Hari Singh Nalwa- Champion of the Khalsa Ji (1791-1837)

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About the Book The Kingdom of the Sikhs, or the Sarkar Khalsaji, was a manifestation of the spiritual path initiated by Guru Nanak that was eventually crystallized into the tradition of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh. In 1799, the Sikhs established their kingdom in that part of the Indian subcontinent most traumatized by the invaders.

The Sarkar Khalsaji stretched from the banks of the Satluj to the very foothills of the Hindu Kush Mountains in the trans-Indus region. Hari Singh Nalwa was the Commander-in-Chief at the most turbulent North West Frontier of Ranjit Singh's kingdom. He took the frontier of, the Sarkar Khalsaji to the very mouth of the Khyber Pass. For the past eight centuries, marauders indulging in loot, plunder, rape and forcible conversions to Islam had used this route into the subcontinent. In his lifetime, Hari Singh became a terror to the ferocious tribes inhabiting these regions. He successfully thwarted the last foreign invasion into the subcontinent through the Khyber Pass at Jamrud, permanently blocking this route of the invaders. Even in his death, Hari Singh Nalwa's formidable reputation ensured victory for the Sikhs against an Afghan force five times as numerous.

Hari Singh Nalwa's performance as an administrator and a military commander in the North West Frontier remains unmatched. Two centuries on, Britain, Pakistan, Russia and America have been unsuccessful in effecting law and order in this region.

This book chronicles the spectacular achievements of Hari Singh Nalwa, the celebrated general of the Indian subcontinent. His life exemplified; the tradition established by Guru Gobind. Singh such that he came to be hailed as the 'Champion of the Khalsaji'.

About the Author Vanit Nalwa is a Consultant Psychologist and Hypnotherapist and heads Empower-Consulting-Psychologists. She conducts personal enrichment programmes for individuals and companies. Vanit taught Psychology for over a decade at the University of Delhi, India, and at Assumption University, Thailand.

Vanit received a Ph.D. in Neuropsychology (1984) from the University of Delhi, India. She was a recipient of the Commonwealth Scholarship to do post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford, UK (1986). Vanit won a Fulbright Scholarship to train at the National-Institutes of Mental Health, Maryland, Bethesda, USA (1991). Her research work has been published in Indian and International scientific journals. She has authored two • books, besides numerous articles in the popular press.

Preface During an interview with a correspondent, about my work as a personal enrichment trainer, I was asked about my surname. As I began to recount the story of how my ancestor, Sardar Hari Singh, acquired the cognomen' alwa', I realized how little I knew about my ancestry. A couple of days following this interview came 11 September 2001. The events of that day changed the world order and sent everyone scurrying to locate Afghanistan on the nearest map.

I commenced my search for information on the ancestor who had spent a lifetime subduing the Afghans in the first half of the nineteenth century. I found Hari Singh's contribution in consolidating the Kingdom of the Sikhs chronicled in Persian, Urdu, Gurumukhi, English and even Marathi. The information, however, was fragmentary and scattered. History needed to be a faithful record of facts relating to events as they happened. My training as a scientist led me to those sources of information that best met this criterion. My Endeavour was to rely on information recorded nearest to the time of occurrence of the relevant events. I have presented the information such that its source may be available to the reader.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the British East India Company governed 'Hindustan' from their headquarters at Fort William in Calcutta. 'Sikh Affairs' were under the charge of their 'Foreign Department'. British agents, stationed at Ludhiana, were deputed to keep an eye on the affairs of the Punjab. The national Archives of India, we Delhi, had in its collection detailed reports dispatched to the British Governor-General spanning the period of the Sikh Kingdom. The information incorporated in these records was truly phenomenal.

A report by one such agent was used by the Secretary in the Persian Department of the East India Company to compile the first book on Maharaja Ranjit Singh, ruler of the Punjab. This book, published during Hari Singh's lifetime, remained a ready reckoned for information on the Kingdom of the Sikhs.

Reports by the functionaries of the East India Company on spying missions - Charles Masson, Alexander Burnes and William Moorcroft - provided eye-witness accounts. Mohan Lal Kashmiri and Shahamat Ali, both employees of the East India Company, presented an even more knowledgeable Indo-British view. The British Gazetteers, compiled after the annexation of the Punjab, filled in many of the gaps.

European travelers through the Punjab - Godfrey Thomas Vines, Reverend Joseph Wolff and Baron Charles von Hugel - rendered their personal, often unbiased, first-hand accounts of their meeting with Hari Singh alwa. Baron von Hugel was the most outstanding of the three. This German had taken part in the war against napoleon and had thereafter travelled widely in Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia. The journal relating to his travels in South India, Punjab and Kashmir was translated from German into English and published under the patronage of the Honorable Court of Directors of the East India Company. Every 'India man' of consequence read his book. The British translator of his work referred to him as a 'nobleman of high birth and great good sense'.

Hegel’s observations were of special interest because he did not entertain the prejudice of the English rulers of Hindustan or the bias of Muslim historians.

The most authentic indigenous source consulted was the five volumes of Sohan Lal Sur its Lahore Court chronicle - a diary of events maintained contiguously with the rule of the Sikhs. There was a remarkable concordance between the court chronicle and the British reports. There were two other sources of information from within the Punjab that were consulted. The first was a compilation of letters written by a spy retained by the Deccan Peshwa at Ranjit Singh's court. The second was an account rendered by young Amarnath before he gained employment with Ranjit Singh as the paymaster of the Irregular Cavalry.

Following Hari Singh Nalwa's death, leading poets in the Punjab penned ballads in 'his memory. Besides supplementing information on the Sardar's career, these works lent an invaluable insight into how he was viewed by the people of the Punjab. The family record of the Nalwas with the Pandas at Haridwar and Pehowa revealed much more than Hari Singh's genealogy. During the course of the research, I discovered a rich collection of artistic renderings of Hari Singh with private collectors and museums worldwide.

The archival and other records reveal the amazing story of the most formidable general of the Sikh Kingdom, Sardar Hari Singh alwa. It chronicles his achievements and participation in the reversal of eight centuries of history of the Indian subcontinent. Hari Singh Nalwa was not only instrumental in wresting a large portion of the Kingdom of Kabul, but also successfully governed it. The Sikh Kingdom retained its independence from the Afghans and the British. In the mid-twentieth century, the larger part of the erstwhile Sikh Kingdom went to form Pakistan. Two centuries on, Hari Singh's major field of operation - the north West Frontier Province, the region from where the Taliban arose - continued in a state of violent ferment. Hari Singh was instrumental in queuing of the first indigenous jihad uprising in the Indian subcontinent.

I owe a deep sense of gratitude to Sardar Guru Pratap Singh, Fellow ITP (India) - my sounding board for every aspect of this work. In the true spirit of kar sewa, he most carefully read the manuscript and gave me detailed feedback. I am grateful to him for helping me with the maps included in the book. He kindly translated numerous Persian documents; he also transliterated and translated all the poetry in Gurumukhi incorporated herein.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages