54-521: The Sukerchakia Misl was one of twelve Sikh misls in Punjab during the 18th century, concentrated in Gujranwala and Hafizabad districts in western Punjab (in modern- Pakistan ) and ruled from (1752–1801). The misl, or grouping with its own guerilla militia ( jatha ), was founded by Charat Singh of Sandhawalia , grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh . The last Sukerchakia Misldar (commander of
108-462: A spear , matchlock , and scimitar . How the armies of the Sikh misls received payment varied with the leadership of each misl. The most prevalent system of payment was the 'Fasalandari' system; soldiers would receive payment every six months at the end of a harvest . Fauja Singh considers the Sikh misls to be guerrilla armies , although he notes that the Sikh misls generally had greater numbers and
162-410: A 100 paces, they load and repeat the same mode of annoying the enemy. Their horses have been so expertly trained to a performance of this operation that on receiving a stroke of hand, they stop from a full canter." The remainder was separated into Puttees or parcels for each Surkunda, and these were again subdivided and parcelled out to inferior leaders, according to the number of horse they brought into
216-459: A battle against Durrani forces. In the Sikh tradition, a Jatha refers to a group of Sikh volunteers working together for a common cause, whether that cause is violent or peaceful. The term was already in use by the first half of the 18th century amongst the Sikhs but its exact point of origin has not been traced as of yet. The aftermath of the execution of Banda Singh Bahadur and persecution of
270-525: A commonwealth that was described by Swiss adventurer Antoine Polier as a natural "aristocratic republic". Although the misls were unequal in strength, and each misl attempted to expand its territory and access to resources at the expense of others, they acted in unison in relation to other states. The misls held biannual meetings of their legislature, the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar . Each Misl
324-456: A criterion for admission. Charat Singh rose the number of horsemen to around 150. The headquarters of the misl moved from Sukerchak village to Gujranwala after the marriage of Charat to Desan Kaur, the daughter of Amir Singh of Gujranwala, whom had been a close ally to Charat. Amir Singh was an aged but still powerful sardar. Then came Maha Singh (d.1792) who also expanded the Misl further. After
378-511: A hostile force if ordered by the Misldar Supreme Commander. These orders were only issued in military matters affecting the whole Sikh community. These orders would normally be related to defense against external threats, such as Afghan military attacks. The profits of a fighting action were divided by the misls to individuals based on the service rendered after the conflict using the sardari system . The Sikh Confederacy
432-405: A larger number of artillery pieces than a guerrilla army would. The misls were primarily cavalry based armies and employed less artillery than Mughal or Maratha armies. The misls adapted their tactics to their strength in cavalry and weakness in artillery and avoided pitched battles. Misls organized their armies around bodies of horsemen and their units fought battles in a series of skirmishes,
486-515: A new grouping called misls , with 11 Misls forming out of the various pre-existing Jathas and a unified army known as the Dal Khalsa Ji . Ultimate command over the Misls was bestowed to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia . The words Jatha and Jathedar began to fall into disuse after this point, as leaders of Misls preferred the term ' Sardar ' to refer to themselves, due to Afghan influence. After
540-415: A son named Kiddoh. Kiddoh shifted his residence from his native village to the village of Sukerchak in c.1555. The etymology of the name of the later Misl originates from the toponym of this village. The village was located approximately 3 kilometres away from Gujranwala . Kiddoh is said to have been spiritually disposed and started working on the land as an agricultural labourer. Kiddoh died in c.1578 and
594-485: A tactic which gave them an advantage over fighting pitched battles. Bodies of cavalry would attack a position, retreat, reload their muskets, and return to attack it again. The tactics used by misl field armies include flanking an enemy, obstructing river passages, cutting off a unit from its supplies, intercepting messengers, attacking isolated units like foraging parties, employing hit-and-run tactics , overrunning camps, and attacking baggage trains . To fight large armies
