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Nawab Kapur Singh was
succeeded by his nephew (brother's son)
Khushal Singh,40 who equalled his uncle
in wisdom and bravery and extended his
conquests on both sides of the Satluj.
His possessions included Jalandhar,
Nurpur, Bahrampur, Bulandgarh, Haibatpur,
Singhpur, Patti, Ghanoli and Bhartgarh,
Jalandhar doab and adjoining areas yielded
an annual income of three lakh rupees.
Khushal Singh had occupied the town
of Jalandhar by defeating its ruler
Shaikh Nizam-ud-Din. He made Jalandhar
his headquarters and started living
there. Khushal Singh added more precint
to the territory which he had inherited
from his predcccssor. His associates
also captured many places. He was very
active against the Muslim rulers and
it was one of his troopers who killed
the Afghan governor of Sirhind, Zain
Khan, in January 1764. He seized Ludhiana
and Banur With the help of Amar Singh,
the, ruler of Patiala, who. afterwards,
received half of the district of Banur.
During the troubles which followed the
death of Amar Singh, Khushal Singh seized
the whole district. He, however, could
not mace much resistance to the force
brought against him. and Diivan Wannu
Mal was able to recover the Patiala
share of the territory.
Khushal Singh constructed a katra at
Amritsar,47 which was named after his
Misal. He, realised tribute from Rai
Ibrahim and many other zamindars.48
He fought in the battles against Ahmad
Shah Abdali in collaboration with other
Sardars.
WWhen Ahmad Shah Abdali made his eighth
invasion of the Punjab in December 1756,
Khushal Singh,accompanied by Tara Singh
Gbaiba, with 6000 horsemen, was stationed
at Taragarh to check his progress eastwards
after the Durrani left Lahore. On the
15th January 1767, Ahmad Shah wrote
letters to the Sardars, including Khushal
Singh, to the effect that if they were
desirous of entering his service they
should come and join him, but if they
had any hostile intentions they should
meet him in the field.49 Khushal Singh
and others spurned at Durrani's proposal
of joining him and told to meet hire
in the field of battle. The Sikhs gave
him no rest so long as he remained in
the Punjab and he returned homeward
disappointed.
Most of the areas under him which had
been depopulated due to the repeated
incursions of the Sikhs and the Afghan
invaders were once again populated under
the efficient administrati°n of
Khushal Singh. He had a big army comprising
about twenty thousand horse and foot.5l
With this army Khushal Singh had become
irresistible and all the petty chiefs
were at his mercy. He was in a position
to liquidate them completely or make
them his tributaries.
Khushal Singh had taken some territories
of the other chiefs who were ill-disposed
towards him. Diwan Nannu Mal of Patiala
was induced by Hari Singh of Sialba
to make another attack upon Khushal
Singh who had taken Awankot and other
villages of the Sialba territory. Their
joint forces first attacked Kotla, a
small fort held by Man Singh, son-in-law
of the Singhpuria chief, and reduced
it without much difficulty.. Then, they
besieged Awankot but Budh Singh, son
of Sardar Khushal Singh , accompanied
by Tara Singh Ghaiba, Rai Singh Bhangi
and other chiefs, compelled the raising
of the siege. The Patiala army, reinforced
by Nabha and Kaithal troops, could not
succeed in their attempt to get Awankot
released from the singhpurias. Like
his uncle Nawab Kapur Singh, Khushal
Singh was also deeply interested in
preaching Sikhism and administering
baptism of the double-edged sword to
his followers. Khushal Singh died in
1795.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Bhagat Singh "A
History of Sikh Misals"
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