Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya ( 1759 - 1785) was the eldest son and heir of

Jai Singh Kanhaiya Jai Singh Kanhaiya (1712–1793) was the founder and leader of the Kanhaiya Misl until his death. His daughter-in-law, Sada Kaur succeeded him in the leadership of the '' misl''. Early life Jai Singh was born in the village of Kahna, 21 km ...

, the chief of the

Kanhaiya Misl The Kanhaiya Misl was founded by the Sandhu Jats. Jai Singh Sandhu (son of Khushal Singh) of the village Kanha (district Lahore) was the founder of this ''Misl''; hence the misl came to known as Kanhaiya Misl; another founder leader of thi ...

. He was the father of Maharani

Mehtab Kaur Maharani Mehtab Kaur ( 1782 – 1813) was the first wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was the mother of Ranjit's reputed son, Maharaja Sher Singh, who briefly became the ruler of the Sikh Empire from 1841 unti ...

and thus, the father-in-law of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...

Early life

Gurbaksh Singh, the only son and heir of Jai Singh Kanhaiya, was born in 1759 to his wife Desan Kaur, who was the widow of Jhanda Singh. His father, Jai Singh, was the founder and leader of the Kanhaiya Misl. Gurbaksh Singh was married at the age of seven to

Sada Kaur Rani Sada Kaur (Punjabi: ਸਦਾ ਕੌਰ; 1762 – 1832) was a Sikh leader. She served as the Chief of the Kanhaiya Misl from 1789 to 1821, following the death of her husband Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya, the heir to Jai Singh Kanhaiya, the lead ...

, a daughter of Sardar Daswandha Singh Alkol. The couple had one child together, a daughter named

, who was born in 1782. She was married in 1796 to Ranjit Singh, the successor of

Maha Singh Maha Singh ( pa, ਮਹਾਂ ਸਿੰਘ, Mahaṅ Singh; 1760 – 15 April 1790 or 1756 – April 1792), also spelt as Mahan or Mahn Singh, was the second chief of the Sukerchakia Misl. He was the eldest son of Sardar Charat Singh and Sardar ...

, the leader of the

Sukerchakia Misl 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 ...

, who were a rival of the Kanhaiya Misl.

Military Career

In 1778, A quarrel arose between Ramgarhia and Kanhaiyas,

and Haqiqat Singh Kanhaiya Supported by

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period ...

attacked

Sri Hargobindpur Sri Hargobindpur is a town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district in the Indian state of Punjab. Situated on the banks of the Beas River Sixth Guru of Sikhs Shri Guru Hargobind Sahib ji established this city on the land bought by his Fathe ...

headquarter of

Jassa Singh Ramgarhia Jassa Singh Ramgarhia (1723–1803) was a prominent Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy. He was the founder of the Ramgarhia Misl, Early life Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was born into a Sikh family with surname Bhambra in 172 ...

and captured it, At the same time Gurbaksh Singh Besieged

Batala Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal corpo ...

, Mala Singh brother of

He was infamous among people, His officers and leading citizens of Batala, made a common cause and admitted Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya into the city and Mala Singh fled away, Batala become the headquarter of

, In 1783, Sansar Chand invited Jai Singh Kanhaiya to Help get him

Kangra Fort The Kangra Fort is located 20 kilometers from the town of Dharamsala on the outskirts of the town of Kangra, India. History Raja Dharam Chand submitted to the Mughal Ruler Akbar in 1556 and agreed to pay t ...

, Jai Singh deputed Gurbaksh Singh to Kangra, He Besieged the fort, Saif Ali Khan died when the siege was going on, his son jiwan Khan took the charge of defenses, Gurbaksh Singh suggested to Sansar Chand to offer temptation of cash and jagir to the Jiwan Khan for surrendering the fort to the Raja, when negotiation were completed, Gurbaksh Singh secretly hinted treachery on the part of Raja, and offered a large sum of money on his own behalf to Jiwan Khan, On receiving the heavy bribe jiwan Khan admited Sikh troops inside the fort to the sheer chargin of the Raja, Gurbaksh Singh established his authority over all the Kangra hills up to

Palanpur Palanpur is a city and a municipality of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the administrative headquarters of Banaskantha district. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants. Ety ...

.Singha, Bhagata (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Patiala, India:Publication Bureau, Punjabi University.

Death

The Kanhaiyas, who had replaced the Bhangis as the most powerful '' misl'', disputed Ranjit Singh's father's right to plunder

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

, and in one of the many skirmishes between the two ''misl''s, Gurbaksh Singh was killed in battle against Maha Singh in February 1785. In the absence of any heir, Gurbaksh Singh's widowed wife,

(an intelligent and ambitious woman) became the chief of the Kanhaiya Misl after her father-in-law's death in 1789. She played an important role in Ranjit Singh's rise to power in

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

and used to lend support of the Kanhaiya ''misl'' to Ranjit Singh till 1821, when she developed differences with him and as a consequence lost her territory to him.

In popular culture

*Rumi Khan portrays Gurbaksh Singh in Life OK's historical drama ''Sher-e-Punjab: Maharaja Ranjit Singh''.

References

1759 births 1785 deaths Indian Sikhs People killed in action {{Sikh-stub

Early life

Military Career

Death

In popular culture

See also

References