HARI SINGH NALWA
General Hari Singh Nalwa (April 1791 – 10.4.1837), son of Bhai Gurdial Singh and Dharam Kaur, was born at Gurjranwala. At the age of 14, he joined the army of (Maharaja) Ranjit Singh. The very next year, when he killed a tiger, without any weapon, he came to be known as Nalwa.
Nalwa was a great general. His first great victory was that of Kasur, on February 18, 1807. In 1810, he attacked Multan and defeated Nawab Muzaffar Khan, the chief of Multan. In 1813, he defeated Dost Mohammed Khan in the battle of Attock. In 1818, he finally captured Multan. Kashmir was the next to fall in July 1819.
On August 25, 1820, Hari Singh Nalwa was appointed as the Governor of Kashmir. Nalwa was authorised to issue a coin in his own name. He relinquished the Governor-ship of Kashmir, on November 6, 1821, in order to win more territory. On December 20, 1821, he won Mungher. After this he was appointed as the Governor of Hazara. He founded the town of Haripur (in his own name) and built a fort named Kishangarh. In 1823, he defeated Mohammed Azim Khan and his great army which had declared Jihad (holy war), at Naushehra. In 1834, he suppressed the rebellion at Peshawar.
Hari Singh Nalwa built and renovated several forts including Jamraud, Haripur, Attock, Naushehra. Haripur town in Hazara district of Pakistan was also established by Hari Singh after his own name.
General Hari Singh Nalwa was, now, known as the “Supreme General”. The Afghan dreaded him and according to a tradition the Afghan women used to scare their children by saying Chup Sao Haria Rahiley (Keep quiet, Hari Singh Nalwa is
coming). The Dogras of Jammu did not like Nalwa; hence they had been planning to eliminate Nalwa.
In 1837, he advised (Maharaja) Ranjit Singh to hand over the reign of the kingdom to Punj Piaray, as the Sikh soldiers had been fighting to win the territory in the name of the Panth only. (Maharaja) Ranjit Singh rejected the idea and said that the kingdom was his (Ranjit Singh’s) own. When Dogras came to know about Nalwa’s suggestion, they chalked out a plan to eliminate Nalwa.
General Hari Singh Nalwa fought his last battle at Jamraud, where he died (on April 10, 1837), while leading the battle against the Afghans, headed by Dost Mohammed Khan. During this battle the Dogras (Dhian Sinh, Gulab Sinh etc.) conspired and the necessary military supplies could not reach Jamraud; otherwise the results would have been different. According to another source, Hari Singh Nalwa was killed by one of the Dogra soldiers, who had been employed by Dogra brothers. (Hari Singh Nalwa was shot from a close distance).
On 30 April 2013, the Indian Government issued a postal stamp to commemorate his memory.
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(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)