Jassa Singh Ramgarhia | |
|---|---|
 Jassa Singh Ramgharia, c.1780 painting | |
| Born | 5 May 1723 |
| Died | 1803 (aged 79–80) |
| Known for | |
| Successor | Jodh Singh Ramgarhia who ceded his territories toMaharaja Ranjit Singh;Baghel Singh |
| Father | Bhagwan Singh |
| Relatives | Hardas Singh (grandfather) |
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia (1723–1803) was a prominentSikh leader during the period of theSikh Confederacy. He was the founder of theRamgarhia Misl.
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was born into a Sikh family[2] in 1723. According toW. H. McLeod,[3] his birthplace was the village of Ichogil, nearLahore, whilst H. S. Singha[4] refers only to Lahore and Purnima Dhavan[5] mentions origins in either Guga orSur Singh, both nearAmritsar. His father was named Bhagwan Singh, who was the son of Hardas Singh.[6] There is agreement among the sources that he was ofTarkhan[7] origin and was originally named Jassa Singh Thoka (Jassa Singh the Carpenter).[3][4][5] He had four brothers - Jai Singh, Khushal Singh, Mali Singh, andTara Singh - and became head of the family when his father, Giani Bhagwan Singh, died.[8][page needed]
Jassa Singh rose to command the Sikh Misl that later became known as theRamgarhia Misl and built a fort called Ram Rauni in honor ofGuru Ram Das in Amritsar. He began his career as working forAdina Beg, who appointed him arisaldar (cavalry commander) and in 1752, rebuilt the damaged fort. The edifice was renamed Ramgarh, from which he took his new name.[3][9][a]
Mir Mannu (Mu'in ul-Mulk), the Governor ofLahore, was worried about the increasing power of the Sikhs so he broke the peace. Mir Mannu also orderedAdina Beg, theFaujdar (garrison commander) of theJalandhar region, to begin killing the Sikhs.[10] Adina Beg was a very smart politician and wanted the Sikhs to remain involved helping them. In order to develop good relations with the Sikhs, he sent secret messages to them who were living in different places. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia responded and agreed to cooperate with the Faujdar and was made a Risaldar.[11] This position helped him develop good relations withDewanKaura Mal at Lahore and assign important posts to the Sikhs in theJalandhar division.
The Governor of Lahore ordered an attack on Ram Rauni to kill the Sikhs staying in that fort. Adina Beg was required to send his army as well and Jassa Singh, being the commander of the Jalandhar forces, had to join the army to kill the Sikhs in the fort.[12] After about four months of siege, Sikhs ran short of food and supplies in the fort. He contacted the Sikhs inside the fort and joined them. Jassa Singh used the offices of Dewan Kaura Mal and had the siege lifted.[13] The fort was strengthened and named Ramgarh; Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, having been designated theJathedar of the fort, became popular as Ramgarhia.
Mir Mannu intensified his violence and oppression against the Sikhs. There were only 900 Sikhs when he surrounded the Ramgarh fort again.[14] The Sikhs fought their way out bravely through thousands of army soldiers. The army demolished the fort. The hunt for and torture of the Sikhs continued until Mannu died in 1753. Mannu's death leftPunjab without any effective governor. It was again an opportune period for the Sikhs to organise themselves and gain strength. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia rebuilt the fort and took possession of some areas aroundAmritsar. The Sikhs took upon themselves the task of protecting the people in the villages from the invaders.[15]
In 1758, Adina Beg became the Governor of Lahore. Sikhs rebuilt their fort Ramgarh and repaired the Harmandir Sahib. Beg was well acquainted with the strength of the Sikhs and he feared they would oust him if he allowed them to grow stronger, Adina Beg send a strong army under Mir Aziz Bakshi, the Sikhs took up refuge in the Ram Rauni fort, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, Jai Singh Kanhaiya and other Sikh chief's were in the fort, Jassa Singh and Jai Singh Kanhaiya made several sallies and sorties and killed numbers of besiegers, but they had to evacuate the fort in the end,[16]
In 1758, After the death ofAdina Beg he collaborated with Jai Singh Kanhaiya, and capturedSri Hargobindpur, and Miani and established his headquarters at Sri Hargobindpur.