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#1732772848812648-502: A village approximately six kilometres from Wazirabad . Whilst Kalu had his residence in Sansi, he gave birth to a son named Jaddoman. Jaddoman became a plunderer associated with the Sansi tribe . He died in c.1515 on a marauding expeditions and was survived by a son named Galeb (also known as Mannu). Galeb also became a plunderer and was renowned for it. He died in c.1549 and was survived by
702-413: Is a description of the political structure, of how all the barons' chiefdoms interacted with each other politically together in Punjab . Although misls varied in strength, the use of primarily light cavalry with a smaller amount heavy cavalry was uniform throughout all of the Sikh misls. Cavalrymen in a misl were required to supply their own horses and equipment. A standard cavalryman was armed with
756-652: The British Raj in the Punjab , northern India. During this time, the British imprisoned many Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims, and many villages and towns being raided by the British colonial police . During these difficult times, Sikhs began forming jathas and new armed squads in British India, and many villages and towns relied on the protection of the Sikh jathas. Sikhs carried out many attacks and assassinations on
810-878: The Dal Khalsa of the Sikh Confederacy in the 18th century. It was a large source of income to the Sikh Misls. The two main divisions in territory between the misls were between those who were in the Malwa region and those who were in the Majha region. While eleven of the misls were north of the Sutlej river, one, the Phulkian Misl was south of the Sutlej. The Sikhs north of the Sutlej river were known as
864-593: The Faizalpuria Misl of Nawab Kapur Singh in 1730. He became wealthy by pillaging the caravans of the invading Afghans and established himself as the local chieftain of Sukerchak. He was severely wounded in 1747 during a fight with Afghans after being shot in the head. At the annual Diwali meeting of the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar in 1748, a Gurmata was passed that reorganized the various scattered and numerous jathas into eleven organized Misls , with
918-692: The Hill States–Sikh wars . Banda Singh Bahadur continued Sikh resistance to the Mughal Empire until his defeat at the Battle of Gurdas Nangal . For several years Sikhs found refuge in the forests and the Himalayan foothills until they organized themselves into guerilla bands known as jathas . The basis of the Dal Khalsa army was established in 1733–1735 based upon the numerous pre-existing Jatha militia groups and had two main formations:
972-1074: The Majha Sikhs while the Sikhs that lived south of the Sutlej river were known as the Malwa Sikhs. In the smaller territories were the Dhanigeb Singhs in the Sind Sagar Doab , the Gujrat Singhs in the Jech Doab , the Dharpi Singhs in the Rechna Doab , and the Doaba Singhs in the Jalandhar Doab . Jatha A Jatha ( Punjabi : ਜੱਥਾ [sg] ; ਜਥੇ [pl] ( Gurmukhi ) ) is an armed body of Sikhs that has existed in Sikh tradition since 1699,
1026-676: The Simon Commission from the British Parliament. There was also a bombing targeting the British courts. Bhagat Singh was said to have been behind most of the actions carried out against the British and was later hanged. Some Sikh jathas such as the Babbar Akali Movement , formed in 1921, rejected non-violence and gave stiff resistance to the British, which led to small battles and assassinations, and eventually by 1939 were down to large shootouts. During
1080-702: The Singhpuria Misl to formally establish the Sukerchakia Misl in Gujranwala . He combined with the Mughalchak missal and extended his rule in Rohtas , Chakwal , Pind Dadan Khan which stood in the Pothohar region of northern Punjab and took Wazirabad under his control. "Chaudhary Charat Singh strengthened his position by matrimonial alliances. Dal Singh Kalianwala of Alipur renamed Akālgarh
1134-483: The partition of Punjab in 1947, many Sikhs began to form armed Jatha squads for both defensive and offensive purposes against Muslims . When British rule came to an end in India, it had to make the crucial decision of determining the borders of the new country of Pakistan. Some historians say the biggest mistake the British made before they left India was splitting the Sikh main land of Punjab in two, giving one half to
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#17327728488121188-417: The 18th century's context for the word. The group of Sikhs protesting and fighting for the freedom of Sikh shrines and places of worship from the control of hereditary mahants were termed Akali Jathas . The term Jatha began to refer to a "band of [Sikh] volunteers going forward to press a demand or to defy an unjust fiat of the government". This semantic of the word is still used. Jathas existed during
