Nawab Kapur Singh

Gurdwara Baba Atal at Amritsar where Nawab Kapur Singh was cremated

Introduction

Nawab Kapur Singh was one of the most capable, authoritative and venerable leaders of the Sikhs. He came into prominence during the dark period of their history, when they were being persecuted mercilessly after the death of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716. After the demise of this great leader, there was a power vacuum and central leadership ceased to exist amongst the Sikhs who were organized into various incohesive and unstructured groups. Some of these groups fought amongst themselves and had internecine disputes based on minor, trivial issues. The Sikhs were a recalcitrant group of men who opposed the Mughal authorities, constantly harassed the government officials and created unrest in the country. Kapur Singh emerged as the leader of Sikhs during these trying times; he used his leadership along with diplomatic skills to steer them out of their sufferings and ultimately paved the way for other leaders to establish power in Punjab.

Kapur Singh was a man of many attributes: he was devoid of egoism, arrogance, thereby performed many acts of selfless service. He would perform the lowest of the low tasks and win the respect of his companions along with seniors. He was a brave warrior who fought in many battles and it is said that he received 43 scars on his body. He is said to have slain more than five hundred of his enemies over the course of his lifetime. He was a great leader and had exceptional organizing skills. He consolidated disparate groups of Sikhs into well-organized, cohesive and powerful regiments (Jathas). He was the first Sikh who was able to capture Lahore, even though it was for a brief period. He was a far-sighted individual and recognized talent when he saw a person of promising potential. Ultimately, he was able to successfully pass on the leadership of the Sikhs to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. On many occasions, when a leader died chaos and unrest used to prevail amongst the followers; however, Nawab Kapoor Singh ensured a smooth transfer of power during this nascent period, when Sikhs were asserting their authority in Punjab.

Early Life

Kapur Singh was born in 1697 at the village of Kaloke Virkan, currently located in Sheikhupura district of West Punjab (Pakistan). He later on occupied the village of Fazarullah (also called Faizallahpur) in the Amritsar district, which was named after a Mughal official by the name of Farzulla Khan. He was born into a Virk Jatt family and his father was Chaudhary Dalip Singh. He had a younger sibling named Dan Singh. He, along with his father and younger brother embraced Sikhism by accepting ‘Amrit’ from the hands of Bhai Mani Singh in the year 1721.

Since he was a young boy, Kapur was a daring, energetic and enterprising person. He was always on the lookout for adventure and didn’t like the sedentary life of an ordinary village person. He left his family home at an early age to join a group of independent renegades. He learnt horse riding and became proficient in battle techniques, including guerrilla warfare which was used by Sikhs at the time to fight against the mighty Mughal army. During the battles, he along with his men would fire at the enemy from a distance and immediately gallop away from there. The enemy would in turn chase them and get separated from their group. This technique was used to ensnare and cause confusion amongst the powerful adversary. After riding for a distance, he would turn around, fire again at the hounding men, while the other companions would finish off the charging enemy.

As a young man, he was a rebellious person and never shied away from taking risks. On one occasion, he along with twelve of his accomplices stealthily entered Lahore. Upon finding a suitable, unguarded place of a Mughal official, they occupied his quarters and sat on his throne. In a jest he issued orders to the rest of the Mughals to announce that the Sikhs were a force to reckon with and could not be easily submitted. When news reached the authorities about the mischief, the Mughals re-grouped and attacked Kapur Singh. He was able to covertly escape from there and was able to find safety in the nearby jungles.

Guru Gobind Singh’s wife, Mata Sundri resided in Delhi and Sikhs from Punjab used to visit her, pay their respects and receive injunctions (Hukumnamas) from her. They also used to provide offerings made by other Sikhs of Punjab to her. Kapur Singh visited Mata Sundri at Delhi in year 1728 to receive her blessings. He reached the place disguised as a Mughal official because Sikhs were persecuted during that period and they had to travel incognito in order to evade the authorities. Mata Sundri acknowledged the young Kapur Singh and bestowed upon him the silver mace of Guru Gobind Singh. In Delhi, he met a ten year boy called Jassa Singh and was immensely pleased with his intelligent and pleasing manners. As per Mata Sundri’s directive, he adopted the young boy as his son, brought him back to Punjab. He mentored him, gave him spiritual and martial training. Later on this boy would succeed him and would become a great leader of the Sikhs.

Kapur Singh took part in campaigns organized by the Sikhs against the Mughals in Punjab. They would raid government convoys transporting treasuries and distribute the wealth to the poor and needy inhabitants of Punjab. He was like Robin Hood of Punjab, who would help the destitute and provide them with food and clothing. From early on, the common people, including Hindus and Muslims considered him to be a God sent person who never harmed the poor, protected them and their families against tyranny and oppression of the ruling class. He provided justice to the unfairly treated inhabitants of Punjab who looked upon him as their saviour.

Kapur Singh was part of a Jatha, a band of Sikhs whose leader was Sardar Darbara Singh (1644–1734). He was a well-respected leader of the Sikhs, who was brought up by Guru Gobind Singh1 and was bestowed the title of Diwan. He was an honest person who managed the funds collected by the Panth and used the money to run community kitchens and distributed food along with clothing to the needy. He managed the Sikhs under his command and kept order and discipline amongst his subordinates. Kapur Singh, regardless of self-ego used to serve the members of his jatha and performed every type of task assigned to him: he used to help out in the kitchens, clean the stables and even fan upon the congregation. He had the qualities of performing selfless service ‘Sewa’ induced into him from his early years. No work was low for him.

Title of Nawab

The Sikh bands had been raiding Mughal treasuries and causing revenue losses to the government, which resulted in depletion of funds to effectively run the state. Having tried strict and harsh methods to deal with the problem of these rebellious Sikhs, the new Mughal governor of Punjab, Zakarya Khan tried to seek truce with them in 1733. He was exhausted of their incessant resistance and never ending confrontation.

He asked one of his trusted officers, by the name of Subeg Singh to reach out to the central Sikh leadership and try to offer them peace terms. He was asked to bestow the title of Nawab, give gifts along with land grants to the Sikhs so that they would stop harassing movement of government treasury. He felt that this proposal would result in peace and people would engage in productive employment for the state. He wanted the Sikhs to take up farming, jobs in various trades and government appointments so that the revenue of the state could be improved and he would not have to spend his time and effort in fighting unceasing warfare with people he could not apprehend easily.

Subeg Singh was well respected by the Sikhs as he was an honest and truthful person. He always tried to help his fellow co-religionists by secretly offering them shelter, food and any other logistical support. He went to the Sikh leaders under the leadership of Darbara Singh and reached his camp. He paid his respects to the chiefs and offered them the terms sent out by Zakarya Khan. Darbara Singh informed Subeg Singh that the Khalsa was destined to rule the land and they could not accept the title of ‘Nawab’ as it was a petty chief’s title. He told the representative, “What is a Nawabship to us who have been promised a kingdom by the Guru? The word of the Guru must be fulfilled. The Khalsa is meant to rule freely, cannot accept a subordinate position.’ This sentiment was echoed by other senior leaders present in the assembly.

Subeg Singh persuaded the leaders to accept the title and gifts from the Governor as an initial step for them to achieve their broader objective. After having been convinced by Subeg Singh, the Sikhs decided to accept the peace terms; however, no one amongst them was willing to accept the title. At that time, there was Kapur Singh, who was serving the congregation by enthusiastically waving a fan at them as it was the hot season. Earlier on, he had taken part in a battle, had been injured and fatigued. In spite of this, he was cheerfully performing ‘Sewa’ for his fellow comrades.

Kapur Singh was commanded by the senior leaders to accept the title of Nawab and other gifts as sent by the Mughal Governor. He humbly acceded the Panth’s order and without hesitation bowed before them. Symbolically, the Sikhs wanted to send a message to the Governor that titles and land had no significance to them, they considered the overtures a jest and a stratagem on the part of the government to temporarily appease the Sikhs for future nefarious actions. As another mark of humiliation to the Mughal Governor, the Sikhs asked that the gifts should be first ‘cleansed’ by the Khalsa before being handed over to Kapur Singh. They stepped on the gifts and then allowed Subeg Singh to personally hand them over to the chosen recipient. The gifts (Khilat) included three pieces: Kastar (Turban), Jama (Gown) and Patka (Girdle). He was granted a letter for the Jagir (entitlement of land revenue) and title. The Jagir consisted of the following lands: Dipalpur, Kanganwal and Jhabal, with a combined revenue of one lakh rupees (one hundred thousand rupees). It was also accepted on the condition that he would never be called upon to attend the court or capital of Mughals.

Organization of Budha Dal and Taruna Dal

After accepting the peace terms set out by Zakarya Khan, truce prevailed for a brief period after 1733. Sikhs started going back to their villages and Nawab Kapur Singh utilized this period as a perfect opportunity to re-organize disparaging groups into cohesive, harmonized units that could function efficiently as correlated groups. A meeting was held at Akal Takhat (also called Akal Bunga) in the precincts of Harminder Sahib, Amritsar, where leaders from various groups were assembled. He used his leadership and organizing skills to tabulate Sikhs into two groups: The Budha Dal (Veteran Sikhs) and the Taruna Dal (Youthful Sikhs). The Budha Dal had many of the veterans from Guru Gobind Singh’s days and were mature warriors. The Taruna Dal had young, dynamic fighters who were always in the lookout for adventure and used their energy in fighting the Mughals. Kapur Singh was in charge of the Budha Dal. He further sub-divided the Taruna Dal into five Jathas (sub-groups):

Jatha 1 was named Shahids and Nihangs, led by Deep Singh and Karam Singh.

Jatha 2 was under the leadership of Karam Singh and Dharam Singh, who were Khatris from Amritsar.

Jatha 3 was under the leadership of Kahan Singh and Binod Singh who were decedents of the Sikh Gurus from Trehan and Bhalla lineage.

Jatha 4 was under the leadership of Desaundha Singh Gill, a Jat who resided in Kot Budha.

Jatha 5 was under the leadership of Ranghreta Sikh Bir Singh.

The Jathas were given complete freedom and allowed to function independently, take their own decisions, and perform suitable action except when the future of the community was in jeopardy or when they faced a powerful, common enemy. In that situation, they merged into a common army called the Dal Khalsa. The five Jathas were given their own individual territories to look after in Amritsar, which included: Ram Sar, Bibek Sar, Lachhman Sar, Kaul Sar, and Santokh Sar. The Budha Dal looked after the Harminder Sahib. Each Jatha had its own Drum, Banner and was composed of about 1300 to 2000 men.

Nawab Kapur Singh was the overall supreme commander of the both Budha Dal and Taruna Dal. Along with managing his own Jatha at Amritsar, Nawab Kapur Singh was given charge of langar (community kitchen), general stores and stables for horses. He was responsible for feeding thousands of men and their animals. It was a colossal responsibility, which Nawab Kapur Singh accepted and completed efficiently and hesitantly. Diwan Darbara Singh being a senior person was still responsible for instilling overall leadership and assisted Kapur Singh in managing his extensive responsibilities. He, however, passed away in 1734 and subsequently the entire burden fell upon Kapur Singh who managed the men and resources efficaciously.

The principles of democracy, introduced by Guru Gobind Singh on creation of the Khalsa were pursued by Nawab Kapur Singh. Every year, during the festival of Baisakhi and Diwali, the Sikhs used to gather at Amritsar and this assemblage of the leaders along with their members was called Sarbat Khalsa. During these meetings disputes amongst leaders were settled amicably, strategic plans were made on how to deal with impending adversaries and resolutions were passed (called Gurmata) after extensive deliberations. These resolutions were approved based on democratic principles and everyone reached a common consensus before major decisions were committed by the Sikhs. Everyone, regardless of his status was treated equally and respected during the congregation. The Sarbat Khalsa was however, disbanded after Maharaja Ranjit Singh became the ruler of Punjab.

Campaigns

The truce between the Sikhs and Mughals lasted for almost two and a half years and thereafter the long-time adversaries parted ways and re-engaged in battles. The Sikhs were better organized after their brief respite and were able to face the Mughals along with their renewed, organized regiments. They were able to inflict serious damages to the government and their machinery. The Sikh warriors caught during these battles were sent to Lahore, where they were executed at a place currently called Shahid Ganj. The Sikhs after fighting the Mughals spent most of their time at the Lakhi Jungle, which was located between Firozpur and Bhatinda. The brave Sikhs survived many hardships as there was scarcity of food and they had to contend with whatever the jungle offered them for sustenance. Their stay in the Jungle made them stronger, resilient and instilled in them perseverance to free their homeland from tyranny. While living in hardship, the Sikhs always helped the poor, destitute and supplied them with food and essential services from their meagre supplies. Thus they won the hearts of the common people who considered them to be their saviours during the dark and trying times.

Nadir Shah, the king of Persia invaded India in the year 1739 and defeated the Mughal Emperor in Delhi. He was responsible for general massacre of the population of Delhi, which included both Hindus and Muslims. On his way back to Persia, he passed through Punjab and carried with him most of the wealth of India, including: Kohinoor diamond, the peacock throne, gold, precious gemstones along with women. Nawab Kapur Singh attacked the convoy of Nadir Shah and relieve him of his looted treasures. He was also able to rescue and free many of the women captives and ultimately sent them back to their homes. The Sikhs built a small fort at Dallewal to store the booty taken away from the invader.

