12 SIKH MISLS
SIKH MISLS
Post Banda Singh Bahadur’s death, a trend evolved in which fractious, freewheeling bands of warriors of varying strengths scoured the countryside acquiring/defending their possessions, 65 such hands existed, but over time, coalesced into 12 jathas or ‘Miss (Arab for ‘Like’). Otherwise fractious, they united to defend Sikhism when it was under Mughal/Afghan threat. The Misls names were inspired by the name or characteristics off their founder or his place of birth with the Misl chief exercising full authority within his domain. Early credit for Misl unification goes to Nawab Kapur Singh, Jasse Singa Ahluwalia, and, not the least, Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
DHALLEWALIA MISL
The founder-leader of the powerful Dhallewalia Misl was Gulab Singh of village Dhalewal, in the present day Gurdaspur area. Gulaba Khatri was originally a shopkeeper but, after being initiated into the Khalsa cult, he became Gulab Singh. He thereafter actively involved in taking on and seriously degrading the forces of the serial invader Ahmed Shah Abdali. The territories of this misl were in the extreme south west of Jalandhar. His successor, Sardar Tara Singh Gheba was also a famous and enterprising chief of this strong, well led and equipped mis) which had an effective military strength of approximately 8000 Ghorcharras.
KANHAIYA MISL
The founder of the Kanhaiya Misl was-sardar jai Singh who came from village Kahna which is why this brave-heart misl came to be known as Kanhaiya. This misl made great progress under Jai Singh during the unsettled period of Ahmed Shah Abdali’s repeated invasions of Greater Punjab. Mehtab Kaur, the beautiful granddaughter of Jai Singh was married to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The territorial possessions of this misl were in the fertile areas between the Ravi and beas rivers. This misl had a fighting strength of almost 8000 well trained horsemen. Later on, the misl merged itself into the shukarchakia misl.
KARORSINGHIA MISL
Karorsinghia Misl was founded by the intrepid Sardar Karora Singh and was named after its founder. The territorial spread of this misl was on both sides of the Jamuna River. Karorsinghia was one of the strongest misls with 12,000 well-trained Ghurcharras. Baghel Singh, the successor of Karora Singh joined hands with the great warrior Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and cagured the territories surrounding Delhi during the reign of Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II. He negotiated an accord with the Emperor, which Baghel Singh allowed allotment of land at sites of Sikh martyrdom to construct Gurudwaras on historical sites related to Sikhism.
NAKAI MISL
The founder-leader of the Nakai Misl was Sardar Hira Singh. The misl was named after the word ‘Nakka’ which means border or edge. The key misl leaders who followed Hira Singh and took the Nakai Misl forward were Ram Singh, Bhagwan Singh, Nahar Singh and Kahan Singh. The considerable territorial possessions of this misl were spread in the north of Multan district between the Ravi and Satluj Rivers. For political reasons, Maharaja Ranjit Singh was married to Raj Kaur, the beautiful daughter of Sardar Ran singh. The fighting strength of this misl hovered around 2000 horsemen.
NISHANWALIA MISL
The Nishanwalia Misi was a 2000 strong Ghorcharra Sikh misl founded by the Shergill Jats. It was founded by Dasaunda Singh Shergill of village Mansur near Ferozepur. Early on, Dasundha received pahul, the Khalsa initiatory rites and by 1734, he was a leading figure in the Taruna Dal. The Nishanawalia misi, kept as a reserve force at Amritsar, used to act as Standard Bearers of the Khalsa army. Hence the name (nishan: flag or standard, vali: unfurling). He was killed in May 1767 at Meerut and was succeeded in headship of the misi by his younger brother, Sangat Singh.
SUKARCHAKIA MISL
The famous Sukarchakia Misl was founded by Charat Singh, the eldest son of Sardar Naudh Singh and grandfather of the iconic Lion of Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The ancestors of Charat Singh lived in Sukarchak village, Gujranwala; hence the Misl came to be known as Sukarchakia; its territories lying on the northern side of Ravi River. A medium sized misl, it became powerful under the inspirational command of Mahan Singh: Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s father. After his death, his amazingly gifted son Ranjit Singh led the Sukarchakia Miel to unprecedented success, uniting the misis into the remarkably strong Khalsa Army.
AHLUWALIA MISL
The redoubtable Commander of the Dal Khalsa, Sardar Jassa Singh Kalal, was an able, wise and powerful administrator. He brought the Mughals’ Red Fort under the Khalsa flag and eventually founded the Ahluwalia Misl. Jassa Singh was a native of Ahlu village near Lahore and therefore this Misl was called Ahluwalia. The Sikh community as a whole felt immense admiration for his astute leadership, bestowing the title of Sultan-ul-Qaum on him. The territorial spread of this Misl remained confined to the erstwhile Kapurthala state and its environs. Its strength was around 3000 but on occasion, peaked at around 7000 warriors.
