Chand Kaur (1802 – 11 June 1842) was the regent of the
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...
, proclaimed as Malika Muqaddisa (lit.
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
Immaculate) on 2 December 1840. She was born to Sardar Jaimal Singh of the
Kanhaiya Misl. In 1812, she was married to
Crown Prince Kharak Singh, son and
heir apparent
An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839.
Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl ...
and
Maharani Datar Kaur. In 1821 she gave birth to their only son
Nau Nihal Singh, who became second in
line of succession to the throne of
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
.
During her husband's brief reign she served as the
queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...
of the
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...
and became the
Rajmata when her son ascended the throne.
After the deaths of both her husband
Kharak Singh and son
Nau Nihal Singh, she declared herself
regent
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
for the unborn child of Nau Nihal Singh and his pregnant widow
Sahib Kaur. She abandoned her claim when Sahib Kaur delivered a stillborn son and rival
Sher Singh led a successful assault of Lahore.
She was later murdered by her servants on 11 June 1842.
Biography
Chand Kaur was born in 1802 into a Sandhu
Jat Sikh family in
Fatehgarh Churian in the
Gurdaspur District of
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
.
[ Her father was Sardar Jaimal Singh, chief of the Kanhaiya Misl. In February 1812, at the age of ten, she married Kunwar Kharak Singh, the eldest son of Maharaja ]Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839.
Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...
. In 1816, Ranjit Singh officially announced Kharak Singh as his heir apparent
An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
and anointed him "Tikka Kanwar" (Crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent.
''Crown prince ...
) making Chand Kaur the "Tikka Rani Sahiba" (Crown Princess).
Their son, Nau Nihal Singh, was born on 23 February 1821 and in March 1837 he married Bibi Nanaki Kaur Sahiba, daughter of Sham Singh Atariwala.
Reign of son
After the death of Ranjit Singh on 27 June 1839, Kharak Singh was appointed as his successor and Raja Dhian Singh Dogra as his ''wazir'' (vizier
A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
). The new Maharaja only ruled for less than four months until October 1839, when he was overthrown in a coup by his son, Nau Nihal Singh, and Dhian Singh. He was imprisoned at Lahore until his death in November 1840 from slow poisoning. Contemporary chroniclers suggest that the poison had been administered under Dhiān Siṅgh's orders.
Returning from the cremation of his father on 5 November, Nau Nihal Singh went through the gate of the Hazuri Bagh
Hazuri Bagh () is a garden in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, bounded by the Lahore Fort to the east, Badshahi Mosque to the west, the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh to the north, and the Roshnai Gate to the south. The garden was built during the reign of ...
with his companion Udam Singh, son of Gulab Singh, and Dhian Singh's nephew. As they passed through the gate stones fell from above, killing Udam Singh and injuring the prince. Dhian Singh, who was a few steps behind, immediately arranged for the prince to be taken into the fort. Nobody else was allowed into the fort, not even his mother, Chand Kaur, who beat on the fort gates with her bare hands in a fever of anxiety. Eyewitnesses stated that before he was taken into the fort the prince appeared to be only slightly injured, was conscious and asked for water. However, when his mother and friends were allowed in to see him, he was dead with severe injuries to his head.
Rule
After the deaths of Kharak Singh and Nau Nihal Singh, Dhian Singh supported the claim of Sher Singh, the son of Ranjit Singh's estranged first wife, Mehtab Kaur. Chand Kaur turned to Gulab Singh for support. A compromise was proposed that Chand Kaur should adopt Sher Singh's son Pratap Singh.
However, she said that Nau Nihal's widow, Maharani Sahib Kaur, was pregnant and might give birth to a rightful successor. The arrival in Lahore of two powerful opponents of Sher Singh, Sardar Atar Singh Sandhawalia and Sardar Ajit Singh Sandhawalia, settled the matter. On 2 December 1840 Chand Kaur was proclaimed Maharani of the Punjab, with the title Malika Muqaddasa.
On 13 January, Sher Singh arrived in Lahore. The regiments outside the city walls went over to his side, leaving Chand Kaur with 5,000 men and a limited quantity of gunpowder against a force of 26,000 infantry, 8,000 horse and 45 guns. Chand Kaur's troops in the fort fought for two days, but Dhian Singh arrived on the evening of 17 January and arranged a ceasefire. Chand Kaur was persuaded to accept a pension and relinquish her claim to the throne, and on 27 January Sher Singh was formally anointed as Maharaja.
Retirement and assassination
In July 1841 Sahib Kaur's son was stillborn, ending any justification for Chand Kaur's claim to the regency. The dowager Maharani retired to the haveli of Nau Nihal Singh, her son, in Lahore and received a pension of rupees. However her enemies still saw her as a threat and she was battered to death with wooden pikes by her servants on 11 June 1842.[
Her ]samadhi
Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh
''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...
, Maharani Chand Kaur Samadhi, is located near Gumat, Jammu. A magnificent gurudwara, known as Gurudwara Maharani Chand Kaur, has also been built on the same premises and the adjoining neighborhood is known as Chand Nagar. Another of her samadhi exists at The Royal Lahore Garden, to the south of her samadhi, stands the samadhi of her mother-in-law, Maharani Datar Kaur, lovingly called Mai Nakain by her father-in-law, Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839.
Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl ...
. Between the samadhis of the two maharanis is the smaller samadhi of her daughter-in-law, Maharani Sahib Kaur.
Notes
References
{{Authority control
Sikh emperors
Women from the Sikh Empire
1802 births
1842 deaths
19th-century Indian women
19th-century Indian military personnel
19th-century women regents
19th-century regents