Pehelvan Kikkar Singh Sandhu (January 13, 1857 – February 18, 1914) was born in a Sandhu Jat family. He was a wrestler from

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. ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(now

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Life

Singh was born to wrestler Javala Singh Sandhu and Sahib Kaur. His parents were

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

of moderate means in the village of Ghanienke,

district (now in

). Singh trained as a wrestler in his mother's native village, Nurpur, under the village

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska * Potters, New Je ...

, before returning to Ghanienke to continue training with wrestler Vasava Sing. Singh was already a popular wrestler when he started his tutelage under Buta Pahilvan,

Rustam-i-Hind Pehlwani, (पहलवानी) also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in South Asia. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words ''p ...

, of Lahore. Singh developed world class skill, and eventually became the leading Indian wrestler. He enjoyed the patronage of the rulers of the princely states of

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

Dasuya Dasuya (Dasua) is a town and a municipal council in Hoshiarpur district in the state of Punjab, India. It is one of the major subdivisions with 398 villages under its jurisdiction. History According to a report by ''The Tribune'' newspaper in 1 ...

, Tonk and

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. There are several theories on why he came to be known as Kikkar Singh. One theory is that he once uprooted a kikkar tree (

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

) with his bare hands. Another states that he earned his botanical name due to his extraordinary height and dark complexion, which were uncommon for the time. Kikkar Singh fought and won many bouts during his lifetime. In fact, there were not many competitors to match his strength and skill. However, he lost the last bout of his life. During the

Delhi 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 December 1911 to celebrate the coronation of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

, Singh was challenged by a younger wrestler and an old rival, Kallu of Amritsar. Singh, at 54, was long past his prime and already asthmatic, but he would not let the challenge go unanswered. He put up a considerable fight to the delight of the elite gathering (Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and

Sardul Singh Caveeshar Sardul Singh Kavishar (1886–1963) was an Indian newspaper editor, and a major figure in the Indian independence movement. Born in Amritsar,

were among the spectators), but lost. To many eyewitnesses it appeared to be a dubious judgement. Kikkar Singh died on 18 February 1914 in his native village, where a

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

or memorial shrine has been raised in his memory.

Bibliography

*Joban Sandhu, ''The Encyclopedia of Sikhism''

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090917100751/http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/1800/kikkar-singh-pahilvan.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20110604004544/http://www.jattworld.com/portal/modules/mysections/article.php?lid=44 {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Kikkar Sportspeople from British India 1857 births 1914 deaths