FATEH SINGH MAN

FATEH SINGH MAN (d. 1845). son of Sham Singh Man, soldier, diplomat and commander in Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army. He entered the service of the Maharaja as a trooper, and took part in several campaigns, including those of Multan (1818) and Kashmir (1819). He rose to be a kumeddn. In 1811, he had a jagir worth one lakh of rupees and maintained a contingent of 300 horsemen. He served mostly in the northwest frontier region, across the Indus. After Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s death, he became an active partisan of Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh and Wazir Dhian Singh.

In 1839, he served under Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh in the Sikh army sent to Peshawar to assist Colonel Claude Wade in Shahzada Taimur`s expedition to Kabul. In the courtly intrigue following the death of Maharaja Kharak Singh and Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, Fateh Singh Man aligned himself with the faction supporting Ram Chand Kaur against Sher Singh. The faction comprised Sandharivalia Sardars, the Jammu brothers, and the Bhais. However, the accession of Sher Singh to the throne of Ranjit Singh on 20 January 1841 broke up the faction supporting Chand Kaur.

Fateh Singh submitted to Maharaja Sher Singh and saved his jagirs and command. He continued thereafter to serve in the Sikh army, retaining his influence at the court. The army panchayats deputed Fateh Singh to Jammu to negotiate with Raja Gulab Singh the surrender of Hira Singh`s treasure which the Dogra chief had carted away to his capital. Gulab Singh paid Rs 4,00,000 as earnest money, and promised to surrender the treasure at an early date. The Lahore deputation left Jammu but was waylaid outside the town by Gulab Singh`s troops and Fateh Singh Man was killed on 28 February 1845.

References :

1. Suri, Sohan Lal, `Umddt-ut-Twarikh. Lahore, 1885-89
2. Griffin, Lepel, and C.F. Massy, Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore, 1909
3. Bhagat Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and His Times. Delhi, 1990
4. Smyth, G. Cai michael, A History of the Reigning Family of Lahore. Patiala, 1970