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HUKMA SINGH CHIMNI was
commander-cum-civil administrator under
Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was son of
Ram Singh, of Bhera, who was the first
one in thc family to take the vows of
Guru Gobind Singh's Pahul, and who entered
thc service of the Sukkarchakkia misl
under Charhat Singh as a trooper. After
thc death of his father, Hukma Singh
was admitted into Ranjit Singh's army
and took part in the Kasur expedition
of 1807. He soon won the favour of the
Maharaja by his valour particularly
in the reduction of the Kanhaiya citadel
of Pathankot in 1808, and in the seizure
of Sialkot the same year from Sardar
Jivan Singh. The energy and alacrity
of Hukma Singh won from the Maharaja
thc affectionatc epithet of Chimni.
Chimna in Punjahi signifies both a
man of small stature and a little bird,
swift and strong of wing. The nickname
fitted Hukma Singh, who was short of
staturc, but very virile and active.
Hukma Singh was created a sardar and
was made the governor of Ramnagar on
a salary of Rs 2,000 per month. He also
became the controller of customs and
salt mine duties. He was assigned a
jagir worth 60,000 rupees annually.
Hukma Singh took part in the battle
of Haidru, 8 km from the Fort of Attock,
in 1813, under Diwan Mohkam Chand, when
the Sikhs defeated the Kabul Wazir,
Fateh Khan. As Yar Muhammad Khan, the
Afghan governor of Peshawar, made an
attempt to reoccupy Attock, Hukma Singh
drove the Afghan army from the fortress
and plundered thc retreating host.
In 1818, Maharaja Ranjit Singh appointed
Hukma Singh as thc governor of Attock
and Hazara. Hukma Singh was primarily
a soldier, and there were few of the
Maharaja's campaigns in which he did
not participatc. He was well rewarded
for his skill and hravery and, at one
time, held jagirs amounting to upwards
of three lakhs of rupees .
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Harbans Singh "The
encyclopedia of Sikhism."
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