Very interesting information on the key families and chiefs of Punjab in the Nineteenth century. The book was written by a British officer of the Indian Army in 1890 and describes in great detail the history of the major famlies and how they possesed large tracts of land and power. Some received awards from the Mughals, and some from Maharaja Ranjit Singh and later on from the British.

Excerpts:

History of Guru Harsahai

About a hundred years ago there was a desert tract in the Mukatsar Tahsil, lying on the edge of the lands occupied by the Barars and the Dogars, who were constantly quarrel- ling over its possession. Upon this waste, one Jiwan Mal came and pitched his tent. He was a Sodhi, seventh in descent from the celebrated Guru Ram Das. He had been driven from his home at Mahomedpur, near Chunian, in the Lahore district, by the Kardar who represented Ahmad Shah's government. No doubt he had made himself obnox- ious by a display of fanaticism against the rival religion. The Dogar Chief, Sultan, gave him protection and encouraged him to remain in the place, believing that his presence would in a measure stop the incursions of the Barars, and put an end to the disputes between the tribes. The Barars also regarded him with a favourable eye, as a priest of their own religion. He was thus permitted to establish a number of villages in the plain, and he fixed his boundaries by marking down the tracks of his horse's hoofs as he took a long circuit cne morning along the edge of the lands he fancied. He named the Ilaka Guru Harsahai, after his eldest son, who eventually took his father's place as head of the family. Jiwan Mai appears to have made friends later on with Ahmad Shah, for he was allowed to hold his lands free of revenue ; and the grant was renewed by Ranjit Singh when the Mahomedans disappeared from this part of the Panjab. In the time of Guru Gulab Singh, the jagir income of several villages in the Chunian Ilaka was assessed at Rs. 3,740 per annum.

The religious influence of the family was very great throughout the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and many of the Harsahai Sodhis were employed about the Court at Lahore, and accompanied the army on expeditions along the Frontier, when it was necessary to preserve the enthusiasm of the men at a high pitch. In making these journeys they seized the opportunity of recruiting followers under their own religi- ous banner from amongst the scattered Hindu families of the Western Panjab ; and they were, until quite recently, honored and revered by large numbers of Sikhs, not only in their im- mediate neighbourhood, but in Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Kohat and the Derajat.

On the death, in 1869, of Guru Gulab Singh, only two-thirds of the jagir were continued to his successor, Fatah Singh, on a life-tenure. He was unfortunate in be- coming involved in quarrels with his own sons, and in his time much of the old influence of the family melted away. He was, moreover, on bad terms with Bishan Singh, his eldest son, and in order to despite him, made a gift of his property and of the Guru headship to his younger son Kabul Singh. A law-suit followed, in which Guru Bishan Singh was suecessful ; but the expenses of litigation seriously crippled the property. On the death of Fatah Singh in 1878, the jagir was temporarily resumed ; and it was re-granted to Guru Bishan Singh in 1885, under a Sanad from the Supreme Government.

Guru Gulab Singh and Fatah Singh both exercised ma- gisterial powers within the limits of their jagirs. These privi- leges have not been continued to the present incumbent. The jagir holding is valued at Rs. 3,550 per annum, and the family are owners of nearly twenty-four thousand acres in nine villages of the Mukatsar Tahsil. Bishan Singh's income from all sources, including land rents and offerings of his co-religionists, is estimated at Rs. 20,000. His only son died at the age of fifteen, a few years ago. He has recently made a second mar- riage in the house of a Khatri family of Amritsar. He is President of the Local Board of Mukatsar, and has the privilege of a seat in Viceregal Darbars. Guru Gulab Singh had five half-brothers, sons by a Biluch lady. It is doubtful if they could establish a claim to the family headship in the event of Guru Bishan Singh dying without sons. There are descendants of Ram Singh and Gurdial Singh living at the old home in Chunian. The children of Gurbakhsh Singh and Nadhan Singh are estab- lished in the neighbourhood of Harsahai. Guru Bishan Singh, as head of the family, is the guardian of a sacred book [pothi] and rosary {viala), which originally bt^longed to Guru Nanak. They are objects of high venera- tion, and people travel long distances for the privilege of seeing them.

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History of Kasur

The ancient city of Kasur, situated some twenty miles to the south of Lahore, was, in 1570, by permission of the Em- peror Akbar, settled by a colony of Pathans, numbering about three thousand five hundred souls. Among these came from Kandahar the ancestorsof the Mamdot Chiefs of the Hasanzai tribe, and till the fall of the Mogal Empire, they lived at Kasur, sometimes traders, sometimes soldiers, as suited their inclina- tion or their means. When the Sikhs rose to power, they ex- perienced great opposition from the Pathan colony ; but in the end the Bhangi Confederacy overran and subdued the whole of the Kasur territory, under Sardar Gulab Singh ; and the two brothers, Nazamudin Khan and Kutbudin Khan, entered the service of the Conqueror. These young men, * From Griffin's Faitjah C/iie/s. 268 CHIEFS AND FAMILIES OF NOTE. however, were energetic and brave, and in 1794, with the aid of their Afghan countrymen, expelled the Sikhs entirely from Kasur, and established a Chiefship of their own. They were not left unmolested. Sardar Gulab Singh made frequent attempts to recover his lost territory, and later, the young Ran- jit Singh attacked the brothers several times without success- Nazamudin Khan joined vigorously in the cabal against Ranjit Singh in 1800, when that Chief obtained possession of Lahore, and the next year Kasur was more vigorously attacked, but Nazamudin held out, though he agreed to pay tribute to Ranjit Singh. In 1802, Nazamudin Khan was assassinated by his three brothers-in-law Wasil Khan, Haji Khan and Najib Khan, whom he had ousted from their jagirs. Kutbudin Khan has generally been accused of having been privy to the murder ; but he appears to have been absent from Kasur at the time, and on his return he stormed and took the fort of Azam Khan, whither the murderers had retired, and put Wasil Khan and Najib Khan to death, Haji Khan escaping to the Deccan. Ranjit Singh at the close of the year again invaded Kasur, but was not able to make much impression, and till 1807, Kutbudin held his own, when the Maharaja again ap- peared with a strong army, and after a month's fighting, Kutbudin gave in, and agreed to retire to his territory of Mamdot, on the other side of the Satlaj, holding it in jagir, subject to the service of one hundred horsemen. Kutbudin and his brother had conquered Mamdot from the Rai of Raikot, in the year 1800, with the assistance of the Dogars, a turbulent Mahomedan tribe inhabiting the district. Ranjit Singh gave to Fatahdin Khan a jagir at Marup, in the Gugaira district, subject to the supply of the same number of horsemen as Mamdot. But Fatahdin Khan was not satisfied, and was always appealing to the Maharaja for the grant of Mamdot, which he considered his right. THE FIROZPUR DISTRICT. 269 At last, with the connivance of the Maharaja, in 1831, he crossed the river when his uncle's contingent was absent on service, and attacked him. The Dogars, ready for any change, joined him, and Kutbudin was defeated, severely wounded and driven out of the country, and he died soon after at Amritsar.

Ranjit Singh now thought fit to interfere on the other side. He recalled Fatahdin, and confirmed Jamaludin Khan in his father's possessions. Once again Fatahdin tried his fortune, but the British Agent interfered, and the Maharaja ordered him back to Lahore. The Mamdot Chiefs were at no time invested with sovereign power, but were merely jagirdars ; feudatories of the Lahore Government. Lahore was the high court of appeal ; and there are many instances on record of fines imposed upon these Chiefs. In 1824, Kutbudin Khan was fined Rs. 12,567 for conniving at, and sharing in, the plunder of catde from the Lahore territories. In 1844 Jamaludin Khan was fined Rs. 11,100 for the murder of Suba Rai, the Lahore news-writer at his court, who had rendered himself obnoxious to the Chief by giving information of the disorders committed in the district. In 1845, before the Satlaj Campaign, Jamaludin Khan was told that if he stood on our side his possessions would be confirmed to him ; yet at Mudki and Firozshahr he fought against us, and in the latter battle his cousin Fatahdin Khan was killed. Only towards the end of the campaign, when he perceived where the victory would eventually be, did he turn round and render some trifling assistance to Sir John Littler, when that General was threatened by the Sikh army at Firozpur, which induced the Government to grant him sovereign powers and to confirm him in his possessions.

