Diwan Kaura Mal

The man who helped the Sikhs during the dark period of Persecution

Before his death in 1708, Guru Gobind Singh Ji appointed Banda Singh Bahadur, who was an ascetic (a ‘Bairagi) as his trusted general and leader of the Sikhs. The Guru blessed Banda and admitted him into the Khalsa brotherhood by imparting the sacred ‘Amrit’ to him. He personally instructed Banda Singh to bring sustenance to the suppressed populace of Punjab, revive their dormant spirit and help them seek justice against tyranny and authoritative rule. He bestowed his personal weapons to Banda Singh and asked him to proceed to Punjab with his devoted followers. Banda Singh, in a short period created devastation in the heart of Punjab and overthrew the Mughal dominance from the province. He was the first Sikh to establish a kingdom, struck coins in the name of our Gurus and reinvigorated vitality into the Sikhs. He successfully defeated the powerful Governor of Sarhind and the province of Lahore was virtually in his possession. Banda Singh introduced land reforms, which allowed peasants to become owners of their lands; this step brought back self-respect and dignity to the oppressed inhabitants of Punjab. His rule was, however, short lived and he was eventually defeated by the combined armies of the Mughal Emperor and his governors. Banda Singh, along with his followers were tortured and put to death in Delhi. The period from 1716 till 1765 was one of the darkest periods in the Sikh history as they were persecuted for their recalcitrant activities. Most of the Sikhs were victimized and systematically exterminated by the Mughal authorities. There were however, many amongst them who resisted the tyranny, atrocity and suppression of the government and over time their strength increased and they gradually grew in numbers and were able to establish their own rule.

One of the individuals who helped the Sikhs during this dark period was Diwan Kaura Mal. He was a ‘Sahajdhari’ Sikh: he believed in the Sikh Gurus, the Sikh scripture; however, he didn’t adopt the Khalsa appearance of keeping unshorn hair and was not baptized with the ‘Amrit’. He belonged to a family of well-educated and knowledgeable members who were in the service of the government and worked in the field of finance. Diwan Kaura Mal was brought up with the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, he was a pious person, with a good heart and supported his fellow human beings whenever the circumstances demanded his help. He was a proficient leader with organizational and diplomatic skills, which were strategically employed by him during his service with the Mughal authorities.

Punjab’s capital, Lahore was governed by a despotic, callous person by the name of Yahiya Khan who was the son of the infamous Zakariya Khan. Yahiya Khan along with his Finance Minister, Lakhpat Rai had inflicted severe chastisement on the Sikhs because they opposed the government policies and divested them of their treasures. Both of them were responsible for massacring close to 10,000 Sikhs during what is called Chota Ghallughara (Lesser Holocaust). Yahaya Khan, during his brief rule was overthrown by his younger and ambitious brother, Shah Niwaz Khan, who imprisoned his brother in Lahore and usurped the governorship of Lahore. He immediately appointed Diwan Kaua Mal as his Finance Minister. Yahiya Khan wanted to consolidate and stabilize his rule over Lahore and on the advice of Diwan Kaura Mal, decided to win the support of the Sikhs as the latter was highly respected by them and he always tried to support his tormented brethren. Shah Nawaz Khan was advised by Diwan Kaura Mal to win over the support of the Sikhs, so that they would cause minimal disruption to his rule and would allow him to stabilize his nascent government. He asked the governor to hand over Lakhpat Rai to the Sikhs, who showed no mercy to him once he was in their custody. They were able to seek retribution and punish the man who was responsible for killing thousands of their coreligionists. Diwan Kaura Mal also allowed many concessions to be made to the Sikhs and there was a temporary reprise to their persecution by the government as they had been incessantly maltreated since 1716. This brief period of truce however, did not last long as the Sikhs were looking at establishing their dominance in Punjab and there were further invasions by foreigners.

Yahiya Khan escaped from the prison in Lahore and fled to Delhi. The Prime Minister of the Mughal Empire was Qamar-ud-din Khan and he along with being the uncle of Yahiya Khan, was also his father-in-law. Qamar-ud-din Khan advised Shah Niwaz Khan to leave Lahore and go back to his original appointment as being governor of Multan. Seeing himself in a precarious situation, Shah Niwaz Khan was advised by one of his wily Ministers’, Adina Beg Khan to invite the ruler of Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah Abdali to invade India so that he could consolidate his power and remain the governor of Lahore.

While he had sent an invitation to Abdali in 1747, Shah Niwaz Khan was persuaded by the diplomatic Qamar-ud-din Khan to seek a truce with his brother Yahiya Khan; however, the arrow had left the bow and Abdali, seeing a perfect opportunity to enrich himself with the wealth of India, was well on his way to Punjab. Abdali didn’t receive any support from Shah Niwaz Khan and fought against the mighty Mughal army. He was however, defeated in a pitched battle by the commander-in-chief of the Mughal forces, Qamar-ud-din Khan along with his deputy and son, Mir Mannu. During this battle Qamar-ud-din Khan fought bravely and commanded his army exceptionally against a well-trained Afghan force; however, he was killed, which resulted in a huge loss for the Mughal government in Delhi. After the battle, the Emperor transferred Shah Niwas Khan to the governorship of Multan and replaced him with the victor, Mir Mannu. The new governor of Lahore was an enterprising young man, who wanted to bring back stability in the province, restore law and order and revive the aligning economy and revenue of the province. Immediately upon assuming the new role, Mir Mannu re-confirmed Diwan Kaura Mal as his finance minister because he knew that the Diwan was a sagacious and capable man who could maintain amicable relations with the contumacious Sikh population of the province. Mir Manu had many adversaries to contend with and he wanted to ensure that the Sikhs would support him via Diwan Kaura Mal’s overtures. The new Prime Minister of Delhi was averse to Mir Mannu’s appointment and provided minimal support to him. Meanwhile, the Afghans were regrouping under Abdali to attack India again. The ruler of Jammu had amassed tremendous wealth, had become powerful and was seeking independence. The Sikhs, since the beginning, were opposed to the Mughal authority and were in constant lookout to create disruption in the province. They kept up their rebellious activities and caused constant anguish and were aggressive against the government officials.

Meanwhile, Abdali attacked India for the second time in 1748. On this occasion, Mir Mannu was alone to face the powerful Afghan ruler as he was unable to receive any substantial military aid from the Mughal government in Delhi, under the Prime Ministership of Safdar Jang, who belonged to Persian background and despised Mir Mannu, whose ancestors were from the Turkik origin. Abdali was an experienced warrior, who had fought under Nadir Shah and after his defeat earlier on had made a resolution to crush the Mughal authority in Punjab. Although Mir Mannu fought bravely, he was eventually defeated by Abdali, who was impressed by the young Mir Mannu. He appointed him as the governor of Lahore; however, the province of Punjab came under the authority of the Afghans and Mir Mannu was an employee and vassal of Abdali and he had to remit revenue regularly from his province to the new master.

Meanwhile, during this chaotic period, the Sikhs had increased their activities against government officials and established strongholds throughout Punjab. They had brought a large number of the territories under their control and caused disruption to the province’s revenue and amassed crown treasuries. They were bold enough to have made depredations in and around the environs of Lahore during this turbulent period. As a symbol of authority and defiance, the Sikhs had built a small fortress called Ram Rauni near Amritsar. The Sikh leaders used to assemble at this fort and stored their accumulated wealth and other possessions in their new citadel.

After having been confirmed by Abdali as his new governor and not having to worry about an imminent attack from his main rivals, the Afghans, Mir Mannu decided to restore the government machinery in Punjab so that he could regularly pay revenue to the Afghan King as per his commitment. He decided to check the growing power of the Sikhs and restore law and order in his province. He started a campaign to catch and punish the refractory inhabitants and subdue their incursions and depredations in the province. He, along with his minister Diwan Kaura Mal and Adina Beg Khan sent a large force and laid siege to fort of Ram Rauni where Sikh leaders were residing. Mir Mannu’s forces consisted of some Sikhs and their leader was Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, who was in the employ of Adina Beg Khan. Desultory fighting continued between the Sikhs and the Mughal forces for a while and Mir Mannu was unable to subdue his opponents, who gave a stiff resistance to the authorities and the word ‘surrender’ was not written in their dictionary. While the skirmishes were going on, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was persuaded by his fellow Sikhs at Ram Rauni to join their beleaguered brethren. When suitable opportunity came, he deserted the Mughal forces and along with his men joined his fellow coreligionists. This allowed the Sikhs to resist the Mughals and prolong their resistance. Seeing no end to this conflict, Diwan Kaura Mal gave a pragmatic advice to Mir Mannu and asked him to lift the siege on the fort and call a truce between them. He asked Mir Mannu to offer peace terms to the Sikhs and use their energy to subdue other rivals, who were in a constant lookout to overthrow him. Having convinced Mir Mannu, the siege was lifted and the Sikhs were granted one fourth of the revenue from Patti. They were also offered amnesty and asked to join the government and assist them with their expeditions against external threats. The Sikhs used this opportunity to re-group and strategize their plans to gain future autonomy in Punjab.

