BHANGI

Lahore. Amritsar. Multan.

Before Ranjit Singh became Punjab’s dominant ruler, Bhangi chiefs had already held some of its most important centres.

Their story is a reminder that history once had several possible directions. The family that eventually founded an empire was not always the strongest, and the chiefs who appeared most powerful did not necessarily remain so.

WHO WERE THE BHANGIS?

The early Bhangi following is associated with Chhajja Singh. Hari Singh developed it into a major force, while his sons Jhanda Singh and Ganda Singh became prominent leaders.

The name is traditionally connected with bhang - a cannabis preparation.

The misl included several important chiefs and branches rather than one ruler administering every possession from a single capital. This helped it expand widely. It also made coordinated succession and lasting central control more difficult.

A PUNJAB BETWEEN IMPERIAL CLAIMS AND LOCAL POWER

The Bhangis rose during the struggle against Mughal provincial authority and the repeated invasions of Ahmad Shah Durrani.

Durrani’s armies could inflict enormous damage and occupy major centres. Maintaining control after their departure was another matter.

Sikh chiefs returned, regrouped and established increasingly permanent positions.

The process was uneven. Imperial officials, local Muslim chiefs, hill rulers and Sikh sardars all continued to compete.

For the Bhangis, success meant acquiring both territory and the equipment needed to defend it.

One of their most famous possessions would outlive their chiefship.

ZAMZAMA: A CANNON WITH SEVERAL OWNERS

Zamzama, also known as Bhangian di Top - the Bhangis’ cannon, was cast in Lahore for Ahmad Shah Durrani’s forces.

The metalworker Shah Nazir made it under the orders of Shah Wali Khan, Durrani’s senior minister.

Its later association with the Bhangis therefore preserves a transfer of military resources from an imperial army to regional chiefs.

The cannon passed through several hands before becoming part of Ranjit Singh’s artillery.

Heavy guns required metal, specialist labour, ammunition, transport and maintenance. Possession of one advertised more than battlefield strength; it showed access to a costly military resource.

The weapon’s biography almost becomes a small history of changing power in Punjab.

LAHORE UNDER THREE CHIEFS

In 1765, Lahore came under Gujjar Singh and Lehna Singh Bhangi, together with Sobha Singh Kanhaiya.

The three chiefs established separate spheres within the city.

Lahore did not immediately become the capital of a unified Bhangi monarchy. Its government reflected the divided organisation of the wider Sikh political world.

For inhabitants, this meant that a great city could contain more than one centre of authority.

Its markets, workshops, religious establishments and neighbourhoods continued to operate beneath the new political arrangement. The city was not simply a prize waiting to be passed from one army to another.

People living there had interests in how it was governed.

LEHNA SINGH AND LAHORE’S MUSLIM RESIDENTS

Accounts of Lehna Singh’s rule describe Muslim citizens asking Ahmad Shah Durrani to recognise him when the Afghan ruler returned.

Lehna declined the offered position and later resumed his authority after the Afghan departure.

The episode is valuable because it gives Lahore’s residents some presence in a history otherwise dominated by commanders.

It suggests that at least some Muslim inhabitants preferred an established Sikh chief to another rearrangement imposed from outside.

That should not be expanded into a claim that every resident felt the same or that religious differences had ceased to matter.

It does show that political preference could reflect experience of a ruler, confidence in local arrangements and the desire for stability.

JHANDA SINGH AND THE REACH TOWARDS MULTAN

Jhanda Singh, Hari Singh’s son, extended Bhangi power and captured Multan in 1772.

Multan was a major southern centre with its own trading networks, religious institutions and political importance. Taking it demonstrated the reach of Bhangi arms.

Holding distant territory, however, brought continuing costs.

Troops needed support, routes needed protection and local authorities had to be managed. Possessions could be lost when the balance shifted again.

A map showing the greatest extent of Bhangi influence therefore does not describe a permanently secure state. Their strength changed across time and between different branches.

AMRITSAR: RULE, TRADE AND PILGRIMAGE

The Bhangis also possessed major influence at Amritsar.

The city combined religious significance with commercial growth. Chiefs established quarters and residences, while traders and craftsmen made their living around the expanding urban centre.

Pilgrimage brought people; people needed accommodation, food and goods. Military households also created demand for animals, equipment and supplies.

These activities crossed religious boundaries. A Sikh sacred centre could depend on the labour and commerce of people from several communities.

Authority was nevertheless divided. A chief could control a particular quarter while participating in wider arrangements concerning the principal shrines.

Amritsar’s growth was therefore part of the confederacy’s shared life and its internal competition.

WHY DID THE BHANGIS DECLINE?

Their size concealed weaknesses.

Separate chiefs held their own followers and territories. The death of one influential leader could produce a local crisis without another being able to restore unity.

Succession disputes, rivalry and the ambitions of neighbours gradually reduced their advantage.

Ranjit Singh benefited from these divisions while building a more concentrated power around Lahore.

His occupation of the city in 1799 did not go unchallenged. Opponents gathered near Bhasin in 1800, including Bhangi leaders, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Nizam-ud-Din Khan - the Muslim ruler of Kasur.

Their cooperation followed a shared concern about Ranjit Singh’s expansion.

Again, political interest crossed religious lines.

MAI SUKKHARI AND THE LOSS OF AMRITSAR

Gulab Singh Bhangi’s death weakened the opposition.

At Amritsar, his widow Mai Sukkhari defended the interests of their young son Gurdit Singh.

She belonged to the women who assumed responsibility when the death of a male ruler placed a household’s future at risk.

Ranjit Singh took Amritsar in 1802, further reducing Bhangi independence.

Possession of both Lahore and Amritsar gave him an extraordinary combination: a major political capital and the principal Sikh religious centre, each with substantial economic importance.

THE EMPIRE THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

The Bhangis had possessed resources from which a different political future might have developed.

They had displaced imperial authority, governed important centres and shaped the region’s political expectations.

Divided authority, unstable successions, changing alliances and the rise of a rival who increasingly brought other chiefs’ resources under his own control led to their ultimate downfall.

But despite this, the Bhangi story restores uncertainty to the past.

Punjab’s future had not yet been decided.

In tribute to The Bhangi Misl’s strength and resilience through the years. With respect, Trish Saab