Post # 119
Jarnail Hari Singh Nalwa
Mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ugle is a patriotic song from the 1967 Bollywood movie - Upkar, which cemented Manoj Kumar's brand as Bharat Kumar. The last para of that song goes like this...
This stanza eulogizes many well known Indian personalities - Gautam Buddha, Guru Nanak, Gandhiji, Subhash Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Bhagat Singh and Jawaharlal Nehru. Along with such eminent personalities, this song also mentions Hari Singh Nalwa. I hadn't heard about him until recently. I am not sure many people know him very well.
This post is about one of the greatest generals India has ever produced, the commander-in-chief of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sikh empire and a soldier who sent shivers through enemy ranks, but strangely whose name got lost in the annals of history - Jarnail Hari Singh Nalwa.
This fercious-looking man was born in Gujranwala, a city currently in Pakistan, famous for wrestling. His forefathers were officers in the Sikh army. But he lost his father when he was a kid.
In 1804, when he was in his teens, he was spotted by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in an annual talent hunt-cum- sporting event, where Hari Singh excelled in horse riding, sword fighting, wrestling and many competitive sports. He was inducted as one of Ranjit Singh's personal bodyguards.
One day, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his retinue went to the jungle for hunting. Out of the blue, a tiger attacked Hari Singh and killed his horse. Declining help from others, Hari Singh is supposed to have single-handedly fought the tiger and killed it. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was so impressed that Hari Singh was given the titles Baagmaar (tiger-killer) and Nalwa (one with tiger-like-claws).
He was also recognized as a Sardaar and from here on he rose meteorically in Ranjit Singh's army to become his commander-in-chief, General, also called Jarnail.
Though he participated, planned or led dozens of battles, his most ferocious opponents were the Afghans. For centuries, Afghans would attack, loot, rape and plunder India.
They would enter India through the Kyber pass.
Hari Singh Nalwa took the Afghans on in the famed Battle of Jamrud in 1836, conclusively drove them away, and build a fort in Jamrud to ensure Khyber Pass was sealed for ever.
It is said that the Afghans weren't scared of the Brits, the Russians or the Americans - the three superpowers who tried to control them, but they were shit scared of Hari Singh Nalwa. It is also said that Afghan mothers used to threaten pesky kids that if they didn't mind their manners, Hari Singh Nalwa would come down to teach them a lesson. This is hard to believe, but harder still not to believe!
During his time, this is how big the Sikh empire became. He was, at various times, the Governor of Kashmir, Peshawar and Hazara.
He was also considered an able administrator. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had so much trust and faith in him as a loyal administrator that he allowed Hari Singh Nalwa to mint coins in his name.
Hari Singh Nalwa was also a town planner and architect. One of the towns founded by him is Haripur, which is still extant in Pakistan.
The story of his death is an unbelievable tale. In 1837, Dost Mohammed Khan, another Afghan, attacked Peshawar with a vast army. Though Hari Singh Nalwa was down with fever and camping elsewhere, he left for Peshawar immediately, sending request to Ranjit Singh for urgent reinforcements.
In Peshawar, he was fatally wounded and died. Before dying, he ordered his faithful lieutenants not to tell any one that he was dying. In order to boost the morale of his troops, he walked to the rampart of the fort so that enemy could see him and died standing in that posture.
The sight of Hari Singh Nalwa sent shivers down the Afghans. They waited one week before they realised he was dead. By that time, reinforcements had arrived. Hari Singh Nalwa lived a glorious life and died a glorious death.