In 1848 his contingent, under his brother Jalaludin, behaved well at Multan, and Jamaludin was granted the title of Nawab and the contingent of one hundred horsemen was reduced to sixty in time of peace and seventy in war. Jamaludin Khan was an example of the danger of entrust- ing irresponsible power to a wicked and sensual man. During the Sikh times his tyranny had been notorious, but, under the British Rule, his power was increased, and his tyranny grew in the same proportion. His revenue system was but robbery extortion and violence. The Dogars were the especial objects of his hatred, for by their aid his father had been driven from the country; but all classes, Hindus and Mahomedans, felt his heavy hand. Robbery flourished under his protection, and even the property of British subjects was not secure from his gangs of thieves, who shared the booty with their master. At length all men of consideration or wealth left Mamdot. It had once been fertile and populous, with many wells and irrigation canals, but these were all falling to ruin ; the towns were deserted, and the corn-fields were again becomino- jungle. Retribution at length came. The British Government had, with its known policy, long refused to interfere with the internal arrangement of this State ; but affairs at length came to such a pass, and the voice of the people was so unanimous against their oppressor, that an investigation was, in 1855, made into the charges against the Nawab, and on their truth being established, he was deprived of his powers, and his territory was annexed to the Firozpur district. The Nawab was pensioned, and, till 1861, resided at Lahore. He then settled at Machiwara, in the Firozpur district, where he died, in March 1863, of apoplexy. Then came the question of succession as between the sons of Jamaludin Khan and his brother Jalaludin.

The latter was in no way concerned in his brother's misgovernment' He was a brave and intelligent man, who had fought well in many battles. He was against us in 1845, but at Multan, in 1848, he did good service under Lake, and later in the war, under Lumsden. His fidelity was at that time fully proved. He also behaved very well in 1857, and laid a camel dak from Firozpur to Bahawalpur, and his conduct was, at the time, highly spoken of by the authorities. Accordingly, in 1864, the Governor-General in Council declared Jalaludin, brother of the late Nawab, to be the Chief, to the exclusion of the sons of Jamaludin, with succession to his male issue, the law of primogeniture being established. On Jalaludin also was conferred the title of Nawab, to descend to the eldest son in regular succession ; and he was permitted to return and live at Mamdot. In 1870 he was invested with magisterial powers. He died in May, 1875, and was suc- ceeded by his son Nazamudin Khan, the present Nawab, born in 1862. During his minority, which ceased in 1883, the estate was managed in the Court of Wards by the Deputy Commissioner of Firozpur. Its resources were considerably developed by the construction of important irrigation canals, which resulted in an increase in the annual income from Rs. 52,000 to Rs. 1,30,000.

The present town of Jalalabad was founded in a healthy locality and at a distance of about twenty miles from the old capital of Mamdot, which had been partly washed away by river action. In fact, the property was made over to the Nawab in a most prosperous condition. Things have not thriven so well since 1883, and the Nawab is now in debt. He received a Commission from Her Majesty in 1885 as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Panjab Cavalry. His in- terest in matters connected with horse-breeding has been re- cognized by the bestowal upon him of a special diploma at the hands of the Viceroy. He is a keen sportsman and a splendid rider. No heir has yet been born to him. The Nawab's first cousin, Khan Bahadar Khan, lives at Lahore. He receives an annual allowance of Rs. 6,000. His only brother, Mahomed Khan, who had been in receipt of a monthly pension of Rs. 400, died childless in 1872.

Link to the book: https://archive.org/stream/chiefsfamiliesof00massrich/chiefsfamiliesof00massrich_djvu.txt