Diwan Sawan Mal Chopra (died 29 September 1844) was the

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. While Punjabi Hindus are mostly found in the Indian state of Punjab today, many have ancestry from the greater Punjab region ...

Khatri Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...

Diwan (governor) of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

. He was born into a Chopra

family originally from

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

, the region where

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

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 ...

Misl The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

, the

Sukerchakia 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 ...

s held sway He was a 'Munshi' to Malik Mohan Lal, Subahdar of Multan under the

Durranis The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...

. Along with

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) was Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshawar and Jamrud. Hari Singh Nalwa was respons ...

, he was a top commander in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army. As a general under Ranjit Singh, he assisted in wresting the 'subah' (province) of Multan from the

Durrani The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...

Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...

in 1823, after which he was made Diwan of the region. He instituted improvements in agricultural production through irrigation schemes. In 1834, he signed an agreement on behalf of the

with Sardar Karam Khan, a Mazari warrior respected highly in his tribe as well as in the

Sikh Army The Sikh Khalsa Army (), also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ran ...

. Sardar Karam Khan was the younger brother of Mir Bahram Khan, Chief of the Baloch Mazari tribe, thereby ending the long war between the

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

and the Mazaris of

Rojhan Rojhan ( ur, ) is a city and headquarters for Rojhan Tehsil Rojhan ( ur, ), is a (tehsil) located in Rajanpur District, Punjab, Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a countr ...

. He was succeeded to the governorship of Multan by his son,

Diwan Mulraj Chopra Mulraj Chopra (1814 – 11 August 1851) was the Diwan (governor) of Multan and leader of a Sikh rebellion against the British which led to the Second Anglo-Sikh War.Bobby Singh Bansal, Remnants of the Sikh Empire: Historical Sikh Monuments in I ...

, who was the last ethnic Punjabi to administer

.http://www.sikh-heritage.co.uk/postgurus/herosvillains/heroes%20villains.htm He died on 29 September 1844 due to wounds inflicted upon him by an under-trial prisoner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, Sawan Mal Indian people Indian Hindus Punjabi people Punjabi Hindus History of Punjab People of the Sikh Empire Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown