GULAB SINGH

GULAB SINGH (d. 1759), founder of the Dallevalia clan, was born the son of Shardha Ram at the village of Dalleval, near Dera Baba Nanak on the left bank of the River Ravi, 50 km northeast of Amritsar. In his younger days, he ran a grocery shop in his village and was known as Gulaba Khatri. Having heard tales of heroism of the Sikhs, he came to Amritsar, waited upon Nawab Kapur Singh, and volunteered to become a Sikh. He was advised to grow long hair, practise horsemanship, archery and the use of sword and to come again after an year.

Gulaba returned home, won over a small number of young men as companions and commenced a career of adventure. He came to Amritsar on the occasion of Divali accompanied by his band, many of whom were on horseback. Nawab Kapur Singh was highly impressed and, administering initiatory rites to him, named him Gulab Singh. At the formation of the Dal Khalsa in 1748, Gulab Singh, who had already fought bravely against Nadir Shah in 1739 and in the Chhota Ghallughara in 1746, was declared the head of the Dallevalia misl. Later the Dallevalia and the Nishanarivali misis were stationed at Amritsar to protect the holy city.

In 1757 when Ahmad Shah Dunam was returning homeward laden with the booty from Delhi, Mathura and Agra, Gulab Singh made frequent night attacks on his baggage train. At the fords of Ravi and Chenab, Gulab Singh with several other Sikh sarddrs captured a large number of Afghan horses. Commanding a jathd of 400 men, Gulab Singh plundered Panipat, Rohtak, Harisi and Hissar. Gulab Singh died fighting, in 1759, against Ambo Khan of Kalanaur, 27 km west of Gurdaspur. GULAB SINGH (d. 1800) succeeded his father, Desu Singh, to the chief ship of the BharigT misl or principality after the tatter`s death in 1782.

Gulab Singh retained Amritsar as his seat rnd raised several buildings and gardens to beautify the city. He defeated Pathan chiefs of Kasur, Nizam udDin and Qutb udDin, and made them his tributaries. Gulab Singh`s military strength in 1798, at the time of Shah Zaman`s last invasion, was put at 6,000 and four pieces of cannon. His territory yielded him about ten lakh of rupees as annual revenue. At the fall of Lahore into the hands of Ranjit Singh, Gulab Singh sensed a danger to himself and formed a cabal against him. Besides Gulab Singh, the cabal consisted of Sahib Singh Bharigi of Gujrat,Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Nizam udDin of Kasur.

The allied troops marched to Bhasin, a few miles east of Lahore where Ranjit Singh also arrived with force. At Bhasin the two armies lay encamped for about two months, but neither of them dared take the initiative. As the stalemate continued, Gulab Singh was suddenly taken ill and died. Tins happened in 1800. Gulab Singh was succeeded on his death by his ten year old son Gurdit Singh whose mother, Mai Sukkhari, conducted the affairs of the misi as his guardian. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. SCiri, Sohan Lal, `UmdritiitTwdrijih. L;>liore, 188589 2. Griffin, Lepel, and C.F. Massy, Chirjs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore, 1909 3. Sectal, Sohan Singh, The Sikh Mistils and the.

Punjab. Ludhiana, n.d. S.S.B. GULAB SINGH (d. 1844), commandant in the Sikh army, nicknamed Calcuttia for having visited Calcutta in 1834 as head of the escort of a Lahore mission led by Gujjar Singh Majithia to the British Governor General. After Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s death, lie supported the Dogra faction against the Sandhanvalia collaterals of the Maharaja. In May 1844, Gulab Singh was sent to the derd of Baba Bir Singh of Naurarigabad, where Afar Singh Sandhanvalia, a rival of the Dogras, had taken shelter, with a view to inducing the Sandhanvalia Sardar to surrender.

While the negotiations were on, the troops accompanying Gulab Singh start ed tiring on the dera and, in the confusion that followed, Gulab Singh was shot dead by Afar Singh. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Sun, Sohan Lal, `UmdatutTwdnjih. Lahore, 1885-89 2. Ialii, Syad Muhammad, History of the Panjah. Delhi, 19(rl 3. Gupla, Hari Ram, Panjah on the Eve of First Sikh War. Chandigarh, 1975 Gl.S. GULAB SINGH, a jdgirddr of Talvandi in Hoshiarpur district of the Punjab, who joined, at the village ofZahura, Bhai Maharaj Singh, the leader of the rebellion of 184849. At Maharaj Singh`s behest, he wrote an appeal to the Sikhs of Malva region of the Punjab to join the revolt.

