Shah Mohammad
Encyclopedia
Shah Mohammad was a Punjabi
poet who lived during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
and is best known for Jangnama— a colossal work that gave an eyewitness account of the First Anglo-Sikh War
that took place after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
, a steel town in the Gurdaspur district
.It took more than a century to establish that Shah Mohammad actually belonged to the border village of Wadala Veeram in the Amritsar district
and not Batala.
It was Maula Baksh Kushta, a famous Punjabi critic, who also hailed from Wadala Veeram, who first pointed out that Shah Mohammad belonged to his own village.
A team of researchers in 1973, led by the then Director of the Punjabi Languages Department, visited this village and with the help of revenue records, discovered an old marble slab fixed on the well of Shah Mohammad's house thus proving that the poet did indeed belong to this village.
Wadala Veeram was a Muslim
-dominated village which witnessed communal frenzy as the country inched towards the Partition
, claiming many Sikh
and Muslim lives.
– the land of the five rivers—from an abode of sorrow to a garden of Paradise.
Shah Mohammad wrote that the Maharaja's legacy was such that he had created a secular kingdom that was equal to all.
s, Sikh
s and Muslim
s lived happily with each other, Shah Mohammad had written that the Punjab was fortunate in having developed and cherished since centuries a long and glorious tradition of such culture.
The mystic songs of Sufi saints and Punjabi poets in particular were the pride of the whole of the Punjab, he had further written. During this reign, all communities reaffirmed their Punjabi roots, he had mentioned.
For him, Punjabi Muslims became a part and parcel of the Sarkar-e-Khalsa (the Sikh Kingdom of Ranjit Singh), whereas they had earlier looked towards Afghan
s, Arab
s, Pashtuns
, Persian
s and Turk
s and were consequently betrayed by them.
Also, after the Maharaja's death, the council of ministers and the nobility at the court became sharply divided. Two major factions emerged.
One consisted of three Dogra
brothers, Gulab Singh, Dhyan Singh and Suchet Singh as well as Dhyan Singh's son Hira Singh.
Opposed to the Dogras, were the Sikh aristocracy, of which three families - the Sandhawalias, the Attariwalas, and the Majithias - were the most prominent. [See the "Majithia Sirdars
"]
Due to the inept nature of Kharak Singh, the whole palace soon became awash with intrigues and infighting between the Sikhs, the Dogras and several other smaller factions.
The British
, who had been kept at bay by Ranjit Singh, finally got a foothold in the Durbar. They began playing one faction against the other in line with their usual policy in other parts of the Indian subcontinent
.
After two abortive Anglo-Sikh Wars, the Punjab was finally annexed to the East India Company
in 1849, a decade after the death of Ranjit Singh.
Historians have pointed out that close relatives of Shah Mohammad were employed in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army. It was with their help that the poet could piece together a complete picture of the battle between the Sikhs and the British.
The poet had rued that soon after Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death, the entire edifice of his kingdom collapsed due to internal intrigues and British machinations. He projected, in the most appropriate words, the infighting among the Sikhs and the treachery perpetrated by the Dogras led by Dhyan Singh Dogra, making the descriptions a "primary source" for all historians.
Shah Mohammad's work thus remains the most accurate work on the reasons for the demise of Sikh rule in the Punjab.
The historical facts given in the Jangnama are verifiable from the Roznamacha (a daily diary), written during the reign of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
His poetry is part of the Punjab's golden heritage and is considered a lighthouse for the generations to come.
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
poet who lived during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
and is best known for Jangnama— a colossal work that gave an eyewitness account of the First Anglo-Sikh War
First Anglo-Sikh War
The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.-Background and causes of the war:...
that took place after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Controversy over native place
It was initially thought that Shah Mohammad was from BatalaBatala
Batala is a municipal council in Gurdaspur district in the state of Punjab, India. It is located about 30 km from Gurdaspur, the headquarters of the district....
, a steel town in the Gurdaspur district
Gurdaspur District
Gurdaspur district is a district in the state of Punjab, situated in the northwest part of the Republic of India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It internationally borders Narowal District of the Pakistani Punjab, Kathua District of Jammu and Kashmir, the Punjab districts of Amritsar and...
.It took more than a century to establish that Shah Mohammad actually belonged to the border village of Wadala Veeram in the Amritsar district
Amritsar District
Amritsar district is one of 22 districts in the state of Punjab in West India. It has a population of 3,074,207 and covers an area of 5075 km²...
and not Batala.
