Shaheedan Misl
The Shaheedan Misl[1] was one of twelve Sikh Misls that later became the Sikh Empire.It was a Sandhu Jat Sikh Misl. It held a small amount of territory in the Malwa (Punjab) area around the Damdama Sahib [2] before being incorporated into the Sikh Empire of the Sukerchakia Misl by Ranjit Singh.
Origins and history
In 1748, Baba Deep Singh was appointed the leader of the Shaheedan Misl and the Mahant of the Takht Sri Damdama Sahib. In 1757, Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India [3] and sent an army to the Harmindar Sahib to block Sikhs from entering the Gurdwara. Baba Deep Singh and a company of men who rode with him to free the gurdwara were killed in the Battle of Amritsar (1757)[4] against the Durrani Army. His successor, Suddha Singh, later led the misl into a skirmish against the Afghan government of Jalandhar City The first two leaders of the misl were considered Shaheeds, or martyrs, by their contemporaries so the misl became known as, Shaheedan, or the followers of the martyrs.[5] Karm Singh, the next leader of the misl, expanded the territory of the misl by annexing several nearby towns to his control. The misl was annexed by the Sikh Empire at some point in the early 19th century and became a part of the Sikh Empire. The Nihang order of Sikhs maintains the traditions of this misl.[2]
Present day roots can be traced to the descendants of Sirdar Bahadur General Gulab Singh of the Shaheedan Misl and Sikh Army.
References
- Bhagata, Siṅgha (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 241.
Deep Singh Shahid, a mazhabi sikh and resident of the village of Pohuwind of the pargana of Amritsar...
- McLeod, W.H. (2005). Historical dictionary of Sikhism. The Scarecrow Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-8108-5088-0.
- Hoernle, August Friedrich Rudolf; Herbert Alick Stark (1906). A history of India. Orissa Mission Press. p. 113.
Ahmad Shah Abdali fourth.
- Jacques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 400. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015.
- Calcutta review, Volume 77. Calcutta: University of Calcutta, University of Calcutta. Dept. of English. p. 159.