Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

Sukh Jiwan Mal (died 1762) was the Punjabi

Khatri Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...

ruler of Kashmir from 1754 to 1762. He rose from the rank of soldier to governor and then finally became a ruler. He was the first Hindu chief in Kashmir after a gap of nearly 400 years.

Early life

Sukhjiwan Mal was born in Kabul (Afghanistan) to a Hindu Khatri family, with origins from the city of

Bhera Bhera ( pa, ; ur, ) is a city and tehsil of Sargodha District, Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is known for wood-carved items, textiles (such as quilts and khussas), and certain desserts (such as pheonian and pateesa). The city is ...

(

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

History

Background

Kashmir under

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pa ...

rulers was in a bad state. Locals were tortured and killed during the reign of Afghans. The very first Afghan chief Abdullah Khan Isk Aquasi appointed by

Ahmad Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahma ...

would line up all Kashmiris whom he considered rich and would ask them to either part with their wealth or to face death. The Afghan army would often raid and loot common Kashmiri houses.

Rise

After the loot and plunder, Abdullah Khan Isk Aquasi returned to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Ac ...

leaving Kashmir under the charge of Abdullah Khan Kabuli. Kabuli appointed Sukh Jivan Mal as his chief advisor. A local leader of

Kashmiri Muslims Kashmiri Muslims are ethnic Kashmiris who practice Islam and are native to the Kashmir Valley in Indian-administered Kashmir. Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has b ...

, Abdul Hassan Bandey wanted to get rid of the cruel Afghan rulers. Bandey convinced Sukh Jivan Mal to kill Kabuli and become independent. Subsequently, Kabuli was assassinated and Sukh Jivan Mal became the independent ruler after formally getting the title of "raja".

Reign

As the ruler of Kashmir, Sukh Jivan appointed Bandey as his chief minister. As a retaliation,

sent Khwaja Kijak and Abdullah Khan Isk Aquasi to Kashmir. They were both defeated. In another occasion, Afghan

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

were paraded in the streets with Kashmiri crowds spitting at them. The locals of Kashmir were at large happy with the smooth and efficient administration but the happiness did not last very long. A destructive

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accom ...

occurred in 1755 followed by locust attack. These natural calamities forced the locals to desperately eat dead locusts. Sukh Jiwan distributed 80 lakh kg rice for free among the poor people. According to Schwartz, "Kashmir's only respite from economic and political pressures during the Afghan and Sikh rule occurred during the reign of Sukh Jivan Mal, marked by a flowering of literacy activity attached to patronage." Sukh Jiwan held weekly symposiums to which he invited all the poets. He also employed poets to produce history of Kashmir in the style of Book of Kings. Under the advice of Mohanand Dhar, Sukh Jiwan Mal in order to facilitate his work imported many

Hindus from Punjab to Kashmir.

Defeat

When force did not work, Abdali used wit to get control of Kashmir. He attempted to destroy the good relations between Sukh Jivan and Bandey by putting a wedge against them. Taking advantage of this situation, Abdali sent an army led by Nurud-din-Khan Bamzai to Kashmir. A major portion of Raja Sukh Jivan Mal's army including his commander-in-chief Bakth Mal betrayed him. Eventually, he was captured, blinded and sent to Abdali in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

where he was killed by throwing him under an elephant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raja Sukh Jivan Mal Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh