ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>JASS&#256 SI&#7748GH R&#256MGA&#7770H&#298&#256 (1723-1803)</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="JASS,SIDGH,RMGAZH*,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">&#65279JASS&#256 SI&#7748GH R&#256MGA&#7770H&#298&#256 (1723-1803), founder of the R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 chiefship and one of the prominent military leaders of the Sikhs in the second half of the eighteenth century, was born in 1723 at &#298chogill, a village 20 km east of Lahore. His grandfather, Hard&#257s Si&#7749gh (d. 1716) had received <i>p&#257hul</i>, the vows of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, at the hands of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh and had fought in the campaigns of Band&#257 Si&#7749gh Bah&#257dur. His father, Bhagv&#257n Si&#7749gh was killed in a fight against N&#257dir Sh&#257h during his invasion of India in 1739. Young Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh then joined the <i>jath&#257</i> of Nand Si&#7749gh S&#257&#7749ghan&#299a and learnt the art of warfare at an early age. In 1745, he was deputed to settle terms with Ad&#299n&#257 Beg, the <i>faujd&#257r</i> of the Jalandhar Do&#257b, who was harassing the Sikhs under instructions from Naw&#257b Zakar&#299y&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257n, the Mu<u>gh</u>al governor of Lahore. The wily <i>faujd&#257r</i>, Ad&#299n&#257 Beg, prevailed upon Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh to accept office under him, with a minor command of a regiment consisting of 100 Sikhs and 60 Hindus. The Sikhs were greatly annoyed at the conduct of their envoy, but Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh did not remain with Ad&#299n&#257 Beg for long. When in October 1748, the Sikhs gathered at Amritsar to celebrate the festival of D&#299v&#257l&#299, M&#299r M&#257nn&#363, the new provincial governor, marched upon the city to expel the Sikhs. The Sikhs disappeared into the neighbouring jungle, but 500 of them took shelter within their newly built fortress, R&#257m Rau&#7751&#299, and defied the Mu<u>gh</u>al force. The mud-fortress was besieged and skirmishes continued for four months in which two hundred Sikhs lost their lives. The survivors requested Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh to come to their rescue. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh left Ad&#299n&#257 Beg, and made an appeal to Kau&#7771&#257 Mall, the D&#299w&#257n of Lahore and a Sahajdh&#257r&#299 Sikh, to save the Sikhs from destruction. At the D&#299w&#257n's intercession, M&#299r M&#257nn&#363 raised the siege, though the fortress of R&#257m Rau&#7751&#299 was completely destroyed.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; M&#299r M&#257nn&#363's death in November 1753 plunged the Punjab into anarchy. The Sikhs again emerged into the open and decided to rebuild the R&#257m Rau&#7751&#299 fort. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh was assigned to this task and he, with the help of his contingent, reconstructed the fortress and named it R&#257mga&#7771h. Since then Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh, earlier known as &#298chogill&#299&#257 after the name of his village, or <i>&#7789hok&#257</i> (carpenter, the caste he came from) began to be called R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 in appreciation of the work done by him.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In April 1758, &#256d&#299n&#257 Beg became governor of the Punjab. He sent a strong force under M&#299r 'Az&#299z Ba<u>kh</u>sh&#299 to clear the forests in which Sikhs had taken shelter. A large number of them including Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257, Jai Si&#7749gh Kanhaiy&#257 and Amar Si&#7749gh Ki&#7749gr&#257, fled to Amritsar and took shelter in the fortress. R&#257mga&#7771h was besieged. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh and Jai Si&#7749gh made numerous sallies killing a large number of the besiegers, but were ultimately forced to evacuate. After &#256d&#299n&#257 Beg's death in September 1758, the roving bands of the Sikhs returned. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 and Jai Si&#7749gh Kanhaiy&#257 united and within a short time they seized large slices of territory in four out of the five Do&#257bs; they occupied the fertile tract called Ri&#257&#7771k&#299 to the north of Amritsar embracing the district of Gurd&#257spur. Within a decade Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh became one of the leading figures of the Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. In 1770, he led plundering expeditions into the hills. The local r&#257j&#257s sought safety in submission and Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh collected a tribute of 2,00,000 rupees from the K&#257&#7749g&#7771&#257 states. He built a fort at Talv&#257&#7771&#257 on the left bank of the Be&#257s and stationed his brother, M&#257l&#299 Si&#7749gh, with 4,000 horse, in the fort. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 along with other Sikh <i>sard&#257rs</i>, fought many a pitched battle against the Af<u>gh</u>&#257n invader, Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As the Af<u>gh</u>&#257n threat receded, the Sikh <i>sard&#257rs</i> began fighting among themselves. The R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 Kanhaiy&#257 cleavage over their adjoining territories in the districts of Gurd&#257spur and Hoshi&#257rpur widened. In the battle of D&#299n&#257nagar in 1775, Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 joined the Bha&#7749g&#299 <i>sard&#257rs</i> against the forces of the Kanhaiy&#257s and the Sukkarchakk&#299&#257s. Soon a rift appeared between Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 and Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 when the latter wrested Zah&#363r&#257, a R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 territory, and conferred it upon Baghel Si&#7749gh Karo&#7771si&#7749gh&#299&#257. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 and Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 became sworn enemies of each other. Jai Si&#7749gh Kanhaiy&#257 joined Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 and the R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 Sard&#257r had to flee the Punjab.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Driven out of the Punjab, Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh became a soldier of fortune. He took possession of Hiss&#257r and raised a large body of irregular horse, his depredations extending to the gates of Delhi and its suburbs and into the Gangetic Do&#257b. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh and other Sikh chiefs conquered Delhi and entered the Red Fort. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 ascended the throne on 11 March 1783, but Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 challenged his right to do so at which the &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 chief vacated the royal seat. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 then invaded Meerut and levied an annual tribute of 10,000 rupees on the Naw&#257b. Soon a body of 30,000 horse and foot under him and Karam Si&#7749gh crossed into Sah&#257ranpur district, ravaging it freely.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After the death of Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 in October 1783, there were further fissures in the Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. Jai Si&#7749gh Kanhaiy&#257 and Mah&#257&#7749 Si&#7749gh Sukkarchakk&#299&#257 fell out. Mah&#257&#7749 Si&#7749gh won over to his side R&#257j&#257 Sa&#7749s&#257r Chand of K&#257&#7749g&#7771&#257 and invited Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 to come back to the Punjab and make a bid to recover his lost possessions. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 returned to the Punjab and allied himself with the Sukkarchakk&#299&#257s in order to destroy his old foe, Jai Si&#7749gh Kanhaiy&#257. Together they marched upon the Kanhaiy&#257 citadel of Ba&#7789&#257l&#257 in 1787. Jai Si&#7749gh was defeated and his son Gurba<u>kh</u>sh Si&#7749gh killed. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh recovered all his lost territories and set himself up at Ba&#7789&#257l&#257, which he fortified by a thick wall.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At the height of his power, Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh's territory in the B&#257r&#299 Do&#257b included Ba&#7789&#257l&#257, Kal&#257naur, D&#299n&#257nagar, Sr&#299 Hargobindpur, Sh&#257hpur Ka&#7751&#7693&#299, Gurd&#257spur, Q&#257d&#299&#257&#7749, Ghum&#257&#7751, Mattev&#257l, and in the Jalandhar Do&#257b, U&#7771mu&#7771 &#7788a&#7751&#7693&#257, Sar&#299h, M&#299an&#299, Ga&#7771hd&#299v&#257l&#257 and Zah&#363r&#257. In the hills K&#257&#7749g&#7771&#257, N&#363rpur, Ma&#7751&#7693&#299 and Chamb&#257 paid him a tribute of two lakh of rupees.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh died on 20 April 1803 at the age of 80.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Gupta, Hari Ram, <i>History of the Sikhs</i>, vol. IV. Delhi 1982<BR> <li class="C1"> Seetal, Sohan Singh, <i>The Sikh Misals and the Panjab</i>. Ludhiana, n.d.<BR> <li class="C1"> Khushwant Singh, <i>A History of the Sikhs</i>, vol.I. Princeton, 1963<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Har&#299 R&#257m Gupta<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>