Little is known about Sada Kaur’s early life. As the young wife of Gurbaksh Singh, the brave and handsome son of Jai Singh Kanhaya, whose Misl was by then one of the most powerful in Punjab, she would have enjoyed a certain level of prominence. However, despite the egalitarian ideals of the Sikh faith, men were unequivocally in control of the destiny of Punjab and Sada Kaur seemed fated to live the fairly typical life of a wife and mother. In 1782, a daughter was born to her and Gurbaksh Singh bringing great joy to the young couple. They named her Mehtab Kaur, in honour of the moon. The future looked bright for the scion of the Kanhaya Misl and his family.
Jai Singh, a powerful chief in his own right, had always felt threatened by the might of the Bhangi Misl, clearly the most powerful. In 1774, he joined forces with Charat Singh, the chief of the fledgling Sukerchakia Misl and took on the Bhangis on the banks of the river Basantar near Jammu. Charat Singh died in the battle in an accident as he tried to set off an explosive charge, but the Bhangis were defeated and their territories in Jammu changed hands. Charat Singh was succeeded by his son Maha Singh, who started to look upon his erstwhile Kanhaya ally with suspicion as Jai Singh went from strength to strength, wresting Batala and Kalanaur from the Ramgarhia Misl and sacking the city of Sirhind. By the end of 1775, Jai Singh had also managed to subjugate Sansar Chand, the proud ruler of the kingdom of Kangra with its legenadary thousand-year-old fort.
In 1781, Raja Ranjit Deo of Jammu, a tributary of the Bhangi chief died and was succeeded by his son Brij Raj (Brij Lal) Deo. Jammu was a wealthy kingdom and hence of great interest to the Kanhaya-Sukerchakia alliance. Brij Raj Deo reached out to Haqiqat Singh, one of the Kanhaya chiefs, through Maha Singh, proposing that they help him wrest back territory ceded to the Bhangis by his late father. As a reward, he promised Haqiqat Singh a reward of thirty thousand rupees. The Kanhayas, who had just concluded a marital alliance with the Bhangis, were somewhat reluctant and joined the battle half-heartedly. When the territories were finally won back, Brij Raj Deo reneged on his promise to pay the thirty thousand rupees, enraging the Kanhayas. This prompted Haqiqat Singh to propose to Maha Singh that they join forces and plunder the legendary wealth of Jammu. Maha Singh agreed but stole a march on his allies and in late 1783 plundered Jammu, reportedly carrying off as much as ten million rupees worth of booty. The Kanhayas felt that they had been defrauded and demanded half of the booty from Maha Singh, which he refused to share. Haqiqat Singh died of pneumonia and the leader of the Kanhayas, Jai Singh took it upon himself to take Maha Singh to task and make sure that Haqiqat Singh’s son, Jaimal Singh got his fair share.
After the death of Charat Singh, Jai Singh Kanhaya had become the young Maha Singh’s mentor, assisting him in his early conquests and even arranging his marriage to Raj Kaur, the daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind. He felt betrayed by his protégé and swore vengeance. On the festival of Diwali in 1784, several of the Misl chiefs including Jai Singh and Maha Singh, assembled in Amritsar, as was their custom. Maha Singh visited Jai Singh with an offering of sweets in an attempt at reconciliation but was rudely rebuffed. It is said that when Maha Singh came to pay his respects, Jai Singh covered his face with a sheet and pretended to be asleep, as his former protégé sat for hours in attendance. The next day, an ultimatum was sent to Maha Singh to cede the ten million plundered from Jammu and restore the territories he had seized from various Sikh chiefs or face the consequences.
Maha Singh made common cause with Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, another powerful Sikh chief, who had been expelled beyond the Sutlej by the Kanhayas after his territories had been annexed. He also recruited the Raja of Kangra, Sansar Chand, who had been reduced to vassalage of the Kanhayas. The forces of Maha Singh, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Sansar Chand started to converge on the Kanhyas. Jai Singh stayed back in Batala and sent his son Gurbaksh Singh at the head of the Kanhaiya forces to engage with the invaders. In February 1785, a fierce battle was fought at Ramdevpura in which Gurbaksh Singh was struck by an arrow in the chest and mortally wounded. Jai Singh, who had by then joined the battle, was devastated. In The History of The Punjab, Mohammad Latif writes:
When Jai Singh saw that his gallant son had fallen in the engagement, after hand-to-hand combat with his adversaries, he burst into tears, emptied his quiver of its arrows and dismounting from his horse, exposed himself to the enemy’s fire. Such was the respect for the old veteran that none dared to approach him in his grief and all quietly withdrew.
