Ilahi Bakhsh was a Punjabi general who served in the Sikh Khalsa Fauj for over forty years and was regarded as one of the best artillery officers.

Biography

He entered the service of the army in 1802. Following a re-organization of the army in 1810, Bakhsh was transferred to a new artillery corps, the

Fauj-i-Khas The ''Fauj-i-Khas'' was a brigade of the Fauj-i-Ain section of the Sikh Khalsa Army of Punjab. It consisted of very experienced elites and had separate flag and emblem. It was strictly disciplined on French pattern. All the equipment and weapons ...

, led by Mian Ghaus Khan. In 1814 he was placed in command of a special wing of artillery named the Derah-i-Ilahi. In 1818 he assisted

Misr Diwan Chand Misr Diwan Chand was a notable officer and a powerful general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's reign. He rose from petty clerk to the Chief of Artillery and Commander-in-chief of the armies that conquered Multan and Kashmir and also served as the Comm ...

at the

Battle of Multan The siege of Multan began in March 1818 and lasted until 2 June 1818 as part of the Afghan–Sikh Wars, and saw the Sikh Empire capture the city of Multan (in modern-day Pakistan) from the Durrani Empire. Background After he was defeated at ...

. He was later employed in the pacification of Hazara and

Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan (), abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population. Lying west of the Indus River, it is the headquarters of Dera Ghazi Khan District and ...

. He fought at the

Battle of Nowshera The Battle of Nowshera ( ps, د نوښار جګړه; pa, ਨੌਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ) was fought in Nowshera in March 1823 between the Yusufzai Afghans, supported by the Peshawar sardars, alongside Azim Khan Barakzai, the Afgha ...

in March 1823. In 1831 at the

Ropar Rupnagar (; formerly known as Ropar is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. Rupnagar is a newly created fifth Divisional Headquarters of Punjab comprising Rupnagar, Mohali, and its adjoining dist ...

meeting between

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 ...

and

Lord William Bentinck Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman who served as the Governor of Fort William (Bengal) from 1828 to 1834 and the First G ...

, the

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

, he arranged a demonstration of his artillery as well as of his own firing skill in the course of evening entertainments and the review of troops. In the beginning of January 1844, he was removed from his command in suspicion of corresponding with Jawahar Singh and Suchet Singh but was restored to his command a few days later. He was present at many of the battles during the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...

and

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently ...

. He played a key role at the Battle of Chillianwala, one of the bloodiest British battles fought in India. Three days after the battle, Ilahi Bakhsh defected to the British, possibly due to a monetary incentive from the British. The defection of Bakhsh dealt a blow to the Sikh artillery and they capitulated to the British the following month at Gujrat. He died in the Battle of Chillianwala in 1849.

Family

His sons Fateh Khan, Sikander Khan and Madad Khan all achieved distinction as officers in the Sikh Army. Sikander succeeded his father as Chief of the Artillery and later inherited substantial properties in

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 ...

. Fateh died whilst fighting at the

Battle of Mudki The Battle of Mudki was fought on 18 December 1845, between the forces of the East India Company and part of the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The British army won an untidy encounter battle, suffering heavy casu ...

, and Madad was killed at the Battle of Chillianwala. His Grandson was the famous Raja of Chillianwala Ch. Tuman Khan, the father of Raja Sardar Khan of Chillianwala. His great-granddaughter married the founder of the Unionist Party, Sir Fazl-i-Hussain.Azim Husain, Fazl i Husain A Political Biography, Longmans, Green & Company, 1946

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakhsh, Ilahi People of the Sikh Empire History of Punjab Punjabi people People of the First Anglo-Sikh War People of the Second Anglo-Sikh War Ranjit Singh People of British India 1846 deaths Year of birth missing