Ramgarhia Misl () was a sovereign state (misl) in the Sikh Confederacy of Punjab region in present-day India and Pakistan. The misl's name is derived from Qila Ramgarh, a place located in Ramsar, near Amritsar, which was fortified and redesigned by Ramgarhia Misl chief Jassa Singh Ramgarhia. The Ramgarhia Misl was one of the twelve major Sikh misls, and held land near Amritsar.
History
Jatha The misl was founded by Tarkhans and Jats. The Misl started out as a jatha (Sikh militia band) founded by a Jat named Khushal Singh, a native of Guga village near Amritsar, who had undergone the Pahul during the era of Banda Singh Bahadur. Khushal Singh fought in the later Mughal-Sikh Wars alongside Banda Singh Bahadur, distinguishing himself in the process. After Khushal, the leadership passed to another Jat named Nand Singh of Sanghani village near Amritsar. Another early leader was Hardas Singh.
Nand Singh helped increase the size of the jatha, with both areas of operation and power expanding. Jassa Singh Ichogillia, who was from the Thoka community took up a role in the jatha during the time of Nand Singh's tenure as leader, where he quickly became respected as a capable warrior. Jassa Singh joined the jatha after his father Bhagvan Singh had been killed in 1739 fighting against Nader Shah's invading forces. Jassa Singh learnt how to fight and about the art of warfare during this time. Nand Singh would later be succeeded by Jassa Singh after the former's death in around 1743.In 1745, Jassa Singh was instructed to meet with Adina Beg to come to an agreement as the latter had been harassing Sikhs of the Jalandhar Doab under the orders of the Subahdar, Zakaria Khan. Adina Beg convinced Jassa to work for him, offering him a position of commanding a regiment consisting of 100 Sikhs and 60 Hindus. Jassa Singh took up the offer, which annoyed the other Sikhs in the diplomatic mission. Jassa Singh worked for Adina Beg in the company of his brothers Jai Singh, Khushal Singh, and Mali Singh. Many Sikhs began to think of Jassa Singh as a traitor for working under Adina Beg.
Jassa Singh then took up employment under Adina Beg yet again. During this time, Adina Beg launched an attack on the Sikhs in Amritsar during the festival of Diwali in October 1748 and 500 Sikhs were holed up in the fort of Ram Rauni, with Jassa Singh assisting with the besiegement against his fellow Sikhs. The siege would last for three months resulting in the deaths of 200 Sikhs. Jassa Singh felt guilty about fighting against his religious kin and the besieged Sikhs, who were in a desperate position at this point, invited Jassa Singh to join their side by sending him a letter. They promised to forgive the former of his past transgressions if he did so but gave him an ultimatum that if he refused, he would be forever excommunicated from the Sikh faith. Jassa Singh readily took up the offer and switched sides. Jassa Singh then sent word to Kaura Mal, a man who was partial towards the sympathies of the Sikhs, to end the siege. Kaura Mal appealed to Mir Mannu to cancel the offensive, which he obliged and did so. However, the Sikh fortress of Ram Rauni had been utterly devastated by the siege. Mir Mannu then issued a jagir grant to the Sikhs.
Misl
At the annual Diwali meeting of the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar in 1748, a Gurmata was passed that reorganized the various scattered and numerous jathas into eleven organized Misls, with the Ramgarhia Misl forming out of this judgement.
Jassa Singh then made the former besieged fort of Ram Rauni his base, commissioning the repairs of the structure. The fortress was originally an enclosure of unbaked bricks (mud-fortress) but would later be fortified further by Jassa.
Shortly after, hostilities between Mir Mannu and the Sikhs arose again and Mir Mannu sent Adina Beg and Sadiq Beg to attack the fort of Ramgarh, where its defenders were defeated and the fort itself was destroyed in the process. Jassa Singh managed to escape the enemy and went into hiding in a place of safety. The Ramgarhia Misl rebuilt the fortress in the aftermath of the death of Mir Mannu in November 1753. The rebuilt fort was renamed as Ramgarh ("Ram" meaning "God" and "Garh" meaning 'fort') by Jassa. Jassa Singh himself, originally known as 'Jassa Singh Ichogillia' (after his native village) or 'Jassa Singh Thoka' (after his caste), began to be called 'Jassa Singh Ramgarhia' after this point. The carpenter caste in-which he came from, the Thokas, also began to collectively refer to themselves as 'Ramgarhias' as well.
As Quila Ramgarh was fortified to defend the Golden Temple from invaders, this misl acquired the name Ramgarhia, which literally means Custodians of the Fort of God. Quila Ramgarh and Ramgarhia Bunga are symbols of the Ramgarhia Sikh community's identity, their historic sacrifices and contribution to defending the Golden Temple over the centuries.
In 1757, Timur Shah Durrani attacked Ramgarh Fort and destroyed it in the process. When Timur was pushed out of the Punjab in 1758 by a joint force of Sikhs, Marathas, and Mughals, the Ramgarhia Misl rebuilt the fort.
In April 1758, the now-governor Adina Beg launched an attack against the Sikhs led by Mir Aziz Bakhshi. Many of the Sikhs, whom had been hiding out in the jungles, decided to hole up in Ramgarh Fort for their own protection. Amongst these Sikhs were Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, Jai Singh Kanhaiya, and Amar Singh Kingra. Eventually, after a hard-fought defence against the besiegers, the Sikhs were pushed to evacuate the fortress.
Adina Beg died in September 1758 and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Jai Singh Kanhaiya took this as an opportunity to expand their grip by working together, bringing many areas of the Punjab under their writ in the process. Eventually, land in four out of the five doabs of the Punjab were controlled by the Ramgarhia and Kanhaiya misls. A fertile region north of Amritsar, called Riarki, was brought under the control of Jassa. In only a decade's time, Jassa had elevated himself to becoming one of the most important Sardars of the Dal Khalsa.
The Ramgarhia Misl warred against Zain Khan Sirhindi and Jahan Khan Lahori. It further assisted in the joint Sikh invasion of Bharatpur.
Jassa Singh and his brother, Mali Singh, launched looting raids against the Hill States during the 1770s. The Pahari Rajas of the Shivalik range, such as Raja Ghumand Chand Katoch of Kangra and the rajas of other states such as Haripur, Jaswan, Datarpur, and other petty Hill States, decided to become tributary states of the Ramgarhia Misl for their own safety and protection, paying a tribute of 200,000 rupees per annum at that time to the Misl. A fortress was constructed at Talwara (near Batala) on the banks of the Beas River to keep watch over the Hill Rajas and Jassa Singh gave command over it to his brother, Mali Singh, alongside 4,000 horses for the purpose. The control of Kalanaur was handed over to the other brother of Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, named Tara Singh.
The Ramgarhias also conquered many parganas of the Majha region of Punjab, such as Batala, Kalanaur, Mastiwal, Dasuha, Talwara Lakhpur, Sanguwala, Sharif Chak, Miani, Begowal, amidst others. The Majhai territory led to an income of 700,000 rupees per annum of the Misl.
By this point, the misl had a cavalary force that was 10,000-strong. The Ramgarhia Misl made Batala yield to them in February to March of 1763. Ramgarhia power kept on increasing and eventually the local zamindars of the taluqas of Phagwara and Batala (such as Jandiala, Toli, and Qadhian) started paying tribute to the misl. After this, the areas of Urmar Tanda, Yahyapur, and parts of Hoshiarpur were brought under Ramgarhia writ, increasing the income by a million rupees.
At some point, the entire Shivalik Range from the Beas to the Ravi rivers were under the control of the Ramgarhias, including the plains region of the Jalandhar Doab. The capital was then moved from Rambagh fort in Ramsar, Amritsar to Sri Hargobindpur.
The Misl offered protection to its tributary states. A historical example of this is when the misl protected Chamba State against the forces of Ranjit Deo of Jammu State.
Inter-misl warfare
Eventually the various Sikh misls began warring with each other once outside threats subsided, such as the Afghans. The Kanhaiya and Ramgarhia misls, former allies, began a strife. The roots of the newfound animosity between the former allies is traced back to when they launched a joint raid on Kasur in 1763. During this raid, a large amount of plunder was captured by the misls. Whilst normally the misls would share loot, this time Mali Singh, brother of Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, decided to conceal especially valuable loot from Jai Singh Kanhaiya. When Jai Singh discovered this betrayal, the friendship between the two misls was shattered.
Antagonism between the Ramgarhias and their subordinate state, Kangra, began when the ruler of Kangra made an egotistical remark which Jassa Singh rebuked, which angered the Pahari ruler. The Kangra raja then decided to end his status as suzerain with the overlording misl. Kangra State went to battle against their former overlords but could not best them so they requested the assistance of the Kanhaiyas by promising to pay for any costs incurred. The joint Kangra-Kanhaiya force was still defeated by the Ramgarhias and their territory was plundered in the aftermath, which led to Jai Singh Kanhaiya developing an even deeper-set grudge against the Ramgarhias.
In 1774, the Kanhaiya Misl managed to take control over the Kangra throne, which greatly retarded the Ramgarhia influence in the region.
The Bhangis came into a conflict with the Kanhaiyas over territory. This conflict eventually brought the Ahluwalias and Ramgarhias into the mix. The Ahluwalias sided with the Kanhaiyas whilst the Ramgarhias sided with Ganda Singh of the Bhangi Misl. The Battle of Dinanagar in 1775 pitted the Ramgarhia and Bhangi misls on one side against the forces of the Kanhaiya and Sukerchakia misls on the other. Ganda Singh died from sickness during the battle. After the death of their leader, the Bhangi forces fled the battlefield which left the Ramgarhias embarrassed.
Later, animosities began appearing between the Ramgarhia and Ahluwalia misls, when the latter misl took control of Zahura, formerly controlled by the Ramgarhias. The Ahluwalias then bestowed the captured locality of Zahura to the Karorsinghia Misl. After this affair, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia became hostile to each other and a rivalry developed.
At some point, the Ramgarhias attacked the Ahluwalias and captured their leader, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. However, they released him shortly after escorted in a palanquin and gave him gifts (including a robe of honour) because he was highly-revered amongst the Sikhs. But Jassa Singh Ahluwalia never forgot this event of being taken prisoner by the Ramgarhias and harboured resentment against them. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia decided to organize a coalition to destroy the Ramgarhias once and for all.
Negative relations began arising between the Ramgarhia and Sukerchakia misls. The Ramgarhias went to battle against the Sukerchakias and managed to capture highly-coveted zamburak light-artillery (camel-mounted swivel cannons) and other loot from the Sukerchakias. Charat Singh's power had been devastated in his defeat against the Ramgarhias. Thus, the Sukerchakias decided to join the anti-Ramgarhia coalition of misls and states consisting of the Kanhaiyas, Kangra, and Ahluwalias.