Raja Sardar Surat Singh | |
|---|---|
ਸੂਰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਮਜੀਠਾ صورت سنگھ مجیٹھا | |
 Portrait of Surat Singh | |
| Pronunciation | /suːɾət̺ə̆˧ s˧ɪ̀ᵑɡə̆/ |
| Born | c.1810 |
| Died | c.1881 |
| Known for | Member of The Khalsa Phauj |
| Parent | Sardar Attar Singh Majitha |
| Relatives |
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RajaSurat SinghCSI (1810–1881) was aPunjabiJagirdar, a military officer in theKhalsa Army, and a member of the renownedMajithia family.[1]
He was born inMajitha to Sardar Attar Singh of theSher-GillJat clan.[2] With his father, he participated in many campaigns underRanjit Singh.[3] In 1843 he succeeded his father. During theFirst Anglo-Sikh War he was responsible for maintaining order inNaushera.[4]
He was a notable advocate of rebellion prior to the start of theSecond Anglo-Sikh War.[5] On Sher Singh leavingMultan, he was placed in command of one division of his army, consisting of two thousand men and two guns. He led a march toJalalpur which was noted for its excesses, including the defilement of mosques atChiniot andJhang, and plundering two lakhs of government money.[4] After theBattle of Gujrat, his jagirs were confiscated and he was banished toBenares on a pension of Rs. 720 per annum.[4]
At the start of theIndian Rebellion of 1857, Surat Singh remained in exile in Benares. In June 1857 a corps of Ludhiana Sikhs serving in the37th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry in Benares was accused of disloyalty and had guns directed at them. This incensed the corps who charged at the guns, suffering many loses. Nearby a Sikh regiment was guarding the Benares treasury, and on hearing the treatment of the Ludhiana Sikhs, threatened to mutiny. Surat Singh visited the regiment and using his personal influence discouraged them from rebelling.[4] Later in the rebellion he commanded troops on various occasions in the field, and on 6 July was wounded by a sabre to the thigh by a body of Rajputs who had attacked Benares.[4]
For his services in 1857, he was awarded a pension of Rs. 4,800 per annum, and awarded a jagir in perpetuity inDumri,Gorakhpur. He was also allowed to return to the Punjab.[4] In 1875 he was made an Honorary Magistrate and granted civil-judicial powers in Majithia. In 1877 he was awarded the title ofRaja and made aCompanion of the Star of India.[4]
He died in 1881 and was succeeded by his eldest sonUmrao Singh Sher-Gil. His granddaughter through Umrao Singh was the artistAmrita Sher-Gil.[6] His younger sonSundar Singh Majithia became a prominent politician in the Punjab.[7]
...the small village of Majithia (near Amritsar)—which the family of Sir Sundar Singh, of Shergill clan among the Jat Sikhs—had adopted as their surname, could also be proud of its illustrious Sardars.