1.

How did Ranjit Singh conquer the weak Misls?

Answer»

Ranjit Singh was a shrewd politician. He befriended the rulers of powerful Misls. He started occupying the territories of weak misls with their help. From 1800 to 1811 A.D., he conquered the following Misls :

1. Conquest of Akalgarh (1801 A.D.): In 1801 A.D. after the battle of Bhasin, Dal Singh of Akalgarh (maternal uncle of Ranjit Singh’s father) and Sahib Singh of Gujarat started preparations for the attack on Lahore. When Ranjit Singh, came to know about it, he attacked Akalgarh and made Dal Singh a prisoner. Soon after this, Dal Singh was released and he died after some time. Ranjit Singh annexed his territory into his Kingdom. He gave a small tract of land to the widow of Dal Singh.

2. Occupation of Chaniot (1802 A.D.): Chaniot was under Jassa Singh, son of Karam Singh. In 1802 A.D., with the help of Fateh Singh Ahluwalia, Maharaja Ranjit Singh attacked Chaniot. Jassa Singh was defeated and Ranjit Singh occupied Chaniot.

3. Conquest of Malwa by Ranjit Singh (1806 A.D.): In 1806 A.D., there arose a quarrel between Raja Sahib Singh of Patiala and Raja Jaswant Singh of Nabha on the question of the Doladhi village. Jaswant Singh, through the medium of Raja Bhag Singh of Jind, invited Ranjit Singh to settle their dispute. Ranjit Singh attacked the Malwa region. He brought twenty thousand horsemen with him. Fateh Singh Ahluwalia stood by the Maharaja in capturing the Doladhi village, Ranjit Singh proceeded towards Patiala. He got a large amount of Nazrana from the rulers of Patiala, Nabha and Jind. On his way back, Ranjit Singh also occupied Ludhiana, Raikot, Jagraon and Ghungrana.

In 1807 A.D. Ranjit Singh attacked Malwa for the second time. The Raja of Patiala, Sahib Singh and his wife Aas Kaur were on bad terms. Ranjit Singh got a chance to interfere in their internal affairs. On reaching Patiala, he got a heavy amount as ‘Nazrana’ from Sahib Singh of Patiala. After this, he captured the areas of Naraingarh, Wadni, Zira and Kotkapura. He also got Nazrana from the rulers of Kaithal, Shahbad, Ambala, Kalsian and Malerkotla.

4. Conquest of the Dallehwalia Misl: The leader of the Dallehwalia Misl, Tara Singh Gheba was quite powerful. So Ranjit Singh could not conquer this Misl while he was alive. After Tara Singh’s death in 1807 A.D., Ranjit Singh defeated his widow at Rahon and captured all the territories of the Dallehwalia Misl.

5. Conquest of Sialkot (1808 A.D.): Jeewan Singh was the ruler of Sialkot. Maharaja Ranjit Singh demanded the territory of Sialkot from him. On his refusal, Ranjit Singh attacked Sialkot. Jeewan Singh surrendered. Maharaja merged Sialkot into his kingdom.

6. Conquest of Gujpat: At the time of Ranjit Singh’s, attack on Lahore, its Bhangi ruler Sahib Singh had run away’. Now he was ruling over the regions of Jalalpur, Islamgarh and Gujrat. The income from these regions was very high. To conquer them, Ranjit Singh attacked Sahib Singh. Sahib Singh was defeated. Ranjit Singh granted him a Jagir and annexed all his territories to his kingdom.

7. Conquest of Karorsinghia Misl: Kahan Singh ruled over Karorsinghia Misl. Ranjit Smgh asked him to come to his court. On his refusal, Ranjit Singh seized all his territories.

8. Conquest of the Fazalpuria Misl: Budh Singh ruled over the Fazalpuria Misl and it was spread on either side of the river Sutlej. Ranjit Singh first asked him to surrender. But when he refused, Ranjit Singh forcibly merged all his territories into his kingdom in 1811 A.D. These regions included Doab, Jalandhar, Hetpur and Patti.

9. Conquest of the Nakai Misl: This Misl was also ruled by the ruler of Karorsinghia Misl, Kahan Singh. When in 1807 A.D. Ranjit Singh defeated him, he also captured the Nakai Misl along with the Karorsinghia Misl.



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