Sardar Bahadur Risaldar Major Ganda Singh Datt, (1830 – July 1903) was a decorated soldier in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

, who served in the 19th Regiment of Bengal Lancers (also known as Fane's Horse). Ganda Singh was a Mohyal Brahmin of the Datt clan. He belonged to the village of Zaffarwal Dattan in Tehsil Rayya of District Sialkot. The Pakistani town of Ganda Singh Wala is named in his honour.

Family

Ganda Singh did not have a son, but he passed on the heritage to his daughter Bhagan Devi. Her sons, Sardar Amar Singh and Sardar Shamsher Singh, rose to make an empire with Amritsar Sugar Mills, Amritsar. Amritsar Sugar mills, Rohana (UP), a very reputed Amrit Bank and the large tract of land in Amritsar. Sardar Amar Singh's sons, icons in their own right, Shyam Singh, Bakshi Hardev Singh, Narinder Singh Bakshi and Beant Singh Vaid looked after the immense business empire. Sardar Shamsher Singh's son, Sampuran Singh Vaid was also actively involved in it. There were two daughters, Bimla Rani, married to DSP Bakshi Rajpal Chibber and Urvashi married to Jagjit Singh Bali. Bakshi Hardev Singh, architect, philosopher and an artist, also took charge of the Amrit Bank. Till they were all nationalized. His son,

Atul Bakshi Atul Bakshi (born 2 September 1956) is an Indian glass artist who specialises stained glass, blown glass, and cast glass. His scope of work ranges from restoring stained glass windows and panels to executing commissioned works for private h ...

, is a reputed Indian Glass artist. Ganda Singh's extended family featured many other eminent persons as well. His cousin, Bakshi Prem Singh Vaid, was a decorated soldier in the British Indian Army as well, and so was his son

Bakshi Tirath Ram Vaid Sardar Bahadur Risaldar Major and Honorary Captain Bakshi Tirath Ram Vaid, (1857–1924), also known as Tirath Ram, was a decorated soldier of the British Indian Army. Vaid enlisted in the ranks of the Queen's Own Corps of Guides on 1 May 1876 ...

. His maternal grandson, Dr. Baldev Singh Vaid, was a famous neurologist who was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government, and whose son-in-law, K. K. Bakshi, was a decorated

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

. Ganda Singh's grand-nephew, Sardar Sant Singh Datt, who was Chief Resident of

Kalsia Kalsia was a princely state in Punjab, British India, one of the former Cis-Sutlej states. It was founded by Raja Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu in 1760. After India's independence, it was included in PEPSU and later in the Indian East Punjab after th ...

State. Sardar Sant Singh Datt's son, Major General Kalwant Singh, was a senior commander in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

Military career

Singh enlisted as a

dafadar Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in 1852 and served as a soldier over 50 years. He received the Indian Order of Merit for having saved the life of Sir Robert Sandeman at

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

at the time of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Subsequently, in the Second Anglo-China War, he saved the life of Sir Charles MacGregor as well. Later in the Afghan Campaign of the British Indian Army, Singh participated in the famous march to Kandahar and distinguished himself in the Battle of Kandahar, becoming an Honorary Captain. He was eventually appointed aide-de-camp to Lord Roberts of Kabul and Kandahar, the then Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army. Singh was rewarded with large tracts of agricultural land, and the village Ganda Singh Wala on the periphery of Amritsar is named after him. He was president of the first All India

Mohyal Mohyal Brahmins (or Potohari Brahmins) are an Indian sub-caste of Saraswat Brahmins from the Punjab region, who are sometimes referred to as 'Warrior Brahmins'. Mohyal Brahmins were the ancient and one of the first Hindu rulers of Punjab and Afg ...

Conference held in 1902 at

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 was among the select veteran Indian soldiers presented to the British Royals in the

Coronation Durbar The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by the British at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was ...

held in Delhi in January 1903.Annual Register for Public Events at Home and Abroad for 1903, Published in 1904, Page 144

References

External links

Eminent Muhiyals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Datt, Ganda Singh 1830 births 1903 deaths British Indian Army soldiers British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War British military personnel of the Second Opium War British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Punjabi people Recipients of the Indian Order of Merit Sardar Bahadurs