ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>CHAND KAUR MAH&#256R&#256&#7750&#298 (1802-1842)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="CHAND,KAUR,MAHRF*,Person,Person"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279CHAND KAUR, MAH&#256R&#256&#7750&#298 (1802-1842), wife of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh, the eldest son of and successor to Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh, was born the daughter of Sard&#257r Jaimal Si&#7749gh of the Kanhaiy&#257 <i>misl</i> in 1802 at Fatehga&#7771h, in present-day Gurd&#257spur district of the Punjab. She was married to Prince Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh in February 1812 at the age of 10. After the death in most tragic circumstances of her husband, then Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 of the Punjab, as well as of her son, Ka&#7749var Nau Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh, in November 1840, she staked her claim to the throne of Lahore. She had won the support of the Sandh&#257&#7749v&#257li&#257 collaterals - Atar Si&#7749gh, Lahi&#7751&#257 Si&#7749gh and Aj&#299t Si&#7749gh, and of other influential courtiers such as Bh&#257&#299 R&#257m Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299 Gobind R&#257m, Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh &#7692ogr&#257 and Jamadar <u>Kh</u>ush&#257l Si&#7749gh. She challenged Sher Si&#7749gh, the second son of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Singh on the grounds that her daughter-in-law, Ka&#7749var Nau Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh's widow, S&#257hib Kaur, was pregnant and that she would assume regency on behalf of the unborn legal successor to her husband's throne.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Chand Kaur's ambition was matched by her courageous spirit. She would, she declared, cast aside her veil and come out of the zenana, don a turban like a <i>sard&#257r</i>, and like a monarch inspect the parade of the army troops. "Why should I not do as Queen Victoria does in England?" Sher Si&#7749gh, winning support of a rival group at the court and of a section of the army, marched upon Lahore. A compromise was, however, arrived at between the two factions by which Chand Kaur became regent and R&#257j&#257 Dhi&#257n Si&#7749gh principal minister of the State. The truce, however, did not last long. Dhi&#257n Si&#7749gh &#7692ogr&#257, who wished Chand Kaur to adopt his son, H&#299r&#257 Si&#7749gh, as successor to the throne, became estranged when he saw little hope of his ambition being realized. In January 1841, he openly supported claims of Sher Si&#7749gh who was proclaimed by the army, also changing sides, sovereign of the Punjab. Chand Kaur was pensioned off with an annual <i>j&#257g&#299r</i> of 9, 00, 000 rupees, and her Sandh&#257&#7749v&#257li&#257 supporters fled across the Sutlej into British territory. Chand Kaur retired gracefully to the segregation of her late son's palace in-side the city of Lahore. Dhi&#257n Si&#7749gh's elder brother, Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh, who looked after her property, had absconded from the Fort with cartloads of gold and silver. In July 1841, Nau Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh's widow, S&#257hib Kaur delivered a stillborn son. This ended whatever hopes Chand Kaur had of resurrecting her claims. But courtly intrigue had not ceased. Dhi&#257n Si&#7749gh replaced the maidservants of the Dowager Mah&#257r&#257&#7751&#299 with hillwomen from his own country. The latter tried to kill her by poisoning her food and eventually finished her off on 11 June 1842, smashing her head with wooden pikes from the kitchen. Dhi&#257n Si&#7749gh however had had their tongues cut off to prevent them divulging the plot. In the end, they were executed under his own orders.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Sur&#299, Sohan L&#257l, '<i>Umd&#257t-ut-Tw&#257r&#299<u>kh</u></i>. Lahore, 1885-89<BR> <li class="C1"> Griffin, Lepel, and C. F. Massy, <i>Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab</i>. Lahore, 1890<BR> <li class="C1"> Hasrat, B. J. , <i>Life and Times of Ranjit Singh</i>. Hoshiarpur, 1977<BR> <li class="C1"> Fauja Singh, ed. , <i>Maharaja Kharak Si&#7749gh</i>. Patiala,<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Bhagat Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>