Writer: Dr. Turab-ul-Hassan Sargana

The War of Independence of 1857, called the Indian mutiny by the British, was an important event of our history. The centre of this war was the northern part of India, but in many places in the Punjab, the sepoys and the civil population rose against the British. According to Robert Montgomery, the financial commissioner of the Punjab, the events of revolt occurred at 12 places in the Punjab.1 At some places the civilian population also fought against the British. Major events of civil resistance took place at Murree and Gugera.2 Unfortunately our textbooks ignored these events and the local heroes who sacrificed their lives for the sake of freedom. A brief introduction of those heroes is given in subsequent paragraphs.

Rai Ahmed Khan Kharral (shaheed)

Rai Ahmed Khan belonged to Upera branch of Kharrals and was born in 1776 at Jhamra, now a town in district Faisalabad. His father’s name was Rai Nathu Khan Kharral and in the memory of Bajay Khan, this family was known as Bajay kay Kharral. Rai Ahmed Khan was the leader of freedom fighters and according to N.W. Elphinstone, Deputy Commissioner of Gugera, he had been the chief instigator of the movement. His reputation for success in former insurrections was considerable and his influence over the clans on the Ravi unbounded.3

Denzil Ibbetson wrote about him, that Ahmad Khan Kharral led the combined clans successfully in at least five battles, and due to this his popularity spread far and wide and gave him great influence over the clans inhabiting areas near the River Ravi. This was evident during the Gugera Movement, which according to Ibbetson, had been planned and organised by Ahmad Khan Kharral.4

The uprising at Gugera started on September 16, 1857. N.W. Elphinstone, officiating Deputy Commissioner Gugera, sent L.P. Berkley with twenty horsemen to Jhamra to arrest Rai Ahmed Khan. As Ahmad Khan was not there, Berkley arrested 20 men and burnt the village of Jhamra.5 Next day the British attacked Pindi Sheikh Musa, but failed to arrest the freedom fighters and burnt the town.6

On 21 September 1857 the British came to know about the presence of Rai Ahmed Khan and his companions at Gishkori, on the other side of River Ravi. The British under command of Berkley attacked the freedom fighters, and a severe battle was fought. In this battle fourteen or fifteen horsemen of the British were killed, but the loss of freedom fighters was much greater as they lost their great leader Rai Ahmed Khan, and his most trusted friend Rai Sarung of Begey kay Kharrals. This was a great loss for the freedom movement. According to folklore, Ahmed Khan was martyred while he was offering prayers. Dhara Singh identified him, and Gulab Singh Bedi fired at him and martyred him.7

Rai Sarung Kharral (shaheed)

He was the most trusted friend of Rai Ahmad Khan and was born in 1805 AD in a village near Syedwala. His father’s name was Rai Hamand. He became most prominent in the Begey kay branch of the Kharral clan and remained with Ahmad Khan from the beginning till the end. He was also martyred on 21 September 1857 at Gishkori, fighting the British, under the command of Rai Ahmad Khan. His descendants are now living at Jaranwala tehsil of district Faisalabad, and many are living in districts Okara and Pakpattan.

Mehr Murad Fatiana (shaheed)

Murad was the son of Dalail, a Fatiana chief of the village Jalhi Fatiana. Fatiana is a branch of the Sial Rajput and the Sial have almost more than one hundred branches. Prominent among them are Fatiana, Tarhana, Hiraj, Bharwana and Sargana etc. Murad accompanied Rai Ahmad Khan in every event of the battle. When Rai Ahmad was martyred on 21 September, Murad pledged to take revenge. So on the very next day, he attacked the British along with many men of Fatiana, Kharral, Qureshi, Wattoo, Tarhana, Murdana, Vehnival and Bhadroo clans, and killed Berkley and many others. Murad Fatiana struck the first fatal blow and more than fifty of Berkley’s men were killed in this fight.8 Murad along with others was arrested and sent to Andaman Islands, popularity known as Kala Pani. Descendants of Murad Fatiana are found in tehsil Tandlianwala, district Faisalabad.

