Hari Singh Nalwa: A legendary Sikh Warrior

Hari Singh Nalwa was a Sikh warrior and commander-in chief of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Army. Under his leadership, he won many important battles and captured invincible terrains. During his tenure, he was also known as ‘Most feared Sikh warrior’.

Hari Singh Nalwa early Childhood: Hari Singh Nalwa was born in 1791 in Uppal family in Gujranwala town in Pakistan. At the age of 7, his father Gurdial Singh died. After that, he was raised by his maternal uncle. He was very brave and smart even in his childhood days. In 1801, he was inducted into Maharaja Ranjit Singh army. Maharaja was impressed with his skills during practise session and soon he was inducted into his personal security.

Once he was in jungle for hunting, suddenly a tiger attacked him. He had no time to take out his sword. He grabbed the claw of tiger with his hands and pushed away. Then with his sword he killed the tiger and got new names ‘Nalwa’ and ‘Baag maar’.

North-West Frontier wars with Afghans: Hari Singh Nalwa got raised very quickly in Maharaja Ranjit Singh army due to his extraordinary bravery and meticulous leadership skills. He was made commander in-chief of the army and captured many important areas.

He was also the governor of Kashmir, Hazara and Peshawar. After all this, Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave him the toughest challenge to capture the northwest frontier from Afghans. It was very tough terrain, and nobody was able to capture it. He captures important cities like Multan, Peshawar, and Abbottabad. He made a fort at Jamrud which controls Afghans to enter Punjab through Khyber Pass. Historians believe that this was the biggest achievement of Hari Singh Nalwa as chief because after this attacks and loots very stopped.

Important battles of Hari Singh Nalwa: Hari Singh Nalwa fought many battles along with Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He helped him to expand his territory from Sutlej to North-West frontier to Kashmir. Some of most important battles are mentioned below.

Battle Of Jamrud: Battle of Jamrud was the last battle fought by Hari Singh Nalwa. The Afghans attacked the Jamrud from all sides. Hari Singh Nalwa was not in Jamrud at the time of attack. He was suffering from fever and was getting treatment in Peshawar. When Afghans got to know about Nalwa coming to war, they absconded from there. Nalwa was hit 4 times on his chest and fighting bravely against Afghans. He asked his commander to wait for reinforcement from Lahore.

Hari Singh Nalwa died during night and asked his warriors not to disclose his death news before the reinforcement arrive. According to the historians, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh got to know about the death of Hari Singh Nalwa. He could not stop himself and went straight to Jamrud to give him last rites.

In 2013, Indian Government issued a stamp in honour of Hari Singh Nalwa.