<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>LAHI&#7750&#256 SI&#7748GH MAJ&#298&#7788H&#298&#256 (d. 1854)</TITLE>
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<p class="C1">&#65279LAHI&#7750&#256 SI&#7748GH MAJ&#298&#7788H&#298&#256 (d. 1854), son of Des&#257 Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257, was commander, civil and military administrator, and one of the principal <i>sard&#257rs</i> of the Sikh court. Of all the Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257s associated with the ruling family of Lahore, Lahi&#7751&#257 Si&#7749gh was the ablest and most ingenious. He succeeded his father Des&#257 Si&#7749gh in 1832 as the <i>n&#257zim</i> (governor) of K&#257&#7749g&#7771&#257 and the hill districts, with the title of Qaisar ul-Iqtid&#257r. Earlier, he had served the Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 in various capacities. He commanded 2 battalions of infantry, a <i>top<u>kh</u>&#257n&#257</i> of 10 light and field guns, and 1,500 horse. In 1831, he was assigned to the task of collecting monies from the Naka&#299s; the same year, he along with General Ventura took part in the &#7692er&#257 Ism&#257'&#299ll <u>Kh</u>&#257n expedition. At the court, he often acted as chief of protocol, receiving and looking after important foreign dignitaries. On several occasions, he led goodwill missions on behalf of the Mah&#257r&#257j&#257. Like his father, he held charge of the management of Sr&#299 Harimandar S&#257hib, Amritsar.</p>
<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;	Lahi&#7751&#257 Si&#7749gh was a man of learning and was especially interested in astronomy and mathematics. He was a skilful mechanic and designer of ordnance . He cast shrapnel shells made of pewter for the Sikh artillery. He invented gun shell that would explode at a fixed place and time. He also invented a clock which showed the hour, the day of month and the lunar changes. He is said to have translated <i>Euclid</i> into Punjabi. Amidst the rivalries of the &#7692ogr&#257 and Sandh&#257&#7749v&#257l&#299&#257 factions soon after the death of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh, Lahi&#7751&#257 Si&#7749gh maintained his position and influence at the Darb&#257r. In March 1844, Lahi&#7751&#257 Si&#7749gh fell foul of the Jall&#257 regime and feeling insecure at Lahore, he left the Punjab for Haridv&#257r. His <i>j&#257g&#299rs</i> were promptly confiscated and usurped by H&#299r&#257 Si&#7749gh. Lahi&#7751&#257 Si&#7749gh settled in Ban&#257ras, and declined to return to the Punjab even when he was offered the office of Waz&#299r (minister) by Mah&#257r&#257&#7751&#299 Jind Kaur during her regency. He was arrested and kept under surveillance by the British from 23 January 1846 till the end of the first Anglo-Sikh war. In 1846, the British Resident, Sir Henry Lawrence, suggested his nomination as Waz&#299r in place of L&#257l Si&#7749gh, but Lord Hardinge did not accept the proposal. Lahi&#7751&#257 Si&#7749gh returned to the Punjab in1851, but after two years went back to Ban&#257ras where he died in 1854.</p>
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BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> S&#363r&#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, 1909<BR>
<li class="C1"> Smyth, G. Carmichael, <i>A History of the Reigning Family of Lahore</i>. Patiala, 1970<BR>
<li class="C1"> Osborne, W.G., <i>The Court and Camp of Runjeet Singh</i>. London, 1840<BR>
<li class="C1"> Hasrat, Bikrama Jit, <i>Anglo-Sikh Relations</i>. Hoshiarpur, 1968<BR>
<li class="C1"> Harbans Singh, <i>The Heritage of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1983<BR>
</ol><p class="CONT">B. J. Hasrat<br></p><BR>
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