Mehr Bahawal Fatiana

He was the elder brother of Murad Fatiana and a very prominent leader of the Gugera uprising. According to Cave-Browne, he was very brave and influential9 and one of those leaders of the movement who continued it for many months after the martyrdom of Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral. His descendants are now settled in district Sahiwal.

Muhammad Kathia and Nathu Kathia

Kathia family of Harappa played an important role in the war of 1857, and the services of Muhammad Kathia and Nathu Kathia are especially unforgettable. Both were cousins and were born in a village Murad kay Kathia, which is situated on the bank of River Ravi. The father of Muhammad was Jalla, and Qasim was the father of Nathu. Both of them were born in 1815, and were fairly young at the time of the war. In 1857 all branches of the Kathia clan assembled under the leadership of Muhammad and Nathu, attacked Harappa and occupied it. The British got it back after a great struggle of seven days. Muhammad and Nathu wounded Captain Snow and besieged Major Chamberlain at Chichawatni for four days.10

They encountered British guns and cannons with sticks, maces and axes. In November 1857, both of them surrendered. Muhammad died in prison whereas Nathu managed to escape from there.

Pir Nadir Shah Qureshi

He was a resident of Pindi Sheikh Musa, now a town in the district of Faisalabad. His forefathers came from Bahawalpur. He was born in 1818 at Pindi Sheikh Musa and his father’s name was Pir Sultan Mehmud Qureshi. He was a close friend of Ahmad Khan Kharral, Murad Fatiana, Jalla Tarhana and Walidad Murdana, and supported and accompanied them in every event of the war. His village, Pindi Sheikh Musa, was the centre of resistance along with Jhamra. Due to his activities, his village was burnt twice by the British.11 Pir Nadir Shah Qureshi was arrested in October 1857 and was also sent to the Andaman Islands.

Walidad Murdana

Walidad Murdana, a great freedom f ighter of 1857, was born in 1825 at Muhammadpur near Sahiwal and at the time of the war his age was only 32. His father’s name was Naurang Khan Murdana. From the beginning he was friends with Rai Ahmad Khan, Nadir Qureshi and Murad Fatiana. When these freedom fighters rose against the British, Walidad also joined them. When the war started in 1857, Walidad destroyed the communication system of the British and the mail between Lahore and Multan remained suspended for two weeks. This incensed the British and they burnt the village of Walidad thrice. At last when the war failed due to the treacherous role of collaborators and traitors, Walidad tried to hide himself, but the traitors informed the British about him. He was arrested and sent to the Andaman Islands along with many other freedom fighters. Walidad and some other freedom fighters jumped in the sea and managed to escape. Again the British sent him to Andaman and later the British announced his death on the islands.

Suja Bhadru

Suja Bhadru was born at a village near Noor Shah in district Sahiwal. He had very cordial relations with all the neighbouring tribes. He visited Satghara, Syedwala, Jhamra, Murad kay Kathia and all other centres of the war. He played an important role in bringing all the tribes at one place and motivated them. Suja participated in the war with his four brothers, and played a vital role with Murad Fatiana in taking revenge for the killing of Rai Ahmed Khan. The British never succeeded in arresting Suja Bhadru.

Mokha Vehniwal

The Vehniwal family also played an important role during the war at Gugera. Rajab and Mokha, the two sons of Kohri Vehniwal, fought bravely. Mokha accompanied Murad Fatiana, Jalla Tarhana and Walidad Murdana, and took revenge for the killing of Rai Ahmad Khan, by killing the British officer Berkley, at Kourey Shah. After this the British burnt many villages, including the houses of Vehniwals. Mokha with his many friends was sent to Andaman. He, with some colleagues, jumped into the sea and came back. He was never arrested again.

Jalla Tarhana

He was the son of Salabat Tarhana, himself a great freedom fighter. Tarhana is also a branch of Sial clan. Jalla and his father Salabat were friends with Rai Ahmad Khan, Nadir Shah Qureshi and Walidad Murdana. Besides the Fatianas, Tarhanas were also very keen to extract revenge for Rai Ahmed Khan, and both the families played a vital role in the battles of Kourey Shah and Jalhi. Tarhanas and Fatianas never reconciled with the British.

