Kunwar Pashaura Singh (1821 – 11 September 1845), also spelt Peshawara Singh, sometimes styled as ''Shahzada'', was the younger son of

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 Rani Daya Kaur. He is said to be the son of a slave girl in the household of Rani Daya Kaur by Jai Ram, a shopkeeper in Lahore. He was procured by Daya Kaur and presented to the Sikh Emperor,

who accepted him as his son along with

Kashmira Singh Kunwar Kashmira Singh (1821 - 7 May 1844), sometimes styled as ''Shahzada'' was the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Mah ...

. His son, Jagjoth Singh was born in 1844 and was granted a half-share of a large jagir in Baraich, Oudh, after the annexation. He was a great philanthropist and public benefactor, who performed valuable services to the government during the Second Afghan War. He had a son Amar Singh. (''b''. 1876). After the assassination of

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his ...

, he made a bid for the throne 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 ...

. To hide from his political rivals and avoid assassination, he took refuge in British territory, from 1844 to 1845. He then returned to the

Punjab 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 ...

, revolted, and was pardoned several times. He was eventually strangled to death by Malik Fateh Khan Tiwana and Sardar Chattar Singh Attariwalla, at

Attock Attock (Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st lar ...

, while in safe custody, 11 September 1845. He had only one son, Sardar Jagjoth Singh.

Emergence as a contender for the throne

Little is recorded about the early life of Pashaura Singh during the reigns of Ranjit Singh and his first four successors. After the assassination, on 15 September 1843, of Maharaja

and his vizier Raja Dhian Singh Dogra, the

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

proclaimed

Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son, ...

as Maharaja and Dhian Singh’s son, Hira Singh Dogra, as vizier. Later that year, Pashaura Singh and his elder brother,

, were recorded as having joined the camp of the holy men, Baba Bir Singh at Nauraṅgābād, near Tarn Tāran. The camp had become the centre of

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 ...

revolt against the dominance of the

Dogras The Dogras or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan consisting of the Dogri language speakers. They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, and in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himacha ...

and was a base for several Sikh sardars and commanders and a volunteer army of 1,200 musketeers and 3,000

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

. In May 1844, Hira Singh despatched a force of 20,000 men and 50 cannons under the command of Mian Labh Singh to destroy Baba Bir Singh’s camp. Baba Bir Singh told his men not to fight "How can we attack our brethren?” he said. He was killed by a shell while meditating over the Holy Book.

was also killed in the cannonade, but Pashaura Singh escaped. Pashaura Singh visited

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

later in 1844 in an unsuccessful attempt to form an alliance with Hira Singh, who, however had his own problems. He had lost favour with the Khalsa, because of several unpopular actions, including: his involvement in the death of Baba Bir Singh, his confiscation of the

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, starti ...

s of some of the army commanders, and his attempt to poison the Regent, Maharani

Jind Kaur Maharani Jind Kaur ( – 1 August 1863) was regent of the Sikh Empire from 1843 until 1846. She was the youngest wife of the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, Ranjit Singh, and the mother of the last Maharaja, Duleep Singh. She was renowned f ...

. He escaped from Lahore with several loads of gold and silver stolen from the treasury, but was pursued by the Khalsa army, who killed him on 21 December 1844.

Renewed bid for the throne

During the second half of 1844, Pashaura Singh travelled around the

seeking support against the

. He crossed the

Sutlej River The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the ...

and visited the British cantonment at

Ferozepur Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...

. However, the British were unresponsive, being already in negotiation with Gulab Singh Dogra, brother of

Dhian Singh Raja Dhian Singh (22 August 1796 – 15 September 1843) was the longest serving wazir of the Sikh Empire, during the reign of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, and four of his successors. He held the office for twenty five years, from 1818 up till his dea ...

. On learning of the death of Hira Singh, Pashaura Singh returned to Lahore on 1 January 1845. He was received with honour and goodwill in the court, and was offered presents of jewels, elephants and horses. Some of the army commanders proposed that he should be made Maharaja in place of the six-year-old Duleep Singh. However, some influential members of the Supreme Council of the Khalsa and the regimental committees supported the young Maharaja and his mother, Maharani Jind Kaur. They requested him to return to his estates, with a promise of an increase in his jagir, and the Khalsa army ordered him to leave Lahore. A new vizier, the Maharani’s brother, Jawahar Singh Aulakh, was appointed on 14 May 1845 and immediately despatched artillery against a force being assembled by Pashaura Singh. The Prince capitulated, but was allowed to go free.

Attock rebellion

Two months later, in July 1845, Pashaura Singh took the fort of

with a handful of Pathan followers and declared himself to be the ruler of the Punjab. He raised fresh levies and, with the money that the fort yielded to him, tried to obtain help from the chiefs within the kingdom, from Jehlum to Khaibar, and even opened negotiations with Dost Muhammad. After hearing of the rebellion in Attock, Jawahar Singh Aulakh ordered Chattar Singh Attariwalla and Malik Fateh Khan Tiwana to recapture the fort and defeat Pashaura Singh. The prince was forced to surrender the fort on 30 August 1845 and place himself at the disposal of Chattar Singh, after receiving assurances of safe passage to

and the retention of his estates at

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

. However, Jawahar Singh Aulakh considered that the Prince posed too great of a threat to his nephew, the young Maharaja, and sent instructions that Pashaura Singh be disposed of immediately. The prince was secretly removed from his personal bodyguard on 11 September 1845, and taken back by Fateh Khan Tiwana to Attock where he was strangled to death. For his part in this, Jawahar Singh Aulakh was speared to death by the Khalsa army on 21 September 1845 in front of his sister, the agonised Maharani.

References

Sources

Pashaura Singh, Kanvar
The Sikh Encyclopedia. Retrieved 9 November 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Pashaura History of Sikhism People of the Sikh Empire Sikh warriors Punjabi people Indian Sikhs History of Punjab

1845 deaths Year of birth uncertain 1821 births