber Pass) (1836)

Jagirdar

  • Gujranwala (Rachna Doab)
  • Haripur, Pakhli & Damtaur, Khanpur, Dhanna (Hazara)
  • Warcha (Salt Range)
  • Kachhi, Mitha Tiwana, Nurpur (Sindh Sagar Doab)
  • Tank & Bannu (Trans-Indus)
  • Hassan Abdal, Kalargarh, Pindi Gheb (Pothohar plateau)


Mission to Simla (1831)

In 1831, Hari Singh was deputed to head a diplomatic mission to Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General of British India. The Ropar Meeting between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the head of British India followed soon thereafter. The British desired to persuade Ranjit Singh to open the Indus for trade. Hari Singh Nalwa expressed strong reservations against any such move. The most compelling reason for the Sardar’s scepticism was the scenario visible across the Satluj — namely, the proceedings in British Hindustan. As a “wide awake” military man and an efficient administrator, Hari Singh Nalwa clearly understood both the military and trade designs of the British.

Also View


References

  • Source: Nalwa, V. 2009. Hari Singh Nalwa ― Champion of the Khalsaji, New Delhi: Manohar
  • Autar Singh Sandhu , I fan Singh Naliua [Reprint]. Delhi, 1987
  • Baron Charles Hugcl, , "Travels in Cashmere and the Punjab" Tr. T.B. Jervis [Reprint]. Paliala, 1970
  • Bhagat Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Patiala, 1983
  • Harbans Singh, "The History of the Sikhs", Delhi, 1983
  • Patwant Singh, "Baba Hari Singh Nalva", Amritsar, 1937
  • Surinder Singh, ‘Coinage: Sovereignty to the Guru’, in Maharaja Ranjit Singh — Commemoration volume on Bicentenary of his Coronation 1801-2001, eds Prithpal Singh Kapur and Dharam Singh, Patiala: Punjabi University, 2001.
  • Ganeshi Lal. Siyahat-i-Kashmir (Kashmir Nama or Tarikh-i-Kashmir) by March-June 1846, tr. Vidya Sagar Suri, 1955, Simla: The Punjab Government Record Office Pub. Monograph No 4.

External Link

SIKH-HERITAGE

Sikh Missionary College Ludhiana on line article on S. Nalwa