Maha Singh

Maha Singh (Punjabi: ਮਹਾਂ ਸਿੰਘ) (alternatively Mahan Singh)(1756–1790)^{[1] [2]} Upon the death of his father, Charat Singh, he succeeded to the leadership of the Sukerchakia Misl. His son Ranjit Singh succeeded him and established the Sikh Empire. He is known for his alliance with Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and for reducing the power of the Kanheya Misl.

Leadership of the Sukerchakia Misl

Tomb of Maha Singh or Mahan Singh

As the new leader of the Sukerchakia Misl he captured the Rohtas Fort from Nur ud-Din Bamezai, a general of Ahmad Shah Durrani. With the help of Jai Singh Kanheya he laid a four-month siege to Rasool Nagar and captured the city from Pir Mohammed, its Chattha leader. The reputation he gained as a result of the siege led to Sardars loyal to the Bhangi Misl defecting to him^[3] He continued to expand his territory and captured Pindi Bhattian, Sahiwal, Isakhel, Kotli Loharan, and Jhang.^[4] In 1784-5, He used a feud between rulers to raid Jammu, but because he gained a great degree of wealth without sharing or informing his partner Jai Singh Kanheya, Jai Singh refused his attempts to reconcile.^[5] Maha Singh then created an alliance with Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and defeated the Kanheya Misl at the Battle of Batala. During the Battle Jai Singh Kanheya's son and successor, Gurbaksh Singh Kanheya, was killed. His widow, Sada Kaur betrothed her daughter to Ranjit Singh, Singh's Son. Sada Kaur would later succeed to the leadership of the Kanheya Misl and aided Ranjit Singh in his early victories. According to the Gujrat District gazetteer 1921 Maha Singh was one of the chiefs of the Chatha Jatt tribe.^[6]

During the siege of Sodhra, which was being occupied by the Bhangi Misl, he contracted dysentry and died in April 1790.^[1]

References

1. Khurana, J.S. "MAHAN SINGH". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
2. Kakshi, S.R.; Pathak, Rashmi; Pathak, S.R.Bakshi R. (2007-01-01). Punjab Through the Ages. Sarup & Sons. pp. 272–274. ISBN 978-81-7625-738-1. Retrieved 12 June 2010. C1 control character in |pages= at position 5 (help)
3. Kakshi, S.R.; Rashmi Pathak, S.R.Bakshi R. Pathak (2007). Punjab Through the Ages. New Delhi: Sarup and Son. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-81-7625-738-1. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
4. Mahan Singh, The Sikh Encyclopedia
5. Cunningham, Joseph Davey (1918). A history of the Sikhs, from the origin of the nation to the battles of the Sutlej. London, Newyork: Oxford University Press. p. 118.
6. Gujrat District gazetteer 1921