Hari Singh Nalwa, Who captured Afghanistan

[Blackwater]

Hari Singh Nalwa (Punjabi: ਹਰੀ ਸਿੰਘ ਨਲਵਾ) (1791–1837) was Commander-in-chief of the Khalsa, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Multan, Kashmir, Attock, Peshawar and Jamrud. In 1813 he accompanied Diwan Mohkam Chand on an expedition to Kashmir which helped Maharaja Ranjit Singh to become the master of the Koh-i-Noor diamond.[3]
Hari Singh Nalwa was responsible for expanding the frontier of Sikh Empire to beyond the Indus River right up to the mouth of the Khyber Pass. In 1831, he opposed moves by Ranjit Singh to appoint Kharak Singh as his successor as Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.[4] At the time of his death, the western boundary of the Sikh Kingdom was Jamrud. His frontier policy of holding the Khyber Pass was later used by the British Raj.


He served as governor of Kashmir, Peshawar and Hazara and established a mint on behalf of the Sikh Empire to facilitate revenue collection.


Hari Singh's ancestors came to Majitha and served the Sukerchakia Misl. His grandfather, Hardas Singh, was killed in action in 1762. His father, Gurdial Singh, served under Charat Singh and Maha Singh as a Risaldar and received the Jagir of Balloki, a village in the modern day Kasur District of Pakistan.[4]
Hari Singh Nalwa was born into an Uppal Khatri family, in Gujranwala, Punjab to Gurdas Singh uppal and Dharam Kaur.[5] After his father died in 1798, he was raised by his mother with help from his uncle. His mother fought off attempts to seize the family's Jagir after his father's death. In 1801, at age ten, he took Amrit Sanskar and was baptized as a Sikh.[6] At the age of twelve, he began to manage his father's estate and took up horseriding.[citation needed]


In 1804, at the age of fourteen, his mother sent him to Ranjit Singh's court to resolve a property dispute.[6] Ranjit Singh decided the arbitration in his favour and asked him about his background. Hari Singh explained that his father and grandfather had served under Maha Singh and Charat Singh, the Maharaja's ancestors, and demonstrated his skills as horseman and musketeer.[6] Ranjit Singh gave him a position at the court as a personal attendant.


His military career began in 1804 on a hunting trip. At some time during the hunt, he was temporarily separated from the hunting party and a lion attacked him, killing his horse. The rest of the hunters found him but he refused their attempts to protect him and killed the lion by himself with a shield and short sword.[1] Ranjit Singh rewarded him with a commission as Sardar and the command of 800 cavalry.


Sir Henry Griffin called Nalwa the "Murat of the Khalsa".[citation needed] He participated in the conquests of Sialkot, Kasur (1807), Multan (1818), Kashmir (1819), Pakhli and Damtaur (1821-2), Peshawar (1834)[7] and finally Jamrud in the Khyber Hills (1837).[8] He defeated the Afghans and annexed a segment of what was the Kingdom of Kabul to the Sikh Kingdom. In Peshawar, he rebuilt the Bala Hisar Fort in Ranjit Singh's name.

Hari Singh served as the governor of both Kashmir and Peshawar. A coin minted in Kashmir came to be known as the 'Hari Singhee'.[9] The coin is on display in museums.
[edit]Legacy

Hari Singh Nalwa built the fortified town of Haripur, Pakistan in 1822. This was the first planned town in this entire region. Haripur city, tehsil and district, in Hazara, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, are named after him.[10]

Hari Singh Nalwa's sons Jawahir Singh Nalwa and Arjan Singh Nalwa carried forth his legacy and valiantly fought against the British. Jawahir Singh's heroic defense in the Battle of Chillianwala went down in history.[11]
[edit]Plaudits



"General Hari Singh Nalwa seated in full armor adopting a militant stance" by Sir John McQueen
Hari Singh Nalwa's meeting with British travellers and a German are recorded. Baron Charles von Hügel remembers him fondly in his memoirs. He met the Sardar at his residence in Gujranwala. On that occasion the German was given a portrait of Nalwa in the act of killing a tiger. Hari Singh Nalwa was fluent in the Persian language. He was conversant with Punjabi, Gurmukhi script and Pushtu, the latter being the language of the Pashtuns. He was familiar with world politics, including details about the European states.


Accolades continued to be delivered long after Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa's death.[12] Pannikar sums him up as "The noblest and the most gallant of the Sikh generals of his time, the very embodiment of honour, chivalry, and courage..."[13]
For decades after his death, Yusufzai women would say "Raghe Hari Singh" ("Hari Singh is coming") to frighten their children into obedience.[14]




The only person in the world who defeated afghans and tribal areas(north and south waziristan) of Pakistan.:thumb::thumb::thumb:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari_Singh_Nalwa

 

[Blackwater]

He has achieved what Russian, American, Nato failed to achieved.

 

[Godless-Kafir]

What is that long pink thing in his hand?

 

[Blackwater]

What is that long pink thing in his hand?

Danda which he put in mughal's A..s.s and captured kabul:taunt1::taunt1:


anyhow it is his "SHAMSHEER" AKA "TALWAR" AKA "SWORD":thumb::thumb:

 

[rock127]

The only person in the world who defeated afghans and tribal areas(north and south waziristan) of Pakistan.:thumb::thumb::thumb:

But didn't Ranjit Singh defeated those tribals as well? He ruled Afghanistan too.

 

[Blackwater]

But didn't Ranjit Singh defeated those tribals as well? He ruled Afghanistan too.

He was Ranjeet Singh right hand General ,Pls read wiki link... He fought all wars on behalf of his king Ranjeet singh:thumb::thumb:

 

[rock127]

Ok got it... I read about Nalwa long time back... it was said that he was kinda terror among Afghans... and his name was used to scare kids "So ja nahin to Naluwa aa jaega".

That was indeed golden period of Sikh Empire because they were able to capture the land often termed as graveyard of empires.The best in this empire was that muslims were not forced to convert rather assimilate in the empire and became part of Ranjit Sing's fauj.

 

[Blackwater]

Ok got it... I read about Nalwa long time back... it was said that he was kinda terror among Afghans... and his name was used to scare kids "So ja nahin to Naluwa aa jaega".

That was indeed golden period of Sikh Empire because they were able to capture the land often termed as graveyard of empires.The best in this empire was that muslims were not forced to convert rather assimilate in the empire and became part of Ranjit Sing's fauj.

This part is true here in Holland i met few afghan families and they confirmed that also

 

[devgupt]

I first read about Ranjit Singh in Class 8 history book, but it was a small section. It was in class 10, while preparing for board exam , and having an eye on scoring good marks, I read advanced history books and was amazed by the feats of Ranjit Singh- it almost looked incredible. The Afghans had been successfully invading us since the dawn of first millennium and as late as 18th century. And here was an Indian king who actually invaded and ruled them just a few decades later.It was mesmerizing.

 

[ashdoc]

the important thing about this is that the afghans were never able to recover peshawar after nalwa captured it---that peshawar which was the winter capital of the afghan kings . after the demise of the sikh empire peshawar went into british hands and then into pakistani hands .

thus the barbarians who had invaded india time and again were taught a lesson they would never forget......:thumb:

 

[pmaitra]

^^

Peshawar was historically Indian anyway. Purushottam Puru, or Porus, was from the region around Jhelum and Chenab rivers and Peshawar was probably his territory. Territories change hands all the time.

So after Chandragupta Maurya, Hari Singh Nalwa was the second Indian General to have captured major parts of Afghanistan. There was another Rajput King who allied with Akbar and raided Kabul, but he never captured those territories. All the wealth they brought were hidden in Amber Palace, that was allegedly taken away by India Gandhi and given to World Bank in lieu of loans. [this is hearsay]

BTW, I see that Peshawar is close to Kabul river, the river that lends its name to Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Interesting history.

 

[KS]

The only person in the world who defeated afghans and tribal areas(north and south waziristan) of Pakistan

Did not Alexander also share such honors ?

 

[pmaitra]

^^

Nadir shah, yes; Alexander, no. He came, he conquered, fell in love with Rukhsana, had a baby, died of disease, and soon after, Afghanistan was taken over from Seleucus Nicator by Chandragupta Maurya. The Greek conquest was very short lived.

Also, Chandragupta Maurya. The Mauryas ruled most of Afghanistan for 300 years, which shines above the Greek conquests.

However, in modern times, with 'human rights' and similar things styming any possibility of full scale territorial conquest, we should not expect any country just going an capturing another country.

 

[devgupt]

^^

Nadir shah, yes; Alexander, no. He came, he conquered, fell in love with Rukhsana, had a baby, died of disease, and soon after, Afghanistan was taken over from Seleucus Nicator by Chandragupta Maurya. The Greek conquest was very short lived.

