Jassa Singh Ramgharia A Heroic Figure of the 18th Century by Prithipal Singh Kapur Book Review
Jassa Singh Ramgharia: A Heroic Figure of the 18th Century
By Prithipal Singh Kapur
Singh Brothers, 2012
90 pages
Introduction
This super succinct book is absolutely packed with historical information in an easy to read format. Once you’ve finished the book you will have a better understanding of Jassa Singh, other Sikh misldars and the landscape of 18th century Punjab.
Breakdown
Overall, it provides an extremely detailed overview of the interesting and complex life of Jassa Singh Ramgharia and explains several key facets: the ancestry of Jassa Singh, Jassa Singh’s birth village, Jassa Singh’s employment, his relationship with other notable Sikh figures and the events that cemented his prominence and more. Unlike most history books, this book includes the different narratives provided by historians in respect of certain events.
The book is broken into twelve rather small yet compact chapters and provides a complete history of Jassa Singh Ramgharia from ancestry and birth in 1723, his employment under Adina Beg from 1740, his achievement of the epithet Ramgharia in 1748, his numerous military engagements and diplomatic interactions with Afghans and Marathas from 1748 to 1767, Jassa Singh Ramgharia’s place in the fraternal infighting of the misls from 1763, Jassa Singh Ramgharia’s expansion of territory from 1767, direct conflict with other Sikh misls from 1774,
The impression that you are left with of Jassa Singh Ramgharia is one of a militarily astute, political able and diplomatically capable individual, from a Khalsa lineage. A professionally trained general, thanks to employment under Adina Beg and, most importantly, a multi-faceted human.
At the age of 16 tasting his first experience of battle and witnessing the death of his father. Soon after becoming a member of the Khalsa and at the age of 26 celebrated Hola Mohalla openly, after the death of Zakariya Khan.
At the age of 44 wishing to increase his own control he came into direct conflict with other Sikh misldars but remained noble, at the age of 52 treated his captive Jassa Singh Ahluwalia with utmost respect and care.
However, this ensured his downfall and retired to the Sutlej, at the age of 53, at the hands of Jassa Singh Ahluwali and the Bhangi Chiefs. This led to the death of Tara Singh, one of Jassa Singh Ramgharia’s brothers and all Jassa Singh Ramgharia’s territories in the Jalandhar Doab being taken by the combined forces of the Ahluwalia, Khaniya, Sukerchakia and Bhangi misls.
From the age of 61 to 73, Jassa Singh Ramgharia deals with constant skirmishes and sieges at the hands of Bhag Singh Ahluwalia and Sada Kaur Khaniya, escaping certain death in 1793 thanks to a flash flood.
From the age of 73 to 76, Jassa Singh Ramgharia’s life was spent reuniting with other Sikh misldars and sardars to combat Zaman Shah, navigating the rise of the Sukerchakia misl and communicating with the British regarding the threat of the Afghans.
In fact, it was only in 1799, when Ranjit Singh learnt of Jassa Singh Ramgharia’s ill health and inability to move, that he set out to capture Lahore. However, even at the ripe age of 76/77, Jassa Singh Ramgharia is said to have covered from his illness, combined with Bhangi Sardars and set out to Lahore. Although there were a few skirmishes, the stand off lasted for two months, came to nothing and indicated to Ranjit resistance towards him was scarce. As a result, the fort of Miani was besieged by Ranjit Singh and Bhag Singh Ahulwalia, in retaliation, nearing almost 80, Jassa Singh attacked the territory of the Ahluwalia chief. In the end, Jassa Singh Ramgharia dies in 1803.
Overall, the image of Jassa Singh Ramgharia is one of a member of the Khalsa who sought to advance the interests of the Khalsa, a military strategist, a warrior of the highest calibre, an individual of unfailing optimism, a compassionate and wise diplomat and in many ways, a forerunner of Ranjit Singh.
The last chapter, only about three and a bit pages, traces Jassa Singh Ramgharia’s descendants.
Conclusion & Rating
The book achieves a 5 out 5-star rating.
The narrative omits dates that would help to provide a more complete narrative, but their omissions makes it easier to read. However, this is a really small criticism of the book and mainly comes from the omission of years of key events such as births, deaths or battles.
It includes a complete history of Jassa Singh Ramgharia and enough context to understand his contemporaries. The author provides alternative narratives proposed by historians in respect of certain events and does so in an objective manner, allowing the reader to understand various narratives more completely. More importantly, the book includes numerous references to just over 80 different historical sources ranging from Abdul Qadir’s “An Unpublished Diary of Sikh Times” to G.R.C Williams, “The Sikhs in the Upper Doab”.
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