Sikh Generals

Baba Baghel Singh Ji

Baba Baghel Singh Ji (c. 1730 – c. 1802) was a military general in the Punjab region in the 18th century. He was born in Jhabal village, Amritsar district in the Majha region of Punjab to Sikh family. He rose to prominence in the area around Sutlej and Yamuna. Baba ji united the Singh Krora Misl, a armed unit of the Singh Confederacy. He became the the leader of unit in 1765.


Baba Banda Singh Bahadur

Banda’s original name was Lachhman Dev. He was born in Kartik 1727 Bikrami Samvat, October-November 1670, four years after the birth of Guru Gobind singh. He belonged either to Kashmir or Punjab. He was a Rajput cultivator. He established a monastery at Nanded, on the bank of the river Godavari, where in September 1708 he was visited by, and became a disciple of, Guru Gobind Singh, who gave him the new name of Banda Singh Bahadur after initiating him into the Khalsa. Armed with the blessing and authority of Guru Gobind Singh, he assembled a fighting force and led the struggle against the Mughal Empire. Guru Gobind Singh also appointed five Sikhs (Baj Singh, Binod Singh, Ram Singh, Daya Singh, Kahan Singh) to assist him. In 1709 he defeated Mughals in the Battle of Samana and captured the Mughal city of Samana, killing about 10,000 Mohammedans.Samana minted coins. The Sikhs soon took over Mustafabad and Sadhora (near Jagadhri). The Sikhs then captured the Cis-Sutlej areas of Punjab, including Malerkotla and Nahan. On 12 May 1710 in the Battle of Chappar Chiri the Sikhs killed Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sirhind and Dewan Suchanand, who were responsible for the martyrdom of the two youngest sons of Guru Gobind Singh. Two days later the Sikhs captured Sirhind. Banda Singh was now in control of territory from the Sutlej to the Yamuna and ordered that ownership of the land be given to the farmers, to let them live in dignity and self-respect.

General Hari Singh Nalwa

Hari Singh Nalwa was born into a Sikh family of the Sukerchakia Misl. The family originally came from Majitha, near Amritsar. His grandfather, Hardas Singh, had been killed fighting against Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1762. His father, Gurdial Singh, had taken part in many of the campaigns of the Sukkarchakkias Charat Singh Sukkarchakia and Mahari Singh. Hari Singh Nalwa was responsible for expanding the frontier of Sikh Empire to beyond the Indus River right up to the mouth of the Khyber Pass. In 1831, he opposed moves by Maharaja Ranjit Singh to appoint Kharak Singh as his successor as Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.At the time of his death, the western boundary of the empire was Jamrud.