BHANGI MISL
The Bhangi Misl was founded in the early 18th century by Sardar Chhajja Singh. The misl received its name “Bhangi” because Chhajja Singh and his soldiers frequently used the herbal intoxicant bhang (a drink made from Cannabis sativa). He was a Dhillon Jat from Panjwar village in the Tarn Taran District of the Majha region of Punjab, approximately 24 km from Amritsar. He was the first companion of Banda Singh Bahadur to receive Sikh baptism (Amrit). According to Kanhaiya Lal, he had taken Amrit at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh. Accompanied by many others, Chhajja Singh took forceful action in harassing despotic government (Mughal) officials. Later, Chhajja Singh was joined by Mohan Singh and Gulab Singh of Dhoussa village (six miles northeast of Amritsar), Karora Singh of Choupal, Gurbaksh Singh, a Sandhu Jat of Roranwala, Agar Singh Khangora, and Sawan Singh Randhawa. They all took Amrit from Chhajja Singh. One of his relatives, Bhuma Singh, succeeded him.
Bhuma Singh was a Dhillon Jat from the village of Hung, near Badhni in present-day Moga district, who won a name for himself in skirmishes with Nadir Shah’s troops in 1739. Bhuma Singh’s latent genius as an organizer and commander stimulated the growth of the Bhangi Misl. Historical records indicate he died in the Chhota Ghallughara (Holocaust) in 1746 while defending the Sikh community from Afghan attacks. Bhuma Singh was childless, so he adopted his nephew, Hari Singh Dhillon, as his son.
Upon Bhuma Singh’s death in 1746, his nephew and adopted son, Hari Singh, assumed leadership of the misl. At the formation of the Dal Khalsa in 1748, Hari Singh was acknowledged as the head of the Bhangi Misl and leader of the Taruna Dal. He vastly increased the power and influence of the Bhangi Misl, which began to be ranked as the strongest among its peers. He created an army of 20,000 dashing youths, captured Panjwar in the Tarn Taran Parganah, and established his headquarters first at Sohal and then at Gilwali, both in the Amritsar district.
Hari Singh waged guerrilla warfare against the invading hosts of Ahmad Shah Durrani. In 1763, along with the Kanhaiya Misl and the Ramgarhia Misl, he sacked the Afghan stronghold of Kasur. In 1764, he ravaged Bahawalpur and Multan. Crossing the River Indus, he exacted tribute from the Baluchi chiefs in the districts of Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Dera Ismail Khan. On his way back home, he subdued Jhang, Chiniot, and Sialkot. Hari Singh died in 1765, fighting against Baba Ala Singh of Patiala.
Hari Singh was succeeded by Jhanda Singh, his eldest son, under whom the Bhangi Misl reached the zenith of its power. In 1764, Jhanda Singh invaded Multan and Bahawalpur but failed to drive out the Durrani satrap Shuja Khan Saddozai. Jhanda Singh marched on Multan again in 1772, forcing the Nawab to flee. Multan was declared Khalsa territory, and the city was parceled out between Jhanda Singh and his commander, Lahina Singh. Jhanda Singh next subdued Jhang, Kala Bagh, and Mankera. He built a brick fort at Amritsar, which he named Qila Bhangiyani and laid out fine bazaars in the city. He then proceeded to Rasulnagar, where he recovered from the Chattha Jat rulers the famous gun Zamzama, which came to be known as Bhangian di Top.
Jhanda Singh was soon involved in internal feuds among the warring misls. He was killed in 1774 in a battle with the Kanhaiyas and the Sukkarchakias at Jammu, where he had marched to settle a succession dispute. He was succeeded by his brother Ganda Singh, who, dying of illness during a battle with the Kanhaiyas at Dinanagar, was in turn succeeded by his minor son, Desa Singh. Under Desa Singh’s weak leadership, the dynasty began to decline. Several Bhangi sardars set themselves up as independent chiefs within their territories. Desa Singh was killed in action against Mahan Singh Sukarchakia in 1782.
A prominent Bhangi sardar was Gurbaksh Singh Roranwala, who had fought alongside Hari Singh Bhangi in several battles. After his death, his adopted son, Lahina Singh, and Gujjar Singh, his daughter’s son, divided his estates. In 1765, they joined hands with Sobha Singh Kanhaiya and occupied Lahore. The city was partitioned among the three sardars who, though temporarily driven out in 1767 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, managed to retain authority. In January 1797, Ahmad Shah’s grandson, Shah Zaman, seized the city, but shortly after his departure for Kabul, Lahina Singh and Sobha Singh (Gujjar Singh had died in 1791) returned and re-established their rule.
In 1797, Lahina Singh died and was succeeded by his son, Chet Singh. Around the same time, Sobha Singh died and was succeeded by his son, Mohar Singh. However, the new rulers struggled to establish their authority. Oppressed by taxes and extortions, local Muslim Chaudharis and mercantile Khatris invited Ranjit Singh and Sada Kaur to occupy the city. On 7 July 1799, Ranjit Singh arrived with 5,000 troops at the Shalamar Gardens. The Bhangi sardars fled, and Ranjit Singh became master of the capital of Punjab, laying the foundation of the Sikh monarchy.
Reverting to the main branch of the Bhangi Misl, Desa Singh was succeeded by his minor son, Gulab Singh, who administered the misl through his cousin, Karam Singh. Gulab Singh expanded Amritsar and subdued the Pathan colony of Kasur, forcing the Pathan chiefs, Nizam ud-Din and Qutb ud-Din Khan, to enter his service.
In 1794, however, the brothers, with Afghan aid, recovered Kasur. Gulab Singh died in 1800 and was succeeded by his son, Gurdit Singh, a 10-year-old boy, who governed through his mother and guardian, Mai Sukkhan. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, after taking possession of Lahore in 1799, set his sights on Amritsar, where the Bhangis still held sway.
Under the pretext of retrieving the Zamzama gun, Ranjit Singh marched with a strong force in 1802. Gurdit Singh and his mother fled without resistance. The last Bhangi chief to fall was Sahib Singh of Gujrat, who was dismissed with a grant of a few villages. By 1810, all Bhangi territories—Lahore, Amritsar, Sialkot, Chiniot, Jhang, Bhera, Rawalpindi, Hasan Abdal, and Gujrat—had merged into the kingdom of Ranjit Singh. Today, the descendants of Bhangi sardars are concentrated mainly in the Amritsar district of Punjab.