1242-476: The British, resulting in many Sikhs arrested and executed. The Sikhs played an influential role in the Indian independence movement . Prominent figures include Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh , who traveled to London and hunted down people who got away with the killings in India. Most Sikh prison inmates were executed after the assassination of the high ranking British officer John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon , head of
1296-524: The Jathas submitted to the authority of the Sarbat Khalsa and attended the annual Diwali convening in Amritsar. If a Gurmata was passed by the Sarbat Khalsa, the Jathas obeyed it. The Mughal government made peace with the Sikhs for a short sliver of time between 1733 and 1735 and allowed the Jathas to reside in Amritsar without being harassed. During this period, Nawab Kapur Singh, leader of
1350-754: The Misl) was Maharaja Ranjit Singh . Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh united all the misls and established an independent Sikh Empire . The earliest traceable ancestor of the Sukerchakia family with reliable historicity was Kalu (died c.1488), a Jat of the Warraich got (clan), who moved in c.1470 from his native village of Bhatian (in modern-day Lahore district ) to Sansara (or Sansi; located in modern-day Ajnala tehsil , Amritsar district , Punjab , India ) with his spouse. Later-on, he would further shift his family to Sand,
1404-562: The Patadari system held their land in complete freedom. The Misaldari system applied to sardars with a small number of cavalrymen as well as independent bodies of cavalrymen who voluntarily attached themselves to a misl. They kept the lands they held before joining the misl as an allotment for their cooperation with the misl. The leaders of these groups, called misaldars, could transfer their allegiance and land to another misl without punishment. The Tabadari system referred to land under
1458-585: The Sikhs at that time, decided to organize the various Jathas into two groups (' Dals ', referring to a "branch" or "section"): the Budha Dal (army of the old) and the Taruna Dal (army of the young). The Taruna Dal itself was further split into five sub-sections. Each sub-section of the Taruna Dal flew its own banner. However, state oppression of the Sikhs shortly after began again and the jathas started dividing themselves into more and more groups. Then on
1512-512: The Sikhs by the Mughal authorities led to the Sikhs gathering in armed nomadic groups, termed Jathas. Each Jatha was headed by a local leader, known as a Jathedar . The Jathedar was chosen based on merit alone, as only the most daring and courageous warrior of a particular band was selected for the honour. Devout Sikhs of the Khalsa joined the various Jathas, which appealed to them to advance
1566-506: The Sikhs of this era, such as zamburaks (camel-mounted swivel cannons) and a long-range musket known as a janjail . The terms "jatha" and "jathedar" were revived during the Singh Sabha movement to refer to "bands of preachers and choirs", an association which survives until the present-day. However, during the later Gurdwara reform movement , the terms began to take on a martial tone once again, resuscitating and harking back to
1620-434: The Sukerchakia Misl forming out of this judgement. When Naudh died in 1752, he had four sons who survived him named Charat Singh, Dal Singh, Chet Singh, and Mangi Singh. Charat Singh was the eldest son of Naudh Singh, the father of Maha Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh. Charat Singh formally created the Sukerchakia Misl. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against Ahmad Shah Abdali and split from
1674-442: The Taruna Dal (Youth Brigade) and the Budha Dal (Elder Brigade). On the annual Diwali meeting of the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar in 1748, a Gurmata was passed where the Jathas were reorganized into a new grouping called misls , with 11 Misls forming out of the various pre-existing Jathas and a unified army known as the Dal Khalsa Ji . Ultimate command over the Misls was bestowed to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia . The misls formed
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1728-438: The age of 25, he expressed a strong desire to become initiated into the religion in Amritsar ( Khande-di-Pahul ). However, due to an accident, he was unable to complete this mission. On his deathbed in 1679, he told his son, Budda (nicknamed Desu after his horse, Desi; born 1670; later given the baptized name of Budh Singh), to get baptized in Amritsar as a dying wish for his son to fulfil. Once he reached an age of maturity, Budda
1782-452: The annual Diwali convening of the Sarbat Khalsa in 1745, a Gurmata was passed that reorganized the Jathas into 25 groups. Yet the number of Jathas kept on ballooning until around 65 Jathas had begun to be known, as recorded by the contemporary Ali ud-Din Mufti in his Ibrat Namah . Finally, on the annual Diwali meeting of the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar in 1748, the Jathas were reorganized into
