Misr Diwan Chand

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Dewan Mokham Chand.
Misr

Diwan Chand
General
Commands held
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. He rose from petty clerk to the Chief of Artillery and Commander-in-chief of the armies that conquered Multan and Kashmir and also served as the Commander-in-Chief of Khalsa Army from 1816 to 1825.[2] and was a notable pillar of the state.[3]

Early life

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

Military career

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

Diwan Chand was honoured with the title of Zafar-Jang-Bahadur—Brave Victor of Battles from

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

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

  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. ISBN 978-0-9695964-2-4
    .
  5. ISBN 9780755640348
    .
  6. ISBN 978-93-5118-102-6
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-136-79086-7
    .
  8. 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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