RAMGARHIA

A fort near Amritsar. A chief driven into exile. A return made possible by an alliance with a former rival.

The Ramgarhia Misl’s history is full of movement - between employers, territories and political friendships.

At its centre stood Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, a leader whose career connected the defence of Sikh institutions with the fierce competition between Sikh chiefs themselves.

WHO WAS JASSA SINGH RAMGARHIA?

Born in 1723, Jassa Singh came from a Sikh family associated with carpentry.

That background is worth remembering. The leadership of the misls did not emerge from one social group alone. Military service and religious networks could create opportunities for men whose families had no royal title.

His later name came from Ramgarh, the fortified position near Amritsar with which he became closely associated.

He should also be distinguished from Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. The two men lived during the same period, commanded different followings and became important figures in Sikh history. They were sometimes allies - and sometimes serious rivals.

SERVING ADINA BEG KHAN

Before becoming an established chief, Jassa Singh served Adina Beg Khan.

Adina Beg was a Punjabi Muslim official who exercised considerable influence in the Jalandhar Doab, the region between the Beas and Sutlej. His career involved dealings with Mughal authorities, Afghan rulers, Sikh groups and the Marathas.

He could repress Sikh resistance in one set of circumstances and recruit Sikh soldiers in another.

Jassa Singh’s service under him illustrates the practical relationships of the period. Religious conflict existed, sometimes with devastating consequences, but armies and alliances did not remain divided into permanent religious camps.

Men also sought employment, protection and opportunities through powerful patrons.

RAM RAUNI BECOMES RAMGARH

In 1748, Sikh defenders at Ram Rauni, a fortified enclosure near Amritsar, faced a siege.

Jassa Singh helped secure their relief. Kaura Mall - an influential official within the Lahore administration who was sympathetic towards the Sikhs, also intervened.

Kaura Mall is another figure who disrupts an overly simple picture of the period: support for Sikh survival could come from within the government whose forces threatened them.

Jassa Singh’s subsequent work strengthening the fort became central to his reputation. Ram Rauni developed into Ramgarh, and the name Ramgarhia became attached to him and his followers.

The fort had a practical purpose. Amritsar was a religious centre and a place where scattered Sikh groups gathered. Protecting a defensible position there helped preserve the community’s ability to assemble and organise.

It also required work beyond the battlefield: building, repairing, storing supplies and maintaining weapons.

BUILDING A TERRITORIAL POWER

As imperial authority weakened, the Ramgarhias established themselves around Batala and other parts of the Bari/ Jullundur Doab - the country between the Ravi and Beas.

Their influence extended towards the hills, where local rulers could be compelled to pay tribute without losing every part of their own authority.

This produced layered relationships. A hill chief might remain in place while acknowledging a stronger neighbour. A village might retain its headmen while paying revenue to a new sardar.

The Ramgarhia territories contained Muslim, Hindu and Sikh inhabitants. They were working landscapes of cultivation and trade, rather than an exclusively military domain.

For households, stability meant being able to maintain fields, workshops and local exchange through changes in political control. Warfare threatened that stability; a strong territorial authority might provide protection while also making substantial demands.

WHY OTHER SIKH CHIEFS DROVE HIM OUT

The Ramgarhias competed with the Kanhaiyas over territory and influence.

Jassa Singh’s relations with Jassa Singh Ahluwalia also deteriorated. By the late 1770s, a combination of rival powers had become strong enough to force him from his principal possessions.

His expulsion in 1778 was a major reversal.

The chiefs belonged to a wider Sikh community, but they did not accept a permanent government above themselves that could settle every dispute. A successful rival could take the land that supported another chief’s followers.

The consequences extended beyond the ruling household. Soldiers lost access to established resources; dependants moved with their patrons; inhabitants faced another change in authority.

EXILE AND DELHI

Jassa Singh moved towards the country around Hansi and Hisar and continued to lead an armed following.

He later participated in the Sikh campaigns around Delhi in 1783, alongside other leaders including Baghel Singh.

These campaigns demonstrated the weakness of Mughal power, but they did not establish a lasting Sikh government over the imperial capital.

For Jassa Singh, continued campaigning also meant survival. A displaced chief needed resources to retain men and preserve his ability to return.

During the 1780s, he allied with Maha Singh Sukerchakia - Ranjit Singh’s father - against the Kanhaiyas. That changed combination helped him recover his position in Punjab.

The same political world that had expelled him now offered a route back.

THE FAMILY’S MARK ON AMRITSAR

Ramgarhia history remains visible in the religious landscape of Amritsar.

The Ramgarhia Bunga stands beside the Harmandir Sahib complex. A bunga was a residence or establishment associated with a chief, community or religious group; such buildings could accommodate people while maintaining a presence near the shrine.

The Ramgarhia family’s patronage continued under Jassa Singh’s son Jodh Singh.

Jodh supplied pierced marble for the parapets beside the causeway leading to the Harmandir Sahib and supported work on Baba Atal.

These details reveal another side of the family’s power. Resources acquired through territorial rule and campaigning could become building materials, craftsmen’s labour and lasting religious patronage.

Amritsar’s development involved many such patrons. Its architectural history cannot be assigned to one ruler alone.

JODH SINGH AND RANJIT SINGH

Jodh Singh succeeded his father in 1803 and became a close ally of Ranjit Singh.

Jodh Singh supported campaigns that strengthened Lahore, including operations against Kasur and the Singhpuria possessions.

This cooperation helped preserve the Ramgarhia house’s position for a time. It also contributed to the growth of a state increasingly capable of absorbing independent chiefships.

After Jodh Singh’s death in 1815, succession difficulties created an opening. Ranjit Singh took over the Ramgarhia territories in 1816.

WHAT SURVIVED THE MISL

The Ramgarhia chiefship passed through construction, expansion, exile, recovery, alliance and annexation.

Its incorporation into the Sikh Empire was the end of a particular form of political independence. It was not the end of the Ramgarhia name.

The name developed a wider community significance, while buildings and traditions preserved the memory of its leading family.

The towers beside the Harmandir Sahib offer a reminder: Punjab’s history survives through structures people continue to see, use and recognise, long after the political arrangements that produced them have disappeared.

In honour of The Ramgarhia Misl - master builders and protectors of Punjab's heritage. With admiration - Trish Saab