Kala Khan

Kala Khan or Kaley Khan was a freedom f ighter from Rawalpindi and there is not much information about him. Kaley Khan managed to reach Delhi and joined the freedom fighters there. He shot Nicholson when he was attacking Delhi to recapture it, and Nicholson fell mortally wounded to the ground.12

Sardar Baz Khan of Murree

Sardar Baz Khan was the leader of the Murree uprising. He was the son of Fateh Noor Khan, a chief of the Dhund Abbasi clan. According to the author of Tareekh-e-Murree, the real name of Baz Khan was Sultan Ahmad Khan13, but like many other stories of this author, this is uncertain. Similarly the story of the kidnapping of Lady Lawrence, by this author, is unlikely as this has not been corroborated by other accounts.

Dhunds came out to challenge the British under the leadership of Sardar Baz Khan. He and his companions went from village to village, to mobilise and organise people for their struggle against the British. Sardar Baz Khan succeeded to get the support of some important chiefs of the clans of the area. Sardar Borha Khan of Satti clan and Sardar Hassan Ali Khan of Karral tribe are worth mentioning.

The main cause of the uprising at Murree was religious. In the month of July 1857, the chiefs of the Dhund and Satti clans met Lieutenant Battye, Assistant Commissioner of Murree, and protested against the ongoing Christian missionary activities. The freedom f ighters decided to attack, but Hakim Khan, one of the lumberdars of Lora, and a guard of Lady Lawrence, informed the British about the intention of the freedom fighters. So when on September 2, the freedom fighters attacked, the British were ready to respond. It was estimated that three hundred locals were involved in this attack and total strength of the defenders was four hundred. As the freedom fighters were not expecting this resistance, they were not ready, and soon they went back. In the end the British succeeded in crushing the freedom fighters. Sardar Baz Khan along with many other freedom fighters i.e. Dr. Rasul Bakhsh, Dr Ameer Ali, and a tin worker Syed Karam Ali, were executed. In this way the movement at Murree came to an end.

The fighters mentioned above are the unsung heroes of the war of 1857. Unsung in a sense that they are not mentioned in our text books. Otherwise, after passing more than 160 years, ballads are sung about them. They are real heroes of the people and they sacrificed their lives for their country and for the independence of their people. They had no personal grievance against the British, their only aim was the independence of their motherland. Therefore, although their names are not found in our textbooks, folklore and folk songs have kept them alive, and people have great love and respect for these heroes. They are considered the symbol of resistance among the people of Punjab.

Notes

1. Report by R. Montgomery, Judicial Commissioner of the Punjab to R. Temple, secretory to the Chief Commissioner for the Punjab, No. 149, Lahore, 24 March 1858 in Mutiny Reports, Vol. VIII, Part-II, 199-200.
2. Turab-ul-Hassan Sargana, Punjab and The War of Independence 1857-1858: From Collaboration to Resistance (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2020, 122.
3. From N.W. Elphinstone to G.W. Hamilton, 30 January 1858 in Mutiny Reports vol. VIII, Part II, 49.
4. Denzil Ibbetson, Punjab Castes (Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2001. First Published 1883), 175.
5. Mutiny Reports, Vol. VIII, Part II , 45-47.
6. Ibid, 47.
7. D.Ejaz, Kal Bulendi (Lahore: Pakistan Punjabi Adabi Board, 1986), 137.
8. M utiny Reports, Vol. VIII, part II, 51.
9. Cave-Browne The Punjab and Delhi in 1857, vol. II (Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1861), 214.
10. Mutiny correspondence, vol. VII, part II.
11. Mutiny Reports, Vol, VIII, Part II, 47.
12. David Ross, The Land of the Five Rivers and Sindh (Lahore All-Biruni, 1976, 1st Published 1883) 174.
13. Noor Elahi Abbasi, Tarikh-e-Murree (Muree: Noor Elahi Abbasi Memorial Library, 2005, 1st Published 1985), 93.