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Jassa Singh Ramgarhia
had two sons, Jodh Singh and Bir Singh.
Jodh Singh succeeded to his father after
his death. He contracted friendship
with Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra with
whose help he occupied parganas of Batala,
Bhunga, Hoshiarpur and the surroundings
areas.55
When Maharaja Ranjit Singh demanded
the zamzama gun from Mai Sukhan, the
widow of Gulab Singh Bhangi, in 1805,
she gave a flat refusal to hand over
the gun and prepared to fight against
the Maharaja. Jodh Singh sent a secret
reinforcement of three hundred soldiers
to Sukhan. At the same time he advised
her either to hand over the bone of
contention—the zamzama gun, to
Ranjit Singh or destroy the gun. She
did not accept either of the suggestions.
The Maharaja, accompanied by his allies,
Sada Kaur and Fateh Singh Ahluwalia,
besieged Amritsar. When the opposing
forces were at thc point of severely
clashing, Jodh Singh and Akali Phula
Singh intervened and persuaded Sukhan
to surrender. Thus, they were able to
avert the bloodshed.56 Mai Sukhan and
Gurdit Singh accepted the hospitality
of Jodh Singh and stayed with him for
some time.
In earlier stages, Jodh Singh was very
friendly towards Sansar Chand Katoch
but later their relations got strained
due to the former's inability to help
the latter against the Gurkhas.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh felt that unless
Ramgarhias were befriended he could
not occupy the whole of the Punjab.
So, with this thing in view, Ranjit
Singh wrote a letter to Jodh Singh,
soliciting his friendship and cooperation.
After the things were settled the Maharaja
sent Bishan Singh Munshi, Mehar Singh
Lamba and Fateh Singh Kalianwala to
conduct Jodh Singh to Lahore. Jodh Singh
told them that he would join Maharaja
Ranjit Singh on the acceptance of two
conditions. First, that Batala, Kalanaur,
Bajwara, and Sangowal which previously
belonged to them and, of late, were
in the hands of their opponents, should
be restored to them. Second, Gurdit
Singh Bhangi, who was lying at his door,
should be provided with a Cager for
his subsistence. The Maharaja accepted
both the conditions. Jodh Singh, accompanied
by his close associates, came to Amritsar
and met Ranjit Singh at Harmandir Sahib
and he was duly honoured by the latter.58
The demanded territories were restored
to Jodh Singh and Panjore and five or
six villages were given in jagir to
Mai Sukhan and her son, Gurdit Singh.69
Jodh Singh was very much known for his
magnanimity of heart and lavish generosity.
Any defeated chief or impoverished person
could go to him and enjoy his hospitality.
He always sympathised with those on
whom the fortunes frowned. In his Misal,
he had introduced strict discipline
and anybody found guilty of theft or
any other crime was strictly dealt with.
He would never sell justice but administer
it with utmost honesty.60 He was very
keen to give neat and clean administration
to his people and there was nothing
nearer his heart than the welfare of
his subjects.
Jodh Singh participated in the battle
of Kasur on the side of Ranjit Singh.
After the occupation of Kasur the Maharaja
gifted an elephant to the Ramgarhia
chief. Later Jodh Singh always sided
with Ranjit Singb in his expeditions
against Multan and his other adversaries
Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave away in
Sager the pargana of Ghuman to Jodh
Singh. It gave an annual revenue of
twenty five thousand rupees. Formerly,
this area belonged to the Ramgarhias
and at that time it was in the hands
of Gulab Singh Bhangi.62
In 1811, RanjitSingh gave to Jodh Singh
eleven villages from the pargana of
Sikhowala (Sikhorwala, according to
Khushwaqat Rai, and Sheikhupura, according
to Gian Singh) which was in the possession
of the sons of Fateh Singh Kanaihya,
which fetched an annual revenue of twelve
thousand rupees, Of all the Sikh Sardars
the Maharaja had the greatest regards
for Jodh Singh Ramgarhia and addressed
him as 'Baba Ji.' When he came to see
Maharaja Ranjit Singh the latter would
go out a few steps to receive him and
seated him by his sided Jodh Singh,
mostly, lived at Lahore or Amritsar
and he always mobilised his forces according
to the instructions of the Maharaja.f6
Because of his unstinted loyalty to
the Maharaja the Ramgarhia chief retained
his possessions intact till his death
on August 23, 1815. He remained hostile
to the Ahluwalias and Rani Sada Kaur.66
Jodh Singh's Successors
After Jodh Singh's death, the members
of his family began to quarrel for the
division of the Misal's possessions.