Shah Niwaz Khan had become the governor of Multan and he still had aspirations of becoming the governor of Lahore. He was looking for opportunities to attack Mir Mannu and was constantly causing instability in and around Lahore. Mir Mannu asked his able Diwan Kaura Mal to suppress Shah Niwaz Khan and bring about a closure to the incessant feud between them. Diwan Kaura Mal asked the Sikh leaders to help him in his campaign. He promised them favourable opportunities and concessions by the Mughal government. The Diwan along with his Sikh allies gave a crushing defeat to Shah Niwaz at the battle. The Diwan decapitated Shah Niwaz’s head and sent it to Mir Mannu, who was pleased with the Diwan’s victory and gave him the title of ‘Maharaja Bahadur’. He was appointed as the new governor of Multan. The Sikhs were also rewarded for their exemplary service. They were given a Jagir worth one lakh and a quarter of rupees a year. The Sikhs were able to gather at Amritsar in 1750 during the Diwali festival and hold a Sarbat Khalsa gathering under the leadership of Nawab Kapur. Langar was prepared for the Sikh congregation and resolutions were passed by them for their future course of action.

The wily and unscrupulous minister of Mir Mannu, Adina Beg Khan was resentful of the growing power of Diwan Kaura Mal and his Sikh allies. He made plans to check the burgeoning power of his rival and bring an end to him. Abdali attacked India for the third time in 1752 as his revenue was in arrears and Mir Mannu was unable to pay his master the agreed upon amount from Punjab due to internal discontent, strife and perpetual battles. In order to face the hostile Afghan King, Mir Mannu turned to his trusted friend Diwan Kaura Mal, the new governor of Multan. The Diwan advised Mir Mannu to try to make truce with Abdali; however, Adina Beg Khan had his own hidden motives and advised Mir Mannu to give a battle to the Afghan king. During the course of the battle with the mighty Afghans, Diwan Kaura Mal along with his Sikh soldiers fought bravely against the invaders; however, the Diwan was killed under mysterious circumstances (he was probably clandestinely assassinated by Adina Beg Khan). Abdali was triumphant at the battle and restored Mir Mannu as the governor of Lahore on assurance that revenue would be sent to him on a regular basis. Mir Mannu on being confirmed as the governor wanted to ensure that he could collect revenue and fill the depleted government coffers. The only people who were resisting him and causing disruption to the smooth running of the government machinery, were the Sikhs as they had been oppressed throughout the years and had the aspirations to rule Punjab.

Diwan Kaura Mal was the only positive link between Mir Mannu and the Sikhs and once he died, Mir Mannu resumed the policy of persecution against them. He was determined to exterminate their power and he became their anathema. He sent out armed forces to exterminate the Sikhs, who were motivated to wipe them out from the face of the Earth. During his short rule, thousands of innocent men, women and children were massacred by Mir Mannu. An eyewitness gives the following account of Mannu’s campaign. ‘Muin appointed most of them (Jezailcis) to the task of chastising the Sikhs. They ran after these wretches up to 28 kos in a day and slew them wherever they stood up to oppose them. Everyone who brought Sikh heads to Muin received a reward of Rs. 10 per head. Anyone who brought a horse belonging to a Sikhs could keep it as his own. Whosoever lost his own horse by chance in the fight with the Sikhs got another in its place from the government stable.’ (From Miskin, Tazkira-Tahmasp). Mir Mannu was subsequently killed; however, during his short rule he had tried his best to annihilate the Sikhs from Punjab.

Diwan Kaura Mal was a noble and pious person and along with being an excellent administrator was a sagacious and successful leader. He provided pragmatic advice to the Mughal authorities and tried to help and save the Sikhs from persecution by providing them a chance to cooperate with the government. Whenever an opportunity arose, he tried to employ Sikhs in his army and maintained amicable relations with their leaders, including Nawab Kapur Singh. For his noble deeds and for assisting the Sikhs during their time of need, he was called ‘Mitha Mal’ (Sweet) instead of Kaura Mal (Bitter) by them. Throughout his lifetime, he was respected by the Sikhs for his prodigious service to the community. It is said that he built Gurdwara Mal Ji Sahib along with Gurdwara Bal Lila at Nankana Sahib in 1748, which is associated to the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev ji. It is also recorded that there was a large fresco of Diwan Kaura Mal at Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib, where he was depicted riding an elephant. During subsequent restorations at the Gurdwara, the fresco was plastered over and there is no sign of the original painting there. He was also responsible for assigning the revenue generated from 12 villages for the upkeep and service of Harminder Sahib in 1750. Diwan Kaura Mal was a blessing for the Sikh community, a light during the dark period, a person who helped his fellow coreligionists during their time of need and saved lives of countless individuals from persecution and possible execution.

References:

History of the Sikhs by Dr. H.R Gupta

Short History of the Sikhs by Dr. Ganda Singh & Teja Singh

History of the Punjab by S.M Latif

Prachin Panth Prakash by Rattan Singh Bhangu

History of the Punjab by K. S Narang

History of the Sikhs vol. 1 by Khushwant Singh

Written By:

Gurmeet Singh Sandhu from Ottawa, Canada. He is an Information Technology professional with the Canadian Public Sector, an avid reader and writes short articles on Sikh History

Pictures from Google