General of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and governor of Kashmir and Hazara; 1791-1837
Hari Singh Nalwa
Hari Singh Nalwa rose from a recruitment test in 1805 to become Maharaja Ranjit Singh's most celebrated general. He governed Kashmir, settled Hazara, took Peshawar in 1834, built the fort at Jamrud, and was killed fighting the Afghans in 1837.
Early career
He was born at Gujranwala in April 1791 and lost his father when he was about seven. He impressed Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1805 and, after killing a tiger that had seized him, was given a command and the name Nalwa. He fought at Kasur, in four campaigns against Multan, at Attock in 1813 and in Kashmir.[EoS]
Governor
He governed Kashmir from 1820, reorganised its administration, and was allowed to strike the Hari Singhi rupee, which circulated into the late nineteenth century. From 1822 he spent fifteen years in Hazara, where he built a fort named Harikishangarh after Sri Guru Har Krishan Ji and founded Haripur. He fought Sayyid Ahmad Barelavi's campaign from 1827 to 1831.[EoS]
Peshawar and Jamrud
He took Peshawar in 1834 and built Jamrud at the mouth of the Khyber two years later. On 30 April 1837 he was wounded several times fighting Afghans under Akbar Khan, and passed away that evening in the fort, asking that his death be kept secret until relief arrived. He also paid for the gilded dome of the Akal Takht.[EoS][EoS]
Images
Hari Singh Nalwa by a Company artist, about 1865, nearly thirty years after he fell in battle in 1837. From the album The Kingdom of the Punjab.
Unknown Company artist, c. 1865. National Army Museum (as credited on Commons). Public domain. Source
