Sardar Gulab Singh alias Gulaba Singh was the founder of

Dallewalia Misl The Dallewalia misl was a Khatri Sikh state in 18th century India. The founder of this Misl was Sardar Gulab Singh resident of the village of Dallewal near Dera Baba Nanak, in Doaba Bist Jalandhar. He took Pahul and became an active memb ...

, one of the

sovereign states A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined terri ...

of the Sikh confederacy that rose during the 18th century in the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. The Dallewalia and

Nishanwalia Misl The Nishanwalia/Nishananvali Misl was a Sikh misl. The leaders of this Misl used to carry the blue ''nishans'' (the flags) of the Sikh army during the battles; hence their name become Nishanwalia. Dasaundha Singh, son of Chowdhry Sahib Ra ...

were stationed as a reserve force at

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

to protect the holy city and tackle any emergency. The Amritsar and the Punjab region was subject to raids by the Afghans led by Ahmad Shah Abdali therefore the Sikhs had created

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 ...

s to defend the

and push back the invaders.

Early life

Gulab Singh was the son of Shardha Ram of village Dallewal Since Gulab Singh was a resident of the village of Dallewal, hence the name of his

that was established near Dera Baba Nanak, in Doaba Bist

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

. He had a grocery store in his village Dallewal (also called Bora Dalla) where all his goods were stolen by thieves and this incident made him rebel against the

Mughal administration The government of the Mughal Empire was a highly centralised bureaucracy, most of which was instituted during the rule of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. The central government was headed by the Mughal emperor; immediately beneath him were fo ...

. As a middle-aged man with a family to feed, he moved to

where he trained under Nawab Kapur Singh and became a

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

after baptism.

Pahul

In 1726, Nawab Kapur Singh administered pahul to Gulab Singh on

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

. Sikhs regarded Nawab Kapur Singh as a leader and general par excellence. He was the organizer of Dal Khalsa and an integral link between two sections of the Nihang

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 ...

, Budha dal (veterans-handling administrative functions, taking care of missionary work, Gurudwaras, and protection of religion) and Taruna Dal (the young group-fighters, defenders, and protectors of the community).

Taruna Dal

Gulab Singh became an active member of the

taruna dal The is a mini SUV produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Daihatsu since 1997 as the successor to the F300 series Rocky. It was initially offered in both short and long-wheelbase configurations before the former stopped production in ...

by late 1726 A.D. and launched into a chivalry career, fighting against Punjab's oppressive Mughal government. Initially, he was having 10-15 companions and commenced plundering slowly; he added 150 comrades. One day, he attacked Jalandhar and, won big booty, returned safely to their jungle camp.

Dallewalia Misl

In 1748, Gulab Singh was declared to be the head of the Dallewalias Misl with two deputies Gurdyal Singh and Tara Singh Ghaiba.

Death

Gulab Singh lost his life in 1759 at the Battle of Kalanaur by the forces of

Zain Khan Sirhindi Zain-ud-Din Khan known as Zain Khan Sirhindi (died 1764) was the Mughal Empire, Mughal Faujdar of Sirhind, he was a serviceman of Shah Alam II, an ally of Najib-ud-Daula and Ahmad Shah Durrani. Zain Khan Sirhindi fought during the Third Battle of ...

. Hence the command of the misl came to Sardar Gurdiyal Singh and later it was headed by

Sardar Tara Singh Ghaiba Sardar Tara Singh Ghaiba (1710–1807) was an associate member of the Dallewalia Misl, who became the chief of the Misl after the death of their founding member and head Sardar Gulab Singh Rathore. He made Rahon the capital of his Misl. Early ...

References