Sobha Singh (Sikh chieftain)

Sobha Singh Kanhaiya of Niazbeg,[1] his first name is alternatively spelt as Suba or Soba, was one of the triumvirates who ruled over Lahore, alongside sardars Lehna Singh Kahlon[2] and Gujjar Singh of the Bhangi Misl, prior to the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.[3][4][5][6][7]

Not to be confused with Sobha Singh (painter) or Sobha Singh (builder).

Biography

He was from the Kanhaiya Misl.[8] With its Governor of Punjab Lehna Singh Kahlon Installed by Pashtun King Amir Ahmad Shah Abdali 1747–1772 of Afghanistan Durrani Known as Kings of Kings first crossed the Indus River in 1748, the year after his ascension – his forces sacked and absorbed Lahore during that expedition. The following year (1749), the Mughal ruler was induced to cede Sindh Delhi, Vrndavana Mathura and Kashmir and all of the Punjab including the vital trans Indus River to Afghan Pashtun forces of the Durrani Empire.

On 17 April 1765, Sobha Singh Kanhaiya joined the joint capture of Lahore by Gujjar Singh and Lehna Singh Kahlon.[9]

For thirty long years Lehna Singh Kahlon[note 1], Gujjar Singh Banghi and Suba Singh ruled supreme and kept paying the Afghan Pashtun Ahmad Shah Abdali 1747–1772 and his offspring Timur Shah 1772 – 1793 an annual sum as Taxes.

The Lahore Fort and the Walled Lahore City and its gates went to Lehna Singh Kahlon. He was, for formal purposes, the Governor of Lahore, and was so recognized.

To Suba Singh went the area to the south of the Walled Lahore City, and he resided in the garden of Zubaida Begum in Nawankot, where he built a small fort for himself.

The area between Amritsar and Lahore, or more correctly between the Shalamar Gardens and Lahore, went to Gujjar Singh Banghi.

Gujjar Singh Banghi erected that part of the city, then a jungle and invited people to settle there. He also dug wells to supply water. A mosque was also built for the Muslims in the area. He also built himself a small fort called Qila Gujar Singh. Today, a few walls of that old fort can be seen in a street between today's Nicholson Road and Empress Road, and the area is still called Qila Gujar Singh.

On a final note, their rule of ended when Ranjit Singh besieged the Lahore Fort in 1799 and the three chieftains Lehna Singh Kahlon, Gujjar Singh Banghi and Suba Singh fled, leaving the city firmly in the hands of the young man from Gujranwala Ranjit Singh.

See also

Notes
  1. Not to be confused with Lehna Singh Majithia

References

A history of the Sikhs by Kushwant Singh

  1. Singh, Teja (1999). A short history of the Sikhs. Volume one, 1469-1765. Ganda Singh (3rd ed.). Patiala: Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 177. ISBN 978-81-7380-007-8. OCLC 235973547.
  2. Singh, Bhagat (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Publication Bureau, Patiala Punjabi University. p. 67.
  3. Sheikh, Majid (2021-01-10). "Harking Back: Forgotten 30-year Sikh rule before Ranjit Singh". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  4. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Vol. 2. Harbans Singh. Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. pp. 541–542. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Chowdhry, Mohindra S. (2018). Defence of Europe by Sikh soldiers in the World Wars. Kibworth Beauchamp. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-78901-098-5. OCLC 1032183994.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. Sikka, Ajit Singh (2003). The complete poetical works of Ajit Singh Sikka. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 1137. ISBN 81-269-0256-6. OCLC 588497615.
  7. Singh, Rishi (2015). State Formation and the Establishment of Non-Muslim Hegemony : Post-Mughal 19th-century Punjab. New Delhi: SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-93-5150-504-4. OCLC 1101028781. Abdali then wrote a letter to Lehna Singh with an offer of governorship of Lahore, which was refused. As soon as Abdali left Lahore, Lehna Singh, Gujar Singh and Sobha Singh returned to take over the administration of Lahore.
  8. Sheikh, Majid (2015-06-28). "HARKING BACK: Amazing genius of Gujjar Singh and his Lahore 'qila'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  9. Singh, Dalbir (6 June 2019). "Suba of Lahore: A Victorious of the Sikhs" (PDF). International Journal of Research in Social Sciences. 9 (6): 1414.
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