|
Amar Singh Kingra or
Sanghania was the founder of Kanhaiya
Misal. Some of the valorous Sikhs rallied
round him and accepted him as their
leader. He established his own derah.
He considered it absolutely necessary
to baptise a person into a 'Singh' before
accepting him into his derah.
A Sandhu Jat cultivator, named Khushal
or Khushali or Khushal Singh, lived
at the village of Kanah, situated at
some ten kos or about fifteen miles
to the south of Lahore. His two sons,
Jai Singh and Jhanda Singh left their
village and first joined the derah of
Amar Singh Kingra and then joined the
confederacy of Kapur Singh Faizullapuria
or Singhpuria about the year 1739, and
took pahul from him. From the native
village of the Misal's leader, Jai Singh,
the confederacy took its name it is
also said that when the young Jai Singh
went to Amritsar to be baptised as a
Singh, the assembled Sikhs were so much
struck with his beauty that they asked
him the name of the village from which
he had come. "I am of Kanah"
he said. "Well is your village
named Kanah" was the reply "for
you resemble Kanaihya himself."
Kanaihya is one of the names of the
beautiful Lord Krishan.
The four real brothers: Haqiqat Singh,
Mehtab Singh, Jiwan Singh and Tara Singh,
who belonged to the village Julka, situated
about two kos from the village Kanah,
came and joined Jai Singh. on the death
of Kapur Singh, Jai Singh and his brother
Jhanda Singh retired to Sohian, the
village of Jai Singh's father-in-law,
situated in the north-west of Amritsar,
at a distance of seven kos or about
nine or ten miles. Haqiqat Singh, along
with his other three brothers and their
companions, shifted to Sangatpur about
three kos from Sohian. Jai Singh collected
about 400 horses and in collaboration
with Haqiqat Singh took posssesion of
the surrounding areas. Five years later,
in 1754, Jhanda Singh was killed in
a fight with Nidhan Singh Randhawa at
Rawalkot.
Jai Singh succeeded to his brother's
share in the estate, marrying his widow,
Desan, by the rite of chadar pauna.
Jai Singh became a powerful chief. He
occupied Nag, Mukerian, Hajipur, Datarpur,Kerrot,
Pathankot, Dharamkot,Sujanpur, etc.
Jai Singh had among his followers,
many well-known persons as Amar Singh
and Jhanda Singh Bakarpurias, Lakha
Singh Kanhowalia, Amar Singh Khokhra,
Budh Singh Dharamkotia, and Jhanda Singh
Keroh. Jai Singh was known for his daring
and dash. In the beginning of 1754,
Jai Singh, accompanied by Charhat Singh
Sukarchakia, entered Lahore through
Shah Alami Gate, one dark evening, in
the guise of a Muslim and dispossessed
the rich merchants and jewellers of
their money and valuables.
In 1759, Desan, the widow of Jhanda
Singh and wife of Jai Singh, gave birth
to a son. named Gurbakhsh Singh, who
was betrothed at the age of seven and
married at nine, to Sada Kaur, daughter
of Dasonda Singh (Dhaliwal) of Alkolwala.
Jai Singh had first married the daughter
of Hamir Singh of Nabha.
Haqiqat Singh Sangatpuria was the leader
of one great section of Kanaihya Misal.
He was a friend and a close associate
of Jai Singh and participated in many
expeditions led by the latter. Jai Singh
arranged the marriage of his associate
Haqiqat Singh's son Jaimal Singh to
Sahib Kaur, daughter of Maharaja Amar
Singh of Patiala. He occasionally visited
Patiala to help in solving some of their
problems. After Ahmad Shah Abdali's
retirement from the Punjab in 1763,
the Kanaihva Sardars, allied with Jassa
Singh Ahluwalia, Hari Singh Bhangi and
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, attacked the
Pathan town of Kasur.
According to Bute Shah, a Brahman woman
was taken away by the Afghans of Kasur
and forcibly taken in wedlock by one
of them. Feeling dishonoured, the Brahmans
of Kasur came to Amritsar and related
the story of their woes to Jai Singh,
Haqiqat Singh and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia,
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Bhangi Sardars.
