Sham Singh Attariwala (ca.1790's – 10 February 1846) was a general of 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 ...

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),

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 ...

, in the

Majha Majha ( ''Mājhā''; ; from "mañjhlā" )Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਮਾਝਾ , is a region located in the central parts of the historical Punjab region, presently split between the republics of Pakistan and India. It extends north from the ...

region of Panjab, India. As a child he was educated in Gurmukhi and Persian.

Military career

Portrait painting of Sham Singh Attariwala of the Sikh Empire displayed at the gallery at Ram Bagh Palace museum in Amritsar

When Ranjit Singh became the Maharaja of Punjab, he got Attariwala's services at his disposal.

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 M ...

made him a 'Jathedar' of 5,000 horsemen. He participated actively in many campaigns, notably the campaign of Multan, campaign of Kashmir, campaign of the Frontier Province etc. Sham Singh Attariwala is famous for his last stand at the

Battle of Sobraon The Battle of Sobraon was fought on 10 February 1847, between the forces of the East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the declining Sikh Empire of the Punjab region, Punjab. The Sikhs were completely defeated, making this the ...

. He joined the Sikh military in 1817 and during the

Afghan–Sikh Wars The Afghan–Sikh wars spanned from 1748 to 1837 in the Indian subcontinent, and saw multiple phases of fighting between the Durrani Empire and the Sikh Empire (and its predecessors), mainly in and around Punjab region. The conflict's origin ...

participated in the

Battle of Attock The Battle of Attock (also known as the Battle of Chuch or the Battle of Haidru) took place on 13 July 1813 between the Sikh Empire and the Durrani Empire. The battle was the first significant Sikh victory over the Durranis. Background In 181 ...

, Battle of Multan, Battle of Peshawar, and the 1819 Kashmir expedition.

Administrative career

Sham Singh Attariwala was a prominent courtier at the Lahore Darbar during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and till the ascendency of

Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh (6 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), also spelled Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son ...

. He was part of the delegation led by the crown prince,

Kharak Singh Kharak Singh (22 February 1801 – 5 November 1840) was the second maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from June 1839 until his dethronement and imprisonment in October 1839. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh ...

, sent by Maharaja Ranjit Singh to felicitate

Lord William Bentinck Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British military commander and politician who served as the governor of the Be ...

on 25 October 1831 at the

Ropar Meeting The Ropar Meeting in October 1831 was between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General of the East India Company, on the banks of the river Satluj, in a town of the same name. Ranjit Singh's fame had reached its peak ...

. He was the jagirdar of

Pasrur Pasrur (Punjabi and ), is a historical city of Sialkot District in the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the capital of Pasrur Tehsil and is administratively subdivided into 26 wards of the municipal committee Pasrur. Pasrur i ...

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

, now in Pakistan. When the boy Duleep Singh became the Maharaja, Sham Singh served on the

council of regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the Interregnum, throne is vacant and a new monarch has not y ...

Family

Sham Singh's daughter Nanaki Kaur Attariwala, later Kunwarani Nanaki Kaur, was married to Prince Nau Nihal Singh and upon his accession to the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

became the Maharani of the Sikh Empire.

Death

During the

, unlike the traitors, Lal Singh and Tej Singh, Sham Singh refused to abandon the battlefield and died a patriot's death.