Misr Diwan Chand was a notable officer and a powerful general 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 ...

's reign. He rose from petty clerk to the Chief of Artillery and Commander-in-chief of the armies that conquered

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the olde ...

and Kashmir and also served as the Commander-in-Chief of Khalsa Army from 1816 to 1825.Punjab History Conference, Thirty-ninth session, March 16–18, 2007: proceedings, Navtej Singh, Punjabi University. Dept. of Punjab Historical Studies and was a notable pillar of the state.

Early life

Diwan Chand was the son of a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

shopkeeper of Gondlanwala village (in present-day Gujranwala,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Military career

Diwan Chand was honoured with the title of ''Zafar-Jang-Bahadur''—Brave Victor of Battles from

. Diwan Chand rose from the post of Artillery Chief to the Chief Commander of Khalsa Army in 1816. He suppressed the rebellion of Tiwana nawab of Mitha Tiwana and forced him to pay tribute. Diwan Chand captured

in 1818 governor Muzzafar Khan and seven of his sons were killed. In 1819, he led an expedition to

Shopian Shopian or Shupiyan (), known as Shupyan () in Kashmiri, is an administrative division of the Shopian district, located in southern part of Kashmir Valley, of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Shopian is called the ''Apple town of Kashmir'' as majority ...

in Kashmir region and conquered it from

Durrani The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan ( Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, b ...

governor Jabbar Khan. He defeated the afghans in Some hours.Took Mankera present day Mankera Tehsil in 1821 and he also conquered Batala, Pathankot, Mukerian, Akalgarh etc., he also took part in the conquest of Peshawar and Nowshera.

had a great regard for the general. Once at

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Maj ...

, the Maharaja had purchased a very precious

hookah A hookah (Hindustani: ( Nastaleeq), (Devanagari), IPA: ; also see other names), shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco (often '' muʽassel ...

from a Hindustani merchant, although this was against the injunctions of his own religion. He presented the hookah to Misr Diwan Chand to mark the high esteem in which he was held by the Maharaja. Permission was also given to him to smoke. The contribution of Misr Dewan Chand in the making of the Maharaja's empire has also been under-estimated by British historians who have described him as a “hookah-smoking general'. It is a fact that Maharaja had once presented him a hookah himself.

Title

He was a great warrior and general who achieved the title of ''Fateh-o-Nusrat-Nasib'' (one who never lost in war) and Zafar-jang-Bahadur (conqueror in wars) from

himself and was made Governor of Kashmir.

References

{{Reflist People of the Sikh Empire History of Punjab Punjabi people