In the year 1746, an incident occurred during which the Sikhs from the Taruna Dal killed Jaspat Rai in a minor skirmish. Jaspat Rai was the brother of Lakhpat Rai who was the minister of Punjab’s Governor, Yahiya Khan. On seeing the dead body of his brother, Lakhpat Rai pledged to exterminate Sikhs from the province. Approximately 7,000 Sikhs: men, women and children were massacred by the Mughals and many were sent to Lahore to be tortured and executed. Sikhs under the leadership of Nawab Kapur Singh witnessed this holocaust called Chhota Ghallughara. He was able to re-group the remaining Sikhs, gave them shelter and hope to face the callous adversaries without fear. The Sikhs came out stronger and subsequently were able to avenge the deaths of their loved ones and shook the power of Mughals from its foundation.

Ahmed Shah Abdali was the King of Afghans invaded Punjab for the second time in 1748. He was engaged in battles against the Mughal governor of Punjab, Mir Mannu. Both armies were facing each other at the banks of the Chenab River, about four miles from Wazirabad. Abdali wanted to avoid a prolonged battle with the Mughals because summer was about to approach and his army would not be able to bear the summer heat of the Punjab Plains. Meanwhile, he sent one of this able generals, Jahan Khan to invade Lahore from another route. While this was going on, the capital of Punjab Lahore remained unguarded as its deputy governor went out with his army from the capital to face the invading general. Taking advantage of the power vacuum, the Sikhs under Nawab Kapur Singh pillaged Lahore and were able to take possession of the capital for a brief period. He sat on the throne of Lahore and gave orders to his army and inhabitants. The Sikhs tried to cause minimum damage to the capital; however, some excesses were committed by them during the brief occupation. Thus, Nawab Kapur Singh became the first Sikh to rule over Lahore, even though it was for a limited period. He was able to pave way for subsequent prominent leaders to occupy the heart of power in Punjab.

Nawab Kapur Singh was able to come back to Amritsar in 1750 when a temporary truce was again initiated between them and the Mughals, who were led by Raja Kaura Mal. He was able to bring peace amongst the warring parties for a brief period. Kaura Mal was able to grant a Jagir of one lakh rupees to the Sikhs and on Diwali of that year, Nawab Kapur Singh started free kitchen (langar) at Amritsar by using the revenue obtained from the jagir.

Re-organization — Creation of Dal Khalsa

Nawab Kapur Singh had to constantly keep up with the fluid, ever-changing situation of Punjab and had to adjust the Sikhs and re-organize them to meet the challenges to the best of his ability. Earlier on, he had organized the Sikhs into Budha Dal and Taruna Dal, which were further sub grouped and provided autonomy for ruling various parts of the lands. Continuing with the re-organization of Sikh bands during the Diwali celebrations of October 1745 and after consulting with other senior leaders, he merged smaller Jathas, some of which consisted of 12 horsemen into twenty five sizable regiments. He was again confirmed as the overall supreme leader of the combined army. His other commanders were Hari Singh Bhangi, Naudh Singh of Sukerchak, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, and Jai Singh Kanhaya. These leaders later on became chiefs of larger organizations or confederacies of commonwealth called Misls (which means equals).

When Ahmed Shah Abdali attacked in 1748, strategically these twenty five regiments were further split up into smaller groups in order to be able to effectively assault the invader and cause maximum damage to his forces. The smaller groups were able to stealthy inflict utmost harm to Abdali and his forces as they could attack, run and consolidate themselves faster and efficiently in smaller group.

After conclusion of Abdali’s attacks on Punjab, Nawab Kapur Singh re-organized the smaller platoons into more cohesive companies under the command of able leaders. These groups subsequently formed the Misls of Punjab, which ruled most of northern parts of Indian sub-continent, up to the Gangetic plains. The Misls were independent of each other, however when a common enemy came to attack them, they merged into a single army called the Dal Khalsa.

The leadership of the Dal Khalsa ultimately passed over to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia who was a protégé of Nawab Kapur Singh. He was personally trained and mentored by him. He possessed similar attributes as his tutor and was able to expand the territories ruled by the Sikhs. He was also highly respected amongst them and his word was considered the ultimate law. The final twelve Misls formed by re-organizing more than 65 Jathas were named as:

Ahluwalia, Fyzullapuria, Sukerchakia, Nishanwalia, Bhangi, Kanhaya, Nakkai, Dallewalia, Shaheed, Karorsinghia, Ramgarhia and Phoolkia

Each of these Misls was under the command of a competent Sikh leader(s), who each had their own flags and drums as a symbol of authority. Some of these Misls were large and others smaller. All were well armed with horsemen, apt in battle techniques. The Sikhs were free to join any of the twelve confederacies and could transfer over without any issues or hindrance.

Nawab Kapur Singh along with being the supreme commander of the Dal Khalsa was the head of Faizullahpuria Misl, which was renamed to Singhpuria Misl as the original name had a Muslim’s connotation associated with it. He was able to take possession of several villages on both sides off the Satluj River. In time, the parganahs of Fatahpur, Haibatpur and Patti, worth about two lakh rupees a year were under his possession. Ala Singh of Patiala, Rae Ahmad of Jagraon and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia used to pay tributes to him from the revenue generated from their lands. Nawab Kapur Singh commanded about 2,500 horsemen who were among the finest and well-armed men. His Misl along with others was noted for its bravery, boldness, and daring campaigns.

Conclusion

Nawab Kapur Singh passed away in 1753 and he was able to transfer the leadership of Dal Khalsa to his protégée, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. He handed over the silver mace given to him by Mata Sundri as a mark of authority to his successor, Jassa Singh. Nawab Kapoor Singh was cremated at the vicinity of Baba Atal Gurdwara, close to Kulsar Sarovar in Amritsar and his Samadh (funerary shrine) existed in the vicinity of the Gurdwara till about mid-1920s.

The leadership of Nawab Kapur Singh’s, Singhpuria Misl was inherited by his son Khushal Singh (some historians have written that he was his nephew). He was a powerful and enterprising leader and expanded the frontiers of his Misl and added many villages to his dominions. He fought against Ahmed Shah Abdali during his subsequent invasions and along with other Sikh chiefs resisted the marauders and faced his adversaries gallantly. The Misl was ultimately annexed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who consolidated the eleven Misls and formed the powerful Sikh Kingdom in 1800s. The descendants of Nawab Kapur Singh still live on in Punjab.

The village where Nawab Kapur Singh was born is extant in Sheikhupura, Pakistan. According to Dr. Dalvir Pannu, author of the book ‘The Sikh Heritage Beyond Borders’, there is a building, which the locals describe as a Gurdwara; he believes that based on the architecture of the structure, it resembles a Sikh Haveli and does not appear to be a Gurdwara. It may not have been built to commemorate Nawab Kapur Singh; however, the importance of the village cannot be ruled out by the Sikhs as it produced one of their most prominent leaders of the period.

After Banda Singh Bahadur, Nawab Kapur Singh was the most powerful leader who was able to steer the Sikhs through the dark times, while prevailing religious persecution, oppression and disorder. He was able to use his leadership along with diplomatic skills to organize the Sikhs into coherent and well managed groups, who could face mighty armies of Mughals, Persians, and Afghans.

He constantly re-organized the Sikh leadership and groups in order to be most effective in meeting uncertain challenges of the time. He was an altruistic person, who performed his duties and obeyed the commands of his seniors and fellow compatriots. When time came to take upon the leadership role, he humbly bowed and accepted the added responsibilities and the title of ‘Nawab’. He was the first person in Sikh history to have been bestowed a royal title and he fulfilled his duty honorably and earned respect of his fellow co-religionists.

Nawab Kapur Singh was a pious, religious man and Sikhs considered it a privilege and honour to receive ‘Amrit’ (Baptism into the Khalsa fold) from his hands. He baptised many leaders, including Ala Singh of Pholkia Misl, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and others.

He had the foresight and was able to consolidate disparate Sikh groups into Misls and each of these had effective leadership. He was able to bring out the best in people by conditioning them with his positive attributes. He was the mentor of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, who ultimately sat on the throne of Delhi for a brief period in 1783. Nawab Kapur Singh would be considered as first amongst the leaders of his age who paved the path of success and kingship for subsequent generations.

References:

Sri Gur Panth Prakash by Bhai Rattan Singh Bhangu

History of Sikhs vol. 2 and vol. 3 by H. R. Gupta

A History of the Sikhs vol. by Khushwant Singh

A Short History of the Sikhs by Ganda Singh

The Sikh Heritage Beyond Borders by Dr. Dalvir Pannu

Transition of Sikhism Into A Political Organization by Gokul Chand Narang

The British and The Sikhs — Discovery, Warfare and Friendship c1700–1900 by Gurinder Singh Mann

Images: From Google Images

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

1 — From Gurinder Singh Mann’s book The British and The Sikhs