Sardar Charat Singh (1721–1770 or 1733—1774), also

romanised Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

as Charhat Singh, was the father of

Mahan Singh Maha Singh ( pa, ਮਹਾਂ ਸਿੰਘ, Mahaṅ Singh; 1760 – 15 April 1790 or 1756 – April 1792), also spelt as Mahan or Mahn Singh, was the second chief of the Sukerchakia Misl. He was the eldest son of Sardar Charat Singh and Sardar ...

, and the grandfather of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against

Ahmad Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

and along with 150 horsemen split from the Singhpuria Misl to establish the

Sukerchakia Misl The Sukerchakia Misl was one of 12 Sikh Misls in Punjab during the 18th century concentrated in Gujranwala and Hafizabad district in Western Punjab (in modern-Pakistan) and ruled from (1752–1801). Misl was founded by Chaudhary Charat Singh ...

. He was born in a

Sandhawalia Sandhawalia or Sandhanwalia is a Jat clan of present-day India and Pakistan. History The members of one particular Sandhanwalia Jat Sikh family occupied important positions in the Sikh Confederacy. The progenitor of this family was Choudhary C ...

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

clan.

Early life

Charat Singh was born to Chaudhary Naudh Singh (died 1752) and Lali Kaur in a

family. His grandfather was Budh Singh (died 1718), a disciple of

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Sing ...

. In 1756 he married Desan Kaur Waraich, a daughter of

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

ruler Amir Singh Waraich. The couple had four children, two sons,

Maha Singh Maha Singh ( pa, ਮਹਾਂ ਸਿੰਘ, Mahaṅ Singh; 1760 – 15 April 1790 or 1756 – April 1792), also spelt as Mahan or Mahn Singh, was the second chief of the Sukerchakia Misl. He was the eldest son of Sardar Charat Singh and Sardar ...

and Suhej Singh followed by two daughters, Bibi Raj Kaur (not to be confused with the wife of Mahan Singh) and Saher Kaur. He married the daughter of

ruler Amir Singh Waraich of Gujranwala, an older but still powerful sardar, and moved his headquarters there.

Military campaigns

After the Third Battle of Panipat, Ahmad Shah Durrani sent his general Nur-ud-din to punish the Sikhs. He crossed the river Jhelum in August 1761 at Khushab and marched up the left bank of the river, He destroyed three largest towns of the Doab, Bhera, Miani and Chak Sanu, The first two towns rose from the ruins afterwards, while the third remained deserted. Charat Singh along with other Sikh re checked his advance on the eastern bank of river

Chenab The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul ...

. Afghans, 12,000 in number, fled away to Sialkot, which was immediately invested by Charat Singh, Nur-ud-din escaped on the eighth day to Jammu in the disguise of a beggar. His troops surrendered, but were allowed to go in safety. This success made Charat Singh a front rank leader among the Sikh sardars. He also seized some guns and other arms. When all was over Charat Singh made triumph entry in his capital Gujranwala Charat Singh's victory over Nur-ud -din deeply perturbed Khwajah Abed Khan, the Durrani's governor of Lahore. He decided to check the growing power of Charat Singh. Besides he wanted to impress upon his master, the Durrani Emperor, that he was quite active in dis charging his duties. He invested Charat Singh's fort of Gujranwala in September, 1761. Charat Singh continued fighting from inside the fort. The other Sikh sardars,

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period ...

, Bhangi chiefs Hari Singh,

Jhanda Singh Dhillon ''Maharaja'' Jhanda Singh Dhillon (died 1774) was a Jat Sikh warrior of the late 18th century. Moreover, he was Maharaja of Amritsar, Lahore, Multan, Chiniot, Jhang, Bhera, Rawalpindi, Hasan Abdal, Sialkot and Gujrat. Under Jhanda Singh's lead ...

, Lahna Singh and Gujar Singh,

Jai Singh Kanhaiya Jai Singh Kanhaiya (1712–1793) was the founder and leader of the Kanhaiya Misl until his death. His daughter-in-law, Sada Kaur succeeded him in the leadership of the '' misl''. Early life Jai Singh was born in the village of Kahna, 21 km ...

, and Sobha Singh came for the relief of Charat Singh and encamped 6 kms away from Gujranwala. Khwajah Abed realized that he would be besieged and would soon be in the jaws of a nutcracker. In the night he took to flight without striking a blow. A number of swivels, pieces of cannon, horses, camels, etc., fell into the hands of the Sikhs, when all was over, In the beginning of January, 1762,

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

came to the Panjab to inflict a crushing defeat on the Sikhs like that of the Marathas in the previous year .The Sikhs lay encamped at Kup near Malerkotla. Ahmad Shah suddenly pounced upon them on February 5, 1762, and killed about 25,000 Sikhs. On this occasion Charat Singh played a dominant role in opposing the enemy and in raising the spirit of the Sikhs. In January, 1764, the Sikhs decided to punish Jani Khan and Mani Khan of Morindah as they had surrendered Mata Gujri and Guru Gobind Singh's two youngest sons to Wazir Khan of Sarhind . On this occasion Charat Singh posted his troops on the road to Sarhind to check any troops coming from that direction, He fought in the

battle of Sirhind The siege of Sirhind was fought between the Mughal Empire and Sikh forces in 1710. The Sikhs besieged, stormed, captured, plundered and razed the city of Sirhind after defeating and beheading Wazir Khan in the battle of Chappar Chiri. Backgr ...

against

Zain Khan Sirhindi Zain-ud-Din Khan known as Zain Khan Sirhindi (died 1764) was the Mughal Faujdar of Sirhind, he was a serviceman of Shah Alam II, an ally of Najib-ud-Daula and Ahmad Shah Durrani. Zain Khan Sirhindi fought during the Third Battle of Panipat a ...