Additianal Information
Founder: Sardar Jassa Singh Kalal
Countribution of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
“Sultan-ul-Qaum”
A great advocate of Sikh unification Sikh and a misl leader, Jassa Singh was born in Ahlu, Lahore. He was taught martial-arts by Mata Sundari and Sikh scriptures by Bhai Mani Singh. During Nadir Shah’s invasion in 1739, he helped rescue some Sikh/Hindu prisoners. In 1748, he succeeded Nawab Kapur Singh whom he had assisted in forging Sikh Unity from 65 jathas into 12 misis.
During Abdali’s sixth invasion in 1762, Jassa Singh fiercely contested what became the Wadda Ghallughara, sustaining 64 wounds but surviving. In 1766 he helped defeat the 8th invasion of Abdali. Capturing Kapurthala in 1774, he died in 1783.
BHANGI MISL
Rated as powerful and dominant, this Misl was founded by the great warrior Chajja Singh who hailed from Panjwar village, Amritsar and had taken pahul from Guru Gobind Singh Ji. He had fought against the Mughals as part of Banda Singh Bahadur’sKhalsa Army. He was succeeded by Bhuma Singh, a Dhillon Jat. This warrior earned an enviable reputation for ferociously combating Nadir Shah’s troops in 1739. Lahore, Amritsar, Sialkot, Gujrat, Chiniot and Jhang territories were among the possessions of this Misl which had a fighting strength estimated to be nearly 10,000-12,000 Ghurcharras and a reputation for redoubtable military skill.
SINGHPURIA MISL
Singhpuria Misl also known as Faizalpuria Misl was founded by the great unifier of Sikh misls, Nawab Kapur Singh who captured Faizalpur village near Amritsar from Faizullah Khan and gave it the name of Singhpur. On this account this village became the name of the misl itself. As a soldier in the Army of Banda Singh Bahadur, Nawab Kapur Singh rose to the head of this misl by his bravery, astuteness and leadership qualities and was later succeeded by his nephew Khushal Singh. The territorial possessions of the 2500 strong misl lay along the upper sides of the Sutlej River.
Additional Information
Founder: Nawab Kapoor Singh
Contribution of Nawab Kapoor Singh
Nawab Kapoor Singh, Mislchief of Singhpuria Misl was born in 1697. The period of Nawab Kapoor Singh’s leadership was a period of great challenges and sacrifices. Nawab Kapur Singh by his wise leadership, welded the Sikhs into a strong fighting. force and implanted in their minds the vision of political sovereignity. The title of ‘Nawab’ was bestowed on him by Sarbat Khalsa for his unlimited and selfless services. He organised the Sikh’s confederacy named Budda Dal and Taruna Dal against Mughal’s tyranny. Both wings of the confederacy and collectively known as Dal Khalsa. Because of the unification he consolidated influence in Punjab.
RAMGARHIA MISL
Ramgarhia Misl was founded by Kushal Singh. After him, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, who was a carpenter by occupation, became one of the most prominent chiefs of this misl. A great Sikh warrior, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was considered one of the most valiant Sikh fighters during the iconic period of Nawab Kapur Singh and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia reconstructed the fort of Ramrauni and afterwards, named it Ramgarh, leading to the misl being called the RamgarhiaMisl. The possessions of this misl were parts of Amritsar, Qadian, Batala and the Jalandhar Doab. This misl had approximately 3000 well-armed Ghurcharras.
SHAHEEDAN MISL
The first head of the Shaheedan Misl (the clan of deathless martyrs), Baba Deep Singh Ji, is revered as one of the most hallowed martyrs ever in the heroism laden history of the Sikhs. The chiefs and members of this ferocious misl were descendants of earlier martyrs of Sikhism who had sacrificed their lives for the nobility of the Sikh cause. This was the smallest of all the misls with the fighting strength of around 2000 horsemen. Members of this misl were called Nihangs who wore blue garments. The territorial possessions were in the region west of the Jamuna River.
PHULKIAN MISL
Sikh Warrior Phul Singh founded this misl which had, under its suzerainty, the southern region of the Sutlej River. It was therefore called Phulkian Misl. Phul Singh was a proud Rajput of the Bhatti clan and a descendant of the famous Rao Jesal, the legendary founder of the golden city of Jaisalmer. Subsequently. Sardar Ala Singh became the Chief of the Phulkian Misl from whom the Patiala dynasty evolved. The Phulkian Misl’s territorial footprint encompassed the regions later represented by the princely States of Patiala, Jind, Nabha and Kaithal. The military strength of this Misl was approximately around 5000 warriors.
