Dhian Singh | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Raja Dhian Singh in opaque watercolor and gold on exhibit at theTokyo National Museum. c. mid-19th century. | |
| Wazir of theSikh Empire | |
| In office 1818 – 15 September 1843 | |
| Monarchs | Ranjit Singh Kharak Singh Nau Nihal Singh |
| Preceded by | Khushal Singh Jamadar |
| Succeeded by | Hira Singh Dogra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1796-08-22)22 August 1796 |
| Died | 15 September 1843(1843-09-15) (aged 47) |
RajaDhian Singh (22 August 1796 – 15 September 1843) was the longest servingwazir of theSikh Empire,[1] during the reign ofMaharajahRanjit Singh, and the brief rule of four of his successors over four years. He held the office for twenty five years, from 1818 till his assassination.[2] Dhian Singh was a brother of RajaGulab Singh ofJammu, who later founded theDogra dynasty when he becameMaharaja of the princely state ofJammu and Kashmir under theBritish Raj. Another brother Suchet Singh also served the empire. The three brothers were collectively known as the "Dogra brothers" in theSikh Empire, based on theirethnicity.
In the turbulent four years following the Ranjit Singh's death on 27 June 1839, Dhian remained at the helm, grappling with a power struggle in which three successive emperors and one empress died suddenly, in the build-up to theFirst Anglo-Sikh War.
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Following the coronation ofKharak Singh on 1 September 1839, Dhian launched apalace coup on 8 October 1839,[3] and assassinated Chet Singh Bajwa, the favouritecourtier of the emperor.[4] He imprisoned emperor Kharak, who later died of slow poisoning by lead and mercury.[5] Dhian had spread rumor that the hedonistic emperor intended to sell out thesovereignty of the Sikh empire to theBritishEast India Company.
Dhian then installed the emperor's sonNau Nihal Singh, aged eighteen, to the throne. Thirteen months later, Nau Nihal, died suddenly on 5 November 1840, on the day of his father's funeral.[6] After leaving the funeral pyre, Nau Nihal was knocked unconscious when a stone gate atLahore Fort collapsed upon him. Udham Singh, son of Dhian's brother Gulab Singh was killed in the same incident. Dhian had the teenage emperor carried indoors, and barred any visitors, including the emperor's motherChand Kaur.[7] Eyewitness accounts had initially reported the emperor had only suffered minor injuries from the accident, however later the emperor was pronounced dead when Dhian presented the corpse with its head smashed.[8][better source needed]AmericancolonelAlexander Gardner, who was with Nau Nihal when he was injured, noted that five artillery men carried the emperor into the fort under the orders of Dhian. Two of these men died mysteriously, two asked for leave and never returned, and one inexplicably disappeared.[5]
On 13 January 1841, another of Ranjit Singh's sons,Sher Singh, led a coup against Chand Kaur, and after two days of siege and battle,[9] Dhian negotiated a ceasefire, which led to Chand Kaur'sabdication, and Sher succeeding to the throne as emperor. Later, Dhian had the deposed Chand Kaur's servants changed, who then assassinated Chand in her palace by smashing her head with wooden pikes on 11 June 1842.[10][11]
Dhian Singh and emperor Sher Singh were both assassinated on 15 September 1843, in a plot led byAjit Singh Sandhawalia. Dhian was shot and his body cut into pieces.[12] Dhian's son Hira Singh led acounter-coup the next day, and killed the assassins. On 17 September 1843, Hira Singh Dogra, aged 24, succeeded his father as the prime minister, with five year old infantDuleep Singh being crowned emperor.
Dhian's younger brother Suchet Singh Dogra was killed on 27 March 1844, while leading a failed coup against Dhian's son Hira Singh Dogra.[13] Hira himself was assassinated following another coup d'état led bySham Singh Atariwala on 21 December 1844.[14][15] A year later theFirst Anglo-Sikh War broke out on 11 December 1845.
Dhian's elder brother MaharajahGulab Singh Dogra, was the prime minister of theSikh empire from 31 January – 9 March 1846, during the First Anglo-Sikh War, and then became the first emperor ofJammu and Kashmir on 16 March 1846, by theTreaty of Amritsar. This followed the 9 MarchTreaty of Lahore and ultimately led up to the British East India Company gaining sovereignty over the Sikh empire.
Jagat Dev Singh a descendant of Gulab Singh’s brother Dhian Singh a member of Poonch ruling family ascended the throne ofJammu and Kashmir from September 1925 to February 1926.[16][17]
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