Chandu Lal Malhotra (1766 – 15 April 1845 ), better known as Maharaja Chandu Lal was the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

(1833–1844) for 3rd

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

Sikandar Jah Nawab Mir Akbar Ali Khan Siddiqi Bahadur, Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III (11 November 1768 – 21 May 1829), was the 3rd Nizam/Ruler of Hyderabad, India from 1803 to 1829. He was born in Chowmahalla Palace in the Khilwath, the second son of Asaf Ja ...

. He was born in

Hyderabad Deccan Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and ...

(now

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. W ...

) and hails from a family from

Raebareli Raebareli is a city in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Raebareli district and a part of Lucknow Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Sai river, southeast of Lucknow. It possesses man ...

, India. He was also a poet of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

i, Punjabi and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Family

Chandu Lal Sadan's was born in an Arora Malhotra family. His father was Rai Naryen Das, who migrated from

Rai Bareilly Raebareli is a city in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Raebareli district and a part of Lucknow Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Sai river, southeast of Lucknow. It possesses man ...

to Hyderabad State,. His ancestors were Hindus. who served in the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

courts. His family is the founder of the ''Dafter-e-Mal'' (Department of Finance) in Hyderabad Deccan during Nizam ul Mulk Asif Jah I. The future

Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad Bahadur Yamin us-Sultanat (1864 – 13 May 1940) was an Indian noble who served as Prime Minister of Hyderabad twice. He was a childhood friend of the Nizam and was a staunch Nizam loyalist throughout his life. In 1 ...

, was his great-grandson. The family is famously known as ''Malwala Family'' in

In Sikh Darbar

Chandu Shah was a Minister within the court of

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He ...

under the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore ...

. They both had good relations and Chandu Lal Malotra became a General in the

Sikh Khalsa Army The Sikh Khalsa Army (), also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ran ...

. He then converted and became a devout Sehajdhari Sikh. In an agreement between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Nizam of Hyderabad for the construction of a Gurudwara in the spot where

Guru Gobind Singh Ji Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind S ...

died and the Nizam of Hyderabad making it 4 acres large made of marble, Ranjit Singh would give him 24,000 Nihang Sikhs as private unpaid soldiers to quell rebellions.

In Nizam Darbar

He started his career as a subordinate in the customs department of

Kingdom of Hyderabad Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and ...

. Later he received the title of ''Raja Bahadur'' from Nawab

. Sikandar Jah selected him as accounts officer of his army. British historian states "Due to the ladting effect of Chundoo Lal the dominions of the Nizam seem to look like a Sikh one rather than a Mohhamedan." The Nihang forces refused to be paid and said they would only be paid by the Akal Takht. Later after the Anglo Sikh Wars Nihangs fled to the South, where they battled against revolt earning respect by many. It is even noted by historians that Nihangs were used as bodyguards. In 1819 Chandu Lal received the title of ''Maharaja'' from Sikandar Jah and a cash award of one crore

rupees Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, ...

. In 1822 he was made the head of seven thousand horsemen with the title of ''Raja e Rajagan'' from Nawab Nasir ud dawlah. After the death of Monir-ul-Mulk in 1833, Chandu Lal succeeded him as a prime minister.

Prime minister

Chandu Lal was made prime minister of

twice. First in the year 1808 then in 1832 AD and he held the office until 1843 AD.

Poet

Chandu Lal (who used the pen name "Sadan") as a learned man, was a patron of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

poetry and literature. His patronship attracted

Urdu poets The following is a List of Urdu-language poets. 13th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century * Mirza Muhammad Rafi, ''Sauda'' (1713–1780) * Siraj Aurangabadi, ''Siraj'' (1715–1763) *Mohammad Meer Soz Dehlvi, ' ...

to his court. He even invited poets from Northern India like

Zauq Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq (1790–1854) was an Urdu poet and scholar of literature, poetry and religion. He wrote poetry under the pen name "Zauq", and was appointed poet laureate of the Mughal Court in Delhi just at the age of 19. Later h ...

and Baksh Nasikh from Delhi to Hyderabad State but they couldn't turn up for some reasons. Despite the responsibility of his prime ministerial office he used to regularly organize and attend ''

Mushaira ''Mushaira'' ( ur, , Mušā'ira) is a poetic symposium. It is an event (called '' mehfil'', Mushairi) where poets gather to perform their works. A mushaira is part of the Culture of North India, Pakistan and the Deccan, particularly among the ...

''.

References