In 1763, he sackedKasur along withJai Singh Kanhaiya andHari Singh Dhillon, the Ramgarhias and kanhaiyas share all their booty equally, on this occasion he tried to keep all the booty for himself, As a result, his relationship with Jai singh Kanhaiya deteriorated.[17]
In 1765,Ahmad Shah Durrani invadedIndia for seventh time in the winter of 1764–1765, During this campaign he constantly harassed bySikhs, Qazi Nur Muhammad who was present in the Afghan Army describes the numbers of engagements between Sikhs and Afghans, a battle was fought on the western bank of the Satluj opposite Rupar, it was morning and the Afghan army was hardly gone 3 km from the western bank of theSatluj, when they attacked by the Sikhs, The Afghans immediately stopped marching and got into regular formation of battle, Ahmad Shah Durrani was in the center with 6,000 choice soldiers, Shah Vali Khan, Jahan Khan, Shah Pasand Khan, Anzala Khan and others at the head of 12,000 troops were on the right Nasir Khan with 12,000 Baluchis was on the left, TheDal Khalsa also organised themselves in regular battle armyJassa Singh Ahluwaliafearlessly stood like a mountain in the center close by him was Jassa SinghThokah, looking like a lion in stature, the Qazi says that Ramgarhia has his own flag and war drum[18]
In 1767, Ahmad Shah Durrani Invaded India for the eight time, while Ahamed Shah was crossing the riverBeas, his passage was obstructed by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, a fierce contest took place in which Ahluwalia was severely wounded. He retired to Cis-Satluj areas, Ramgarhia who had succeededHari Singh Dhillon as a leader of Taruna Dal took command ofDal Khalsa[19]
In 1770, he led a plundering expedition into the hills, he defeated Raja Ghamand Chand, the most powerful hill Raja in battle ofTalwara on the banks of riverBeas, Raja Ghamand Chand and other Rajas of hills become tributary to him, He realised tribute of about two lakhs of rupees fromKangra.[19]
After fighting on opposite sides during the campaign atPathankot, the long-standing animosity betweenJassa Singh Ahluwalia of theAhluwalia Misl andJassa Singh Ramgarhia of theRamgarhia Misl reappeared in 1775. The two leaders clashed in Zahura which is close to theBeas River.[20] A gunshot wound to Jassa Singh Ramgarhia during the subsequent fighting forced him to leave the field. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was able to declare victory in the engagement as a result.[21] Later,Baghel Singh of theKarorsinghia Misl was given the area of Zahura.[20][22]
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, was on his way to a fair at Achal, which is close toBatala, in 1776. Mali Singh, a commander of theRamgarhia Misl and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia's brother, was simultaneously in charge of a detachment traveling fromSri Hargobindpur to Batala. On their separate travels, the two parties came into collision with one other, which led to a bloody battle.[23][24] The battle claimed the lives of several of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia's soldiers and left him with two injuries. He suddenly fell from his horse and lost consciousness. Mali Singh intervened by putting him in a palanquin and taking him to Sri Hargobindpur for treatment.[25]
AlthoughJassa Singh Ramgarhia was able to manage the situation, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, referred to as the "Emperor of the Panth" or "Jathedar Sultan-Ul-Qaum," felt deeply humiliated by the attack.[24] During his two-day stay in Sri Hargobindpur, he refrained from eating or drinking and did not speak to anyone.[26] On the third dayJai Singh Kanhaiya,Gujjar Singh Bhangi, and other leaders paid him a visit at this period and urged him to take revenge on the Ramgarhias.[23]
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia made arrangements for Ahluwalia to travel forFatahabad on the third day with full honors and an appropriate escort. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia pledged to get revenge and expel the Ramgarhias fromPunjab in spite of the diplomatic attempts.[25]
TheRamgarhias and theKanhaiya were in conflict in September 1778 over the revenue of some areas since their domains were mixed together in the Upper BariDoab and Upper Jullundur Doab districts.[27] In this dispute,Jai Singh Kanhaiya had the backing ofJassa Singh Ahluwalia. With the support of an Ahluwalia force, Jai Singh andHaqiqat Singh Kanhaiya attacked Jassa Singh Ramgarhia's headquarters inSri Hargobindpur. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia gave a staunch resistance, but the pressure from the attackers compelled him to leave the Trans-Sutlej area.[28]Meanwhile,Batala, which was occupied by Jassa Singh's brother Mali Singh, was under siege byGurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya.[29] Mali Singh was known for his tyrannical rule, which involved many cruel actions. His rule also did not get much support from the local population.[28] Tired of him, they collaborated with the attackers and opened the way to the city for the besieging Kanhaiyas.[28]After Mali Singh retreated, the Kanhaiyas took control of Batala, and Gurbakhsh Singh was selected as the new administrator. Prominent administrators like Raja Singh, Diwan Singh, Mansabdar Qanungo, and theBrahmin Tara Chand were among those who helped Gurbakhsh Singh.[30] Following these victories, the combined Kanhaiya and Ahluwalia forces advanced towardsKalanaur, which was held byTara Singh Ramgarhia, another brother of Jassa Singh Ramgarhia. Following Tara Singh's defeat and death, Haqiqat Singh Kanhaiya took control of Kalanaur. Consequently, the whole Ramgarhia area in the Trans-Sutlej region was effectively taken by the Kanhaiyas and the Ahluwalia Misl.[21][31]
Afterwards KanwarBhag Singh Ahluwalia was assigned to Mahtabkot, close to theSatluj River.Jassa Singh Ahluwalia had advised him not to block theRamgarhia retreat over the river or interfere with their flight.[28] After Jassa Singh was expelled from Punjab,Raja Amar Singh of Patiala was engaged in a battle with the Bhattis in the Sirsa-Bhatner area. To aid in defeating the Bhattis, he offered Jassa Singh a daily allowance of Rs. 500 and provided a safe refuge for Jassa Singh’s son,Jodh Singh Ramgarhia, in Patiala.[32] While at Sirsa, Jassa Singh’s men accidentally lost a couple of brass buckets while drawing water from a well, which was about 100 feet deep. To recover the buckets, they used a metal hook attached to a rope, which got caught on something heavy. When a man was lowered into the well, he found four iron boxes filled with gold coins worth around three or four lakhs. This gold helped Jassa Singh sustain his troops. With the Bhattis defeated, he established his headquarters at Tosham, where he could easily hide in the local hill and raid the Delhi region. He also managed to conquerHissar area. from this position.[32][30][31]While staying at Tosham, a Brahman complained that a Muslim officer from Hisar had abducted his married daughter. In response, a force was immediately sent to deal with the situation. The officer was killed, his property was seized, and the girl was returned to her husband with Rs. 5,000 to guarantee her proper care.[28]
In March 1783, he come to know thatDal Khalsa under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was advancing uponDelhi, he joined it at March 10, 1783, On 11 March, Dal Khalsa entered in the royal palaces in theRed Fort, In theDiwan-i-Am Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was placed on the throne of Delhi as Badshah Singh of Delhi by Sikhs, Through Ramgarhia was in minority, yet he challenged the Ahluwalia and called upon him to get down immediately. Both sides drew out swords and were about to pounce upon each other when Jassa Singh Ahluwalia at once renounced the honour, Ramgarhia detached the throne of Mughal emperorAurangzeb (on which he ordered the death of 9th guruGuru Teg Bahadur) and brought it on elephants and kept it atGolden Temple,Amritsar. Even today it is present at theGolden Temple inside theRamgarhia Bunga.[33][34]
In January 1784, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and karam Singh Nirmala crossed the riverYamuna river, They plunderedSarsawa,Zabita Khan dispatched Qutabi Ranghar and Nahar Singh Gujjar with a contingent of troops to stop the Sikhs from entering his territories Zabita vakil visited Sikhs camp Jassa Singh Ramgarhia demanded Rs,50,000, for sparing Zabita Khan territory, Zabita Khan paid Rs,10,000 and agreed to pay this amount as an annual tribute to Jassa Singh, They sacked Naula Village, Merat,Saharanpur,Muzaffarnagar. The Sikhs crossed Jamuna atBarari Ghat and returned home, Jassa Singh come back to Tosham to deposit his booty[35]
In beginning of January 1785, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia along withBaghel Singh, Gurdit Singh of Ladwa passed overJamuna river, They plundered the village and towns ofSadaat-e-Bara community, Zabita Khan did not stir out of his fort of Ghausgarh, they crossed theGanga river and enteredRohilakhand, On 13 January, the villages of Barsi and Mahmudpur were laid waste, On 14 January, They sackedChandausi the great center of about 2000 bankers, rich merchants and jewellers was thoroughly squeezed and booty worth a crore of rupees was obtained in two days and nights,[36]
In 1785, Jassa Singh now turned his attention towards thePunjab, Sharp differences had arisen betweenJai Singh Kanhaiya andMaha Singh over the booty of Jammu, Maha Singh invited Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Sansar Chand katoch. Both were enemies ofJai Singh Kanhaiya, Jassa Singh swiftly assembled his forces at Tosham and met with Mahan Singh's agents at Jagraon to devise a plan. Bhag Singh Ahluwalia pledged not to interfere, and despite a failed attempt by Jai Singh's forces to halt the Ramgarhias, the stage was set for battle. The intense battle took place near Acheal, 13 kilometers from Batala, in mid-February 1785. Jai Singh's eldest son, Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya, was killed in the engagement. Jassa Singh successfully reclaimed his territories, while Sansar Chand seized Jai Singh's territories at the foot of the hills. Mahan Singh annexed some of the Kanhaiya territory, leaving Jai Singh with only a few strongholds, including Kangra fort and Atalgarh near Mukerian. In the aftermath, Jassa Singh established his headquarters at Batala.[37]
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia died in 1803 at the age of 80In honour of his achievements and contribution to the Sikh faith, anequestrian statue[38] of Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgharia has been installed inAmritsar,Punjab.
Media related toJassa Singh Ramgarhia at Wikimedia Commons
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