Mahan Singh Mirpuri

Sardar Raja Mahan Singh Mirpuri Bali (born in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir) was a famous general in the Sikh Khalsa Army, and was the second-in-command general to General Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa.[1] He was conferred by Maharaja Ranjit Singh the title of Raja for his conquests of Haripur, Nowshehra and Peshawar. The town of Mansehra derives its name from him.

Early life

Mahan Singh was born in New Mirpur City, which is now located in the Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. He was the grandson of Himmat Singh Bali , and his father Daata Ram was a counselor to Sultan Mukkarb Khan, the Gakhar Subedar of Gujrat. Singh Mirpuri born a Brahmin Hindu took amrit and became a Sikh (a follower of the Gurus)[2].

Military career and later Life

While in Lahore in search of a job, he happened to participate in a hunting expedition of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, in which he caught the notice of the latter by single-handedly killing a leopard with his sword. Impressed by his valor, the Maharaja had him inducted into the army under the famous General Hari Singh Nalwa.

Mahan Singh played a key role in the battles of Peshawar and Kashmir, and in the 1818 siege of Multan, was seriously wounded two times. He went on to become second-in-command to Hari Singh Nalwa. In April 1837, he was the main defender of the Jamrud Fort, holding out against an invasion by Afghans. In the subsequent battle, Hari Singh Nalwa was done to death but Mahan Singh maintained the news secret until reinforcements arrived from Lahore.

Mai Desan, the widow of Hari Singh Nalwa, adopted Mahan Singh as her son and solemnized his marriage into a Mohan family of Gujranwala according to Muhiyal traditions.

Sardar Raja Mahan Singh was murdered by his own soldiers in 1844, when mutiny broke out in the Sikh Khalsa Army.

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See also

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Generals

References
  1. The history of the Muhiyals: The militant Brahman race of India'' (English,1911) by T.P. Russell Stracey
  2. ''Mohyal History'' (Urdu, 1940) Chuni Lal Dutt
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