, but took no territory as he had his eyes on the north-west Panjab. Charat Singh took possession of parganahs of Gujranwala, Qila Didar Singh, Qila Mian Singh, Qila Sahib Singh covering the northern half of Gujranwala tahsil.

Death

In 1774, he invaded

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

with

Jai Singh Jai Singh may refer to: * Jai Singh I (1611–1667), ruler of Amber kingdom in India and a Rajput general of the Mughal Empire; also known as Mirza Raja Jai Singh * Jai Singh of Mewar (1653–1698), ruler of the Mewar kingdom in India * Jai Singh II ...

of the

Kanheya Misl The Kanhaiya Misl was founded by the Sandhu Jats. Jai Singh Sandhu (son of Khushal Singh) of the village Kanha (district Lahore) was the founder of this ''Misl''; hence the misl came to known as Kanhaiya Misl; another founder leader of this ...

to aid the eldest son of Ranjit Deo, Brij Raj Deo, against his father. The

Bhangi Misl The Bhangi Misl (Punjabi pronunciation: ə̃˨ŋɡiː mɪsəl was a large and most powerful Sikh Misl headquartered was in Amritsar. It was founded in the early 18th century by Sardar Chhajja Singh Dhillon,Sikh History (2004)"The Bhangi Misal ...

joined the side of Ranjit Deo against him. During the preparations for battle a

matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Befor ...

exploded and killed him. During a battle the next day Jandha Singh, the leader of the

was killed and both Misls retreated from the fight.

Charat Singh Memorial Alliance

"Charat Singh strengthened his position by matrimonial alliances. * Charat's Singh's son

was married to the daughter of Jai Singh Mann of Mogalchak-

Mananwala Manawala ( ur, ) is a city in Sheikhupura District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is situated on the Lahore- Sheikhupura-Faisalabad road. History Prior to the Partition of India, Mananwala was established by and belonged to the famous Sikh Mann Sard ...

. * Dal Singh Kalianwala of Alipur renamed Akālgarh was married to the sister of Charat Singh. * Sohel Singh Bhangi was married to the daughter of Charat Singh. * Sahib Singh Bhangi, son of Gujar Singh, was married to another daughter, Raj Kaur. To establish a prominent place for himself among the Sikhs Charat Singh built a fort at Amritsar to the north of the city." –

Hari Ram Gupta Hari Ram Gupta (5 February 1902 – 28 March 1992) was an Indian historian. The main focus of his work was the Sikh history of 18th century. During 1957 to 1963, he was head of Panjab University's History department. Following his retirement, ...

Battles fought by Charat Singh

Battle of Lahore (1759) The Battle of Lahore was fought between the Durrani Empire and the Maratha Empire, who were assisted by the forces of the local Sikh Misls such as the Sukerchakia Misl and the Ahluwalia Misl of the Punjab in 1759. Background and battle Ahmad ...

* Battle of Eminabad (1761) *

Battle of Sialkot (1761) The Battle of Sialkot was fought between Durrani Empire and Sukerchakia Misl of Dal Khalsa in 1761. Background Ahmad Shah Durrani raided India and defeated the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat like he defeated them at Bararighat and Sika ...

Battle of Gujranwala (1761) The Battle of Gujranwala was fought between the Durrani Empire and the Sikh Confederacy in September 1761. Battle Ahmad Shah Durrani raided India in 1761 and defeated the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat in January 1761. He then returned ...

. *

Sikh Occupation of Lahore The Siege of Lahore took place in 1761 when the Sikhs besieged Lahore and captured it after facing no opposition from Durrani forces. Background After victory in the Third Battle of Panipat, Ahmad Shah Durrani sent General Nuruddin with 12,00 ...

. * Battle of Harnaulgarh (1762) *Battle of Amritsar (1762) *

Battle of Sialkot (1763) The Battle of Sialkot took place on 12 November 1763, between the Durrani Empire, led by Jahan Khan, and the Sukerchakia Misl, led by Charat Singh, as part of the Afghan-Sikh wars which concluded with Sikh victory. Background During the battle ...

. *

Battle of Sirhind (1764) The battle of Sirhind was fought between Durrani Empire and Sikh Misls on 14 January 1764. Battle Ahmad Shah Durrani returned to Afghanistan after appointing Zain Khan Sirhindi as the Governor of Sirhind. Zain Khan Sirhindi, the Afghan Governo ...

In popular culture

* In the 2010 historical TV series ''

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

'' telecasted on

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television channel ...

, the character of Charat Singh is portrayed by Jaspal Singh Sehgal.

References

Bibliography

* Indian Sikhs Sikh warriors 1774 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Sikhism-stub