1836-594: The beginning of the Khalsa (Sikh martial order). A Jatha basically means a group of people. The word derives from the Sanskrit word yūtha , meaning a "herd, flock, multitude, troop, band, or host". After the creation of the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh is said to have created the Damdami Taksal in 1706. Its first Jathedar (leader) was Baba Deep Singh who died at the age of 83 by having his head severed in
1890-537: The cause of their religion and fight oppression. An important selection criterion for joining a Jatha was skill in horsemanship, as cavalry tactics and guerilla warfare was vital to the fighting style of the Jathas against the far more numerous Mughal and Afghan forces. Therefore, agility and maneuverability were the most critical skills that a Sikh had to master to succeed in a Jatha. The Jathas were in ordinary times independent of one another and had to depend on itself to survive, but they co-operated on missions. All of
1944-405: The chief of the misl was known as the sardari and the tabadari and jagirdari systems used land directly given by the chief from the sardari. The patadari and misaldari systems formed the basis of a misl, while tabadari and jagirdari lands would only be created after large acquisitions of land. The type of system that was used in an area depended on the importance of the chief sardar of the area to
1998-464: The control of a misl's tabadars. Tabadars served a similar function to retainers in Europe. They were required to serve as cavalrymen to the misl and were subservient to the misl's leader. Although tabadars received their land as a reward, their ownership was subject entirely on the misl's leader. The tabadari grants were only hereditary on the choice of the chief of the misl. The Jagirdari system used
2052-523: The decline of the Mughals , Maharaja Ranjit Singh united all the misls and shaped a powerful empire in Punjab . (Birth–Death) Sikh Confederacy The Sikh Confederacy was a confederation of twelve sovereign Sikh states (each known as a Misl , derived from the Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal'; sometimes spelt as Misal ) which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in
2106-423: The field. Each took his portion as a co-sharer, and held it in absolute independence. The Sikh Misls had four different classes of administrative divisions. The patadari, misaldari, tabadari, and jagirdari were the different systems of land tenure used by the misls, and land granted by the misl left the responsibility of establishing law and order to the owner of the land. The land under the direct administration of
2160-501: The grant of jagirs by the chief of the misl. Jagirs were given by the chief of the misl to relations, dependents, and people who "deserved well". The owners of jagirs were subservient to the chief of the misl as their ownership was subject to his/her needs. Like the Tabadars, jagirdars were subject to personal service when the chief of the misl requested. However, because jagirs entailed more land and profit, they were required to use
2214-472: The hardwork of his predecessors. With this small fortune, he became a lender and eventually worked his way up to become a banker. When he died in c.1653, he was succeeded by two sons named Balu and Bara. Baru is the first ancestor of the Sukerchakia family who had associations with Sikhism , as he was a follower of the founder, Guru Nanak , and an avid reader of the Adi Granth (as it was then known). At
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2268-471: The high degree of skill required to execute it. George Thomas and George Forster, contemporary writers who witnessed it described its use separately in their accounts of the military of the Sikhs. George Forster noted: "A party from forty to fifty, advance in a quick pace to a distance of carbine shot from the enemy and then, that the fire may be given with the greatest certainty, the horses are drawn up and their pieces discharged, when speedily, retiring about
2322-405: The landlord of Gujranwala area that he renamed as Shukar Chak (meaning: "thanks for the land"). The very beginning and earliest traces of the Sukerchakia Misl can be traced to Nodha Singh constructing a minor fortress in his native village of Sukerchak, along with gathering a small jatha of 30 horsemen to protect his locality from invading Afghans . He and his group of horsemen would later join