Enraged over the conduct of the Afghans
of Kasur they decided to sack the ruler
of Kasur and teach a lesson to the guilty.
The Sikh Sardars besieged the kot (fortress)
of Abdul Rahim Khan and occupied it
shortly. Four or five hundred Afghans
were killed and the chief of Kasur,
Ghulam Muhay-ud-Din Khan, was also shot
dead in the course of fighting.
Sikh Sardars imposed war indemnity
of four lakh rupees on the Afghans which
they accepted to pay. The Sikhs got
huge booty from Kasur. According to
Ahmad Shah Batalia, the allies plundered
the town and the booty included cash,
gold and silver utensils, various kinds
of pearls and precious stones, very
costly silk and pashmina clothes and
valuable rugs. Jai Singh Kanaihya's
share comprised gold, silver, emeralds
and richly studded ornaments which were
carried with difficulty by four strong
and sturdy persons. Similarly the Ramgarhias
also received a rich share from the
booty. It is said that most of the booty
was buried in the jungle near the village
of Begowal.
All the fourteen fortresses, built
outside the walls of the town of Kasur,
were occupied by the Sikhs. These were
divided into four groups out of which
two groups were received by the Bhangis,
one group was taken over by the Ramgarhias
and the fourth group was possessed by
the Kanaihyas. And for many years to
come the town of Kasur remained in the
hands of the Sikhs.
Jai Singh Kanaihya and Jassa Siogh
Ramgarhia were very friendly to each
other and had jointly undertaken armed
Operations against the Mughals and Afghans.
But, after the sack of Kasur a dispute
arose between the two Sardars, over
the division of booty. Some time later,
lai Singh quarrelled with Hari Singh
Bhangi and they clashed near Eminabad,
without a decisive victory for any of
them. Jai Singh marched to Sirhind and
participated in the battle where Zain
Khan was defeated and killed on January
14, 1764. In 1765, Qazi Nur Muhammad
wrote in his Jang Nama that Jai Singh
Kanaihya had extended his territory
up to Narol Iying in the southern parts
of Jammu. He worked in collaboration
with Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and both
of them shared the territory of Batala
between themselves.
Kanaihyas Occupied Kangra
The fort of Kangra was surrounded on
three sides by steep and high precipices.
It was a grand edifice of stone. The
hill on which the fort stood was nearly
5 kms in circuit. With a view to dominating
the Kangra hills the Mughal government
had appointed an officer who resided
in the Kangra fort. At this time, the
fort was under Saif Ali Khan. During
Ahmad Shah Abdali's invasions Ghamand
Chand Katoch had risen to power. His
son, Tegh Chand, paid tribute to Jai
Singh Kanaihya. In 1782, Ghamand Chand's
grandson, Raja Sansar Chand Katoch,
became anxious to secure possession
of the fort. He attacked Saif Ali Khan
many a time but could not achieve his
object.
On the death of Nawab Saif Ali Khan,
the Muhammdan governor of Kangra, in
1784, Raja Sansar Chand Katoch laid
siege to the famous fort of Kangra.
But the Katoch chief was unable to occupy
it. He, then, sought the help of Jai
Singh Kanaihya. Jai Singh sent his son,
Gurbakhsh Singh, accompanied by Sardar
Baghel Singh and a considerable force.
With the help of Khalsa forces, Katoch
won over the Kangra.
In 1774, Jai Singh built a katra or
Bazaar at Amritsar called Katra Kanhaiyan.
In October 1778 he, with the help of
Mahan Singh Sukkarchakkia and Jassa
Singh Ahluwalia, drove away Jassa Singh
Ramgarhia to the desert region of Hansi
and Hissar. In 1781, Jai Singh and his
associate, Haqiqat Singh, led an expedition
to Jammu and received a sum of three
Lakh of rupees as a tribute from Brij
Raj Dev of Jammu.
According to Khushwaqt Rai, Jai Singh
died in 1793 at the age of 81. Control
of Kanhaiya Misl passed into the hands
of his daughter-in-law Sada Kaur, his
son Gurbaksh Singh, having predeceased
him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Bhagat Singh "A
History of Sikh Misals"
|