Diwan Singh (son of Tara Singh), cousion
brother of Jodh Singh, Vir Singh (brother
of Jodh Singh) and widow of Jodh Singh
were all claimants to the principality.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, hearing of their
dispute, called the three claimants:
Vir Singh, Diwan Singh and Mehtab Singh
(son of Khushal Singh and cousin brother
of Jodh Singh) to him at Nadaun, with
a view to settling their dispute by
arbitration. The Maharaja received them
with courtesy but they misbehaved towards
one another so rudely that Ranjit Singh
was obliged to keep them in detention
Then, the Maharaja marched on Amritsar
and after some fighting took the fort
of Ramgarh. He seized all the Ramgarhia
lagers and, in a short time, reduced
all their forts, upwards of a hundred
and fifty in number. They contained
abundant provisions in them. Almost
all of them were pulled down.68
On the intercession of Sardar Chanda
Singh Kanaihya the Rantgarhia Sardars
were released from the jail and an annual
jagir of 35,003 rupees was granted to
them. Diwan Singh refused to accept
his share. He fled to Patiala where
he was well received. He also left that
place and moved about for some time.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh sent a word to
Diwan Singh, through Desa Singh Majithia,
assuring him the grant of a big jagir.
He was respect fully received by the
Maharaja at Lahore and was given command
of 700 men in the expedition then setting
out for Kashmir. There, he remained
in charge of Baramula, a difficult hill
post, till his death in 1834.69 Tlle
widows of Jodh Singh were given Cagers
of four villages for their maintenance.
Vir Singh was given Dharmkot Randhawa
in Cager. These were servicefree jagirs.70
Vir Singh had died six years earlier,
in 1828, when two-third of his jagirs
were resumed by the Maharaja.7l
After Diwan Singh's death his son Mangal
Singh, who was born in 1800, suceeded
to his father's estate. During his younger
days he served Ranjit Singh on his personal
staff. The Maharaja gave him jagirs
in Dharmkot, Kalowala, Tibrah and Kundilah
worth 9,000 rupees of which 3,600 rupees
were personal, and 5,400 rupees for
services.
After his father's death Mangal Singh
was sent to Peshawar in a command of
400 foot and 110 swars. There, he did
commendable service under Hari Singh
Nalwa and Tej Singh and fought in the
famous battle of Jamrud in April 1837,
where the brave Hari Singh Nalwa laid
down his life.73
In 1839, Mangal Singh was recalled
and sent to the hill territories between
the Beas and the Satluj under orders
of Lehna Singh Majithia and during the
absence of that chief at Peshawar he
was placed in charge of the hill forts,
and was active in the suppression of
the insurrection of 1840.74 During the
reign of Maharaja Sher Singh he was
employed under Lehna Singh in Suket,
Mandi and Kulu and he remained there
till the close of the Satluj Anglo-Sikh
war in 1846. During the second Sikh
war, Mangal Singh remained loyal to
the British and served them in guarding
the roads and maintaining order in the
Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts. Later,
he worked as a manager of the affairs
of Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar.
Mangal Singh was a man of education
and liberal ideas. It was mostly owing
to his influence that the cause of female
education was systematically taken up
in Amritsar.75 Mangal Singh's two sons,
Gurdit Singh and Mitt Singh, served
the British government in the police
and civil departments respectively.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Bhagat Singh "History
of Sikh Misals"
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