Hounded by the Ramgarhias, Jai Singh Kanhaya retreated to Pathankot, ceding his capital, Batala. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia had taken his territory back from the Kanhayas. This according to Latif, was the beginning of the decline of the Kanhaya Misl.57
The twenty-three year old Sada Kaur was a widow. Her world had crumbled. She had been the wife of one of the most powerful and respected men in Punjab, the heir to the mighty Kanhaya Misl. She now had to flee barefoot for her life as the Ramgarhia forces rampaged through Batala. It would have been all too easy for Sada Kaur to fall into despair. The loss of her husband was devastating enough and the life of a powerless widow that inevitably loomed ahead must have felt terribly daunting, but it was in her darkest days that her mettle came to the forefront. She recognised that the Kanhaya Misl was completely emasculated and that her own position within it was tenuous. The star of her most bitter enemy, Maha Singh, the Sukerchakia chief was in ascendancy and she decided to swallow the bitter pill and seek an alliance with his family.
Even though Jai Singh had two younger sons, his hopes were now pinned on his daughter-in-law, Sada Kaur, a woman of exceptional ability and courage. Maha Singh, the Sukerchakia chief proposed that Sada Kaur’s only daughter Mehtab Kaur be betrothed to his son Ranjit Singh. Sada Kaur agreed and the engagement ceremony took place in 1785. The alliance was a master stroke; it united the Kanhayas, one of the most powerful Misls, whose fortunes were on the decline but who still had considerable assets including a large army and the Sukerchakias, whose star was ascendant.58
Other accounts such as Hari Ram Gupta’s claim that Sada Kaur approached the young Ranjit Singh’s mother Raj Kaur, in 1786, when the lad was recovering from a virulent bout of smallpox. Raj Kaur had gone to Jwalamukhi to pray at the Temple of Sitla Devi, believed to be the goddess of smallpox, for her son’s continued health and Sada Kaur followed here there to broach the thought of a matrimonial alliance.
However it came about, it was a brilliant move, and its significance ended up far exceeding any expectations that the wily Sada Kaur might have had.
Sada Kaur’s carefully laid plans seemed to suffer a setback when Maha Singh suddenly fell ill while besieging the fort of Sodheran, where Sahib Singh Bhangi had sought refuge after a falling out with the Sukerchakia chief. Maha Singh anointed his ten-year-old son’s forehead with saffron paste, investing him as the new chief of the Sukerchakias and returned to Gujranwala. The Bhangis, hearing of his illness rushed to break the siege of Sodheran but were ambushed and routed by the lad and his forces. Maha Singh passed away but not before he got tidings of his son’s great victory. Ranjit Singh’s ascension had gone smoothly but his future seemed uncertain in the face of the entrenched and hostile interests that surrounded him.
The young chief was content to leave the management of his affairs to Diwan Lakhpat Rai, his late father’s trusted lieutenant, who had the confidence of Ranjit Singh’s mother, Raj Kaur. Sada Kaur allied herself with Dal Singh, Raj Kaur’s brother, who possibly had designs on Ranjit Singh’s territories and the resulting intrigues and counter-intrigues severed only to embitter Ranjit Singh, who started spending more time away from home, hunting and carousing with his companions.
Raj Kaur, who had become anxious about her son’s future, approached Sada Kaur and suggested that it might be time for their children to wed, hoping that marriage might settle him down a bit. Sada Kaur, of course was only too happy to acquiesce and an auspicious date was set for the nuptials. At the age of fifteen, Ranjit Singh rode to Batala at the head of a wedding party
and was married to Mehtab Kaur in a lavish wedding celebration attended by all the leading Sikh Chiefs.
Unexpected events conspired to give Sada Kaur increased influence over her son-in-law, two years after the wedding. Diwan Lakhpat Rai was mysteriously murdered while collecting revenue and Raj Kaur, Ranjit Singh’s mother, died as well. Conflicting accounts exist about what transpired. Traditional Sikh sources such as Sohan Lal Suri are silent on the matter, but British sources as well as Latif tell a treacherous tale of licentiousness and matricide which allege that Ranjit Singh’s mother was dispatched by his own hand when he discovered her affairs with multiple lovers, as was Diwan Lakhpat Rai.59 Khushwant Singh is dismissive of these somewhat sensational accounts calling them ‘one of the many examples of character assassination to which Ranjit has been subjected by many historians.’60
Regardless of the veracity of salacious rumors, it is an indisputable fact that of those who had supported and guided Ranjit Singh after his father’s death, Sada Kaur was now the sole mentor left.