I had just finished reading the Romance of Alexander by Valerio Manfredi, and couldn't ressist the urge.Forgive me for nitpicking - the name is Roxana.
However I second your assessment of Alexander's conquest -Alexander defeated them, but the Greeks couldn't rule them.

 

[Blackwater]

^^

Peshawar was historically Indian anyway. Purushottam Puru, or Porus, was from the region around Jhelum and Chenab rivers and Peshawar was probably his territory. Territories change hands all the time.

So after Chandragupta Maurya, Hari Singh Nalwa was the second Indian King to have captured major parts of Afghanistan. There was another Rajput King who allied with Akbar and raided Kabul, but he never captured those territories. All the wealth they brought were hidden in Amber Palace, that was allegedly taken away by India Gandhi and given to World Bank in lieu of loans. [this is hearsay]

BTW, I see that Peshawar is close to Kabul river, the river that lends its name to Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Interesting history.

Hari singh Nalwa was commander in chief of Maharaja Ranjeet singh. king was Ranjeet Singh

 

[Blackwater]

Did not Alexander also share such honors ?

Did Alexander killed a tiger with just small dager in hand alone ??????


Nalwa did. Historian called him Bagh -mar.:thumb::thumb:

 

[pmaitra]

Alexander is also over-hyped IMHO.

I doubt Alexander ever killed a tiger or a lion. He was a military genius, and probably covered more territory, so he gets a lot of credit. However, the Mongol Horde conquered way more territory than Alexander. Nobody calls them great.

History is, after all, His Story. His, as in the historian's.

One who can kill a large wild feline is indeed brave.

 

[pmaitra]

Hari singh Nalwa was commander in chief of Maharaja Ranjeet singh. king was Ranjeet Singh

Oh thanks for the correction. Yes, Ranjit Singh was the King, and Nalwa was the general.

 

[Virendra]

The only person in the world who defeated afghans and tribal areas(north and south waziristan) of Pakistan

Hail Hari Singh Nalwa :thumb: .. but hold your horses on that one. Allow me to sprinkle few drops of history from my FB page. Will keep it concise I promise

Rajputs in Afghanistan, a prelude and the Pachrangaa:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Raja Bhagwant Das (1564-89) was the eldest son of Raja Bihar Mal of Amber, both contemporary to Jalaluddin Akbar. The son of Bhagwant Das was prince Man Singh who later became the foremost Military General and counsel of Akbar from the 16th century.
Raja Bhagwant Das and Man Singh led totally around 22 battles in Afghanistan over a decade crossing the Attock, Indus and Khyber Pass many times.
In 1585 AD the father-son duo crossed defeated the five rebelious Afghan tribes (including Yusufzai, Mandar) in the gruesome battle of Kabul.
The tribes flags of different colors were snatched from them. These 5 colors were later incorporated in the flag of Kachchwaha's and the till now Katchanar flag was now called Pachrangaa (5 colored). Shadman Beg, the acclaimed superhero of Afghan army was mortally injured and fled back. Consequently Mirza Muhammed Hakim the ruler of Afghanistan, the sender of that army fled from his capital Kabul, which wasn't a part of Mughal empire then.
The immense spoils gained from these victories was one of the very few examples of previously looted Indian wealth making its way back home.
Thus arrived wealth of Kachchwaha Kings laid a strong foundation which enabled the rulers to later fund and build a city as marvelous as 'Jaipur'.
Rajputs not only kept the Afghans at the northwest frontier under check but also deterred Persian (under Shia rulers) interest in the region.
Man Singh became the viceroy of Afghnistan and administered it from the capital Kabul.
To be continued ....

So, you see I'm not a pro in history and though would want to share a lot of exciting stuff .. I would resist from making sweeping conclusions.
Rajputs not only defeated Afghans, they made a nice pudding of their flags.

Regards,
Virendra

 

[Blackwater]

Alexander is also over-hyped IMHO.

I doubt Alexander ever killed a tiger or a lion. He was a military genius, and probably covered more territory, so he gets a lot of credit. However, the Mongol Horde conquered way more territory than Alexander. Nobody calls them great.

History is, after all, His Story. His, as in the historians.

One who can kill a large wild feline is indeed brave.

At some time during the hunt, he was temporarily separated from the hunting party and a lion attacked him, killing his horse. The rest of the hunters found him but he refused their attempts to protect him and killed the lion by himself with a shield and short sword