Dewan Mulraj was a 19th century ruler of Multan

Multan

Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...

History

Conquest of Multan

In the 19th century, the Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

 ruler Ranjit Singh

Ranjit Singh

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...

 conquered Multan

Multan

Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...

. The ruler of Multan, Muzaffar Khan Saddozai was defeated and killed. His death marked the end of Muslim rule in Multan.

Rule of Dewan

Ranjit Singh

Ranjit Singh

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...

 appointed Dewan Sawan Mal Chopra, a Punjabi

Punjabi people

The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...

 Khatri

Khatri

Khatri is a caste from the northern Indian subcontinent. Khatris in India are mostly from Punjab, region but later they migrated to regions like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber...

, who was known to be one of the most able and powerful Hindu rulers of his time. He amassed enormous wealth and became a threat to the sovereign. His sons, Dewan Mulraj and Karan Narain, were well looked after. The first son, Mulraj, became the Governor of Multan

History of Multan

Multan, in the Punjab province of Pakistan, is one of the oldest cities in South Asia, the exact age has yet to be determined. Its modern name comes from its old Sanskrit name Mūlasthān. It has seen a lot of warfare because of its location on a major invasion route between South Asia and Central Asia...

, after his father had been assassinated. His younger brother rose to being a general of the highest order under Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Ranjit Singh

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...

 and was awarded the titles of Sardar (High Noble), Bakshi (Benevolent) by the Maharaja.

British conquest

However, Dewan Mulraj's rule did not last long, as the British were eventually provoked into checking his strength in Punjab. After a long and bloody battle, Multan was made part of the British Raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

. During this time, Sardar Karan Narain's son became an icon and was awarded the titles 'Rai Bahadur' and knighted Queen Victoria. It is believed that one of his descendants lives in America. The British built some rail routes to the city, but its industrial capacity was never developed.