It was Maula Baksh Kushta, a famous Punjabi critic, who also hailed from Wadala Veeram, who first pointed out that Shah Mohammad belonged to his own village.
A team of researchers in 1973, led by the then Director of the Punjabi Languages Department, visited this village and with the help of revenue records, discovered an old marble slab fixed on the well of Shah Mohammad's house thus proving that the poet did indeed belong to this village.
Wadala Veeram was a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
-dominated village which witnessed communal frenzy as the country inched towards the Partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, claiming many 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"...
and Muslim lives.
Views on Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule
An ardent admirer of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule, Shah Mohammad believed that the king had converted the PunjabPunjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
– the land of the five rivers—from an abode of sorrow to a garden of Paradise.
Shah Mohammad wrote that the Maharaja's legacy was such that he had created a secular kingdom that was equal to all.
Views on Punjabiyat
Showering praise over the composite Punjabi culture during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, where HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s, 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"...
s and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s lived happily with each other, Shah Mohammad had written that the Punjab was fortunate in having developed and cherished since centuries a long and glorious tradition of such culture.
The mystic songs of Sufi saints and Punjabi poets in particular were the pride of the whole of the Punjab, he had further written. During this reign, all communities reaffirmed their Punjabi roots, he had mentioned.
For him, Punjabi Muslims became a part and parcel of the Sarkar-e-Khalsa (the Sikh Kingdom of Ranjit Singh), whereas they had earlier looked towards Afghan
Demographics of Afghanistan
The population of Afghanistan is around 29,835,392 as of the year 2011, which is unclear if the refugees living outside the country are included or not. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between...
s, Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s, Pashtuns
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
, Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
s and Turk
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
s and were consequently betrayed by them.
The run-up to the Anglo-Sikh Wars
The secular rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh worked well during his lifetime, but with Kharak Singh, his eldest son, becoming the king, things started to change. The new Maharaja turned out to be full of vices and lacked the ability to rule.Also, after the Maharaja's death, the council of ministers and the nobility at the court became sharply divided. Two major factions emerged.
One consisted of three Dogra
Dogra
The Dogras are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group in South Asia. Being a diversified group, the Dogras include both Savarnas such as Brahmins, Rajputs and Non-savarnas. The Dogras also incluide merchant castes such as Mahajans...
brothers, Gulab Singh, Dhyan Singh and Suchet Singh as well as Dhyan Singh's son Hira Singh.
Opposed to the Dogras, were the Sikh aristocracy, of which three families - the Sandhawalias, the Attariwalas, and the Majithias - were the most prominent. [See the "Majithia Sirdars
Majithia Sirdars
This term refers to a set of three related families of Sikh sirdars #chiefs# that came from the area of Majitha - a town 10 miles north of the Punjab city of Amritsar and rose to prominence in the early 19th century. The Majithia clans threw in with the rising star of the Sikh misls - Ranjit Singh...
"]
Due to the inept nature of Kharak Singh, the whole palace soon became awash with intrigues and infighting between the Sikhs, the Dogras and several other smaller factions.
The British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, who had been kept at bay by Ranjit Singh, finally got a foothold in the Durbar. They began playing one faction against the other in line with their usual policy in other parts of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
.
After two abortive Anglo-Sikh Wars, the Punjab was finally annexed to the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
in 1849, a decade after the death of Ranjit Singh.
The Jangnama
The famous Jangnama is believed to have been written around 1846.Historians have pointed out that close relatives of Shah Mohammad were employed in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army. It was with their help that the poet could piece together a complete picture of the battle between the Sikhs and the British.
The poet had rued that soon after Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death, the entire edifice of his kingdom collapsed due to internal intrigues and British machinations. He projected, in the most appropriate words, the infighting among the Sikhs and the treachery perpetrated by the Dogras led by Dhyan Singh Dogra, making the descriptions a "primary source" for all historians.
Shah Mohammad's work thus remains the most accurate work on the reasons for the demise of Sikh rule in the Punjab.
The historical facts given in the Jangnama are verifiable from the Roznamacha (a daily diary), written during the reign of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Legacy
Shah Mohammad was a great Punjabi patriot, who infused a sense of nationalism among his readers.His poetry is part of the Punjab's golden heritage and is considered a lighthouse for the generations to come.