1 His alliance by
2 marriage with the
3 Majithia family.
4 He is acknowledged
5 chief of Sukerchak.
6 His death, 1752,
7 His son, Charat
8 Singh, born, 1721.
9 The successes of his
10 marauding excursions.
11 He takes forcible
12 possession of the vil-
13 lages in the vicinity of
14 Gujranwala,
15 Sardar Amir Singh of
16 Gujranwald,
17 His eldest daughter
18 is married to Charat
19 Singh, 1756.
20 The formation of the
21 Sukerchakia mist.
22 The allied chiefs
23 plunder Emnabad.
24 838 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
25 was much dreaded by the people from the borders of Réwalpindi to the banks
26 of the Sutlej. His influence and standing among the Sikhs, Jéts and
27 Sardars increased simultaneously with his wealth, and in 1730, Goldb Singh,
28 son of Best, a Sansi Jét of Majithia, married his daughter to him. Golab
29 Singh, and his brother, Amar Singh, also became Dharwais, and, by the
30 wealth they amassed, became important men and were looked upon as the
31 chiefs of Majithia, where they lived. Nodh Singh joined the Fyzulpuria
32 misl of Nawdb Kapur Singh, about the time of the first invasion of the
33 Abddéli King, Ahmad Shah, and, by plundering the baggage and the
34 stragglers of the invading army, enriched himself and his associates. He
35 was now looked upon as the chief of Sukerchak, where the spoils gained
36 were carefully amassed. In 1747, Nodh Singh had an affray with some
37 Afghans, and received a gun-shot wound in the head. It did not prove
38 fatal, but the accident incapacitated him from leading an active life. He
39 lingered for five years without interfering in the affairs of the country,
40 and died in 1752, leaving four sons, Charat Singh, Dal Singh, Chet Singh,
41 and Mangi Singh.
42 The youngest son, Mangi Singh, assuming the character of a religious
43 fanatic, began to preach the Granth, and was called a Bhdi. He died
44 without issue. Charat Singh, born in 1721, kept aloof from the Fyzulpuria
45 misl, and soon after persuaded his two younger brothers to do the same.
46 He had his own views of self-aggrandizement, and he truly laid the foundation
47 of the greatness of the misl. On account of family dissensions, he removed
48 his head-quarters to Raéjdé Sansi, near Amritsar; but in 1752, or the year
49 following, he collected around him a number of Mazbis, Sansis, and other
50 wandering robbers, and, having organised them into a separate body, led them
51 into the adjoining tracts of country on plundering excursions. ‘The success
52 which attended the exploits of the little band, soon made it the terror of
53 the people. The neighbouring chiefs were inspired with confidence in the-
54 prowess of the Sikhs, and the impression became so firmly-rooted, that
55 Mahomed Ydr, the headman of Kiali, entrusted Charat Singh with the
56 management of his States in Kiali, and himself joined the band, with fifteen
57 horsemen. Milka Singh, of village Marliawdld, near Gujranwala, also joined
58 Charat Singh, about the same time, with twenty mounted followers. Thus, -
59 the band, originally small, increased to 150 armed horsemen, and with their
60 help Charat Singh, becoming irresistible, took forcible possession of all the
61 villages in the neighbourhood of Gujranwaldé, including Katchi Serae,
62 where he established his head-quarters,
63 The sardar most intimate with Charat Singh, about this time, was
64 Amir Singh of Gujranwdld, the grandson of Sin Nath, a Sans?, whose
65 conviction of the truth of the Sikh religion had induced him to receive his
66 Péhal at the advanced age of one hundred years. Like Charat Singh,
67 this Amir Singh belonged to the Fyzulpuria misi, but, having dissolved his
68 connection with it, he began to plunder on his own account, and became
69 a notorious robber. His depredations extended from the banks of the
70 Jhelum to the walls of Delhi; and, having acquired large territorial pos-
71 sessions in Gujranwdld, he was looked upon as the chief man of the district.
72 He had three sons and two daughters, the eldest of whom was married to
73 Charat Singh about the year 1756. This marriage tie united the wealth and
74 strength of the two sardars, and led to the formation of a separate mist, which,
75 after the place where they resided, was named the Sukerchakia misl. The
76 allied chiefs, under one banner, headed the confederacy, though Amir Singh,
77 on account of his age, was never able to take a prominent part in its affairs.
78 They fell on Emnabad, plundered the city, killed the Moghal faujdar, and
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