Hukma Singh was the first governor of

Hazara region Hazara (Hindko: هزاره; Urdu: ), historically known as Pakhli, is a region in northern Pakistan, falling administratively within the Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It forms the northernmost portion of Sindh Sagar Doab, ...

in 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 ...

from 1814 to 1819, with headquarters at

Attock Attock ( Punjabi, ), formerly known as Campbellpur (Punjabi, ), is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 36th largest city in the Punjab and 61st largest c ...

. He was a

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

of Chandravanshi Bhati.

Early life

Hukma Singh was born to Ram Singh, a soldier in the

Sukerchakia Misl The Sukerchakia Misl was one of twelve Sikh Sikh Confederacy, misls in Punjab region, Punjab during the 18th century, concentrated in Gujranwala and Hafizabad districts in western Punjab region, Punjab (in modern-Pakistan) and ruled from (1752 ...

. Ram Singh was later killed at Bhula Kariala in a skirmish.

Military career

Hukma Singh joined the

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 Ranji ...

when able to bear arms and distinguished himself in the

Battle of Kasur The Battle of Kasur took place in 1807 between the Sikh Empire and the Afghans and was part of the Afghan-Sikh Wars. The battle was the first significant Sikh victory over the ruler of Kasur. Battle The battle of Kasur was led by Maharaja Ranj ...

in 1807, in which he was severely wounded. He was created a Chief (Sardar) at the same time as

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (29 April 1791 – 30 April 1837) was the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army, Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshaw ...

and received charge of the Ramnagar District and military command of the contingents of the Darap Jagirdars. He fought with the Lahore Chiefs in Pathankot and Sialkot, earning approval from

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 ...

. For his contribution in the battle, Hukma Singh received

Jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

s worth Rs. 60,000 in Ugoki and Roras, and additional Jagirs worth Rs. 40,000 in Sayadgarh, and also a portion of the Sialkot Jagir, which he held for 7 years.

Battle of Attock (1814)

With the help of the

Khattaks The Khattak () tribe is a prominent Pashtun tribe located in the Khattak territory, which consists of Karak, Nowshera, Kohat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. History Origins Multiple British Raj historians have identified the Khatta ...

from the Khairabad area, Yar Muhammad Khan, the governor 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 ...

, attacked the fort of

in 1816 while

Fateh Khan Barakzai Fateh Khan Barakzai or Wazir Fateh Khan or simply, Fateh Khan, was Wazir of the Durrani Empire during the reign of Mahmud Shah Durrani until his torture and execution at the hands of Kamran Shah Durrani, the son of the ruler of the Durrani Empi ...

crossed the Indus River. But the Sikh leaders who were nearby, Hukma Singh Chimni and

Sham Singh Attariwala Sham Singh Attariwala (ca.1790's – 10 February 1846) was a general of the Sikh Empire. Biography Early life He was born in the 1790's in the town of Attari (a few kilometres from the border of Indian and Pakistani Punjab in India), Amri ...

, were able to defeat Yar Muhammad Khan's army and forced them to retreat to the western

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

discovered in May 1816 that Wazir Fatah Khan had reached

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 ...

through the Hazara highlands' Pakhli and Dhamtaur passes. Ranjit Singh responded by designating Dal Singh and Ram Dayal to keep watch at Attock and keep track on Fatah Khan's movements. The consequence was the permanent incorporation of the Attock fort into the

Governor of Hazara

Hukma Singh Chimni was the first Governor of Hazara, holding the post from 1814 to 1819, and initially making his headquarters at Attock. From there, he began the gradual occupation of the

. In order to administer the territory of Hazara, Hukma Singh appointed his own officers. The Hazara territory lying to the northeast of Hassan Abdal was assigned to Lahna Singh Sandhanwalia, who pursued a policy of peace. The tract of Khattak, lying on the right bank of the River Indus, was given in charge to Mahu Singh. The country of

Akora Khattak Akora Khattak ( , Urdu: اکوڑہ خٹک ) or Sarai Akora is a town in the Jehangira tehsil of the Nowshera District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Its location is adjacent to the Kabul River, which converges with the Indus Riv ...

, lying on the west of the Indus and on the north of the tract of Khattak immediately bordering upon the river, was granted to Budh Singh Sandhanwalia who deputed Piara Mai as his assistant. Hukma Singh was noted for his strict and often harsh rule. He had a leading

Yusafzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Malakand Distr ...

chief, Sayyid Khan, executed publicly in 1819, and this act had led to a wide-scale uprising in Hazara. Hazara then revolted against Sikh rule under Sher Zaman Khan. Seeing the rebellion grow,

decided to relieve Hukma Singh of his duties.

References

Year of birth missing Place of birth missing Military personnel of the Sikh Empire {{Sikh-bio-stub