Misr Diwan Chand

Not to be confused with Dewan Mokham Chand.
Misr

Diwan Chand
Painting of Misr Diwan Chand, ca.1799–1849
Born1755
Village Gondlanwala, Gujranwala, Durrani Empire (Present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
Died18 July 1825
Lahore, Sikh Empire (Present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
Years of service1816 - 1825
RankGeneral
Commands
Known forMilitary expeditions in
AwardsZafar-jung-Bahadur
Fateh-o-nusrat-nasib
ChildrenMisr Beli Ram
Misr Rup Lal
Misr Sukh Raj
Misr Megh Raj
Misr Ram Kishan[1]
RelationsMisr Sahib Dayal (brother)
Misr Basti Ram (brother)

Misr Diwan Chand (1755 – 18 July 1825) was a notable officer and a powerful general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's reign. From a petty clerk he rose to the position of chief of artillery and commander-in-chief of the armies that conquered Multan and Kashmir and also served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Khalsa Army from 1816 to 1825.[2][3]

Early life

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Diwan Chand was the son of a Brahmin shopkeeper of Gondlanwala village (in present-day Gujranwala, Pakistan).[4][5]

Military career

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Main articles: Siege of Multan (1818), Battle of Shopian, Siege of Mankera (1821–1822), and Battle of Nowshera

Diwan Chand was bestowed the title of Zafar-Jang-Bahadur—Brave Victor of Battles—by Ranjit Singh. Diwan Chand rose from the post of Artillery Chief to the Chief Commander of Khalsa Army in 1816. He suppressed the rebellion of Tiwana nawab of Mitha Tiwana and forced him to pay tribute.[2][6] Diwan Chand captured Multan in 1818 and governor Muzzafar Khan and seven of his sons were killed.[7] In 1819, he led an expedition to Shopian in Kashmir region and conquered it from Durrani governor Jabbar Khan. He defeated the Afghans in Some hours.Took Mankera present day Mankera Tehsil in 1821[8] and he also conquered Batala, Pathankot, Mukerian, Akalgarh etc., he also took part in the conquest of Peshawar and Nowshera.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh had a great regard for the general. Once at Amritsar, the Maharaja had purchased a very precious hookah from a Hindustani merchant, although this was against the injunctions of his own religion. He presented the hookah to Misr Diwan Chand to mark the high esteem in which he was held by the Maharaja. Permission was also given to him to smoke.[9]

The contribution of Misr Dewan Chand in the making of the Maharaja's empire has also been under-estimated by British historians who have described him as a "hookah-smoking general'.[10] It is a fact that Maharaja had once presented him a hookah himself.[10]

Title

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He was a great warrior and general who achieved the title of Fateh-o-Nusrat-Nasib (one who never lost in war) and Zafar-Jang-Bahadur (conqueror in wars) from Maharaja Ranjit Singh himself and was made Governor of Kashmir.[11]

References

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  1. ^ Griffin Lepel. H Sir (1940). Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab Vol.1. Superintendent Government Printing Punjab. p. 361. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  2. ^ a b Punjab History Conference, Thirty-ninth session, March 16–18, 2007: proceedings, Navtej Singh, Punjabi University. Dept. of Punjab Historical Studies
  3. ^ Sufi, G. M. D.; Sūfī, Ghulām Muhyi'd Dīn (1974). Kashmīr, being a history of Kashmir from the earliest times to our own. Light & Life Publishers.
  4. ^ Harjinder Singh Dilgeer (1997). The Sikh Reference Book. Denmark: Sikh Educational Trust for Sikh University Centre. p. 373. ISBN 978-0-9695964-2-4.
  5. ^ Yasmin, Robina (2022). Muslims Under Sikh Rule in the Nineteenth Century: Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Religious Tolerance. Library of Islamic South Asia. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 92. ISBN 9780755640348.
  6. ^ Singh, Khushwant (2017-04-18). Ranjit Singh: Maharaja of the Punjab. Random House Publishers India Pvt. Limited. ISBN 978-93-5118-102-6.
  7. ^ Kaushik Roy (2011). War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740-1849. Taylor & Francis. pp. 262–. ISBN 978-1-136-79086-7.
  8. ^ Tony Jaques, ed. (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: P-Z. Greenwood Press. p. 938. ISBN 9780313335396. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  9. ^ Singh, Gulcharan (1976). Ranjit Singh and his generals. Sujlana Publishers.
  10. ^ a b Khullar, K. K. (1980). Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Hem Publishers.
  11. ^ Panjab University Research Bulletin: Arts. The University. 1990.
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