ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>MUHKAM CHAND D&#298W&#256N (1750-1814)</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="MUHKAM,CHAND,D*WN,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">&#65279MUHKAM CHAND, D&#298W&#256N (1750-1814), a renowned Sikh army general of the early years of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh's reign, was born around AD 1750. Son of a small shopkeeper, Bais&#257kh&#299 Mall Khatr&#299, of Kuñj&#257h, a village in Gujr&#257t district, now in Pakistan, he trained as an accountant and served as a <i>munsh&#299</i> under the chiefs of different <i>misl sard&#257rs</i>, rising to the position of a <i>d&#299w&#257n</i> or minister under the Bha&#7749g&#299s and the A&#7789&#257r&#299v&#257l&#257s. In 1806, he took up service under Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh as military and financial adviser and remained until his death in 1814 the <i>de facto</i> commander-in-chief of his army. He had a major role in organizing the Sikh army on a regular basis and in the early territorial conquests of the young Mah&#257r&#257j&#257. His expedition into cis-Sutlej territory in 1806 brought Z&#299r&#257, Muktsar, Ko&#7789 Kap&#363r&#257 and Dharamko&#7789, totalling 102 villages, under the sway of the Sikhs. The same year in July he captured the estates of the two widows of Ily&#257s <u>Kh</u>&#257n of R&#257iko&#7789, comprising 311 villages and towns such as Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257, Jagr&#257o&#7749, Baddov&#257l and Talva&#7751&#7693&#299. In September 1807 he seized Narai&#7751ga&#7771h and Mori&#7751&#7693&#257, and in March 1808 Badh&#7751&#299 and Patto, in the present Mog&#257 district. Soon thereafter he overran the Faizull&#257pur&#299&#257 territory and added Jalandhar and Phillaur to the possessions of the Mah&#257r&#257j&#257. He was one of the principal advisers of the Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 at the time of negotiations with the British envoy, Charles T. Metcalfe, which led to the signing of the Treaty of Amritsar (1809).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1810, Muhkam Chand took part in the battle of Mult&#257n; the following year he was campaigning in the Himalayan foothills, subduing the states of Bhimber, R&#257jaur&#299 and Akhn&#363r. In 1812, he reduced Ma&#7751&#7693&#299 and Kul&#363. In the Kashm&#299r expedition, he was able to secure release from the custody of the Af<u>gh</u>&#257n governor of Sh&#257h Shuj&#257', the deposed king of K&#257bul, and bring him to Lahore. In 1813, when Fateh <u>Kh</u>&#257n, the K&#257bul <i>waz&#299r</i> besieged the fortress of Attock, Muhkam Chand inflicted a crushing defeat on the Af<u>gh</u>&#257ns at Haidr&#363.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; D&#299w&#257n Muhkam Chand died at Phillaur on 29 October 1814, and was deeply mourned by the Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 and his court. He was Ranj&#299t Si&#7749gh's most trusted general and he received from him land <i>j&#257girs</i> in Mori&#7751&#7693&#257, Far&#299dko&#7789, S&#257hnev&#257l, Amb&#257l&#257, and the Jalandhar Do&#257b, worth over seven lakh of rupees annually. As well as being a good soldier, he was an able administrator and his management especially of the Jalandhar Do&#257b brought him much popular acclaim.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><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"> Cunningham, J.D., <i> A History of the Sikhs </i>. Delhi, 1955<BR> <li class="C1"> Latif, Syad Muhammad, <i> History of the Panjab </i>. Calcutta, 1891<BR> <li class="C1"> Chopra, G.L., <i> The Punjab as the Sovereign State </i>. Lahore, 1928<BR> <li class="C1"> Khushwant Singh, <i> Ranjit Singh, Maharajah of the Punjab </i>. London, 1962<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>