Zakariya Khan (died 1 July 1745), alternatively spelt as Zakaria Khan, was the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

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

of the

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

and

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 ...

subah A ''Subah'' is a term for a province or state in several South Asian languages. It was introduced by the Mughal Empire to refer to its subdivisions or provinces; and was also adopted by other polities of the Indian subcontinent. The word is derive ...

s from 1726 till his death in 1745, succeeding his father,

Abd al-Samad Khan Abd al-Samad Khan Al-Ansari or Abd-us-Samad Khan Al-Ansari (died 1737), also known simply as Abdus Samad Khan, was the Mughal Empire, Mughal subahdar of Subah of Lahore, Lahore Subah from 1713 to 1726, and of Multan Subah from 1726 until his d ...

, at the both posts. He was descended from the Ansari family of Panipat. He continued and extended his father's policy of severe persecution of Sikhs, and thousands of Sikhs were killed during his period and post his death, especially during the

Chhota Ghallughara ''Chhota Ghallughara'' ( , "Smaller Massacre") was a massacre of a significant proportion of the Sikh population by the Mughal Empire in 1746. The Mughal Army killed an estimated 7,000 Sikhs in these attacks while an additional 3,000 Sikhs w ...

Biography

Zakriya Khan was given control of

by Persian Emperor

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

during his invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1738 in return for annual tribute payments to the Persian crown. He continued the persecution of Sikhs and appointed Salabat Khan to block Amritsar and not allowing Sikhs to worship there. Zakaria Khan condemned the religious martyr,

Haqiqat Rai Haqiqat Rai (1720–1734) was an 18th-century boy from Sialkot, who was executed in Lahore during the time of Zakariya Khan. Life Haqiqat Rai di Var According to Akkra's ballad, Haqiqat was born into a Hindu Khatri family of Sialkot; his fa ...

, to death. According to prominent early Sikh historian

Ratan Singh Bhangu Ratan Singh Bhangu (ca.1785 – 10 February 1846) was a Sikh historian and Nihang who wrote about the Sikhs' struggles and rise to power in Punjab region, North India, in his book Prachin Panth Prakash. This work describes how the Sikh people c ...

, in response to having his scalp torn off,

Bhai Taru Singh Bhai Taru Singh (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਭਾਈ ਤਾਰੂ ਸਿੰਘ; – 1 July 1745) was a prominent Martyrdom in Sikhism, Sikh martyr known for sacrificing his life, for protecting his Sikhism, Sikh values, by having had his head ...

cursed Zakaria Khan, saying he would be killed by his shoes. According to Sikh sources, after cutting Bhai Taru Singh's scalp, Zakaria Khan was stricken with unbearable pain and the inability to urinate. As a last resort, Khan sent an apology to the Khalsa Panth for his persecution of Sikhs and begged for forgiveness. It was suggested that if Khan hit himself with Singh's shoes, his condition might be lifted. Although it would cure Khan of his condition, he died 22 days later from having hit himself with the shoes, just as Singh predicted. Zakariya Khan died in 1745 and was survived by three sons: Yahya Khan, Hayatullah Khan, and Mir Baqi. Yahya Khan and Hayatullah Khan were at the imperial court at the time of the father's death whilst Mir Momin and Nimmat Khan were away on an expedition against the Hill States. Salabat Khan was killed in an encounter with

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the supreme leader of the Dal Khalsa (Sikh Army), Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia (misl), Ahluwalia Mi ...

and Sikhs liberated Amritsar in March 1748.

In popular culture

Film and television

Zakariya Khan is portrayed by: * Shaikh Sami in the

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is an Indian state-owned entertainment television channel, founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is the flagshi ...

series ''

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 ...

'' *

Avtar Gill Avtar Gill (born 14 May 1950) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the De ...

in the 2023 film '' Mastaney''

References

{{reflist 18th-century regents 1745 deaths

Biography

In popular culture

Film and television

See also

References