Shaikh Ghulam Muhy-ud-Din () was a

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 ...

-era administrator who served as

Nazim Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province), Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who ...

(governor) of

Jalandhar Doab Doaba, also known as Bist Doab or the Jalandhar Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River and the Sutlej River. People of this region are given the demonym "Doabia". The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Doaba ...

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 ...

during 1834–1841 and 1841–1846, respectively. He was succeeded by his son Shaikh Imam-ud-Din in both positions after his death.

Biography

Muhy-ud-Din was born in a poor Punjabi family in

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a Municipal corporations in India, municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the ...

to Shaikh Ujala, who worked as a

munshi During the Mughal Empire, ''Munshi'' () came to be used as a respected title for persons who achieved mastery over language and politics in the Indian subcontinent. Use in Bengal The surname "Munshi" ( Bengali: মুন্সি) is used by bot ...

for Sardar Bhup Singh of

Guler State Guler was a minor kingdom in the Lower Himalayas. Its capital was the town of Haripur Guler, in modern-day Himachal Pradesh. The kingdom was founded in 1415 by Raja Hari Chand, a scion of the ancient royal family of Kangra. The etymology of t ...

. He started his life as a shoe-maker. Later he took up service of Diwan Moti Ram and accompanied his son Kirpa Ram when the latter was appointed governor of Kashmir in 1827. Kirpa Ram entrusted to him the deputy-governorship. After four years Kirpa Ram was recalled and like him Muhy-ud-Din also faced imprisonment and fines due to the allegations of mismanagement. After a year Muhy-ud-Din regained his position and was sent with Prince

Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 followi ...

to Kashmir to rehabilitate the shawl industry, again serving as deputy-governor during 1832–1834. In 1834 he was appointed governor of Jalandhar Doab and remained so until 1841. Muhy-ud-Din was appointed to Kashmir in 1841 after the previous governor, Mehan Singh, was killed in a mutiny. In 1843 a Sikh army numbering 7000 men was defeated at Kahori by Sher Ahmad, the Bomba chief. In the same year Muhy-ud-Din ended several discriminatory measures that had been imposed on the

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

since the Sikh conquest in 1819, such as reopening the

Jamia Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''Friday prayer, jumu'ah' ...

for prayers after 25 years and permitting the calling of '' Azan''. In February 1845 he offered the British to transfer his allegiance to them on the condition of keeping the possession of Kashmir. However, the British government was not interested in elevating any Muslim chief to power in this sensitive region. Muhy-ud-Din unexpectedly died on 24 March 1846, possibly due to the shock of hearing the news of Kashmir being sold to the

Dogra dynasty The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shivalik hills created Jammu and Kashmir through the treaties with the East India Company following the First Anglo-Sikh war. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820, ...

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

under the

treaty of Amritsar A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

. He is also suspected of having been poisoned. Muhy-ud-Din was buried in the

khanqah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...

of Makhdum Shaikh Hamza in

Hari Parbat Hari Parbat (), also called Koh-i-Maran (), is a hill overlooking Srinagar, the largest city and the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is the site of the Hari Parbat fort, built by the Durrani Empire, and of a Hindu temple, mosques, a ...

, Srinagar. He was succeeded by his son Shaikh Imam-ud-Din as the governor.

References

Sources

* * * * {{cite book , last=Lawrence , first=Walter Roper , author-link=Walter Roper Lawrence, chapter =Political History, title=The Valley of Kashmir , publisher=London: H. Frowde , year=1895 , url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.234537/page/n212, oclc=1149016 1846 deaths