It was not, however, smooth sailing as her daughter and son-in-law had anything but a harmonious marriage. Mehtab Kaur was beautiful and haughty and Khushwant Singh speculates that she was probably not very well disposed towards her husband because the death of her father at the hand of his father was a wound too deep to heal. The marriage did not produce heirs for a while and Sada Kaur must have been devastated when Ranjit Singh took a second wife, Raj Kaur, the daughter of the Nakai Chief Sardar, Ran Singh. In his work, The Real Ranjit Singh, Fakir Syed Waheedudin writes that Raj Kaur brought ‘sweetness and light into Ranjit Singh’s life and provided for him a focus of interest in his home’. Sada Kaur left Ranjit Singh’s side and returned to her home in Batala, taking her daughter with her, her plans to secure the future of her daughter and the Kanhayas in tatters!
The coming of the Afghans and the threat they represented, however, presented an opportunity for a rapprochement and Sada Kaur seized the moment, propelling her son-in-law towards his destiny and once again establishing herself as a trusted advisor and mentor.
Word started to spread in Punjab and beyond about the rise of a young leader who had successfully crossed swords with the feared Afghans. Collins, the British Resident or representative in Delhi at the time wrote: ‘At the present this chief is regarded throughout Hindustan as the protector of the Sikh nation, it being generally believed that where it not for the fortitude and excellent conduct of Ranjit Singh the whole of Punjab would ere this have been become a desert waste since it is the boast of these northern savages, the Afghans that the grass never grows where their horses have once trodden.’
Lahore, which had always been the capital of Punjab, was in the hands of three Sardars of the Bhangi Misl, Chet Singh, Sahib Singh and Mohar Singh. Khushwant Singh pithily describes them as follows: ‘Like peasants who suddenly come into money these men spent their time in drinking and fornication or in squabbling amongst themselves and so disturbing the peace of the city.’ They ruled the city with the assistance of prominent Muslim advisors, Mian Ashak Mohamed and Mian Mohkam Din. The son-in-law of Mian Ashak Mohamed was arrested by Chet Singh on trumped-up charges and not released despite petitions from the leaders of the Muslim community. Driven to distraction by the conduct of the Bhangi rulers, some of the leading citizens of Lahore—Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims—petitioned both Ranjit Singh and Sada Kaur, detailing the profligacies of the rulers and begging for relief.
A singular opportunity had presented itself! Ranjit Singh rushed to Batala to consult with Sada Kaur, who advised immediate action.
The forces of the Sukerchakia and Kanhaya Misls were combined into one army and its ranks bolstered by Akali brigades. Ranjit Singh and Sada Kaur had already dispatched Qazi Abdul Rehman to negotiate with the citizens of Lahore and apprise them of the impending assault on the city. Arrangements were made for the gates to be opened when the invading force arrived. The force of twenty-five thousand marched in the scorching heat just as the monsoon was about to arrive, nominally the worst possible time for a military campaign. It was the last day of Muharram, a holy Muslim day when the Shias in particular marked the anniversary of the death of the Prophet’s grandsons. By nightfall, the city was engaged in carousing and revelry, providing an opportunity to the invaders to silently encircle its walls.
As the day broke, Sada Kaur directed her forces to the Delhi Gate on the east side of the city walls and Ranjit Singh led his detachment to the Lahore Gate in the south. Mian Mohkam Din announced that he was taking over the administration of the city and ordered the gates thrown open. Sada Kaur and Ranjit Singh thundered into the city at the head of their horsemen and took the city almost without any bloodshed at all!
Sada Kaur’s eighteen-year-old son-in-law was the master of the capital of Punjab!
The other Sikh chiefs were not willing to let the young upstart enjoy his gains for long. In early 1800, a powerful coalition of rival Sardars formed under the leadership of Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, including Gulab Singh Bhangi of Amritsar, Sahib Singh Bhangi of Gujrat, Jodh Singh of Wazirabad and Nizamuddin of Kasur left Amritsar to wrest Lahore from Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh engaged them in battle with inconclusive skirmishing continuing for a couple of months. Sada Kaur engaged the Ramgarhia forces, led by Jodh Singh, the son of the ageing Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and broke their back, ending the challenge to her son-in-law that the coalition presented.
