Misr Diwan Chand (1755 – 18 July 1825) was a notable officer and a powerful general 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 ...

's reign. From a petty clerk he rose to the position of chief of artillery and commander-in-chief of the armies that conquered

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

and

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

and also served as the Commander-in-Chief of the 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

Early life

Diwan Chand was the son of a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

shopkeeper of Gondlanwala village (in present-day

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Misr Diwan Chand Information Panel at Gobindgarh fort

Military career

Diwan Chand was bestowed the title of ''Zafar-Jang-Bahadur''—Brave Victor of Battles—by Ranjit Singh. 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 and governor Muzzafar Khan and seven of his sons were killed. In 1819, he led an expedition to Shopian in Kashmir region and conquered it from

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

governor Jabbar Khan. He defeated the Afghans in Some hours.Took Mankera present day Mankera Tehsil in 1821 and he also conquered

Batala Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal cor ...

Pathankot Pathankot () is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the sixth most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal ...

, Mukerian, Akalgarh etc., he also took part in the conquest of

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

and Nowshera.

had a great regard for the general. Once at

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

, the Maharaja had purchased a very precious

hookah A hookah (also see #Names and etymology, 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''), or sometimes Cannabis (drug ...

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

{{Sikh Empire, state=collapsed Military personnel of the Sikh Empire Indian generals Punjabi Brahmins Punjabi Hindus 1825 deaths 1755 births