Sardarni Desan Kaur Waraich (1740 – 1794), also known as Mai Desan was the regent of the Sukerchakia Misl during the minority of her son from 1770. She was the wife of

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...

Charat Singh and the mother of

Maha Singh. Her grandson, Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire.

Early life and marriage

Bibi Desan Kaur Waraich was born to Sardar Amir Singh Waraich possibly in the year 1740. Sardar Amir Singh, was a very old Sikh Chieftain of Gujranwala, belonging to the Waraich Jat Clan. She had two elder brothers Dal Singh and Gurbaksh Singh, and a sister. In 1756 she married Sardar Charat Singh of the Sukerchakia Misl. The couple had four children two sons,

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 ...

also known as Maha Singh, and Sahej Singh followed by two daughters, Bibi Raj Kaur (not to be confused with the wife of Mahan Singh) and Saher Kaur. Sardarni Desan Kaur administered the Sukerchakia Misl since her husband was mostly away to battle.

Regent of Sukerchakia Misl

In 1770, her spouse died and was succeeded by her son, who was a minor. Mai Desan Kaur assumed the leadership of the Sukerchakia Misl as Mahan Singh was too young to run his affairs. Desan Kaur was an able administrator, her people prospered and were happy under her rule. She was courageous and had tact and ability. One of the first tasks she undertook was the rebuilding of the fort at Gujranwala which had been destroyed by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1751-1752. She renamed the new fort Mahan Singh ki Garhi. She formed a political alliance with

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 s ...

of the Kanhaiya Misl. She arranged for her son Maha Singh to be married to

Man Kaur Man Kaur (1 March 1916 – 31 July 2021) was an Indian track-and-field athlete. She holds the world records in the Over-100 years old categories for a variety of events. At the age of 103, she was given the Nari Shakti Puraskar award by the Presid ...

, daughter of Sardar 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 Sardar ...

and Raj Kaur, daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind; she became popularly known as Mai Malwain. Desan Kaur married her daughter, Raj Kaur to Sahib Singh, the son of Gujar Singh of the Bhangi Misl. Her youngest daughter was married to Sohel Singh. By setting up these alliances she ensured the sympathies of the Phulkians and the Bhangis( who were jealous of the growing fame of her late husband); these matrimonial alliances helped consolidate her power.

In popular culture

Simmi Sekhon portrays Desan Kaur in the 2010 historical TV series '' Maharaja Ranjit Singh'' 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 ...

References

{{improve categories, date=October 2020 18th-century women rulers 1736 births 1788 deaths 18th-century Indian women politicians 18th-century Indian politicians