Sada Kaur was now firmly entrenched as Ranjt Singh’s ally, the role she played in the capture of Lahore and subsequently in helping him consolidate power, clearly underscoring her value to the young chief.
The setback came from an unexpected quarter! On 22 February, 1801, Raj Kaur, the second wife of Ranjit Singh delivered a healthy baby boy, who would be named Kharak Singh. The already precarious position of Sada Kaur’s daughter, Mehtab Kaur, was further weakened because she had been unable to produce an heir. Ranjit Singh, until then had hesitated to formally assume the title of king of Punjab. He was viewed as an upstart by his fellow chiefs, most of whom were much older than he was and whose combined strength was considerable. However, he was acutely aware that many benefits would accrue from his taking the title in terms of legitimising his hold over Lahore and Punjab. Besides he was immensely popular among the common people, much more so than his rival chiefs ever had been, his successes against the Afghans, in particular, having fired the imaginations of the masses. The birth of a son must have strengthened his resolve even further! Naming Kharak Singh heir-apparent must have proven irresistible to the young chief, who, egged on by his ambitious mother-in-law, had been dreaming very large dreams.
When Ranjit Singh sought her help, Sada Kaur reconciled herself to the notion of her daughter playing second fiddle to Raj Kaur and threw the weight of her encouragement and support behind her son-in-law. Being a smart woman, she could not but be aware that as Ranjit Singh’s power grew, that of the rival Misls would inevitably decay. Continuing to stay in Ranjit Singh’s good books was clearly the best way for her to ensure that the Kanhaya dominions stayed intact. She was of course hopeful that her daughter would bear sons eventually and would inherit her large and wealthy holdings.
The coronation of Ranjit Singh as the Maharaja of Punjab, which occurred on 12 April, 1801 must have been a bittersweet moment for Sada Kaur. On the one hand, her protégé now sat on the throne of Punjab as its undisputed master. However, the heir to that throne was not a grandchild of hers, and her daughter’s prospects for the future and by extension, her own, seemed bleak.
Even so Sada Kaur remained a trusted advisor to Ranjit Singh. A careful reading of Sohan Lal’s Umdat Ut Twarikh as well as Latif’s work, History of the Panjab, shows innumerable references to military campaigns that Sada Kaur participated in personally. There is also repeated mention of her superior strategic thinking and negotiating skills, which often helped Ranjit Singh achieve his goals without unnecessary bloodshed. When Ranjit Singh decided to take Amritsar, Sada Kaur marched with him, but by and large, after
that campaign she receded into the background, spending most of her time in Batala as her son-in-law went from strength to strength, winning battle after battle and expanding his kingdom. She spent more than six years in the wilderness biding her time and in December 1807, her fortunes seemed to change when Mehtab Kaur delivered twin boys, who were to be named Sher Singh and Tara Singh.
There is controversy about the parentage of Sher Singh and Tara Singh. This is what Latif has to say about their birth:
The babies that were presented to Ranjit Singh were not his children or Mehtab Kaur’s either. While he was away on a campaign, Sada Kaur started a rumour that Mehtab Kaur was pregnant, for a childless wife would always be out of favour, her primary responsibility being the production of a male heir. Two babies were purchased, one from Nehala, a chintz weaver and a native of Mokerian in the Hoshiarpur district which was then a part of Sada Kaur’s territory and Tara Singh from a Muslim woman, daughter of Manki, a slave girl. Ranjit Singh was too shrewd to be deceived but he liked the idea of being called a father and he accepted both as sons and called them Shahzadas or princes.61
Lepel Griffin, in Ranjit Singh has a similar story to tell and disparages Tara Singh as an ‘idiot’ and Sher Singh as ‘an exceedingly handsome, brave and stupid man’. Khushwant Singh, however, vigorously opposes the notion of Sher Singh and Tara Singh’s illegitimacy, ascribing these tales to court intrigue and vested interests.62
In the Umdat Ut-twarikh, Sohan Lal cryptically refers to the birth of Sher Singh but curiously does not mention twins.
Notwithstanding any controversy about birth or parentage it is an established fact that the birth of the sons brought about a small revival in Sada Kaur’s fortunes and it is not hard to believe that the wily matriarch of the Kanhayas would have started plotting ways and means to ensure her grandson’s succession to the throne!
The Camel Merchant of Philadelphia Page 16