2376-402: The misl would completely evacuate the areas in front of the enemy's marching route but follow in the rear of the opposition and reconquer areas the enemy had just captured, threaten agents of the enemy with retribution, and sweep over the countryside in the wake of the enemy's withdrawal. The Running Skirmish was a tactic unique to the Sikh cavalrymen which was notable for its effectiveness and
2430-530: The misl. The Sardars would then divide their parcels among their Surkundas, and then the Surkundas subdivided the land they received among their individual cavalrymen. The Surkundas receiving parcels of land with settlements were required to fortify them and establish fines and laws for their zamindars and ryots . Parcels of land in the patadari system could not be sold, but could be given to relatives in an inheritance . The soldiers who received parcels from
2484-440: The money generated by their jagirs to equip and mount a quota of cavalrymen depending on the size of their jagir. Jagirdari grants were hereditary in practice but a misl's chief could revoke the rights of the heir. Upon the death of the owner of a tabadari or jagadari grant, the land would revert to direct control of the chief (sardari). The Rakhi system was the payment-for-protection tributary protectorate scheme practiced by
2538-437: The northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent and is cited as one of the causes of the weakening of the Mughal Empire prior to Nader Shah's invasion of India (1738–1740). In order to withstand the persecution of Shah Jahan and other Mughal emperors , several of the later Sikh Gurus established military forces and fought the Mughal Empire and Simla Hills' Kings in the early and middle Mughal-Sikh Wars and
2592-430: The rest of the misl. The Patadari system affected newly annexed territories and was the original method used by the misls in administering land. The patadari system relied on the cooperation of surkundas, the rank of a leader of a small party of cavalrymen . The chief of the misl would take his/her portion and divide the other parcels among his Sardars proportional to the number of cavalrymen they had contributed to
2646-492: The rise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the establishment of the Sikh Empire , various aspects of 18th century Sikhism, including Jatha formations, were abolished. 18th century warriors of a jatha were equipped at-first with knobbed clubs , spears , battle axes , bow and arrows , and matchlocks . As mandatory for a Khalsa, all the warriors were equipped with a long-sword and dagger ( kirpan ). Some but not all of
2700-578: The warriors wore body armour, excluding helmets. Horses were incredibly valued and mounts of high-quality were targeted during raids on the enemy transport convoys (columns and baggage trains). Later-on as the Jathas succeeded in capturing hostile resources, they came into the possession of more firearms in the form of matchlocks to equip their ranks with. The Sikhs avoided the use of heavy-artillery pieces as it impeded their military strategy of being quick and mobile. As per Rattan Singh Bhangu in his Panth Prakash , some light-artillery pieces were used by
2754-461: Was baptized into the Khalsa order by Guru Gobind Singh himself and was renamed as Budh Singh. Budh Singh was a warrior of high repute in his time. When Budh Singh died in 1716, his wife committed suicide so they were cremated together. He was survived by two sons, Naudh Singh and Chanda Singh. Chanda was the progenitor of the Sandhawalia family of Raja Sansi . Chaudhary Naudh Singh was
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#17327728488122808-456: Was made up of members of soldiers, whose loyalty was given to the Misl's leader. A Misl could be composed of a few hundred to tens of thousands of soldiers. Any soldier was free to join whichever Misl he wished, and was free to cancel his membership of the Misl to whom he belonged. He could, if he wanted, cancel his membership of his old Misl and join another. The Barons would allow their armies to combine or coordinate their defences together against
2862-408: Was married to the sister of Charat Singh. Sohel Singh Bhangi was married to the daughter of Charat Singh. Sahib Singh Bhangi, son of Gujar Singh, was married to another daughter, Raj Kaur. Charat's Singh's son Mahan Singh was married to the daughter of Jai Singh Mann of Mughalchak ." During the time of Charat Singh, men were only able to join the misl after having been first baptized into the Khalsa as
2916-457: Was survived by two sons named Rajadab and Premu. Rajadab would open a grocery store in the village, worked also as an agriculturalist, and was versed and literate in the Landa script . Rajadab died in c.1620 and left behind three sons named Nilu, Telu, and Takht Mal. Only Takht Mal survived past childhood into adulthood, whom benefited from the intergenerational wealth that was passed down to him from
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