He also roamed with him the Doaba area exhorting the people to be prepared to rise at the leader`s call. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ahluwalia, M.L., Bhai Maharaj Singh. Patiala, 1972 M.L.A. GULAB SINGH (1`7921857), an influential courtier of the Sikh State of Lahore who was created the Raja of Jammu, was born on 17 October 1792, the eldest son of Miari Kishora Singh Dogra. Gulab Singh joined Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army in 1809 as a trooper on a daily allowance of three rupees. He soon won the approbation of the Maharaja and was given a^agIr worth 12,000 rupees, with a command of 90 horse.

The family`s fortunes suddenly rose when his father, Kishora Singh, was named, by the Sikh sovereign, chief of Jammu in 1820. Gulab Singh was allowed to remain with him looking after the administration. On the death of Kishora Singh in 1822, Ranjit Singh conferred the title on Gulab Singh and presided at the installation ceremony held at Akhnur, near Jammu, on 16 June 1822. Gulab Singh proved a firm and successful ruler and extended his authority over the neighbouring Rajput principalities. He was a fine soldier as well and he served his master in various campaigns in the Punjab hills and in Kashmir.

The official Lahore diarist, Sohan Lal Suri, records the bounties and favours bestowed upon him by the Maharaja from time to time in appreciation of his services. Besides the hill country, Gulab Singh held territory lying between the Chenab and the Jehlum on farm for 25,45,000 rupees. In addition to his jdgirs, amounting totally to 7,37,237 rupees, he had monopoly of the salt mines leased out to him for 8,00,000 rupees. Financially, he was the most highly favoured vassal and tributary of the Sikh State. Yet he remained humble and subservient during the lifetime of the Maharaja, relying more on his brother, Raja Dhian Singh, to promote the interests of the family.

He had misappropriated the revenues of 22 districts assigned to him, and had usurped several of the hill states tributary to the Sikhs and had his eyes on Kashmir since 1836. His designs against the Chinese Tartarywere not encouraged by the British, though they countenanced him as a force countervailing the Sikhs. In 1841, Gulab Singh became the custodian of the jdgirs of Kharak Singh`s widow, Chand kaur, and carted away to Jammu all of the Maharani`s jewellery and valuables which he misappropriated. His intrigues against the Lahore government so infuriated the Khalsa army that in 1845 a force 35,000 strong was sent against him to Jammu.

He was brought to Lahore as a hostage and was allowed to return to Jammu as he agreed to pay a fine of 68,00,000 rupees, with a promise of future good behaviour. Gulab Singh retained liaison with the British and passed on military intelligence to Brigadier Wheeler at Ludhiana on the eve of the first AngloSikh war (184546). The British rewarded him obviously for his secret help during the war, and by the treaty of Amritsar, 16 March 1846, they made over to him and his heirs all the hill country with its dependencies situated eastward of the River Indus and westward of the River Ravi, being part of the Sikh territory ceded at the end of the war to the British by the treaty of Lahore, 9 March 1846.

For this Gulab Singh also became, according to another article of the treaty, a vassal of the British whose supremacy he acknowledged. Gulab Singh died at Jammu on 30 June 1857. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Suri, Sohan Lal, `UmdatutTwnnkh. Lahore, 188589 2. Griffin, Lepel, Ranjit Singh. Delhi, 1957 3. Latif, Syad Muhammad, History of the Punjab. Delhi, 1964 4. Khu.shwant Singh, Ranjit Singh : Maharajah of the Punjab. Bombay, 1962 5. Hasral, Bikramajil, Life and Times of Ranjit Singh. Nabha,1977 6. Charak, Sukhdev Singh, ed., Gulabnama of Diwan Kirpa Ram. Delhi, 1977 K.J.S. GULAB SINGH (d. 1882), son of Mihari Singh, belonged to the village of Bhagoval in Gurdaspur district.

He entered the service of Lahina Singh Majithia as a gunner in 1828, and was made a commandant in 1835. Up to the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Gulab Singh had been a feudal retainer of the Majithia Sardar, but, on the accession of Maharaja Sher Singh in 1841, he entered the regular army. He was made a colonel in the artillery with a command of eleven guns. Under Raja Hira Singh, he was promoted general. In 1853, Gulab Singh left the Punjab with Lahina Singh Majithia for Banaras, returning home the following year. In 1863, he was appointed guardian of Lahina Singh`s only son, Dyal Singh. He acted for a short period as manager of the Darbar Sahib at Amritsar. Gulab Singh died in 1882. BIBLIOGRAPHY Griffin, Lepel, and C.F. Massy, Chiefs and /“amiUes of Note. in the Punjab. Lahore, 1909

References :

1. Griffin, Lepel, and C.F. Massy, Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore, 1909
2. Gnpla, IIari Rain, History of the Sikhs, vol. II. Delhi, 1978
3. Sectal, Sohan Singh, The Sikh Misals and the Punjab. Ludhiana, n.d.
4. Harbans Singh, The Heritage of the Sikhs. Delhi, 1983